Ecosystems, right!?.......it’s what people talk about with technology. Creating a whole
ecosystem of devices and services to create a lock in and prevent you from wanting to
switch to a different device or platform. Well, in this video we are going to look at
the 10 best features of the Apple Ecosystem…
Hey, I’m Jerry and in the last few years I have been drawn back to the Apple ecosystem.
And, its nice in here. Sure there are a few faults and not everything is as smooth as
it could be sometimes, but overall, there is a lot to love. Apple makes some amazing
products from the Mac to the iPhone, and Apple Watch to the iPad. When you look at any one
of these products individually you will find best in class performance, hardware, and design.
But when you have more than one Apple device you get the benefits of the Apple Ecosystem.
So I am going to go over some of my favorite features that Apple offers to make you want
to use Apple stuff and some that I am looking forward to later this year with MacOS Monterey
and iOS 15.
The first thing that I love about using Apple devices is the device setup. If you are coming
from an existing Mac, iPad, iPhone or Apple Watch it is really easy to copy everything
over to the new device and be up and running without needing to reconfigure all your setting
or reinstall all of your apps……….I mean, do you realize how long it takes to set up
a new iPhone or Mac from scratch including apps and settings? Like…Forever.
When setting up a new iPhone or iPad you just need to unlock one of your existing devices
when it is near and then you will have the option to copy setting from the old device.
The old device will show a crazy orb thing that you scan with the camera of the new device.
This will instantly copy over things like wifi settings and your Apple ID to help speed
up the setup process. Then you get the option to copy over data directly from your device
or from a backup and when it’s all said and done you are up and running with everything
matching your old device.
This process is kind of similar on the Mac with the option to copy Apps and settings
from another Mac or to restore from a Time Machine backup.
Next, Apple has this umbrella feature called Continuity which allows for seamless integration
and movement between your devices. There are several features that work because of continuity
and the first one I want to talk about is AirDrop.
AirDrop is just awesome for getting files between devices. If you have a file or video
on your iPhone that you need to move to your iPad or Mac quickly you just use the share
sheet, and tap on the other AirDrop device you want to send to and through a direct wifi
connection the files magically copy over. I use this all the time when I take some b-roll
footage on my iPhone and want it on my Mac quickly for editing. Its faster than waiting
for iCloud to sync or sending it to yourself with email or text somehow.
When you use AirDrop it does just kind of decides what to do for you like sending files
to the downloads folder on Mac or automatically opening up photos and videos In the Photos
app on iOS. If you want more control over how you move files back and forth you can
use Universal Clipboard instead.
This is a feature which allows you to copy something on one device and paste it on another.
If, for example, you were working in a chat app on your iPhone and need to copy some text
or a link from your Mac or iPad you can simply right-click and copy or command-C and then
tap and hold on the iPhone to paste the text you just copied. Just like with AirDrop this
limits the need for other ways to get info over to another device like with Apple Notes
syncing or something. And like I said a moment ago you can use Universal Clipboard for sending
files, too. I can copy this video file from the Files app on my iPad and paste it to my
Mac desktop super quick. If you use universal clipboard instead of
AirDrop you have more control over where you file ends up and then you can decide to open
it, move it, or something else.
Instant Hotspot is the ability to automatically tether a Mac, iPad or even iPhone to another
iPhone with Cellular connection…..Or iPad with cellular. Now, I much prefer to have
cellular built into my iPad but until we get the option on Mac at least I can quickly tether
to my iPhone or iPad by going right up to the wifi menu and selecting my other device.
No password is required and you are automatically connected when signed into all your devices
with the same Apple ID.
Continuity Camera allows you to take photos for your Mac with your iPhone or iPad. You
can use this in Mail, notes and other Apps. To do this in an email or note just select
the Photo attachment icon, find your device and click on Take photo………….the camera
will pop up on your device allowing you to frame and snap a pic before placing it into
the document.
Other options are scanning a document from your phone or even creating a sketch.
When I bought my first Mac in 7 years last summer……wow, has it been a whole year
since I came back to the Mac? Let me know if you are interested in hearing some of my
thoughts on that. But anyway……
One of the features I really wanted to try after getting a new Mac was Sidecar, which
is the ability to use your iPad as a second display for a Mac. It’s really easy to setup
by just by going to the display options in the menu bar on your Mac and then selecting
the iPad you want to connect to.
This gives you an expanded desktop to work in if you are away from your regular full
monitor desk setup and need that extra real-estate. Some apps allow for basic touch input using
the Apple pencil but for me just having that extra screen can allow for a much better mobile
multitasking experience.
Now, AirPods are one of my favorite things ever created. I love having this small, compact
set of headphones in my pocket at all times to be able to quickly throw them in my ears
for a call or just for checking out a video when standing in line. iOS 14 gave us the
new feature of quick AirPods switching which automatically will switch the active audio
device depending on what you are doing. You can be watching a video on your ipad using
airpods but when you answer an incoming call on the iPhone it will switch right over. Or
you can be going back and forth watching or listening to different things……which I
have done a few times like when researching or trying to figure out how to do something……….Here
is an example I showed in my iPad Air 4 Accessories video. ………
The last thing I want to talk about under the continuity umbrella is text message forwarding
with iMessage. On your iPhone you can go to Settings>>>>>messages >>>>>Text Message Forwarding
and select other devices you want to forward SMS messages to. Now, just like with your
blue bubble messages, you can send and receive SMS messages on your ipad and Mac. No more
needing to go back and forth to answer SMS messages or only receiving some of your messages
on your Mac or iPad. You can quickly see and respond or create new threads of SMS and MMS
messages from any of your Apple devices.
Outside of Continuity but sticking with iMessage for a moment, Macs and iOS devices can automatically
fill in those annoying security codes that apps and websites send you when you try and
log in. With the Apple ecosystem and text message forwarding, Apple will give you a
pop up to automatically fill in those codes for you in Safari on Mac, and pretty much
everywhere else on iPhone and ipad. Instead of receiving the notification about the code,
opening up messages, copying or memorizing the code, then pasting or typing it in, a
little pop up will appear allowing a single tap to fill in those security codes for you.
It’s such a little time saver but helps to alleviate some of those annoyances you
experience every day when signing into websites and apps. I probably use this feature 10 times
every day between personal, work, and YouTube stuff.
Now, I want to talk about apps real quick. More specifically, getting apps. Apple launched
the App Store for iPhone in 2008 and the Mac App store in 2011 which brought an easy way
to find and get new Apps. With a couple of click and taps you can download or buy millions
of apps which can be shared across your devices. You don’t need to keep track of license
keys for purchases and your whole library is just right there when you need it.
I don’t need to show you how to use the App stores because you know how that works.
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Now, I barely scratched the surface of all the great benefits and features to the Apple
Ecosystem. I could go on and on about other features but then you would get bored and
go away. So let’s talk below about some of your favorite ecosystem features and let
me tell you what I am excited about this fall.
At WWDC Apple announced a number of things coming to MacOS Monterey and iOS 15 like Universal
Control which takes SideCar that we talked about to a whole new level. Universal Control
allows you to instantly control multiple devices next to each other with the same keyboard
and mouse……Open up your iPad next to a mac and you can move your mouse right on over
to the ipad screen and completely control your ipad with its own mouse interface.
You can even mix and match up to 3 Macs or 2 Macs and an iPad, each running their completely
separate desktop. I’m really excited to see some use cases for this and if it works
well, I wonder if this makes the base level iMac one of the best external second displays
you can get for your mac…..
They also announced SharePlay which gives you a way to enjoy content with others remotely.
You can share your screen on your iPhone or iPad and look at the same website or app,
or you can start a video on one device and share it to another where it will sync up
and you can watch content together, or listen to music…….Supposedly you just open up
a streaming app when on a facetime call and Apple takes care of the rest. I have questions
about how this is going to work like do you both need subscriptions……but, we will
see.
I am really excited to test out these and other new things coming this fall and will
definitely make some videos about them so make sure to hit subscribe and the bell if
you want notifications about those upcoming videos.
So, there are a ton of features that make the Apple Ecosystem worth getting into, and
hard to get out of, which makes the experience of using multiple devices so much better.
What are your favorite things about the Apple Ecosystem and what are you excited for in
the upcoming releases? Let me know below. If this is your first time here on my channel,
I hope you consider subscribing and checking out some of my other videos focused around
Apple gear. Hit the thumbs up button if you liked it, and Ill see you next time.