No, I didn't want to update to iOS 15, or the watch, or the iPad. I was done with Apple making "improvements" that did nothing but add superfluous additional functionality, or break things that I use everyday. And I don't use that much. I don't do any social media: no Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or any of it. I use my phone as a computer -- to get email, make calls, and surf the web. I'm not on it all day every day. I'm not a texter nor a consumer of memojis. The one thing that I do use my devices for is for fitness and tracking the data from my training and bike rides.
So, I thought I was good. My Heartbeatz heartrate monitor dongle was working flawlessly. I could sync with my Wahoo Element bike computer without worry, and updating the firmware on all my external devices was not a problem. Then about two weeks ago everything broke all at once. It wasn't a cascading failure of one thing at a time, but more of what seemed like all my devices got word from central planning that no, I did not update, and it was time to stop working. And stop working they did. The best part is they failed in the middle of an off-road excursion in Brown's Ranch. Syncing my bike's head unit meant deleting it and then setting it up every single time. The Heartbeatz dropped connection almost every minute. It was frustrating.
But I got the message. I thought with everything working I could wait. iOS 14 was dialed in for me and all was good, but as the apps received updates they started to break. I was forced to update the watch and iPhone to return to full functionality.
I don't know how to feel about this, to be honest. These devices aren't inexpensive and they should be mine. If I want to wait to update, I should, but the reality is that technology is always moving. It is never static, but constantly changing. What was good, fine, and working one day can collapse to a spillage of bad code the next time. It's the cost of owning these things, and unfortunately good stewardship means staying current.
So what does this mean for all of you? It's simple: Keep your iPhone, watch, and iPad up to date. It's okay to wait a month after a major release, but your apps will update and things will start breaking if you wait too long. And if your device will not run the current operating system, then it's time to go shopping!
And just a quick disclaimer: This does not apply to the Mac. I have not yet updated to macOS Monterey, although Wendy has. The Mac is a different creature and that upgrade saga is for another time.
