The BirchTree Podcast

Today I dive into why I think framing the conversation a certain way is really important, and why I've taken time to make sure we're talking about "small and medium businesses" rather than "developers" and iPads in addition to iPhones in the recent App Store debates.

The show is back! Well, sort of, I just had to talk about a concern I've been having in recent years, which has only amplified in recent months. Short version: Apple fans in 2020 are reminding me more and moe of Microsoft fans in the 90s.

At this point, I think I may have had my say on what is or isn't a podcast, as well as what open podcasting should be focused on if it wants to stay the default option for podcasters in the future.

Does using an iPad require you to buy into it's philosophy? Yes, but so does every other platform out there. We can debate the merits of the features there today, but I think it's a fool's errand to put your chips on this philosophy argument as to why the iPad has a fundamentally different problem than any other platform.

iPadOS 13.4 added a cursor, and I finally have time to talk about it!

My review of Doom Eternal, the latest game in the classic franchise.

9to5Mac and MacRumors have dueling iOS 14 and watchOS 7 leaks this week, and I do my best to address as many as I can.

Watch the video version of this trip down memory lane here https://youtu.be/UYHTbQSDcuU

Inspired by the book, Start With Why, and The Verge's review of the Mac Pro.

I don't think I was prepared for just how good Forza Horizon 4 is.

Well, I didn't see this coming until recently!

Is iOS just adware as an article this week suggested? I don't think so, but I also see where they're coming from, and Apple needs to be careful with how they balance a great software experience with getting people to pay for their ever-growing library of premium services.

Samsung announced their Galaxy S20 lineup yesterday and these are my impressions after having a day to process what they announced.

I recently gave a big presentation and the best advice I got going into that talk was a boxing metaphor, and it reminded me of a few things about not only public speaking, but also how we talk to each other everyday.

COTS is a way for merchants to take card-present credit card payments with their phone only; no separate credit card reader required. It's pretty cool and Samsung just announced the first phone that will support this out of the box. But of course, it's a little more complicated than that…

My hope and dreams for what we get from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Nintendo, and Sony this year.

These are the 5 games that impacted me more than anything else this year.

We're getting close to New Year's resolution time and I thought it only fitting to talk about how making changes can bring about a new level of excitement and turbo-charge something I want to change or get better at. But that excitement fades and you need to have some core that keeps you going.

The Samsung Galaxy S10e is my favorite Android phone of the year, and it took spending significant time with the Pixel 4 to really appreciate how much I actually enjoy this “low end” phone from Samsung.

Listen to this episode at 1x speed (and be aware of some strong language in the lyrics)! These are my top 10 favorite songs of the year. Grab the playlist on Apple Music if you want to add these to your collection today. https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/2019-top-10-songs/pl.u-pZarRF4ZK463

There is a power in being able to say “I don't know” or “I need to think about that first” instead of having hot takes on everything. This is true in life in general, and it's something that is sometimes hard to square with the reward systems in place on social media.

I've had the iPhone 11 Pro for almost 2 months and I thought it was high time I give it a quick review. Long story short: I think this a damn near perfect phone in 2019.

Despite mostly talking about Apple stuff on this show, they're definitely not the only tech stuff I buy and I wanted to spend today celebrating some of my favorite things from companies outside Cupertino.

Some of us keep waiting for the iPad to “become a real computer” and I continue to be worried that this isn't something that's ever going to happen in a way that will make people looking for this happy.

The reason I stick with iOS over Android really comes down to the third part software library and not the operating systems themselves. Today I looked through some of the apps that make me happier and more productive on iOS.

This is my review of the sometimes excellent, but deeply flawed Google Pixel 4. Find the full review at: https://birchtree.me/blog/google-pixel-4-the-birchtree-review

The word “Pro” in the iPhone 11 Pro line this year is causing YouTubers the world over to lose their minds over what a pro device should be. Today I try to ascend over the BS to look at what a “pro” phone should do and how well the latest iPhones fall into that category.

Google unveiled their worst kept secret ever yesterday and as a Pixel fan I had to talk about it. This episode is on the longer side, but apparently I had a bunch to say about this phone that I think misses the mark in many ways, but also appeals to me at the same time. Come along with me as I try to sort out my feelings!

It's my game of the year and I just couldn't help talking about it.

A quick episode that I recorded in the Voice Memos app on my Apple Watch on why the Pixel event next week will get a lot of coverage what why that's alright.

Microsoft unveiled their new Surface products yesterday and as someone who likes Surface products quite a bit, I wanted to take some time to go over what they talked about.

Today's episode explores camera comparisons and why even though I think I do a responsible job with them, it brings me into a fanboy war that I don't really want a role in.

The conversation online, specifically in places like Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit, tend to focus on the technical merits of products and not the actually product-focused elements of things like phones and computers. Today's off-the-cuff episode (and my third of the week!) addresses this disconnect.

Apple Arcade has been out for about a week and I wanted to share my thoughts on how it's been for me. Basically, I love it.

I've had the Apple Watch Series 5 and iPhone 11 Pro for a long weekend and have some thoughts.

You know the deal, Apple had their September event today and these are my initial impressions from watching the event.

This kind of snuck up on me, so thank you for listening for 200 episodes! Today, on the eve of a new iPhone announcement, I talk about why hardware still matters in 2019, specifically in terms of photography, as well as why Google seems to get all the credit when it comes to “computational photography.”

This is the audio version of my review of Android 10. I'm just going over the major updates: gestures, dark mode, and privacy/security.

My review of the new white noise app, Dark Noise.

It's hard to keep up with iOS and Android, and today I dive into why I think it's important for people like me to provide the context normal people simply can't be expected to figure out themselves.

We're only a few weeks away from Apple's annual September event and I've not really taken any time to talk about what I'm looking forward to there. Today, that is rectified.

I can only really say nice things about Micro.blog and it felt like it was time to have an episode about only good stuff.

Turn on voice boost in your podcast app for this episode. I apparently drifted away from the mic around the middle of the episode and I couldn't get the audio to be totally level throughout…sorry :( The iPhone undeniably shifted our thinking as a society about what a phone is, but did it “kill design” while it was at it? I argue it didn't kill design, but had a design that was so far ahead of what everyone else was doing that it made little sense to keep pursuing those older designs.

Just because you love a company one day does not mean you are going to love them another day. Even of those changes make logical sense for them to make and even if the writing is on the wall that the change was going to happen, none of that means everyone is going to be a fan of these changes.

Android tablets just haven't caught on, and today I dive into some reasons why I think that's the case.

In this bonus episode, I review Sea of Solitude, a new game that deals with depression, ego, and sorrow. It's not "fun" but it's definitely worth a look.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a brilliant game, and if you'll allow me, here's why.

The iPadOS public beta came out yesterday and that means all the major tech outlets got out there “here's what's new in iPadOS 13” videos as well. If Apple's goal in changing the naming of the iPad's operating system was to shift the conversation in terms if its “ability to replace your PC” then I think they it seems like it's working.

Quick episode today on how the betas are holding up for me and why I'm desperately hoping for new betas today to fix some of the crazy problems I'm having with my iPhone and Apple Watch in particular. These were explicitly messaged as unstable and I knew that going in, so not complaining by any means, just wanted to let other "thrill seekers" out there know where these stand after a few weeks of use.

Google's upcoming Stadia service looks like a really hard sell to me, especially compared to things like Microsoft xCloud, not to mention the years of baggage the gaming industry has with very similar services.

Apple made some very targeted updates to the iPad this year and they are reaping the rewards in the tech press. I think people are getting their hopes up a little too much for how much these updates are going to fundamentally change the iPad experience though. Yes, the iPad will be better than ever, but this is still the same fundamental experience it was before.