FIRST THINGS FIRST

Just dropping in before we get into this week to wish you all a Merry Christmas if you celebrate and a restful holiday period if not! There’s one more newsletter left of the year next week, so I’ll see you then to wave goodbye to 2025.

THIS WEEK’S UPDATE

Revealing My Favourite Ever Apple Device

I am a self-confessed Apple fanboy. If you haven’t worked that out by now, then you haven’t been watching or reading closely enough. But I’m not a particularly loud or obnoxious one. For example, you won’t find me heading to the comments section of the latest Android flagship release to proclaim that, in fact, the iPhone is better.

Instead, my fanboyism is largely nostalgic. I remember the days of watching Apple release their slightly odd-looking but very cool PCs in the 1990s and early 2000s and then, like everyone else, being absolutely mesmerised by the first few iPhone releases.

Since then, Apple has been my go-to. I was once, whisper it quietly, a Windows user out of necessity due to the job I had before YouTube, but now my studio is literally stacked with MacBooks, iMacs, Mac minis and a Mac Studio. And, no matter how hard I try and how genuinely brilliant all the Android phones I use are, I always find myself back with an iPhone in hand eventually.

I am absolutely not suggesting that Apple is the best tech brand; my time as a tech reviewer has shown me that boxing yourself into brand loyalty means you miss out on so much other fun and interesting stuff. But it is the tech brand that means the most to me. So, as part of a Q&A on the Tech Diary channel this week, I revealed my favourite ever Apple device amongst a host of other tidbits. It was a lot of fun, take a look!

MUST-WATCH

The motorola edge 70 Changed My Mind About Thin Phones

Thin phones have been the story of the year, whether in a negative or positive sense is down to your own opinion. When I used the iPhone Air, I was initially very impressed, but then quickly came to the realisation that it just wasn’t practical. But has Motorola managed to make it work?

MUST-READ

Best Phones: My Honest Recommendations

I’m not sure why it’s taken this long for me to put my thoughts together on this one, but here we are! Yes, I’ve compiled a list of the phones I would recommend for a range of budgets and use cases and I guarantee you won’t guess which phone I picked in the number 1 spot…

YES, THERE’S MORE…

The Rest Of This Week

Best Foldable Phones of 2025

It was a good year for foldables in 2025, so I thought it was the perfect time to round up which ones are actually worth buying. →

Was 2025 A Good Year For Apple? - Not PC with Mark and Rob

On the podcast this week, we took a look back over the year to review what happened and choose some winners and losers, all with the help of Chris from the Tech Spurt YouTube channel. A merry time was had indeed! →

TIP OF THE WEEK

macOS Tahoe Tip: Use Edge Light on Video Calls 👉
Edge Light uses your Mac’s screen to light your face during video calls, making you look better in low light without extra equipment. Turn it on from the video menu in apps like FaceTime or Zoom, adjust the brightness if needed, and on newer Macs it can switch on automatically.

ON THE ‘GRAM

An Egyptian Oppo Find X9 Pro Camera Test

My hotel balcony in Cairo feels like as good a place as any to test out the crazy Hasselblad Teleconverter for the OPPO Find X9 Pro!

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter and once again, I wish you a restful Christmas period. We’ll be announcing the iPhone 17 winner next week, so eyes peeled on your inbox!

~ Mark