Last Sunday I decided to clean up my plethora of tech devices, cords, and chargers. Like most things in life they seem to magically multiply without regular intervention and decluttering.

I began by doing a simple inventory:

1. iPad Air (2022) with USB-C cables with two 18W (US and UK) and one 35W USB-C charger (for fast charging).

2. iPhone XS (2018) with lightning to USB-C cables, USB-A charger, British and European AC plugs, corded lightning headphones, two lighting to headphone 3.5 mm jack adapter, and lightning to SD card adapter.

3. Apple Watch (2020) with one long and one short USB-A cable.

4. Headphones with USB-C to USB-A charging cable.

I used to have many more adapters, one for each continent or country I used to travel to but decided to let them go a few years ago when I slowed down my travels and USB-A adapters were being faced out in favor of USB-C adapters.

Since both my iPhone and Apple Watch were showing clear marks of aging I decided it was time to cut them loose and live without for some time to really understand what my current real daily tech device needs are.

We unconsciously keep adding more stuff to our lives without really asking ourselves if they are truly needed. One way of figuring this out is to subtract and live without to let the real needs bubble up to the surface.

So I decide to only keep my newer iPad, one charging cable, one 35W US charger, and my headphones which uses the same USB-C charger as my iPad. The rest I packed up and brought down to the Apple Store in Santa Monica, California.

I explained that I wanted to trade-in my iPhone and Apple Watch, recycle all the old cables plus a completely worn out smart folio case from my current iPad, and buy a new case using the gift cards that I was going to receive.

The iPhone XS was worth $90 if I decided to spend it on a new iPhone, otherwise $75 dollars and the Apple Watch was worth $50 dollars, a total of $125 dollars. I spent almost $80 dollars (crazy yes but it’s great) on a new Smart Folio case.

I made sure that all the data was backed up, which it wasn’t, and spent almost two hours waiting for all data being backed up to iCloud, and then erased both the iPhone and the Apple Watch from all my personal settings and data.

If after a few weeks I would feel that the iPad wasn’t enough, I decided I would buy a used iPhone 12 mini and an Apple Watch Ultra from Backmarket. I no longer feel the need to have the latest and greatest anymore.

I transfered the balance from the gift cards ($46 dollars and change) to my Apple account and was gifted two-months free Apple TV as a thank you. I plan to use the balance from the gift cards on Apple Music subscriptions and movie rentals.

I cannot tell you how great it felt to get rid of all the old devices, cables, and adapters. I felt relieved not having to charge all these every day, and can now focus on my iPad Air (daily charge) and on the headphones (weekly charge).

So over the following weeks, maybe longer, I plan to study the following:

• What will happen to my focus and productivity with only one device?

• How will I schedule my social life?

• What are the pros and cons of just having one tech device?

• What workarounds might I discover on the way?

• Are there things I cannot do with the iPad-only strategy?

• What can I do with the iPad that I don’t already know?

• What do I really need every day from tech devices?

I decided to share the initial trials and tribulations from the first week in daily updates that you can read below.

Sunday, May 11, 2025

I felt relieved only having one tech device to charge and very happy with my new Smart Folio case replacing the old and worn out. I do feel a bit naked without the Watch but also very satisfied with scaling back on tech.

Monday, May 12, 2025

I missed my Apple Watch during my early morning swim practice but used the pool watch instead to track duration. I then added my estimated distance to the Health app. I realize that I’m not going to automatically collect fitness data but that’s okay as I’ve solid time-tested workout routines in place. It was actually really nice to just focus on swimming and forget about everything else.

I need to start using my everyday physical debit card again since I no longer have an Apple Watch but since I hardly buy anything but groceries it’s not a problem. It might actually be an advantage to not carry around easy credit on my wrist. It’s well known that we consume more when we use credit cards than with cash.

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

I now live in a world with a clear online and offline schedule, like back in the 90s or early naughts. It feels tremendously liberating and I feel that I can focus better by having less tech to worry about.

Today I needed to make a call to a business and used my Google Voice account. It’s free in the US and very inexpensive internationally. I rarely need to make calls like these. For friends and mobile phones I use FaceTime Audio and earbuds.

Still feeling naked not wearing a watch on my wrist but less so today than last Sunday. Time is everywhere so being reminded less feels like a good thing. I can always have my old and broken Tag Heuer watch repaired.