Between 2015 and 2025, I bought seven tech devices for a combined $3,533. The one I actually use every day — a MacBook Air M2 I bought for $1,099 in 2023 — accounts for maybe 95% of my device time. The other six are, in various states of disuse, on a shelf in the home office. Olive, our dog, sleeps on a dog bed two feet from the shelf. Olive has not, in three years, indicated any interest in the devices on the shelf.

Below is the list of what I bought and what I actually use. I have changed my mind about several things I used to believe about consumer electronics. I have opinions on what to skip. There is a brief history of how Apple went from a $499 iPhone 4 in 2010 to a $549 pair of over-ear headphones in 2020. And there is, at the end, an honest summary — because anyone who tells you a personal-device collection is a sign of a life well-lived has not, in fact, opened their cable drawer recently.

The list

1. MacBook Air M2 (2023), $1,099. The only device on this list I use daily. I bought it in November 2023, replacing a 2018 MacBook Air that had, by my standard, "reached the end of its useful life" (the battery held 47 minutes of charge). The M2 Air is, by every review I have read, the best laptop Apple has ever made for the price. I use it, on average, twelve hours a day: writing, email, photo editing, video calls with my mother in Pittsburgh, the occasional movie. The M2 chip has, in three years, never once felt slow. The screen is, in 2026, the only screen I look at. The $1,099 was, by my standard, the best money I have spent on technology in the last decade.

2. iPad Pro 11" (2022), $799. The least-used device on this list. I bought it in March 2022 because I told myself I would "draw on it." I have not drawn on it. I use it, on average, four times a month — for reading long articles on the couch, watching videos in the kitchen, occasionally using it as a second screen for the MacBook. The Apple Pencil (sold separately, $129) is, in 2026, sitting in a drawer. The M2 chip in the iPad Pro is, by every benchmark, faster than the chip in the MacBook Air I bought the year before. The speed is wasted on me. I do not edit video. I do not run music production software. I do not need an iPad Pro. The $799 was, in 2022, an aspirational purchase. The $799 is, in 2026, an embarrassing line item.

3. AirPods Max (2020), $549. The most controversial purchase on this list. I bought them in December 2020, the week they launched, because I told myself I needed over-ear headphones for focus work. The AirPods Max are, by every audio review, well-built. They are also, in 2026, the most overpriced consumer headphones Apple has ever shipped. The smart case is, by my partner's description, "the dumbest piece of design Apple has ever produced." The battery does not last 20 hours (Apple's claim). The battery lasts, in 2026, eleven hours. The headphones sit, by my count, on the home-office shelf 358 days a year. I use them twice. The $549 was, in 2020, the price of a used Honda Civic.

4. Apple Watch Series 9 (2023), $399. The device I expected to love and do not. I bought it in October 2023 because I read three Substacks that said the Apple Watch had "changed their lives." The Apple Watch has, in three years, not changed my life. It tells me the time. It counts my steps. It pings me when I get a notification, which is, by 2026, the opposite of what I want. I charge it every other day. I wear it on runs. I do not need it. The $399 was, in 2023, the price of a transatlantic flight.

5. Kindle Paperwhite (2022), $159. The second most-used device on this list. I bought it in November 2022, replacing a 2014 Kindle that had, by my standard, "stopped holding a charge for more than a week." The Kindle is, in 2026, the only device that delivers on its original promise: a screen you can read on for hours without eye strain. I use it, on average, ninety minutes a day — on the subway, in bed, in the kitchen while the coffee is brewing. The Kindle is, by my partner's description, "the only Apple competitor you have ever endorsed." The $159 was, in 2022, the best $159 I have spent on anything.

6. Nintendo Switch Lite (2019), $199. The device I expected my partner to use and she does not. I bought it in October 2019 because I told myself we would play Animal Crossing together. We did, for three weeks. The Switch Lite has, since 2020, been used on family visits to Pittsburgh, where my mother watches us play and pretends to be interested. The Switch Lite is, by my standard, "the only Nintendo device worth buying for a person who does not own a TV." I own a TV. I do not need a Switch Lite. The $199 was, in 2019, the price of a great dinner for two.

7. Bose QC45 (2022), $329. The device I bought to replace the AirPods Max for travel. The Bose QC45 is, by every audio reviewer I have read, the best noise-canceling headphone for the price. I use them on transatlantic flights, on the subway, and on the rare occasions when I work from a coffee shop. They are, in 2026, the only headphones I have used in the last twelve months. The Bose QC45 outperforms the AirPods Max in noise cancellation. The AirPods Max are, by 2026, sitting on the shelf behind them. The $329 was, in 2022, the price of a good used car.

Total spend: $3,533. Daily-use device count: 1. Devices on a shelf in my home office: 6.

What I have changed my mind about

A few beliefs I held in 2015, when I bought my first device on this list, that the last eleven years have killed.

I used to think I needed an iPad. I bought, in 2017, an iPad (5th generation, $329) that I used for two years. I bought, in 2022, the iPad Pro ($799) that I have used four times a month for four years. The iPad is, by 2026 standards, a device for a specific kind of work — illustration, music production, video editing on the go, reading on the couch. If you do not do those things, the iPad is, by 2026, a $799 mirror.

I used to think I needed an Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is, by my standard, the most aggressively marketed device in the consumer-electronics industry. The marketing wants you to believe the Apple Watch will make you healthier, more connected, more productive. The Apple Watch is, in my experience, a $399 notification screen on your wrist. The notifications were, in 2026, what I needed fewer of, not more.

I used to think I needed premium over-ear headphones. The AirPods Max are, by every audio measurement, technically excellent. The AirPods Max are, by my partner's description, "an audiophile trap for people who do not, themselves, know what audiophile means." The Bose QC45 are, by every audio measurement, technically excellent and cost $329 instead of $549. The premium tier in consumer audio is, in 2026, a marketing artifact.

I used to think I needed a Nintendo console. The Nintendo Switch is, by every review, the most creative gaming hardware of the 2010s. The Nintendo Switch is, in 2026, also irrelevant to most adults who do not have children. The adults who own Switches but do not have children play Animal Crossing for three weeks and then put the device on a shelf. I am one of those adults. The $199 was, in 2019, a fun three weeks.

I used to think a device's price reflected its value. The MacBook Air M2 ($1,099) has delivered more value per dollar than any other device on this list. The AirPods Max ($549) has delivered less value per dollar than any other device on this list. The correlation between price and value in consumer electronics is, in my experience, almost zero. The MacBook Air is, by my standard, the only Apple device priced correctly in 2026.

What to skip when device shopping

If I were advising a friend who was about to set up their first personal device kit in 2026, I would tell them to skip these categories entirely.

iPad Pro. The iPad Pro is, by 2026, the most expensive mirror in the consumer-electronics industry. The iPad Air ($599) does, by every measurement, what 95% of iPad Pro buyers use the Pro for. Skip the Pro. Buy the Air if you need an iPad. Skip both if you do not.

Apple Watch Ultra. The Apple Watch Ultra is, by 2026 standards, a $799 fitness watch for people who climb mountains. The Series 9 ($399) does, by every measurement, what the Ultra does for the 95% of buyers who do not climb mountains. Skip the Ultra. Buy the Series.

AirPods Max. The AirPods Max are, by 2026 standards, the most overpriced consumer headphones Apple has ever shipped. The Bose QC45, Sony WH-1000XM5, or Sonos Ace all deliver, by every audio measurement, equivalent or better sound at $200-$300 less. Skip the AirPods Max.

Premium tablets. The iPad Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra are, by 2026, devices for a vanishingly small set of professional use cases. If you are not one of those use cases, the device is, by 2026, a shelf.

Smartwatches for adults who do not run marathons. The Apple Watch and its competitors are, by 2026, fitness trackers with notification screens. A $30 Fitbit does, by every measurement, what most adults use a smartwatch for. Skip the smartwatch until you have a specific reason to want one.

Anything sold as a "creator" device. The "creator economy" marketing of the early 2020s convinced a generation that they needed $1,500 laptops and $800 tablets to "create." The creation is, by 2026, mostly done on $1,099 MacBook Airs and free apps. Skip the creator-marketing tax.

A brief history

The personal computer is, by every measure, a 20th-century invention. Until the 1970s, "computers" were room-sized machines used by governments and universities. The first personal computer for consumers was the Altair 8800 (1975), sold as a kit for $397. The first personal computer designed for non-technical users was the Apple II (1977), sold for $1,298. The first laptop was the Osborne 1 (1981), sold for $1,795 and weighing 24 pounds.

The modern consumer-electronics industry — the one that sells $799 iPads and $549 headphones and $399 smartwatches — was, in large part, built by three things: the iPhone (2007), the App Store (2008), and the rise of the "ecosystem" concept (2010s). Each of these shifted, by every measure, the default expectation from "one device that does one thing well" to "many devices that do many things in concert." The shift was, in 2026, a real improvement for people who actually use the ecosystem. The shift was also, in 2026, a real tax on people who do not.

The AirPods Max launched in December 2020 at $549. The price was, by 2020 standards, an outlier for consumer headphones — most flagship over-ear headphones cost $300-$400. Apple defended the price by citing the materials (aluminum, stainless steel), the audio quality, and the integration with the Apple ecosystem. The AirPods Max are, in 2026, the only Apple device that has not dropped in resale value below 50% of MSRP. The AirPods Max have, in 2026, the worst value-per-dollar ratio of any Apple device I have ever purchased.

The iPad Pro 11" launched in October 2022 at $799. The iPad Pro has, since 2016, been Apple's most aggressively upgraded device line — newer chips than most Macs, ProMotion displays, Apple Pencil support, M2 silicon. The iPad Pro has, in 2026, a software catalog that does not, in my experience, justify the price. The iPad Pro is, by 2026, a hardware triumph and a software mismatch.

The 2020s consumer-electronics industry is, in 2026, in retreat. The "right to repair" movement (2019-present), the slowing pace of meaningful upgrades (especially for phones and tablets), and the rise of "buy it for life" attitudes toward consumer electronics have, in 2026, restored some sanity to the device-buying relationship. The MacBook Air M2 I use every day was, in 2023, a $1,099 purchase. The MacBook Air is, in 2026, the only device I expect to still use in 2030.

The honest summary

A personal device kit is, in the end, one device: a laptop. Everything else is, by 2026 standards, "an excuse." The $3,533 I spent across seven devices was, in 2025, an aspirational portfolio. The $3,533 is, in 2026, six devices on a shelf and one laptop I use every day.

What works for me: a MacBook Air M2 ($1,099) and a Kindle Paperwhite ($159). That is it. The total spend is $1,258. The two devices do, by my standard, 99% of the work. The other $2,275 was spent on devices I use four times a month or not at all.

What does not work for me, and may not work for you: the idea that a personal-device collection is a sign of a life well-lived. The seven-device portfolio was, between 2015 and 2025, an aspirational purchase. The seven-device portfolio is, in 2026, an exercise in self-deception. The consumer-electronics industry is, in 2026, the most successful upgrade-anxiety industry in the modern economy. The honest summary is, in the end, this: the industry is selling novelty. The MacBook Air, when chosen correctly, does not.

Eleven years in, my daily-use device is, by my standard, more functional than it was when I started. I have spent, in those eleven years, approximately $4,500 on consumer electronics. I could have spent approximately $1,500 and had the same daily-use experience. The math is, by any honest accounting, embarrassing. The math is also, in the end, the only thing that matters.