Markus Oberlehner
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Escaping the Apple Ecosystem - My Journey to Digital Sovereignty

There are plenty of good reasons to turn your back on the major US technology companies: from shady monopolistic business practices (e.g., app stores); to crafting ever more addictive algorithms that tie us to our screens; to enabling state mass surveillance.

Yet all of this is not new. Companies like Apple have been trying to force us into their golden cage of services since the iPod and iTunes. Mass surveillance has been a problem since 9/11.

In the past, I made some half-hearted attempts to cut my ties, especially with Google. Although I’ve replaced Google Search and Chrome with Ecosia and Vivaldi, I still rely on Gmail and some other Google services daily.

What finally convinced me to truly make myself independent of the ecosystems of major US companies was seeing Tim Cook in the Oval Office, embarrassing himself in what looked to me like an act of bribing the sitting US president on live TV.

If you’re more interested in the alternatives I found than in my motivations, feel free to skip to the “Alternatives” section of this article.

Goals and side goals

I’ve split this journey into a main quest of leaving the Apple ecosystem entirely and a couple of side quests.

Main quest: Escaping the Apple ecosystem and making myself independent of the lock-in of any single company.
Side quest 1: Making myself independent of all major US tech giants.
Side quest 2: Using as many EU-based services and products as possible and avoiding products from companies unless they are based in, and majority-owned within, democratic nations.
Side quest 3: When possible, using products that are based on the principles of openness and interoperability.

The main quest is set in stone. In 2-3 years, I aim to replace all my Apple hardware and services with alternatives from other vendors. However, I might deviate from the side quests from time to time. In some instances, there might not be a reasonable alternative available that is superior to Apple’s business practices. My goal is not to become a technology saint; if I have to compromise, so be it.

I’m willing to make sacrifices in terms of quality and to pay a similar price to Apple’s, even if the quality isn’t quite on the same level. But there are limits to this. I’m not willing to go for significantly worse products, though I’m optimistic that I won’t have to.

Alternatives to products of major tech companies

The following list is a work in progress. I’ll update it throughout my journey.

MacBook alternatives

Since my current M2 MacBook is still plenty good, I haven’t replaced this one yet, but I suspect this will be the toughest one. I love the build quality, the power efficiency, and the snappiness of the M2 chip. On the other hand, I’m looking forward to using Linux.

My wishlist for my next laptop is:

  1. A high-dpi display with a 120Hz refresh rate.
  2. Premium and durable build quality.
  3. A mostly fanless experience.
  4. 32GB of RAM or more.

If I had to decide today, I would take a closer look at:

iPhone alternatives

The situation with my smartphone is similar, as I don’t need to replace it immediately. I’m still quite happy with my iPhone 15 Pro and aim to replace it in 2-3 years at the end of its update lifecycle.

If I had to decide today, I would take a closer look at:

However, as of now, the smartphone situation looks dire. I want to avoid Pixel and phones from Chinese vendors. The top-of-the-line Samsung models are all huge, and Sony Xperia models are extremely pricey. I like the idea of the Fairphone, but I’m unsure if I’m willing to make such significant compromises on the processor and camera.

Apple Watch alternatives

Decision: Garmin vívoactive 6

Rationale:

Alternatives considered:

The Journey:

Although my Apple Watch was still up-to-date, I decided to use the smartwatch category as the starting point for my journey. It turns out there are two serious contenders that are arguably a lot more capable than the Apple Watch when it comes to sport watch features: Garmin and Polar.

Since Garmin is just another US tech company, I really wanted to like the EU-based (🇫🇮) Polar watches, but I ultimately decided to go with a Garmin. On the one hand, I feel somewhat bad about the decision, going for the top dog again instead of the underdog. My first step, and I’m already betraying my side goals. On the other hand, I’m pleasantly surprised that the alternatives are, in some respects, better than the incumbent.

My girlfriend used to make fun of me because of the abysmal battery life of my Apple Watch compared to hers. I would brush it off with, “Yeah, whatever, I charge it when I’m showering,” and it really wasn’t a big deal. Yet, coming from the Apple Watch, it’s still funny having a setting on my Garmin to warn me 24 hours before the battery dies. My 18-hour Apple Watch would have needed to warn me about the next charge even before I took it off the charger.

After a couple of days with the Garmin, I don’t feel that I’ve had to compromise on essential features. In fact, in aspects like battery life, looks, and fitness features, the opposite is true: the Garmin beats my previous Apple Watch in all of those categories.

It feels a little cheaper, and the materials definitely are, but on the flip side, this makes it much lighter and more comfortable to wear while still looking better than the Apple Watch (and it’s also about 100 € cheaper). The main things I’m seriously missing are the calendar integration and, to a lesser extent, the ability to control my smart home.

AirPod MAX alternatives

This should be an easy one. When the time comes, I’ll most likely go with a Sony WH-1000XM model.

AirPod Pro alternatives

Again, an easy one. My current AirPods Pro are ready to be replaced, as they’re making cracking noises. I was very frustrated when one of the two earbuds started making weird noises, so I’m eager to try another brand, which will most likely be the Sony WF-1000XM.

Apple Music alternatives

Decision: Deezer

Rationale:

Alternatives considered:

The Journey:

This was a relatively quick decision. A bit of research showed that there are a couple of EU-based or founded alternatives. Spotify would have been the obvious choice, but I like to go with the underdog, so I quickly decided on Deezer when I saw that they have one of the largest music catalogs.

However, I was somewhat disappointed when I found out that large parts of Deezer, although located in France, are owned by US and Saudi investors.

AirPlay and HomePod alternatives

I haven’t looked into these yet, but from what I’ve gathered, AirPlay won’t be easy to replace, especially since I need a solution that’s compatible with my girlfriend’s iPhone.

Photos alternatives

I still have to decide on a solution for my future photo library. I’m hoping Nextcloud might be a good option, but I fear losing Live Photos and interoperability with my girlfriend’s Apple Photos library.

AirDrop and copy & paste across devices alternatives

While more on the “nice-to-have” side, features like AirDrop and universal copy and paste across devices (between my phone and laptop) are very useful. I’m curious to find out what alternatives exist in the Linux world.

Gmail alternatives

I’ve already tried leaving Gmail for good and have my own @oberlehner.net email address (hosted on EU-based IONOS). I still need to set up the domain in an anti-spam-friendly way and migrate away from Gmail. It’s not a big deal, but it is tedious work.

YouTube alternatives

As of now, it’s almost impossible for me to leave YouTube because many of the content creators I follow are exclusively on the platform. I use FreeTube to avoid the intrusive advertising, and I’ve noticed that I consume less and less content the more inconvenient it gets. So perhaps the real alternative to YouTube is no video at all.