Episode Summary
Executive Summary: The episode ranges across Apple vs. Google product strategy, Mac customization and upgrade installs, Apple Watch cellular billing frustrations, smart speaker ecosystem fragmentation, High Sierra update anxiety, browser habits, and a follow-up on Apple TV gaming. The hosts emphasize pragmatic habits—keep Macs mostly vanilla, prefer upgrade installs, and use whatever tools are reliable—while worrying that Apple is lagging in games and smart-home interoperability and that cellular watch service is overpriced.
Main Topics: Mac customization, upgrade installs, and migration habits: The hosts debate the value of keeping macOS/iOS close to stock versus heavy customization. One argues that upgrade installs preserve settings and reduce hassle, while the other prefers clean installs on laptops but upgrades on desktops. They also discuss using Migration Assistant, keeping notes of tweaks, and preserving preference files across OS versions. Google Pixel shipping scale and repair process: They revisit earlier criticism of Google phones after listener feedback. The discussion centers on Apple’s much broader international device rollout, Google’s smaller market reach, and a surprisingly good Pixel repair process involving overnight replacement phones and online support. Apple Watch cellular billing and hidden fees: A major segment is devoted to the unexpectedly high total monthly cost of cellular Apple Watch service. The hosts break down taxes, regulatory charges, and fees that push a nominal $10 plan to $17.40, and discuss how the watch’s separate number may invite robocalls. Smart speaker ecosystems: Sonos, Amazon, Google, and Apple: The episode analyzes how Amazon and Google want their assistants everywhere, while Sonos is positioning itself as a neutral hardware platform for multiple assistants and services. Apple is portrayed as the most closed ecosystem, with Siri/HomePod lagging behind in breadth and integration. High Sierra update anxiety and real-world experience: They discuss the risk/reward of upgrading to High Sierra. One speaker reports a mostly uneventful update aside from Photos hanging on ‘closing library,’ while the other plans to upgrade cautiously after backups. The point is that updates are usually fine, but podcasting gear creates special risk. Ask ATP: browsers, shells, terminal apps, and development workflows: They answer listener questions about browser choice, shell preferences, terminal apps, and command-line versus GUI tools. Safari is the default browser for both, Chrome is reserved for Google services and debugging, one uses Bash/Terminal and the other Fish/Terminal, and Git remains controversial—especially on the command line. Apple TV gaming and ‘Sky’: They discuss Apple’s gaming ambitions for Apple TV, especially the announcement of Sky from thatgamecompany. Both hosts remain skeptical that Apple TV can become a serious gaming platform without a controller in the box and broader developer commitment, though they acknowledge Apple’s work on Metal and game-engine support.
Key Arguments: Keeping macOS/iOS close to default reduces maintenance burden and preserves a known-good setup, especially when upgrades reliably carry settings forward. Upgrade installs on Macs are generally safe and preferable for desktops; clean installs are more useful on laptops used for experimentation. Apple’s hardware rollout scale is dramatically larger than Google’s, which affects manufacturing choices, supply constraints, and the difficulty of launching devices globally. Google’s Pixel repair flow is surprisingly strong: overnight replacement device, return box, and online/live support can be faster than a Genius Bar appointment. The real monthly cost of Apple Watch cellular is much higher than advertised because taxes and service fees materially increase the bill. A separate watch line/number may be technically real, but it creates edge cases like potential robocalls and confusing billing classification. Sonos’ strategy is to be assistant-agnostic, while Amazon/Google are pushing their assistants everywhere; Apple remains the most closed and least interoperable. In smart-home/voice ecosystems, buying multi-platform devices is the safest bet because standards and alliances are still unsettled. Apple is doing technically serious work for games (Metal, frameworks, tooling), but it has not yet translated into a convincing Apple TV gaming ecosystem. For development, terminal workflows are fine, but Git remains much easier to understand visually in a GUI client than on the command line.
Data Points: Apple Watch cellular bill: $17.40/month - A nominal $10 cellular watch plan was shown to cost $17.40 after fees and taxes. Base watch service charge: $10.00 - Advertised monthly watch service price before additional charges. Administrative fee: $0.76 - Part of the Apple Watch cellular bill breakdown. Federal Universal Service Charge: $2.42 - Part of the Apple Watch cellular bill breakdown. Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge: $1.25 - Part of the Apple Watch cellular bill breakdown. Virginia Equipment Tax Recoupment: $0.07 - Part of the Apple Watch cellular bill breakdown. Virginia Wireless E911 + Communications Sales Tax: $2.90 - Additional taxes and fees on the Apple Watch bill. Google Pixel availability: 6 countries - Used to illustrate Google’s limited international distribution versus Apple’s broader rollout. Apple iPhone 8 launch availability: more than 25 countries - Used to compare Apple’s scale and logistical reach. Podcast recording setup: 4 panes - One host describes a four-pane recording layout on a 5K iMac. Desktop preferences oldest item: 2003 - Example of long-lived preference files surviving upgrades. Watch app update context: watchOS 4 / High Sierra era - High Sierra and watch notification behavior are discussed during the same general period. Browser use split: Safari 99% / Chrome for Google Docs and debugging - One host describes Safari as default and Chrome as a work/tool browser. Git workflow: 50/50 GUI vs command line - One host estimates using Git Tower and command line about equally.
Pivotal Quotes: "it is a happier experience for you, whoever you is, if you customize or if you insist on as few customizations to vanilla Mac OS or iOS as possible" — John: Argument for keeping Apple devices close to stock and minimizing tweaks. "I was hoping would be not too much more than $10 a month" — Casey: Introduction to the Apple Watch cellular billing complaint. "Apple is shipping to way more places and presumably shipping far more phones than Google is" — Marco: Explaining why Apple’s global rollout and manufacturing constraints differ from Google’s.
Implications: Listeners should expect ecosystem fragmentation to continue: Apple remains polished but closed, Google/Amazon are racing to spread assistants, and Sonos is hedging. For users, interoperability and multi-platform support are the safest purchases.