I transitioned to Linux a few years ago, which has piqued my partner’s curiosity. She’s been genuinely interested and asks questions about it, but she is so deeply integrated I don’t know where to start. She uses iCloud, an Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, a Mac desktop, plus whatever default proprietary software. She has a semi-technical background.
I want to help and be encouraging without overselling the ease of transition. There’s always some friction with transitioning technology, and of course Apple makes that intentionally difficult. I came from a Windows ecosystem, so I’m lacking any direct insight for potential challenges.
Any advice or personal experiences on moving from the Apple ecosystem to Linux would be hugely appreciated!
(I can host services on my local server, so transitioning to something like Immich vs iCloud for photos is one option we’ve discussed).
Ive been deeply entrenched in the apple ecosystem, and I did eventually switch. key for me, similar to what other people said, was to switch the programs/ apps first. by moving to Firefox (zen), thunderbird, Libre office, Obsidian/zettlr, immich and the likes on apple first, I was able to swap out the OS without the need to relearn much.
so, my recommendation would be to get her the replacements, step by step, and give her time to get to know them, whilst having the previous defaults as fallback.
Tether is a useful tool for keeping an iPhone, but switching off MacOS. The main features I use it for are:
- Clipboard access between devices
- Notifications/replies to Messages
-General notifications
Works over a combo of bluetooth and wifi. It’s not as neat as the MacOS / iOS version, obviously, I was a heavy user of the clipboard sync between phone and laptop and this works well enough to replace it. localsend can do some of the same, but I haven’t found it all that reliable.
Focus on services before devices. iCloud to Nextcloud, iPhoto to Immich, HomeKit to Home Assistant, etc. You can start using them concurrently, alongside Apple services so you still have that safety net while you figure things out. Most self-hosted services will have iOS/MacOS/TVOS clients so you can start using them now. Then when you’re ready to swap a device, you’re mostly ready to go.
I’ve been working on this myself after being all in on the Apple ecosystem since 2006. So far, I’ve moved to Jellyfin for my media, and made the Nexcloud and Immich switches. The most important thing here is that as you start to self host more important things like photos and documents, have a good way to back up that data.
This is excellent advice! Its a much easier way to break a daunting task into small steps you can take one at a time.
I will steal this idea for the next time someone asks me the same question.
One pitfall I see people fall into is expecting to find the same level of polish and convenience that Big Tech has in Open Source alternatives.
Trying to find a Macbook, iPhone, or macOS, but it’s Linux is going to be a fool’s errand. They’re different worlds and you shouldn’t expect one to work like the other. Some things have no equivalents and you will have to give them up. Don’t give into the loss aversion. These were traps from the very beginning. You’re just noticing them now. Focus on the newly gained freedom. You’ll have to learn to like freedom more than convenience traps and shiny UIs.
Having said that, Linux has definitely made huge strides in being more user friendly, but realistically, it’s not as seamless as those billion-dollar corporations.
Edit
Where to start: She’s only indicated interest in Linux, so start there and do the minimum changes needed to make it work. Create a partition on her mac, install a linux distro, and try set it up to replace her mac. The things that you can’t get working are the things she needs to replace with a cross-platform alternative.
While she switches these services (step wise, as discussed below), she can play with the stuff that does work on linux, maybe test different distros if she wants.
Once you’ve got a functioning linux set up that she uses as her daily driver, then you can discuss whether she wants to switch anything else.
End edit
I’m in the process of switching off the apple ecosystem and my main learning so far has been to go slower than you think, change is hard and time consuming. I recommend the following.
1) Switch one thing at a time
I made the mistake of buying new devices before I had switched any service providers. This meant I had to switch and test a new os and multiple new services simultaneously, which was extremely stressful. Switching one thing at a time means the process takes longer but is more likely to keep her motivated and engaged.
2) Plan what to change and the order of the steps
It will help her motivation if she has a goal and knows why she is changing something, particularly if she can find a reason other than just platform compatibility. Think about things like cost, privacy or ethical considerations, practicality of services you two (would like to) share e.g. calendars, shared albums.
Timing also matters. First priority is those services which have compatibility issues with android and/or linux, for which you will need to find a cross-platform alternative. Other services she might only choose to change after switching her OS, to options that aren’t available in the apple ecosystem.
Start with the services she uses a lot or which have strong emotional value. If you can’t switch those, the experiment is over.
3) Osxphotos for faces
Apple photos does not have the option to export a lot of metadata. Particularly relevant for me was that no information on faces is exported, which is something I spent a lot of time on. I switched my photos to Ente, using their recommended approach directly on my iPhone, and none of that metadata transfered.
I recently discovered Osxphotos (on github), which lets you export all the metadata on a mac. That’s actually next on my to do list - export my photos on my mac and reimport them to Ente.
4) Setup the new os in parallel
Install Linux on a partition on her mac, so that she can switch between MacOS and Linux. That gives you time to work out any issues. If she likes it, she will naturally start using Linux more, until eventually it becomes her daily driver.
5) New hardware comes last
Hardware is expensive and it sucks to spend money and then feel like you have to use something which you don’t really like. So use linux on her mac and consider buying a 2nd hand phone to test and play with before switching her sim.
6) Be careful of dependence
Be careful of self-hosting too much for her. Think about what happens if you’re not around for any reason (accidents happen) and ensure she has a good plan and knows how to access and transfer her data from self-hosted to alternative options. That’s why I prefer Ente to Immich.
Also, if your self-hosted services go down at a critical time for her, that could be bad for your relationship.
I have partially transitioned from macOS to Linux, in my experience the main thing is to migrate services such as email and passwords. Once you’re using something open source for those on your I devices you’re way less locked in. iCloud wise I’d recommend getting a managed nextcloud instance. It has a lot of the features you need and provides platform agnostic sync. Also, you don’t need to manage your own it security which is a plus is you’re not super technical.
I used to use an iPhone, and moving to an Android device was relatively smooth bar WhatsApp, which was incredibly annoying to deal with. It is possible to transfer message history though, and my family (now on Android) are very happy to get much better battery life!
If you need specific recommendations, I would go for the Fairphone if possible, else Sony Xperia and OnePlus devices are pretty neat too (former if you like headphone jack and notchless display, latter if you want top spec mobile gaming). You also have mobile Linux being a real option nowadays with the Jolla Phone (SailfishOS) and Nura devices (OnePlus 6/6T, Pocophone F1, Fairphones, etc.)
As for smartwatches, you have WearOS watches of course, but jumping into another ecosystem isn’t great. Pebble is really fun, and if you are into fitness Garmin has lots of options, and both work for iOS and Android (nice!), meaning it is an easier transition.
For Android tablets, OnePlus ones are pretty good though, and GrapheneOS can run on the Pixel Tablet. You of course have the various x86 tablets that can run Linux, as well as many ARM devices that support Nura (formerly postmarketOS), the latter usually being some sort of Chromebook (please don’t use ChromeOS)
And of course, the laptop. If it’s an M1/2/3 Mac, Asahi Linux could be an option, then you don’t need to buy any hardware! Old Thinkpads are awesome on budget, and you have a variety of Linux oriented laptops (System76, Tuxedo, etc.), and most Windows laptops will run Linux just fine as long as you’re not running an old kernel (e.g. Debian) on very new hardware.
As for desktops, you have endless amounts of Windows mini PCs and old workstations to choose from, buy used because memory prices are insane. Go for the ones available on the nearest used marketplace for cheap! It’s amazing how compatible Linux is with older devices, even more so than Windows.
If you need good alternatives to proprietary software, you have LibreOffice, Pinta (or GIMP if you are fancy), Inkscape, Kdenlive, Audacity/Tenacity, an endless number of code editors, etc. If you want to game, Linux is a lot better than Mac in this respect nowadays with Proton and such, Steam, Lutris (all-in-one, super customisable), Heroic (for GOG), and Minigalaxy (also for GOG) are awesome
For me, I would first replace the smartwatch, since that’s the most intertwined with the “ecosystem” (more like a hellish prison, but whatever…), then try and replace the computer(s), since Linux devices will work better with iPhones than Mac does with Android (and mobile Linux) devices.
A clear purpose and clear expectations help. It’s important to remember why using Linux is valuable. It’s what keeps us pushing through, even when it gets tough. It also helps to know that not everything will work right out of the box. And, to an extent, one can assume that that is the cost of using Linux.
One thing that inspires me is Snowden’s quote that says something like “We won’t win with features, but with ethical convictions”.
Now, as to what steps to take, focus on safe-to-fail experiments. Start by making relatively small changes, even within the Apple ecosystem:
- Safari to Firefox
- Pages / Word / Numbers / Excel to LibreOffice
- Photos to Ente or whatever you want to use
Once these changes are part of daily life, you can attempt a transition to Linux.
The idea here is to make change sustainable.
I would really focus on what features she likes of the Apple ecosystem and replace those. For me, I started being in the Apple ecosystem because all my colleagues used it and it was kind of expected for me to fit in. So no amount of “you can replace this with that” could have convinced me.
Excellent advice!
I’d like to add to the list:
- Calendar, Contacts - Nextcloud (via cal/cardDAV)
- Bookmark (and tab?) sync via Firefox Sync (or similar)
- AirDrop to Syncthing
- Check whatever other software and features she uses daily for work, communication, or leisure, and make sure it either exists on the Linux side or there’s a viable alternative, and get her used to that first
I’d only make the switch once you’ve made sure that
- she knows why she’s doing this, and is determined to. Doing it because you made her is bound to lead to failure.
- you know all the features and software she’s used to and have tested and established a working alternative.
AirDrop = LocalSend
It depends what you want from this.
- LocalSend shines with single files that you specifically select.
- Syncthing is great for zero-hassle synchronisation of multiple files and even entire folders.
Personally, I prefer the latter because it’s much more powerful. Also, I’ve experienced issues with LocalSend and VPN usage.
Yep, Syncthing is great, and I use it heavily. What I meant is that AirDrop is for sending files you select, from one device to another, so LocalSend just closer to that. As the sibling comment pointed out, AirDrop is more robust.
This is such bad advice. If you tell people that, people expect it too work like AirDrop, which it doesn’t.
LocalSend is great, but it is much more limited than AirDrop. As the name suggest, it only works if people are in the same network. If you’re in your home network, and both devices are yours, that’s probably fair enough, but that isn’t the point or (only) use case of AirDrop.
Also if you’re installing it on a Linux machine which happens to have a firewall enabled by default, you will have to open the correct ports for it to to work out even just see the other devices.
I won’t call it a bad advice, because I’ve been struggling without LocalDrop, as there’s no similar thing for Linux world. AirDrop is surely works better, you can send files just being on the street, connected to no WiFi. However, I had a number of issues with it for family usage, while LocalSend just works seamlessly between my Linux computers and iOS devices.
I’d start with a cell phone first. The last thing you want to do is give up your life to google and microsoft. Get yourself a graphemeOS compatible phone and replace all the apps with open source solutions. There is a (very very brand new) app called Vela Maps that acts just like google maps, only you can choose not to talk to google servers when you do.
Use sync-thing to auto upload photos to a server you control, even her home PC
There are ways to change the linux desktop to look like apple, though I don’t know what they are. possibly KDE?
unfortunately only google pixel tablets work with grapheme OS. There are tablets that are compatible with ubuntu touch
As for the watches, I don’t know of any that are de-googled.
For a watch, maybe try a pebble?
The last thing you want to do is give up your life to google and microsoft. Get yourself a graphemeOS compatible phone
So, buy a google phone, lol
Pick one thing at a time and evaluate alternatives.
The biggest problem is that Apple is an ecosystem, and Linux isn’t. Apple works to make sure that all their stuff is tightly coupled and works well together. Anywhere else, you’re going to have to manage each thing independently, and a lot of stuff isn’t going to work together. Your files, email, calendar, calls and texts, and other messages are all going to be provided by separate systems, and not always handed off from PC to phone.
Apple Watch does not really pair with Android devices, so be aware of that. Changing your phone also drops you out of that.
If she’s developing apps for iOS, there’s no other alternative to XCode for Linux.
A relative of mine attempted to move from an iphone to an android phone, and generally move to other services on non-apple patforms. Not really self hosted, but I tried to help a bit in that area too, placing them on some of the things I run. The reason was their own, they saw pictures taken by a friend who had a flagship android phone and thought the pictures were amazing in comparison and wanted to try it. They were not even that deeply into the ecosystem, didn’t have watches or anything, just the cloud services.
Sadly what happened was that apple makes you feel so cozy and content in their UI design that anything even slightly different is really disruptive. It didn’t go well, and the experiment lasted about 6 months and then they were back on an iphone again. I would hear constant complaints and cursing about various UI differences. Touching parts of the screen triggered actions they weren’t expecting, and they couldn’t manage to learn the new workflows. It was sad to watch, and I hope things go better for you. In my opinion Apple is really good at attracting people and slowly convincing them that they don’t have to think for themselves anymore, so then when they try, they no longer feel competent enough to do so.
apple makes you feel so cozy and content in their UI design that anything even slightly different is really disruptive
I switched from iPhone to Graphene a couple of years back after almost 15 years of iOS, and yeah, the transition from one to the other was the very steepest learning curve. It’s almost like jumping from Mint to Arch. My partner wants my Pixel when I next upgrade so they can play with it and get used to it before having to make the jump from iOS, but I know it’s going to be a painful transition for them.
I recently put Graphene on my no-longer work phone. I think what makes it extra tough is that it feels familiar and simultaneously alien.
There’s an action centre, and you can edit toggles, but there are no editable sliders for audio and brightness. A lot of the icons feel like buttons but aren’t.
Then there’s the gestures. They feel a little off. The back motion can be done forward too, and there’s no preview of what “back” is. And I loathe the settings pane.
Graphene is nice, but I still dislike Android.
For me the biggest hurdle was finding apps that felt the same as the ones I was used to.
Take Mastodon: I’ve gotten used to Moshidon now, but previously I used Ivory, which is ridiculously polished by comparison. The natures of iOS and Android mean that there are very few Android apps that are as …pretty… as most iOS counterparts.
Also; functionality. I guess because iOS users are more likely to pay for apps, developers are more likely to cram in as many features and polish as they can. If you try to replace an app with 1:1 feature parity, you’re mostly going to be disappointed. Photos on iOS is an incredibly useful, user friendly app which has almost all of the library and editing features most people need. Immich comes close, but not quite close enough for me to be able to confidently say that you could switch from one to the other without really noticing.
It’s not about “thinking for yourself” it’s about good human interface design.
HOWEVER - with this new “Liquid Glass” bullshit, they have completely lost it. The latest iOS is complete garbage. One of the many reasons my next phone will not be Apple. It will be a Linux phone. Period.
Try to avoid anything that accepts creeptocurrency as donations. Almost without fail these projects go down the shitter. E.g., Proton.
🚫 Crypto Cult Science
“Money corrupts; bitcoin corrupts absolutely. Disregarding all of bitcoin’s shortcomings, a financial instrument that brings out the worst in people—greed—won’t change the world for the better.” —https://www.arscyni.cc/file/crypto_cult_science.htmlMonero is the most private currency soo crypto is a win in my book. Proton doesn’t get recommended for other reasons (andy yen)
Unfortunately I think her case is terminal.
Pushing someone, even gently, to change something about their routines almost always causes them to become defensive and double down. The most effective way to enact change in someone else is to discuss how the changes you’ve made have benefited yourself.
