Hi!

Most Apple users never touch half of what their built-in apps can do. Many don’t even know some features exist. And others end up installing (and often paying for) extra apps to do a job their iPhone can already handle.

That’s why I like to spend time with the apps that come with my devices and see what they can really do.

Apple Notes is one of them. I use it every single day. It’s my memory: thoughts, ideas, meeting notes, home, family. Literally everything.

This week I want to show you how to use it with PDFs. When you get a paper document, you can scan it, edit it, add notes, sign it, and then share or save it. All with a few taps, all inside Apple Notes.

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Some reminders aren’t about a time. They’re about a person.

In Reminders, open a reminder, tap ⓘ, turn on When Messaging, and choose the person.

The next time you open a chat with them in Messages, the reminder pops up. It’s perfect for things like “ask Anna about the invoice.”

Works with people in your contacts, in Apple’s Messages app only.

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October brought a wave of new Apple releases. Just looking at the Macs (two new MacBook Pros and a new iMac), I always catch myself wondering what it would be like to upgrade. They’re faster, lighter and with OLED touchscreen, and even the Apple logo glows again.

But then I look at what I already have, and I’m reminded of something: Apple devices age really well. Even after years, they still run smoothly.

My main home computer is still a Mac mini M1. I use it with Claude and ChatGPT, I deploy websites from it, and it’s connected to my favorite 34" ultrawide monitor. The only thing that makes me think about upgrading is memory. It has 16GB, and my work eats a lot of RAM. (Side note: I’m still forced to use Chrome for some websites, especially for managing sites in big CMS tools like Webflow or Squarespace. It’s a pity.)

My iPad tells the same story. It’s a basic iPad Air that I use for email, calls and YouTube. With the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, it’s my perfect travel device. But it only has 64GB of storage. As I shared last week, I couldn’t even update it to iPadOS 27 on the iPad itself. I had to connect it to my Mac.

And that’s my main point. Apple devices are long-lasting hardware. They keep running smoothly and keep getting new features with every OS update. But if you want them to last, buy more memory and storage than you think you need.

My work MacBook Pro M1 Pro is the proof. It has 32GB of memory, and after years it’s still a very powerful machine. I don’t even think about upgrading it. Sure, it doesn’t have an OLED display, a glowing Apple logo or a Dynamic Island. But it’s still a great Mac, and I enjoy using it every day.

So that’s my take on this year’s upgrades. If I buy anything next, it will probably be an iPad Pro, for the 120Hz display and much more storage.

See you next time!

-Robin

P.S. You can find all past newsletter issues on my website here.