It’s been a strange year so far. Emotional rollercoasters, a departure from Tandem, and affection shown to someone in London who wasn’t ready to receive it. Life has a way of humbling you in more than one direction at once.
But my goals for 2026 are still on track. And somewhere in the middle of all that noise, I started looking around at the tools I’m working with and thinking: it’s time.
The Philosophy Behind the Refresh
I’ve been running a digital minimalism approach for a while now. Not in the trendy, productivity-guru sense, but in a practical, “I only buy something when I actually need it” kind of way.
No chasing specs. No refreshing the Apple Store page every September just to feel something.
The idea is simple: use hardware purposefully, refresh it when it earns a replacement, and don’t accumulate gear for the sake of it.
Well. Now is one of those times.
The context matters here. I’m currently working as a content creator across multiple formats. Instagram, blogging, Spotify podcasts, and bedtime stories through Story Brew.
On top of that, I’m thinking seriously about going mobile again. Traveling more, maybe leaning into the Asian Poker Tour circuit, and building content around that life.
When your tools start slowing you down or no longer fit the shape of what you’re doing, that’s the signal.
Here’s what I’m currently running, and what I’m thinking about replacing:
- iPhone 16
- MacBook Air M3
- iPad Pro M2
- Bose QuietComfort 45 Headphones
- Redmi Earbuds Pro 3
Let me walk through each one.
iPhone 16 → iPhone 17 (or 18) Pro Max
For a long time, I genuinely didn’t care about my iPhone. I had maybe twenty to thirty apps on a thousand-dollar piece of glass, and it was the device I used the least. Felt almost embarrassing to admit. It was basically a very expensive alarm clock.
Then this year, something shifted.
I came back to Instagram. A fresh account, a more personal angle, mostly journaling for a small audience. I started taking more photos of daily life, little experiments, behind-the-scenes stuff from the blog.
And once I started paying attention, I noticed how much a phone camera has evolved.
Creators are shooting entire vlogs, short films, even YouTube content on an iPhone now. That includes poker sessions, travel diaries, whatever direction the content takes next.
If the phone is going to be a centerpiece again, I want the top-tier model. Not for the bragging rights, but because I want to actually use it to its full potential this time. Camera system, video quality, all of it. The intention is the difference.
MacBook Air M3 → MacBook Pro M5 or M6
I might hold out until a late-year release, but I’m committed to swapping the Air for a Pro. The reasons stack up:
- Processing power: My experiments are getting heavier. AI, LLMs, and what I’ve been calling “vibe coding” on a language learning app. The Air handles it, but not gracefully. There’s a ceiling, and I’m brushing up against it.
- Content creation pipeline: Combined with the iPhone upgrade, I want a machine that doesn’t become a bottleneck when I’m editing video or working with audio.
- The screen: This is the one that crept up on me. The Air’s display never bothered me, until I started spending more time on the iPad Pro. Mini-LED, ProMotion, that contrast ratio. Going back to the Air after an extended iPad session now feels like stepping out of a cinema and watching the same film on a laptop. The difference is that stark.
I’ll probably wait to see what the M6 Pro brings before pulling the trigger, but this upgrade is decided in my head already.
iPad Pro M2 → iPad Pro M5 or M6
This is the one I held onto the longest. And honestly, for good reason. It’s an exceptional device. But four years is four years, and the signals are starting to show.
The newer iPadOS versions are nudging up against the hardware limits. AI features that should feel seamless have started to stutter. The Magic Keyboard I’ve been using is no longer sold and it’s wearing down in a way that’s hard to ignore.
More than anything, though: I want the thinner form factor. If I’m going mobile: poker tours, travel content, moving around more, every gram matters.
The current iPad Pro is not heavy, but the new models are almost absurdly thin. For a device that’s become my primary driver for work, that portability upgrade is worth it.
This one takes priority over the MacBook Pro, by the way. The iPad is where most of my real work happens. The MacBook handles the heavy lifting, but the iPad is where I live.
One more thing: the M2 isn’t being retired. It’ll shift roles. Media consumption, Story Brew playback, and potentially as a secondary teleprompter if I go further down the YouTube route. A device this capable doesn’t deserve a drawer. It just deserves a different job.
Bose QuietComfort 45 → TBD
These headphones have genuinely been brilliant. Years of good service, no complaints. But the ear pads are peeling now, and lately I’ve been hearing a faint crackling that’s gotten harder to ignore.
It’s the hardware equivalent of a loyal old car making a new noise every week.
The honest answer is: I have absolutely no idea what to get next.
The AirPods Max 2 are on my radar. The ecosystem integration is hard to argue with if I’m going all-in on Apple. But the headphone market is a labyrinth.
Studio-quality monitoring, podcast-grade voice isolation, noise cancellation that doesn’t colour the sound. These are different priorities, and finding one pair that does all of them well is a proper research project.
I need to talk to some audiophiles before I make a move on this one. It’s a priority, but it’s also the most open question on this list. If you have strong opinions, genuinely, I’m listening.
Redmi Earbuds Pro 3 → TBD
This one has a story behind it. I lost my AirPods a few years ago during the Asian Poker Tour in Taipei.
Walked into a tech store during a break between sessions, grabbed these Redmis on a whim, and walked back to the felt. Not exactly a considered purchase.
And they’ve been solid. No complaints about the sound or the fit. But the battery life is on the decline now. You can feel it in the shorter listen times and the more frequent trips to the case. They’ve earned their retirement.
The question is whether I go back to Apple or pick up the latest Redmi iteration. Going back to AirPods would complete the ecosystem: iPhone, MacBook, iPad, AirPods, and whatever replaces the QC45s.
There’s something clean about that. Everything talks to everything, handoffs are seamless, the experience just works.
I’m leaning toward the full Apple switch. But I’ll think on it.
Final Word
If I’m being honest with myself, this isn’t just a hardware refresh. It’s a recalibration.
The gear I’m running was chosen for a version of my life that’s shifted. The work has changed, the ambitions have changed, and the way I want to show up publicly has changed.
Better tools won’t do the work for you, I know that. But the right tools stop being friction between you and the work. And right now, some of this gear is friction.
The plan is to do this in one go. One moment of investment, one clean slate, and then hold the line for the next four years. No chasing upgrades, no justifying incremental refreshes. Just a setup that fits the work and gets out of the way.
There’s something I’ve learned about myself over the years: I do better when my environment matches my intentions.
Not because the tools make me better, but because putting serious kit in front of serious goals has a way of keeping you honest. It’s a commitment made visible.
2026 already has a lot riding on it. Might as well make sure the hardware can keep up.