weird, my iPaid Air 3 which should have the same specs has been really for at least a year. Plenty of free storage, not so many apps, all visual enhancements turned off.
It actually works out better than 30%, quote is just an accounting game. You pay taxes on 70%, the top 30% is a tax free allowance. With a top marginal rate of ~50% it’s a massive savings.
Politically I think they originally justified it as covering expenses for people living in a new country (without having to declare e.g. trips home), but practically it’s a tool to help employers attract internationals and make it cheaper to offer internationally competitive salaries for professionals.
This is an excellent “I didn’t know you could do that… but why couldn’t you?” idea. Surely some people are under work contracts that wouldn’t allow it, but otherwise it’s a super interesting tactic.
I can always switch back to the old phone, if I can figure out how to ensure I can always answer calls and read notifications. I’d miss the upgraded camera but maybe it’s worth it.
Thanks, I’ve just moved furniture around to make space a reading corner. I really like 15-60 minutes of reading and reflection in the evening, and it seems like a good idea to move it out of the bed.
Even just switching from phone at night to tablet or e-reader was a massive improvement. Something about the phone makes it much more compelling and harder to put down. Never had a bedroom tv and definitely won’t. I’d prefer that my wife also kept her phone out, but she’s an adult and I’m not going to ban it.
Vouched to bring this comment back to life. Probably flagged because it’s an “actually your problem is very simple” response, but there’s truth to it.
My pocket device needs these features: (a touch short of absolute requirements, but who’s counting)
a nice camera; cellular connection for data, sms, and voice calls; receive notifications from various apps (email, school, daycare, whatsapp), actually open the apps that don’t put all the relevant information in the notification; and play spotify and libro.fm with a speaker and bluetooth headphones.
While reducing excess usage in ways that are not too complex to configure, and also not too easy to disable.
Maybe I could get close with a wifi camera + a cellular watch?
That’s a great idea. I tried a lot of similar techniques years ago without much success, but I should try again since I’ve been diagnosed and treated for ADHD since then.
My recent anecdote. Last month my phone broke: the touch screen would stop responding, but I could still connect a Bluetooth keyboard and headphones. After maybe 5 hard resets in a row, the screen would work again for a few minutes or hours.
After a few days, my head was clearer. I was sleeping better. My relationship felt better than ever, because we wouldn’t both lay next to each other on our phones before sleeping. My time with my kids was more focused, and I was more patient and fun.
In week 2, I commented to my wife that I don’t know what changed, but I felt better than ever. At the time I attributed it to a new therapy lamp.
After a few weeks, I finally acknowledged that due to my responsibilities I do need a working phone 100% of the time and I replaced it with a newer, modestly fancier one. In the month since, nothing else has changed: same therapy light (and now longer daylight hours); no dietary or outside well-being changes or adverse events. But that positivity isn’t there anymore. I don’t think I fully acknowledged that until this moment. And I’m still not sure what do do about it.
Totally agree! We used this book for our 3.5yo son and then even faster with his 2.5yo brother. It somehow gets a layer deeper in terms of understanding, empathizing, and managing behavior.