My Choices

It is said that Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs, when buying a dishwasher for his home, made his final choice only after months of research, eventually opting for the Miele brand because it felt like the most accurate decision to him. Such obsessions are generally not well-perceived in society; clearly, he drew quite a bit of hatred for this reason as well. However, when buying something for your home, sometimes you need to think very carefully. Or, while it might seem strange to change your mind a lot and find it difficult to make a decision, I think it is extremely correct. In this article, I wanted to write about what I pay attention to when choosing among technologies, most of which were perhaps born into my hands. Of course, these are my preferences. Some brands may have features different from what I think. If so, if they think I have misjudged them, they can contact me through their communication agencies and enlighten me on this matter; I can then rewrite these parts separately. But these are the choices that feel most correct to me based on what I have seen and experienced so far. If you are curious about my preferences in other areas, you can contact me regarding categories via LinkedIn or Twitter (X). I would be happy to help. One final piece of information: I have no special connection with any company or brand. I don't have a habit of supporting a brand like a sports team. But I cannot push aside the successful ones either. 

Here are my choices:

Mobile phone

I am an ecosystem person. I prefer to establish a system and stay within that system. For this reason, and secondly because I think its security settings are generally better, I prefer Apple.

I used them up to the latest Mini model. If I'm not mistaken, there was a Mini in the iPhone 13. I waited for a long time because I didn't want a large phone. With the iPhone 17, the Air model caught my attention. It is a lightweight phone. It doesn't bother you, it doesn't create weight, and it can be carried in my back pocket. It is thin, but this thinness does not cause it to break or bend. The steel on the side is very beautiful. I wish they had made the back out of steel too.

They call the back "glass," but I remember the back of the iPhone 4 being glass. This doesn't feel like glass to me. I wish it were a more slippery steel, a more polished plastic, or better yet, glass.

I don't like the camera of the iPhone 17 Air at all. Having a camera on the front and back is another problem. A single, non-protruding, inconspicuous, decent camera on the back would have been enough for me. I think the others are unnecessary.

I think modular phones are bad. Google couldn't make that work anyway. If I were to switch to an Android phone, my choice would be a Google phone. Or, apart from all of these, I could choose any phone with an AI-based operating system. It would most likely be a smaller phone.

I don't think foldable phones are at a point where they can justify themselves yet. As far as I can see, the highest idea in this business was Nokia's rollable, roll-up phone concept. Maybe then we could talk about the screen being foldable. If it's just going to be in two folds, a single screen makes no sense. Instead, the Microsoft Surface approach, which consists of two screens, was very correct in my opinion. I wish they had continued. But like many good things at Microsoft, that too came to an end.

Mobile Operator

For me, an operator means a resource that can meet all my communication needs. That is, it's not just about my line staying open; it means data staying open, and being able to connect my mobile applications and all the devices I work on mobile without any problems.

Unfortunately, in Turkey, operators do not provide phones or hardware when selling lines, as they do in England or America. That's why I have to eliminate that side. But if such a system existed, it would be my first choice.

I don't want to hit limits. I work outside a lot. I connect my mobile phone to my MacBook Air and iPad Air. For the last 5–6 years, my operator preference has been Vodafone. Because they are the only ones with a subscription for an unlimited line. However, the 15 GB personal hotspot limit that has been introduced recently is a serious problem for me.

My preference is; unlimited package, hardware, and unlimited personal hotspot. I wish they would remove these limits entirely.

By the way, Vodafone's payment system also works well. However, the limits are very low. Those limits need to be raised as well. Currently, it can only pay for AI payments and one or two subscriptions. There is no room left for card usage. 

Internet connection

Unfortunately, we cannot choose our internet connection as we wish. Service providers do not share their fiber infrastructure among themselves. For example, I had an interesting situation recently. I saw fiber at the new place I rented, I thought it was Superonline. I called, they said we don't have service there. It didn't appear on their maps either. There are already serious differences between service provider maps and Google Maps and Apple Maps.

I called Türk Telekom, they said there is no fiber but we can connect 100 megabits. Later, Superonline called back and realized there was fiber. We had Türk Telekom connected first, then Superonline.

Türk Telekom's customer service and field teams are very good. Superonline is not at that point. The speeds offered by Vodafone are very low, so I couldn't try them. Although I tried to connect Türk.net several times, I couldn't. Simple problems could not be solved even at the subscription stage.

Fiber is very important for the internet. You need to talk to whoever has fiber at the address. If there is no fiber, standard lines where download and upload speeds are close to each other can be accepted. However, provided that the upload speeds are high. 

There is also the device side (router and modem). Service providers have recently been using devices from some Chinese brands that I don't want to name. Most of these are devices that have been fined worldwide for internet eavesdropping. The fact that the BTK (Information and Communication Technologies Authority) is not careful enough about this, that there is no variety of devices offered, and that almost everyone except Türk Telekom uses these devices makes the choice very difficult. Moreover, since these devices are produced in large numbers and at reasonable prices specifically for tenders, they are technically insufficient, and when you want to change them, the operators object.

Insurance

When choosing insurance, I trusted the agency for a long time. Because many problems are solved through the agency. However, in places like Mersin, the agency's influence over the company decreases significantly. That's why I can now make choices via the internet or banking.

Motor insurance (Kasko) and traffic insurance are different. It is still correct to do them through a dealer. But in health insurance, especially in supplementary health insurance, I had very serious problems with Allianz. They don't help, they don't stand behind the patients. 

That's why you shouldn't buy health insurance from brands that give advice for the coffee of the day. It is best to choose the insurance company that works best in the hospital you use the most. I haven't been able to find a more reasonable company on this matter. I'm looking...

Automobile

My priority is always German technology. In this regard, I consider Mercedes the only one, both in terms of its customer target audience in Turkey and product quality. Of course, climate change needs to be taken seriously. Just a week ago, many streams overflowed in Mersin due to the rainfall. Sedan vehicles have no chance in the next ten years. Even if you live in the best city in the world, you somehow go out of the city. We need vehicles that can solve this problem. The Mercedes X Class model is among the vehicles I follow. 

Autonomous systems make driving safer and more enjoyable. Even if it is not fully autonomous, the highest level of autonomy significantly increases driving comfort. It allows you to reach longer distances.

But it's still not electric cars. Hybrids make more sense. As far as Emre Özpınar explains, full hybrid systems seem to be the most valid solution right now. As far as I know, Toyota is ahead in this field as well.

However, if it absolutely must be electric, BYD's recent high-range vehicles that can float despite being SUVs seem like they are from another planet. 

Television and VOD

This sector is the fastest-growing area. Satellite is now meaningless. Whatever I want to watch, I watch it from the internet. Turkcell TV+ seems strong in terms of content because it also broadcasts live television broadcasts. The amount of Turkish dubbed content is also high. However, there are serious problems on the application side. Especially the Apple TV application gives errors frequently.

In terms of content power, Amazon Prime Video is very good. Especially recently, watching popular series is enjoyable. In terms of user interface and user experience, I think Netflix is the best. However, there are problems regarding the quality of Turkish content. Except for Cem Yılmaz's show, of course.

Disney is a platform that I was very happy about when it first came to Turkey but disappointed me later. Seeing constant ads in a system you pay for, even if the ads are related to the content, is very antipathetic. If it weren't for the content that children watch, the first platform I would cancel my subscription to would be Disney.

If YouTube had live content, such as Formula 1 broadcasts, it would easily enter the top three on this list. YouTube and YouTube Music are in a slightly different lane, but they are moving very fast. When viewed in terms of user interface and user experience, it has the potential to significantly outperform all of them.