When Spending More & Doing Less Makes Sense
Issue 16
Tech Vitals
The Apple Pricing Ladder: Why You Spend More Than You Plan
Ever gone into Apple for one thing and walked out with something way more expensive? You've likely climbed the Apple Pricing Ladder.
I recently went through it myself. I needed a new laptop after pushing my old M1 Air to its limits with video editing. The new M4 Air seemed perfect... until I saw the Pro.
Here’s the trap: the base Air ($999) is great, but upgrades get pricey fast. Need 1TB storage and 32GB RAM? The Air jumps to ~$1800. For just a bit more, the base M4 Pro beckons with a better screen and active cooling. Need more storage there? Another rung. Want the faster chip? Climb higher. Add nano-texture? Higher still.
Each upgrade seems logical, often nudged along by comparing monthly payments via Apple Card financing rather than the total cost. Before you know it, that "entry-level" laptop quest ends with a high-spec Pro.
It's a masterclass in marketing, designed to maximize your spend. Brilliant? Yes. Dangerous for your wallet? Absolutely.
Creator Heartbeat
Redefining 'Productivity' in Creativity
Productivity isn’t always about checking things off your to-do list and it is definitely not checking e-mails, going to meetings and answering Slack messages.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is nothing.
When you have run up against the wall it is pointless to keep pushing. This is the first weekend in what feels like a long time that I’m not getting a YouTube video out on Saturday. I need more time for my B-roll, which I am trying to improve, along with my storytelling and flow of my videos.
208 videos later and I am still learning and improving each time. I look back on old videos and cringe a little bit, which is good, that means I’m still getting better.
Its almost been two years since I started taking YouTube more seriously and while the creativity ebs and flows, I consistently want to keep picking up the camera and make my ideas come to life on screen, week after week, year after year.
I started 2025 with a goal to get 24 long format videos posted and 12 podcasts. I chose these numbers knowing specifically that in June, as our first child arrives that my world will be turned upside down and I’ll have to literally stress test my productivity system to the best of its’, and my, abilities.
I currently have done 8 podcasts, 9th is not yet released and 12 long format videos. Not too shabby for a part timer. Lets see how we get on for the rest of this year, I am excited for the ideas that I have in store.
Content Radar
A potential contender for a future app of the month: Snipd podcast player.
Snipd does this clever thing where it lets you highlight moments from your favorite podcasts and then sync with Readwise, conveniently showing up in your second brain.
I’ve been testing out the free trial of their paid subscription and this might stick around for me. There are those few podcasts that have plenty of golden nuggets of information that i would want to keep and retain.
The downside is, not every podcast I listen to is like that. Sometimes Apple Podcasts is just a better experience depending on the show.
I’ll be playing around with it some more over the coming weeks, my free trial is up in two days and I think I need more time to figure out if I will get enough value out of this subscription to add yet another paid app to my list.
Pulse Check
What’s coming up
Apple Pricing Ladder
For Perspective Episode 11 - When boring productivity is actually perfect
M4 Pro Macbook Pro Review
iPhone 16 Pro 6 month review
New short form series for Apple tips and tricks