MTG: The Apple Tax Has Pushed Me Back to the Galaxy Z Fold 8

Original YouTube thumbnail for MGT: The Apple Tax Has Pushed Me Back to the Galaxy Z Fold 8

More Than Gadgets

There is a moment in every technology experiment when the shiny new plan meets the contents of the cupboard.

You look at the latest announcement, look at the price, and then look across the room at the equipment you already own.

That is where I am with Apple.

Following the latest Apple event, I found myself reacting to the prices discussed in the video. The transcript refers to an iPhone 18 Pro at £1,399 for 512GB, a new “Duo” at £2,200, and later mentions £25,000. Those figures are not consistent enough for me to present them as verified market facts, and the precise number is not really the point here.

The point is my reaction: it sounded like a very large amount of money for a folding phone, and it made me reconsider whether I needed to buy anything at all.

Because sitting on my desk already are a Galaxy Z Fold 8, a Surface Pro and a Surface Laptop 7.

Perhaps the answer is not another new device. Perhaps the answer is using the devices I have properly.

Andrew Hawley presenting More Than Gadgets

MTG: I have not escaped Apple completely

I have tried to move away from iOS before.

Then, usually after a few days, I have ended up back on the iPhone. Not necessarily because the iPhone was doing something dramatically better, but because of muscle memory. You reach for the familiar device. You know where everything is. The family links are already there.

There is also iMessage.

That is the bit that keeps pulling me back. Family conversations, existing chats and the general convenience of remaining in the same system all count for something. Technology is not used in a vacuum. It is used alongside other people, many of whom have no interest in your carefully constructed device experiment.

So the iPhone 13 mini is staying.

It will remain around primarily for iMessage and those family connections. It also means I can continue looking at iOS equipment for the channel without pretending that I have performed some grand and permanent technological escape.

The difference this time is that the iPhone will not necessarily be my main phone.

MTG: The Fold 8 gets another chance

I have already used the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and was far too quick to dismiss it.

The previous experiment involved trying to make it work with a MacBook. The idea was to see whether the Fold could fit back into the same sort of loop as an iPhone and a Mac.

That did not work.

The pairing failed as a complete working setup, and I returned to the iPhone. Looking back, that may have said as much about the computer around it as it did about the phone.

The Fold itself is still a very good device. The screen is excellent. You get that large-screen experience while still having something that can fit in a pocket. That remains the central appeal of a folding phone.

It is not a perfect experience, though.

The built-in speaker arrangement is one of the weaker points for me. There is a small speaker at the top and another at the bottom, but the sound does not match the quality of the screen. The picture is lovely. The audio is less convincing.

That might not matter to somebody who always uses headphones. It matters more if you occasionally want to watch something or listen to something without adding another object to your ears.

Andrew Hawley highlighting a point

MTG: The Buds Pro 4 rescue the sound

There was an amusing bit of timing here.

When I previously discounted the Fold 8 and moved back to the iPhone, I had a pair of Samsung Buds Pro 4 sitting in the box. I had not even opened them.

I opened them this time.

The sound is superb. In my view, they make the AirPods Pro sound like something from the 1930s. That may be slightly unfair to the AirPods, but the Samsung buds made an immediate impression.

More importantly, they work across the Fold and the iPhone. That means I do not necessarily have to choose one phone and abandon the other set of accessories. The buds can move with me while the two phones perform different jobs.

That makes the whole arrangement more practical.

It also solves much of my concern about the Fold’s built-in speakers. I am not claiming that everyone needs to buy earbuds to make the phone usable. I am saying that, for my use, the Buds Pro 4 remove one of the main irritations.

And while we are discussing phone audio: please stop playing your conversations and videos out loud in public.

I regularly see people in restaurants holding a phone beside their face while the rest of us are treated to a conversation about somebody’s foot. We do not all need to hear from Uncle Tom. Put the phone to your ear or use headphones. It is not complicated.

MTG: The Surface Pro could replace the iPad

The other important part of this plan is the Surface Pro.

I used to enjoy this device and was genuinely sorry to stop using it. It is now back in the conversation as a possible replacement for the iPad.

That is only practical because I already own it.

This is an important distinction. I am not suggesting that everyone should rush out and buy a Surface Pro instead of an iPad. I am asking whether a device already sitting in a drawer or on a shelf could do the job.

The keyboard can come off, making it more tablet-like. The keyboard is also Bluetooth, so the Surface Pro and another device can be used without being physically joined together. That gives me a mobile working machine to use alongside the Fold 8.

The 13-inch Pro is also more convenient to carry than the larger 15-inch machine. It should give me a useful balance between portability and doing actual work.

The weak spot is video editing.

A Mac remains very good for recording and editing this sort of content. Windows machines have not always felt as smooth for that work. But my current process relies heavily on Canva, and much of the hard work happens online.

That means 16GB of memory is workable for what I am doing. It may not be the right answer for every editor or every workflow, but it should be sufficient for mine.

MTG: The desk machine is already here

The Surface Laptop 7 is likely to become the main desk machine.

This is the version with 32GB of RAM, an X Elite chip and a microSD card reader. The battery life, in broad terms, gives me a full working day. It has enough power for the work I am doing and is better suited to living on the desk than being carried everywhere.

The Surface Pro then becomes the mobile working machine.

There is also a Surface Laptop Go in the mix, with 8GB of RAM. It is another reminder that the perfect specification is not always necessary. If the work is mainly browser-based, an older or less powerful device can still have a useful role.

This is where the value calculation changes.

If I had to buy all of this from scratch, the argument would be different. But I already have the equipment. The question is whether I can arrange it into a sensible system before reaching for my wallet.

MTG: The proposed 30-day plan

The practical plan is straightforward:

Move the main SIM back into the Galaxy Z Fold 8.
Keep the iPhone 13 mini primarily for iMessage and family links.
Use the Surface Laptop 7 as the main desk computer.
Use the Surface Pro as the mobile working machine and possible iPad replacement.
Keep the Surface Laptop Go available as part of the wider setup.
Use the Samsung Buds Pro 4 across the Fold and the iPhone.
Work consistently with the combination for 30 days.

This is not an independent review. It is not a universal recommendation. It is not a message telling people to throw away their Apple equipment.

It is my personal attempt to find out whether the kit I already own can replace the need to buy more kit.

Over those 30 days, I want to identify the pressure points, the weak spots and the things that work better than expected. I want to know whether the Fold can remain my main phone, whether the Surface combination can cover the Mac and iPad jobs, and how often I find myself reaching for the iPhone out of genuine need rather than habit.

That is the useful test.

Not whether one logo is better than another. Not whether one launch event creates enough excitement to justify another purchase. The useful question is whether the equipment in front of you is good enough to do the work.

Technology should be replaced when it breaks or stops meeting the need, not simply because a new model has arrived.

Stop waiting for perfect kit. You have probably already got enough to start.

Could you do more with the equipment you already own, before buying something new?

if anything I've said today struck a chord with you and you'd like a chat or if you have a particular challenge with energy, power & infrastructure, business generally or you might like to use the studio, drop me an email at andrew@aelhawley.com - if you've watched the video version of this blog you can drop a comment below and, I think I'm supposed to say like and subscribe but I won't. See you on Sunday in the field.. that to be clear, isnt my garden.