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Mac with Google ecosystem?
- Thread starter LiE_
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I'm not "all in" anywhere as I don't think it's the best way to go. I use Google for calendars, contacts and one main email account. Notes and Reminders have to be iCloud to work properly between a Mac and iPhone. I use Google for photos, also, but I'm a long way off from having that organized properly.
I use Google for calendar, email, contacts and notes (Keep). iCal, Apple Contacts and Apple Mail work just fine with Google services. Same with iOS/iPadOS. Also makes syncing with my work & home PCs easier than using iCloud, and Google’s web apps are way better than Apple’s web apps on icloud.com.
My photos are still primarily saved to iCloud, but I mirror them to Google photos as a backup.
My photos are still primarily saved to iCloud, but I mirror them to Google photos as a backup.
Hi, I have a 16'' MacBook Pro and using gsuite for mail and calendar and OneDrive for storage.
Don't use iCloud at all and have a Note10+.
It works very well, though the phone and the laptop have nothing in common.
Don't use iCloud at all and have a Note10+.
It works very well, though the phone and the laptop have nothing in common.
I own quite a bit of tech that uses different platforms. Although I use an iMac, MBA, iPad, and Galaxy A20 smartphone on a daily basis, my use of iCloud is at a minimum. I prefer to use Google's ecosystem where possible.
Why? A few reasons, in no particular order....
Flexibility. Apple's ecosystem is about locking the customer into their hardware. Google is basically hardware-neutral and their services work surprisingly well on different hardware/OS platforms. I get to choose just how much I want to get involved in Google's ecosystem. That is more difficult to do with Apple's.
Stability and Consistency. For years I've had issues with an all-Apple solution in my home. I've never experienced the "it just works" tagline. Google's ecosystem has been far less problematic for me.
Value. Factoring in cost of hardware, software, and services, being able to mix-and-match hardware and software around Google's ecosystem allows me to save a TON of money. For all the tech that I have, I have spent far less money for higher quality solutions, than those who have gone the whole-Apple route.
The end result is that I can pick up any device: phone, tablet, desktop, laptop and be able to get my "core" workflows accomplished (respective of those form-factors).
I can do things like pick up my Pixelbook and work on my Apple Pages documents, or my Macbook Air and work on my Google Docs files.
Given the direction that Apple has been going in over the last 5 years, I've been very selective about the Apple hardware I purchase. As each year goes by, I find that what they're offering is less and less compelling.
Not to revive an older thread, but didn't want to create a new one. I have a MBP I use. I also use a Samsung S20+ for my phone. I am able to sync my google calendar with the apple calendar, but I am struggling to find a way to get my google reminders to show on my MBP. Is there anyway to integrate googles reminders into Mac OS?
Not that I know of…and I know I looked at this albeit a while back. I use iCloud reminders.
Yeah I could use iCloud reminders on the Mac but if I set a reminder on my phone it won't sync with iCloud reminders. Since my phone uses google reminders. I was hoping to find a way to have the reminders I set on my phone also show up on my mac. It seems the only way to have integration with reminders is to use an iPhone.
Do you mean Reminders in Google Calendar? Or Keep? There are ways to do this I think - if you run Chrome on your Mac, for example, I'm sure you can have notifications appear.
Correct, reminders within Google calendar will use the Windows desktop notifications. I think it's the same on macOS.
You will need the calendar page open, I have mine open and pinned in Chrome as well as Gmail.