iPad for creatives, Android vs iPhone & more with Chris from DailyTekk on the AppleInsider podcast

On this special episode of the AppleInsider podcast, we interview tech YouTuber Chris from the channel DailyTekk to discuss iPad productivity apps, iPad mini, Pixel 6 vs. iPhone 13 Pro, and managing a creative workflow.

Chris started the technology blog DailyTekk back in 2012, but a change in Google's search engine algorithm forced a shift in his career. After pivoting to video in 2015, the DailyTekk YouTube channel now has over 400,000 subscribers covering the latest Apple devices, productivity apps, and more.

Using a unique blend of third-party apps like mymind, Apple's built-in Notes and Reminders apps, Chris manages his creative workflow on iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard.

We discuss the most useful apps for productivity and creative planning, plus Safari extensions for iPadOS. We also talk about the benefits of Universal Control and what it could mean for the future of iPad software updates.

With Apple's developer conference coming in just a few months, there are still features that would allow iPad to become a truly portable workstation for pro users. We also cover USB audio device support, external displays, and Final Cut Pro for iPad.

The conversation moves to Apple's ecosystem as a whole compared to Android. Chris set Google's Pixel 6 Pro against the iPhone 13 Pro in a video and found the Android ecosystem still lagging behind Apple's. But there are also Android hardware features he hopes come to iPhone, like a periscopic camera zoom.

We round out the show looking forward to Apple's incoming VR headset and how it can differentiate from the Meta Quest. Plus, current use cases for augmented reality, and what it could mean for Apple's future AR glasses.

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Interview with Chris from DailyTekk transcript

Stephen Robles

Welcome to a special episode of the AppleInsider podcast. Today we have special guest, Chris from DailyTekk. He has a great YouTube channel with over 400,000 subscribers where he talks about iPad and iPhone productivity apps, creativity, and a bunch of other stuff. Chris, thanks so much for joining us today.

Chris from DailyTekk

Hey, it's a pleasure to be here. Thank you.

Stephen Robles

I wanted to get the most controversial topic out of the way here at the top of the show. And I didn't warn you about this, but I was watching your videos, and I saw that you listen to podcasts at 2x speed, is this accurate?

Chris

Is that controversial? That's normal, right?

Stephen Robles

See, it's controversial to me. I find that to be sacrilegious. I mean, you say that you worked up to that speed, you know, one and a quarter, one and a half. But for real, you listen all your stuff at to 2x?

Chris

For the most part. It depends on the talker. I guess. You're not alone. Most people are like, "why do you do that?" It seems counterintuitive. But it's weird, right? Because the real world seems to move slow now to me. Like when I'm in a normal conversation with you right now, it seems really slow.

But no, honestly, it's a matter of productivity. For me, I'm trying to cram so much into the day, and there's so much that I want to consume. That's just been like a really useful hack, for sure. And people really do hate it. When they hear it, they're like, "why?" But it just works for me.

Stephen Robles

I do audiobooks at like one and a half, because I find a lot of audiobooks are slow. A lot of spaces or whatever. And I'm trying to get through a book, I actually want to finish it. So yeah, I totally get that. But a podcast, there's natural breaks in the conversation, you know, you gotta let it breathe, but I get it, I get it.

Chris

I will say I like it better at normal speed. It's more enjoyable, it's just that I get more accomplished that way

Stephen Robles

For sure. Actually, when I was in college, I had a speech class, and one of the girls in the class was visually impaired. She used a Mac to do her presentations and she had voiceover enabled on the Mac, the accessibility setting.

But she had been doing it for so long, it would speak to her at such a speed that it was unintelligible to all of us. And the Mac would just say things so quickly to her.

And like you said, you kind of get used to it, and you build yourself up to it. It was really impressive,.

So you actually started as a blogger, writing a website, DailyTekk. When did you start that?

Chris

That was back in 2012.

Stephen Robles

I was watching some of your videos talking about that time, and it was going really well. And then you said Google changed something about the algorithm and search results. What happened? And what did you do when that happened?

Chris

Yeah, that's right. Looking back, I kind of wish I got into video first. Sure. But that's just not how it happened. Because the people that are getting into YouTube and the tech space, when I was getting into the blog space, really got a huge first-mover advantage, right, which was good for them.

We started in 2012, as a blog, because I was bored at my job. And it was gonna be like daily tech finds. And I think the first weird thing that I posted was like a smart outlet or something that no one would really care about.

I was going to post something daily, but it morphed pretty quickly. Before that, I used to do design stuff. That's what I went to college for. And so I had some experience doing a design blog, I wasn't brand new to it.

The thing that really took off pretty quickly was starting to do lists. I don't know if you remember that everyone was doing "listicles". And so I came up with this format to do the top 100, whatever. And the thing that really popped for the thing was the top 100 websites. To the point where we became known for that.

But the web changes, and that was back when like Mashable, I think was really doing that, making it popular. And the reason it worked, by the way, was because we'd feature all these really high-profile sites that would then retweet and share.

Long story short, Google, it really wasn't like high-quality content. It was because it saved people time, because I did all the research for them, put it there. But it wasn't like really long format stuff, which is where things headed eventually.

And I think it was the Penguin update, if I'm not mistaken. It basically said "we're not going to prioritize that kind of list content anymore." And basically, our stuff dried up overnight, it was kind of scary.

I remember spending the last bit of our money, trying to hire this SEO consultancy firm to fix things, and they couldn't ended. We were just out some of the last bit of our money and so it was like, okay, and we eventually decided to shift into video,

My wife and I put our retirement savings into the business. We're like, it's really now or never, let's do it. And we started over kind of from square one, and that was in 2015. Just kept at it, and here we are now.

Stephen Robles

That's awesome. Well, now you have a very successful YouTube channel. I love seeing it because you really pull some apps and services, especially for the iPad and iPhone that I have not heard about before. And you know, I'm pretty up on it, I try to look at all the creativity, productivity apps, but you really pull some great tools for pretty much any creative or productive field, which includes everybody, I guess.

I love a lot of stuff you do for iPad. So I wanted to ask you, when it comes to your iPad productivity and apps, you've mentioned so many in your videos, what are the apps for the iPad that you still use regularly and that you keep going back to for your productivity work?

Chris

Well, I guess it depends on the category I suppose. And honestly, for me, even I change it up pretty frequently. For instance, I relied on Drafts for the longest time, right. And in fact, that was how I would catalogue stuff.

So just to backup, what I do when I find these apps is, I don't go out and like search, you know, for stuff. When I run into something I catalog it. Which basically is just storing it, give it some tags and stuff. And I used to do that in Drafts. And I had a whole Drafts workflow. That was on the iPad, it was on the Apple Watch, it was everywhere.

Recently, you may have seen, I've been talking a lot about this app called mymind, that's one that I've just become obsessed with, mostly because of the search functionality. And it's like a beautiful interface. But right now that's sort of like my go-to thing outside of the Apple app suite of apps.

I still use Apple notes, especially on the iPad. I like the Apple Pencil integration there. It's just too good to ignore the system baked-in features.

Stephen Robles

I use a lot of Shortcuts, and I always have to go back to Apple's apps because they just have a greater integration with a lot of those automations. But for me, when I have an app that I either want to use for cataloging research, database-type stuff, I would love to just use one app for years.

Because then you have that whole back catalog, and you can search for it, and everything is in that one place. So do you actually move all your stuff from app to app if you shift systems? Or do you just start fresh every time?

Chris

I see what you're saying. If it's important, I park it in Apple Notes. I figure I'm going to have that for a long time. And a lot of this stuff, really a lot of the stuff that I use for content, it's temporary, and I don't need to reference it over and over again, I just need to have it accessible when I need it. So yeah, if it's important it stays in Apple Notes.

Stephen Robles

So what do you use for your project planning or project management where you say, this is the upcoming videos and all that?

Chris

Honestly, you're gonna laugh at this. But I have just an Apple Note, a single note that has like my video pipeline. And because I tried a bunch of other stuff, it didn't sync with me. I'm just not built that way to go crazy.

And I'll tell you the other thing that I do, I just live on Siri Reminders. I've outsourced most of my brain to Siri reminders, and I make the reminders on the Apple Watch. And just tell me, "remind me on this day or this time," and it just happens.

Stephen Robles

You actually have a great video on supercharging Reminders, because Reminders got some great features in the last couple of years. So if people haven't used it recently, I recommend you check out that video from Chris.

But there's also that Siri integration that's so tight with Reminders because I use Things, and I love Things for project management, subtasks, and all that. But adding something to Things through Siri is just one degree more annoying because you have to say, "add this in Things," or whatever. And it's just not seamless. So I totally get just coming back to those stock apps.

Chris

Yeah. And to your point, sometimes that's enough friction to make me stop using something.

Stephen Robles

So I also see in a lot of your videos, you use Mind Node, is that something you use for your planning future stuff?

Chris

I do, yeah. I guess I don't really have like a system where it's like, gonna use this for whatever. It's just like, when I need that tool, I reach for it. And so Mind Node, when I really need to mentally organize something, that's when I hit Mind Node. Because it's just so easy to drag and drop and rearrange stuff.

If it's a really in-depth, more Rene Richie-style information video, where I need to keep things organized, then I'll do that in Mind Node.

Stephen Robles

So I'm curious. I asked this question on Twitter a while ago to a bunch of tech YouTubers, whether or not you keep your footage after a video is published. And it sounds like from the way you use productivity apps, use it when you need it, sounds like you probably delete your archive of footage. Is that accurate?

Chris

That is not accurate. It's funny. Yeah, I used to do it like that. And I used to be the guy who would go back on YouTube and like, start a screen recording and, like, recapture my old footage.

Stephen Robles

Right. Download from YouTube Studio.

Chris

Yeah. And so I don't go super nuts. I actually don't save all my B-roll and everything. But I do just save the exported version of a video right now. I have for the last several years. Yeah, because it's come in handy. Like basically every video.

Stephen Robles

Yeah, just have the final render kind of thing. So, in addition to productivity apps, creativity apps, you also have videos on some of the extensions because you can actually have extensions now an iPad and iPhone Safari, as well as the Mac. I actually found a lot of extensions from your video that I still use today. What are some of your favorite extensions that you really find valuable as you use Safari on the iPad?

Chris

Yeah, two that are kind of cool is Amplosion, which kind of gets rid of those Google AMP pages. And the other one that I actually like is Open in Apple Maps, which is exactly what it sounds like. It will redirect me from a Google map to my Apple Maps app, which I prefer. I know that really makes some people mad.

Stephen Robles

No, I actually prefer Apple Maps. I don't even have Google Maps, I don't think even on my phone. So I'm with you there. It's gotten better. I've actually started to get some of the like, speed check warnings and traffic, like the Waze type features. I've been seeing more of that, at least here in Central Florida, because you can submit that kind of stuff now in the Maps app directly.

I'll put links to that video as well. If people have not used extensions in Safari, especially on mobile devices, they're really great.

Couple more iPad things, I saw your white Magic Keyboard video. And I also got the white Magic Keyboard, when the M1 iPad Pro came out. I love the look, such a clean look. And like you, I also got it marked up by something.

So I was watching your video and looks like you you tried to get it off? Have you managed to clean your white Magic Keyboard to get that blue streak off?

Chris

Well, I have to admit that I left that on there for weeks and weeks, just so I could show it in the video. So people can see it. But did you look at the comments on that thing? Probably 90% of the comments said, "Did you use a magic eraser on it?" And so afterwards, I did, and it got it right out. So it's no big deal. Oh, yeah. Is your's still all messed up or?

Stephen Robles

So you know, I bring it to like cafes or whatever. And I like to just put it on there. I try not to worry about it. You can be real precious about it, or just use it like you're going to use it, and you got to use it.

So it had some dark marks on it some dark streaks and I looked up the official Apple cleaning method, which is hydrogen peroxide. And so I used hydrogen peroxide on it, and it works really well. The problem was there was this one dark streak that I had to really rub to get out, and I was foolish.

I used a red polishing cloth with the hydrogen peroxide and as I was rubbing it on the white Magic Keyboard, it started to turn pink. Because the red cloth started coming off on it. So the hydrogen peroxide works great. Do not use a colored cloth to actually rub the device. Use something white.

Chris

You know what you got to do now?

Stephen Robles

I gotta buy another one.

Chris

You got to use a magic eraser.

Stephen Robles

Oh, okay. Yeah, that's good. Does the magic eraser actually get like just smudges too, little dirt spots?

Chris

Dude, it's crazy. Because I think technically it's sort of abrasive, you wouldn't know from touching it, but it probably, like, peels off a little microlayer of it. You know? Right.

Stephen Robles

If you have your iPhone and maybe you drop it, maybe you don't, but maybe you get a little knick or scratch on it. Are you one to utilize the Apple Care services for cosmetic reasons? Or do you wait till that thing's well and cracked before you use it?

Chris

I don't know. I've only done like one or two Apple Care things for the iPhone over the years. Yeah, just because I've gone through different phases. I think we all go through phases, right? Like right now I'm on like an ultra-thin case.

And then I get more protective. And then I don't care again, because I think it's different. I think it's different for you and me, right? Like we're reviewers, and I know I'm going to get one every single year and upgrade and it's just a matter of putting up with it for a couple of months more. Maybe that one terrible scratch or whatever.

So I went with the screen protector this time, which I usually hate, but it's been treating me alright.

Stephen Robles

Screen protector on your iPhone. Really?

Chris

I usually don't yeah, but I haven't minded it.

Stephen Robles

Now, what finish Apple Watch do you have?

Chris

Well, I'm currently rocking the new green one, and it's the cellular. Which I didn't think I would like, but it was the new one. So I gave it a chance. Yeah, and actually do like it.

Stephen Robles

Yeah, I love the Series 7, and I kind of splurged I went with the titanium model so I have a titanium, and it's good but this gets scratched. I don't know why, for some reason, I don't know if I hold my arms just too far out but I hit it on doorways as I'm walking around the house, and so I've got a bunch of marks on it.

I have not worked up the courage yet to use one of those like wire brushes to actually smooth out the scratches. Have you ever done anything like that for an Apple Watch?

Chris

No. But yeah, I mean that's what I hear. I've never had one of those. I always think about it, but that's what I hear they're just be pretty easy to scratch, right?

Stephen Robles

I mean the stainless steel shows a lot of scratches. The titanium shows less, but I go with those models because it has the sapphire glass top. I have found that there's a big difference. My wife has broken those glass tops that aren't sapphire, just in the kitchen hitting against the tile.

So I'll go with the sapphire models which are the steel or the titanium. But, I can't use that little brush wire but I bought the whole kit. I had it like in my hand almost touching the watch. I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Chris

It was crazy. I had the ceramic, the white version many years ago. Which was awesome, right? Yeah, it was a little more expensive. And I figured, well, I'm just gonna trade it in you know for the next model, and Apple wouldn't take it back! Yeah, the ceramic I couldn't trade it back in for the trade-in bro.

Stephen Robles

So I actually had a titanium Series 6. And I actually went and looked for the trade-in value, they would have traded in the titanium, but they were gonna give me like 150 bucks. Which the titanium Apple Watch models are not that cheap. So I just decided to keep it. But that's interesting that they didn't take the ceramic back.

Chris

I was gonna get like four new ones for the price of that.

Stephen Robles

Exactly. I'm kind of hoping they bring the ceramic back because I missed my opportunity for it. And they look pretty sweet. Maybe they'll bring the 24 karat gold one back for $10,000.

Chris

Yeah, that one. No one needs, no, no.

Stephen Robles

Now you also had a great video on the iPad mini. And I'm a big iPad fan because I actually edit all of my podcasts on iPad exclusively. I edit the AppleInsider show and HomeKit Insider, Movies on the Side.

Chris

What do you use?

Stephen Robles

I use Ferrite on the iPad. And for that, editing podcasts with the Apple Pencil in the Ferrite app on iPad Mini is, I think, the best podcast editing experience. I have a whole video on it. I'll send it to you.

I edit the fastest on that device, in that way. So I love it, and I have a 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro when it came out, which I still love, the screen is incredible, ProMotion. It's so fast.

But it's also so heavy. Yeah, like holding that big iPad gets so heavy for so long. So you really love the mini too. What have you been finding yourself using it with?

Chris

Well, I do, and it's funny that you bring that up right now because I just shot an iPad mini accessories video today. The obvious thing is it's, like, great for consuming stuff. But I've always been kind of fascinated with, like, turning it into a bit of a mini workstation.

I just paired it up here recently with the new Logitech MX Keys Mini in all black, which looks cool. And the Logitech Pebble, which is specifically for iPads. And you know, it's funny because the keyboard is bigger than the iPad mini itself.

But you know, looking at the keyboards that actually fit on a cover that fold up for the iPad mini, I just don't think I'd want to use it. So if I was going to take it and make it into a work station somewhere, I'd rather have the full size keyboard. So I've been experimenting with that and liking it.

Stephen Robles

It's just so light, and so small. We actually talked about on a recent show, I was camping the day of the big game. I don't know if I could say the official name of the big game on a podcast. NBC Sports may come after me. But we were actually camping. And so I brought a projector, a USB-C to HDMI adapter, and my iPad mini, and actually streamed the game, projecting it on my pop-up camper in the middle of the woods.

And it was an awesome experience. I could do it with a larger iPad, you can do with an iPhone, but the Lightning to HDMI things are weird. And so the iPad mini for that kind of portability, it really is awesome. It's kind of a unique device.

Because so many years of the MacBook Pro being all USB-C I have dongles everywhere that I don't need anymore because the new MacBook Pro is so good. I just love how portable it is.

And when I edit a podcast, I actually hold the iPad in one hand, Apple

Pencil in the other if I'm on a sofa or whatever, and the mini does not give me like carpal tunnel like the big iPad might, feeling my hands strain as I'm holding it. And that's why I love doing it on the iPad mini.

Chris

You know, yes, the Apple Pencil works surprisingly well to me. In any case, I didn't think it would but when I tried it I said, no this is cool. Especially for like note-taking or whatever I really like it because like a notepad. But I had to tell you before I move on, you're gonna find this hilarious. I love Ferrite Pro, but I can't edit on it. And the reason why is because I can't edit at two times speed.

Stephen Robles

Oh my goodness.

Chris

And you know where I edit my podcasts? You're gonna laugh at this too. In Final Cut Pro on the Mac. That's where I edit because I can edit in two times speed.

Stephen Robles

I've had Canis, the developer of Ferrite on this show, I interviewed him. And so I'm gonna send him this clip of the episode: Canis, if possible, 2x speed for Chris so he can edit on Ferrite and not Final Cut.

Chris

Isn't that funny?

Stephen Robles

I thought you're gonna say Audacity or something but I'll accept that. Listen, we've been gushing about the iPad for a while, and so I need to hear the real deal because it's not perfect when it comes to the operating system, iPadOS. And so I have some wishes for this upcoming WWDC.

But when it comes to iPadOS 16, the next version, what do you hope, if anything, Apple adds to the operating system to make it even more productive?

Chris

Okay, this is a big topic, right? I used to feel like I wanted the iPad to inherit more Mac-like features, whether that was on the software side or the hardware side.

And then Universal Control came out. Hmm, that changed my thinking a little bit, because, you know, the setup that I have right now, and I did a video on this, is that I've got the iPad Pro, with its Magic Keyboard and trackpad, got my Mac shut in clamshell mode in a dock. And I've got two external monitors hooked up to that.

It's really fun too, and it works well. You know, there's a few bugs. So when those get ironed out, it's gonna be crazy. But to use the Magic Keyboard on the iPad Pro to control the Mac and the trackpad, it's crazy. And what it does is it let the iPad retain its uniqueness.

So you know, I can use iPad specific apps like Procreate, and I can use the Apple Pencil, I can verify things with Face ID not on the Mac, but you know, if I make a purchase or something, and it's just a really, really productive setup for me.

With that as a background, I'm starting to feel better about leaving the iPad as an iPad and not trying to make it too Mac-like, and I feel like Apple maybe always knew where they were going in terms of like, let's get to the spot where Universal Control makes more sense. It felt like things were a little adrift and really arbitrary for a while. But now that we're here, like it's making more sense.

So that being said, in the next version of iPadOS, the thing I would really, really love, it's a small thing, but it's the thing I really want is just to be able to see three or four apps side-by-side without having to use Slide Over, right? Because Slide Over is cool. It's nice, but I don't always want things in that format.

Sometimes I want to drag and drop between three or four things, even if it's just the width, you know, if I have my iPad horizontal, even if it's just the width of my iPhone screen, I'd like to have four things stacked up there, three or four apps.

So that's the one thing I'd really, really like. And obviously, better external monitor support would be cool, right? I don't think it's necessary, but again, with Universal Control, maybe it doesn't need that, because that's the Mac thing. I could go either way on that.

Stephen Robles

Yeah, I'm less inclined to care about the external display support just because I never do that. And Universal Control is really cool. I do think the window management would be a big improvement, especially on the larger iPad. Which kind of had some unique multitasking features in the past.

You know, apps used to function differently on the 12.9-inch screen. When you did two side-by-side, they actually got like the full version of the app instead of the smaller version, like you get on smaller size iPads. And so that kind of stuff, even if it's just for the larger screen size, I think it would be beneficial for me.

And because podcasting is my biggest thing, the audio support, audio device support on the iPad is what I keep harping on. I hope Apple lets you have multiple apps utilize a single USB device at the same time. So I could actually record a podcast just as easily on my iPad as on my Mac, because right now, I can plug in a USB device to my iPad, even a USB interface with multiple tracks, and Ferrite can record it.

But I can't also Skype someone at the same time. Skype will say there's already an app using this device. That's something everyone talks about, visual complexity. That's not what the iPad is for. It's actually nothing to do with visual complexity in this regard. It's just, give multiple apps the ability to use the same USB audio device. That's all I want.

Chris

And I think what you're putting your finger on there is the iPad is really good for like just average stuff. But a power user is going to run into things. And whatever their workflow is, that leaves them wanting more, I think.

Like for me, I would love to edit my video on the iPad. But the reason I stick with Final Cut Pro right now is for like obscure features.

They've been adding to, what's the iPad app for video editing? LumaFusion? Yes, thank you. They've been adding multicam editing, you know, stabilization. Those are big things for me. But the obscure things that a power user wants are still not there. And I don't know when they will be.

A big one for me is optical flow, so that I can slow stuff way way way down. And I can't do that in LumaFusion right so that's that's similar that's my thing.

Stephen Robles

I would love Final Cut on the iPad Pro. My goodness, especially when traveling, when you just don't want to use your Mac. That's one of the few things, recording a podcast and editing a video, it's the two things that I really need my Mac for. It'd be awesome to do it on the iPad.

Chris

Right. Wait so what is your default podcast recording setup then? Are you doing like a scarlet interface or?

Stephen Robles

I have a Sound Devices MixPre-3, which is really a field recorder for video production. But the reason why I love it is it will read as a USB audio device including eighth inch stereo-in plus three XLR's.

It's got great preamps, it can drive the Shure SM7B, but it can record to an SD card. And the Mac can record to Audio Hijack, which is the app that I use on the Mac.

So as I said when we started recording, I have multiple redundancies. It's because I have Audio Hijack running on my Mac recording, recording a Skype call, and it's recording to the SD card in my MixPre-3.

And so even if my Mac totally crashes, I can get it off the SD card. And in this regard, I've never had to re-record a podcast episode in years, so knock on wood. Yeah, it's my ideal setup for that.

Chris

So not to get too nerdy for your listeners, but are you using a Cloud Lifter for that SM7? Or is that not necessary?

Stephen Robles

You don't need it with the MixPre-3. It has plenty of headroom. Yeah, the gain is at like two o'clock. And you know, I could crank it all the way to like five o'clock in the MixPre-3 settings and you get no noise, and it's driven SM7B. But to nerd out even more, I'm actually using right now the Earthworks Ethos microphone, and I actually got to review it for AppleInsider.

And I'm still deciding. I really love the sound of this microphone, I think I might prefer it over the SM7. And because it's a type of condenser, it really doesn't need any kind of special preamps. So you could run this with a Scarlett 2i2 or any low end USB device. And it sounds incredible.

And it still has great noise rejection because of its pickup pattern. So yeah, I'm on the fence. I mean, I'm looking at my SM7 right now, it's sitting on the floor. It has a sad face. But I don't know, I really like this one too.

So I'll ask my listeners of the AppleInsider show. They've heard me on both microphones. I would love to know what they think, I've been using this for the last couple months. So we'll see.

Chris

Interesting. Now when you're portable, are you plugging a USB-C mic, you know if you're traveling or something, I guess it's been a couple years since anyone's done a lot of travel.

Stephen Robles

I did a family trip about a year ago and I recorded up in the North Carolina mountains. And for that I did bring the I actually have a Shure Beta 87A which is an XLR microphone. I brought that and I brought my MixPre-3, because I didn't bring my Mac, and that was the one time I tried to remote record a podcast with just my iPad.

And it was quite the setup. I was recording to the SD card. I had an AirPod in one ear FaceTiming my co-host with my iPhone, but it worked. I was able to record locally but I didn't have the redundancy that I normally do. Because the iPad couldn't do the call and the recording at the same time.

But I also have an Audio Technica ATR 2100x, which is a USB-C microphone, it's $100 bucks. And I highly recommend that for people especially just starting out in podcasting, super portable, you can plug it directly into an iPad, has a great gain level.

And you don't have to worry about preamps or anything like that. And it has an XLR if you ever want to use it in an upgraded setup later.

Chris

Yeah, I don't know if that's the same Audio Technica that I was putting accessories video or not, but when I played the audio for that section of the video, the comments were like, "Hey, that's better than your regular mic."

Stephen Robles

Right. It sounds incredible. So okay, sorry. I nerded out on podcasts and stuff for a minute there, you got me started.

So when it comes to iPhone, do you have any kind of apps that you use specifically on the iPhone, maybe different than the iPad for your tasks, productivity, or just pretty much the stock stuff

Chris

Yeah, I have a pretty interesting setup, which I partially got from Canoopsy. Because there's a really cool app, I don't know if you saw his video, where you can get these widgets that kind of hide certain areas on your phone. So I got that going on.

And then I do have some hidden widgets under there. I've kind of categorized those but in terms of apps, one app that I've really liked is Ground News. Have you ever messed around with that?

Yeah, I've added this one lately, just because of the political climate, things are kind of crazy. What it does, I don't know if it's using AI or you know, human curation, but it will give you kind of the center view on any issue and also show you the left and the right side of stuff. And depending on your preference, it'll show you your blind spot, and I've actually been in that app quite a bit lately because I found it really useful.

Stephen Robles

I will look that up I have not heard of that yet. It looks like a cool design just on the face of it.

Chris

Yeah, other than that, obviously using mymind and you know, the usual stuff, but I've really been getting into crypto stuff lately. Not going deep down that rabbit hole. So my phone's full of that stuff too. I went so deep down the rabbit hole that I made a course, I took basically December off and made a course on crypto for absolute beginners. Which was killer.

Stephen Robles

Now one other interesting video I wanted to ask you about, you actually compared the Pixel 6 Pro. You didn't call it a review, right, but you got the phone and you tried it out for a while compared it to the iPhone 13 Pro.

I almost got one because I was like, this is Google's chip. It's like the next phase of Android whatever. And then I saw MKBHD talk about the bugginess of the software. And I was like alright, forget it.

But you actually had some pretty strong feelings about it, seemed that you weren't crazy about it.

Chris

Yeah, you know, these phones just keep showing up, I didn't ask for it. It's cool. So as long as it's arrived, you know, I'll check it out. And you know, because people view me I think in different ways. Like, "Chris is an Apple guy, and an iPad guy."

But you know, I really just like tech. On the channel I talk about Apple stuff, because that's, you know, where I'm at, but, what I actually use, I want to be authentic. But I am honest to goodness interested in all tech.

Earlier in the channel, before we chose to just focus more on Apple stuff, I was talking about PlayStation, Xbox, TVs, more when it came to Android phones. And I made a big, long video about that.

I tried to do the best phone comparison video I could between Android and iPhone stuff, and that gets a lot of interesting comments every day. But for me, it really does come down to the ecosystem, and there isn't an Android phone that can pull me out of the Apple ecosystem, right? And so we can have this whole conversation about sunk costs, right?

That's what the critics of Apple are gonna say. Well sure, they've got you because you've got all these sunk costs already. It's hard to switch. But also, I'm here because I want to be, because I like it. I got in this ecosystem on purpose. And there isn't an Android phone, even the Pixel 6, the flagship stuff that can pull me out of the things that really, really interest me.

Most trends to be any camera enhancements on the Android side of things, right? Like, I really do wish that the iPhone could come out with a periscopic zoom that wasn't trash. That would be like, really cool for me. But a lot of the stuff ends up just, and I said this in my comparison video, I think it's not really Android versus iPhone that much.

I think it's really Android phones versus Android phones. And so that's why you get all these wacky things, because they're all trying to grab attention away from all the other Android phones, because there's so many. And on the iPhone side, it's just the iPhone.

And there's too many, there's a lot of gimmicks over on that side. Not that the iPhone doesn't have its own.

Stephen Robles

So I actually tweeted a while ago, because the whole iMessage lock-in thing was like, that's the only reason people still use an iPhone is because of iMessage lock-in. And I tweeted, there are so many reasons why, like you're saying the ecosystem, yes, iMessage is great.

But Shortcuts is such a powerful tool, that there's nothing like it on Android, let alone the third-party app ecosystem. There are incredible apps for iPhone that you just can't get on Android. Like Things, Audio Hijack on the Mac, again, just that ecosystem, right.

And also I have kids, and I find the Screen Time controls, the smart home, and HomeKit sharing features, the Apple Watch, like Family Setup that I have for one of my sons, all those features together, you just really can't find anywhere else. Nor does it work as seamlessly anywhere else. It's just so good in the Apple ecosystem.

Chris

I agree. And you look at what we were just talking about, Universal Control. How are you going to get something like that in any other ecosystem?

Stephen Robles

Right? You gotta use a Chromebook, which let's be honest, now.

Chris

Yeah, no one wants to do that.

Stephen Robles

You know, I tried a Chromebook for a while, actually tried the Google Pixel Book when that came out. Because like you, I love tech. You know, it looked great. It was really nice hardware. But it's like, man, this thing just doesn't have the apps. Like you just can't use it.

Chris

I agree. I remember that, in particular. And it was like there was something appealing about it. But then it just not. You can't use it day in and day out when you're used to what you're used to.

Stephen Robles

Exactly. And there's no equivalent, you know. That's the big thing is, yeah, if you can find equivalents, the podcast app I use is Pocket Casts and that's literally available on Android and iPhone. So that's an equivalent, right? But there are so many other apps and tools, and just other parts of the ecosystem that there is no equivalent, there's just not a one-to-one.

Chris

Also, you know, whenever I do really give an Android phone a chance, I'll go and download my favorite apps if they're there, and try to make it work for testing purposes. Of course, one thing I found consistently is that the Android version of a lot of apps just isn't as good. Not always, but often.

Stephen Robles

The one thing I will give Google is the Google Assistant. You know, Siri is pretty lackluster. Sometimes, I'll just say graciously, like, it can be a little slow, especially on the HomePods. So you know, I totally get that.

But Siri is also improving. And I use it more and more, really, especially when it comes to HomePods and running Shortcuts and stuff. But right. I'll give Google the edge there for now.

Chris

Oh, absolutely. And it's not like there are things that other manufacturers definitely excel at, like absolutely right. But at the end of the day, like it's just not enough to pull me out of the ecosystem.

Stephen Robles

Yeah, exactly. Alright, so a little bit of a mini lightning round here. Final questions, as a tech YouTuber 24 or 30 frames per second.

Chris

30 absolutely.

Stephen Robles

There was a hot debate on Twitter the other day, MKBHD now has an entire shirt that says 30 frames but anyway. 30 frames per second. iJustine is still 24 frames for the record. She's standing by it.

Chris

Wow, that's too bad.

Stephen Robles

I'll tell her you said so. What are you excited for this year for Apple to release? We have new Macs on the horizon, the pro-level iMac, we have possible new product categories. What are you most excited to see Apple release this year?

Chris

I'll just say like, generally across the board. What I really do like about Apple is usually its hardware. And any piece of Apple hardware will get me going nuts, like really excited. Yeah, Macs, obviously new iPhone is all going to be great. The thing that has me really, really excited is the potential to see some AR and VR headset news for lots of reasons.

Stephen Robles

Well, that was actually going to be my final question because that's the big new category that's coming up for Apple, we've talked about on this show, what it could be used for. You have SharePlay, Fitness+, entertainment-type things. What are you excited to use an Apple VR headset for?

Chris

So VR, it sounds like, correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't been following the rumors too closely, it sounds like the VR is slated to come out first, right with AR later? That sounds accurate. Yes. I'll just phrase it this way. The main competitor out there right now is the Meta Oculus product, right? Which I forget what they're calling it.

Stephen Robles

It's the Meta Quest Oculus Rift 3. I think that's the technical name.

Chris

Yes. Something awful. And I picked one up a while back to check it out. Because I knew Apple was coming out with something soon. You know, after playing around with it, there are some things that are interesting about it. Mostly, I didn't really get sucked into anything other than the Star Wars games.

Stephen Robles

Right? Those are cool. I've tried those.

Chris

Yeah, those are cool. But you know, there's all this talk about Metaverse stuff, aside from Facebook, changing their name, which is ridiculous, you know, especially on the crypto side of things. That's a big topic over there.

And I am excited for Apple to come out with something that can be my window into the digital world just as an alternative to Facebook, right?

Because I think we need that. And I don't want Facebook owning that realm. And of course, a lot of people are just saying like, you know, Facebook, they want to own the next platform. Obviously, who wouldn't?

They don't have the iPhone, but I don't want them to. So I really just want for Apple to just have that alternative.

Stephen Robles

Yeah, I agree. Just because the nature of what I do, I'll probably get the VR headset, but I'll be honest, I have not been tempted to get the Quest. You know, when it was just the Oculus Quest or whatever, I tried it Star Wars games, it was super cool.

The Beat Saber game was cool, but I just couldn't think of ongoing reasons to use it on a regular basis. I don't know if I want to work in the Metaverse.

Chris

Right. I'm more excited about AR stuff. And I didn't always feel like that if you could do VR, like it is cool. You know, there's something to it. But I think AR is just more practical. And it sounds like Apple's really taking the approach of, "we don't want people to live in this device 20 hours a day" in whatever it is.

Let's do short sprints is what it sounds like. So AR, you see the renders, and it's something I've thought about for years, if you didn't have to actually buy a MacBook, but you could virtually have a screen on your desk in augmented reality, or multiple screens, or a screen on your whole wall.

Like the possibilities are crazy. And Apple wants to do it because they want a whole new App Store. Right? That's true for people to access. So yeah, I think AR more, but excited about both.

Stephen Robles

Yeah, I'm excited for AR. I forget to use it sometimes. We're actually constructing a new house that we'll be moving into. And I was using the Best Buy app to look at TVs. And I was like, wait a minute, there's an AR feature here where you can just visualize the TV on the wall. And it works pretty well.

You know, it's pretty cool. And it's actually useful to try different TV sizes and picture the furniture around the room. So I'm very excited for the AR aspect of it.

Chris

Yeah, and you know that stuff, it's cool. I just think it's nothing compared to what's coming when stuff is persistent. And it feels like it's actually in a room, you know? Yeah, that's gonna be crazy.

Stephen Robles

Yes, Minority Report will finally come to fruition. Well, Chris, thanks so much for coming on the show. We'll put links to your YouTube channel and your Twitter in the show notes. Where else can people find your work?

Chris

Yeah, that's the main stuff right now. There's always new plans for stuff in the works. If people are interested in crypto, what it means, you can check out my courses is what I'm about to say. You know, for me, it was like, I didn't know if I was going to like it or not, but I kept hearing about it. So I figured I might as well know about it. And, and that's designed to help people do the same thing.

Stephen Robles

Very cool. Well, our listeners can find links to all of that in the show notes and to Chris's videos that we talked about in the show. Again, thanks so much, Chris, for coming on.

Chris

Thank you

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