The AI Reality Check, Obsidian’s Limits, & Apple’s $600 Hit
Let’s talk about the AI bubble, note-taking app dilemmas, and Apple’s latest hardware. If you have been feeling a bit of AI fatigue lately, you are not alone.
The Verge Doesn’t Hate Tech (They Just Hate The AI Bubble)
People have been coming for The Verge recently, claiming they “hate tech” because of their negative coverage.
But here is the reality: they are just telling the truth about the AI hype cycle.
The “Vibe Coding” Disconnect: The AI crowd in San Francisco is obsessed with optimizing processes and vibe coding. Meanwhile, 90% of consumers have zero use for pulling up a terminal to use Claude Code.
No “iPhone of AI”: There is no consumer product that is universally recommendable yet. Right now, companies are asking normal people to pay $20 a month for tools they cannot plainly explain to a five-year-old.
We are entering an era where companies ship broken software behind paywalls under the guise of “future improvements.” If the value proposition isn’t clear, it’s not a consumer product yet.
My 30-Day Obsidian Experiment
I have been testing Obsidian with Claude Code for the last three weeks. I wanted AI access across my notes, seamless Readwise integration, and unmatched linking.
The Good:
Split View: Having two notes open side-by-side in the same window is incredible for writing.
The Web Clipper: It is the best in the game. It pulls full YouTube transcripts effortlessly and offers offline markdown previews.
The Bad:
The Plugin Problem: Relying on unpaid community developers means tools can break or be abandoned at any moment. That is a massive risk for a business.
Syncing: iCloud sync and offline mode just do not work smoothly enough for a mobile workflow.
The Verdict: My 30 days are almost up, and Notion is likely next. Notion AI currently feels like the market leader for actual system building and knowledge retrieval without the headache of managing abandoned plugins.
Apple’s Hits & Misses
We finally got our hands on the new $600 MacBook Neo in Blush. It is an absolute hit.
The Hit: It has incredible build quality, a small footprint, and plenty of power for everyday tasks. It feels sturdier than expected. It is no wonder this machine is having a record-breaking launch week.
The Miss: The AirPods Max 2. They cost $569, feature the exact same heavy design, and still use that stupid purse case. They updated the chip, but skipped fixing the physical flaws. Skip these and look for a discount on the older models.
(Side note: I am seriously considering replacing my M2 Max Mac Studio and M4 Pro MacBook Pro with a single maxed-out, M5 Max MacBook Pro to end my file-management nightmare once and for all.)
Rapid-Fire App Updates
Notion: Added custom AI skills for repetitive tasks and new dashboard views.
Obsidian: Launched a command line interface, letting AI agents navigate your vault, link files, and manage plugins locally.
Craft: Focusing heavily on speed and polish for 2026, with Kanban support teasingly on the horizon.
For more you can check out the full episode here:
Thanks for reading, I’ll be back next week with some thoughts on Apple’s latest iPadOS update that has been very controversial for power users.