I share the tools, hardware, and software that I use on a daily basis here.

If you’re interested in similar lists, I recommend that you visit the wesbos/awesome-uses repository on GitHub.

Last update: 20 January 2025

 

Hardware

Devices

The devices that make up my main setup:

  • Apple iPhone 16 Pro
  • Apple MacBook Pro 14” 2021 with M1 Pro: read my review here!
  • Mac Studio M1 Max 64 GB - Absolute powerhouse for my research
  • Logitech MX Masters 3s and Apple Magic Keyboard Combo
  • Apple iPad Mini 7

 

Software

Global Services and Apps

Software applications and services I use across various platforms:

Notion

Life dashboard. Research dashboard. Studies dashboard. Finance dashboard. Goals dashboard. Planning dashboard. Archive dashboard. Dashboard of dashboards.

https://www.notion.com

Apple Reminder

Things is my go-to task manager on macOS and iOS - Siri integration is what sells it for me.

Apple Calendar

Apple Calendar is my primary tool for scheduling and time management - same reason as the reminder, siri integration makes life so much easier.

Apple Music

I like music.

Apple Books

Don’t cancel me, but I like reding on my iPad Mini more than an actual book, its just so much easier to carry around and involve less friction.

Other Global Apps

  • Reeder: Minimalistic RSS reader
  • Canva: General presentation making, interchangable with Keynote

Note on Dark/Light Theme

I prefer the light theme over the dark theme in ALL of my software and applications. Astigmatism moment.

 

MacOS

MacOS specific software applications I use:

Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is my preferred code editor for macOS, it’s light-weight nature is what I like, with minimal start up time and flexible extentions.

https://code.visualstudio.com

Xcode

Sometimes I do some dev on here, but mostly this is for the command line interface.

https://developer.apple.com/xcode/

Dozer and Stats

Dozer: Minimalize mac menu bar.
Stats: Real time CPU/GPU/RAM usage - useful when monitoring specific codes.

Other MacOS Softwares

  • MATLAB (R2025a): I’m an engineer, of course I use MATLAB
  • Figma: prototyping
  • Rectangle: mac version of window snapping (Mac now have native way of doing this, but not as snappy as this)

 

iOS

Here are some of my favorite apps that have transformed how I use my iOS device:

Audible

Readers without times to read unite!

https://audible.com

 

iPadOS

Procreate

I draw cute doggy arts and stuff as a hobby.

https://procreate.com

Notability - Legacy User

Legacy user version of Notability (flex). Love the native-feel and snappiness of the app. Taking notes since high school with this.

https://notability.com

 

Potential Upgrades in the Future

  • None yet haha

What I stopped using

  • Goodnotes (to Notability): Notability have a more “native” feel to ipad, it’s snappier, and most importantly, the app normalize the paper size in all files unlike Goodnotes.
  • Google Chrome (to Safari): Faster, more optimized for mac, plus icloud is a nice addition.
  • Pycharm (to VScode): After a while Pycharm feels clunky to use, however the library visualizer is a great feature and I will miss that haha.
  • Spotify (to Apple Music): After moving to Japan, I have to chnage spotify location and credit card info, and that’s a bit too much work for a music app for me, so I decided to switch to a more immediate option - Apple Music.