While discussing his daily routine, Tim Cook told Ben Cohen in this WSJ Magazine interview that “every day” he uses “every product.” In the story, he mentions using an iPhone, an Apple Watch, AirPods, and then, for work, two different MacBooks, an iMac, a Vision Pro, and an iPad Pro.
But what would it look like to truly use everything Apple makes every single day? Imagine using every variant of hardware Apple makes in one day, with or without Beats. Then, there are the accessories. Cook surely uses the polishing cloth, Apple’s most compatible product, every day, and probably this VESA mount for the Pro Display XDR.
You’d need to use all of its services also, and I don’t just mean Apple Music, Arcade, and Apple TV Plus. iTunes Match, AppleCare Plus, and Messages via satellite all count. You also need to use all of its software, and there is so much of that. Sure, you’ve got standard iPhone apps like Messages and Photos, but what about Clips or Automator?
This is one big puzzle, but as a person who consciously decided to cut out a lot of tech friction by going all in on Apple’s ecosystem a few years ago, I might be able to piece some of it together.
WSJ Magazine writes that Cook uses his iPhone first.
It’s sitting atop his nightstand in silent mode when the chief executive officer of Apple, the most valuable company in the history of the world, reaches for his device and starts triaging his inbox.
6AM: In no world am I triaging my inbox first thing. But I wake up with my iPhone 15 Pro’s alarm, at least for now. I tap snooze on my Apple Watch a few times before selecting stop to trigger an Apple Shortcuts automation and turn on the light through Apple Home while Apple Music plays music on two HomePod Minis in the kitchen. I get coffee, let the dogs out, then scroll social media and check overnight notifications on my iPhone. With the iOS 18.1 beta on my phone, those are often summarized by Apple Intelligence, which is sometimes helpful.
Cook tells Cohen he relies on these and that the feature “changed” his life. They haven’t changed mine, but sometimes they give me a good chuckle.
Current count: Three devices, three apps, and one service. And I’m not even awake yet. This is terrible.
7AM: Work starts. I press the fingerprint sensor on my Magic Keyboard to unlock my Mac Studio. I use an old iPhone 13 Pro Max as a webcam mounted on a magnetic Belkin mount and an AirPods Max headset that’s sometimes plugged in with Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm audio jack cable. I use the Notes app on an iPad Pro with an Apple Pencil. I use an old iMac G4 as a third monitor just because. I mostly use a Logitech MX Master 3 but sometimes switch to a Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad for funsies. Also, my Apple Watch goes on its charger at some point in the morning.
Cook reports using a MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac while at the office. I’m not doing quite that, but it might not be so outlandish. You can use a laptop as a second display over AirPlay, and if you don’t want to move one of your MacBooks around, having another — the lightweight Air, perhaps — would be handy.
Software-wise, on my Mac, I’m in Safari, QuickTime, iMovie, Mail, and Messages, with occasional dips into Logic Pro or GarageBand. Other Apple apps I might use in a day include Apple News (with Apple News Plus), Camera, FaceTime, Photos, Calculator, Calendar, Stickies, TextEdit, the App Store, Settings, Terminal, and Activity Monitor.
Numbers and Keynote, unfortunately, are not on the menu.
Current count: Eight devices, three services, 22 apps, and six accessories.
12PM-ish: Lunchtime. I get on my MacBook Air to do personal stuff — taking care of bills or what have you, which could involve checking my Apple Card savings account. I might pop my Vision Pro on to play Synth Riders, which helps to loosen my shoulders and neck. Rarely, I’ll use Fitness Plus, which I have through my Apple One subscription, to do a workout.
I’d bet Cook has done all the HIIT workouts with Bakari. I’m more into a gentle core workout with Kyle, because he’s a sweetie.
1PM-ish to 5PM: Back at work. At this point in the day, my iPhone 15 Pro probably needs a top-up, so it goes on my MagSafe puck.
Current count: 10 devices, seven services, 24 apps, and eight accessories.
5PM: Finished working, I switch to family mode. That often means cooking from recipes on my iPad Pro, listening to music or Apple Podcasts on my AirPods Pro, setting timers on my Apple Watch or HomePod Minis, and possibly troubleshooting something on my partner’s iMac. Family movie night happens via Apple TV Plus on an Apple TV 4K that pipes audio to a pair of full-size HomePods.
9PM: After my child is in bed, I wind down with video games or some TV, sometimes involving the Vision Pro and Apple TV Plus. I plop down on a couch for that, as pictured by Tim:
“I’ve always viewed having to sit in a certain place in your living room as really constrained,” he says. He prefers to lie flat on the couch, project Ted Lasso and The Morning Show on the ceiling and stare into the Vision Pro. “It’s a lot more pleasant way to watch something than to sit like a statue in front of a TV,” he insists.
Unlike Tim, I’m not lying flat like a techno-Dracula with a heavy VR headset pressing into my face. Instead, I’m slouching against the arm of my couch, probably wondering why my back hurts. I am also a rumpled pile on the couch when I turn on my Apple TV after the Vision Pro runs out of battery.
10PM to 12AM: I go to bed, putting in a third pair of AirPods — my original first-gen set — to play a game on a Nintendo Switch.
Final count: 15 devices, nine services, 26 apps, and eight accessories.
Describing all of that made me feel like I’ve stared into the abyss only to find it staring back at me. But it still leaves out countless other Apple apps, non-Pro iPads, the iMac, and the Mac Pro. How would someone, even the CEO of Apple, fit those in?
Maybe you could slot in the iPad Mini in lieu of an e-reader and a standard iPad as a wall-mounted smart home controller with a nearby Apple Pencil with USB-C for jotting quick notes. An iPad Air could be an around-the-house iPad, while the iPad Pro serves dedicated, non-Mac productivity purposes (with a Magic Keyboard, naturally). A Mac Mini is around for serving Plex.
The Mac Pro, though? I’m struggling to imagine any use for it for anyone who isn’t using it for high-end professional work here. Then again, I do need a cheese grater from time to time.