How Many Devices Is Too Many?

02 May 2020 | ~2 minute read

So I'm at my desk, playing 0 A.D. working away, and my lovely wife brings me a cup of tea. As she came into the study she said “Blimey! Do you have enough devices there?”

I was on my desktop, and all I had next to me was my personal and work phones - not that many devices, I thought. But that did get me thinking; how many devices is too many?

Here's a list of the devices I have and use on a regular basis (most days):

• Personal laptop (X1 Carbon)
• Work laptop (HP Elitebook)
• Wife's laptop (HP Probook)
• Desktop (self-built)
• Synology NAS/server
• Work phone (Samsung S9)
• Personal phone (2020 iPhone SE)
• iPad Air 3
• Kobo Aura One

That's too many devices!

Having thought about it, I think that's too many devices. Who really needs that many?

I could use my iPad to read eBooks instead of my Kobo.

Work calls could be forwarded to my personal phone.

Do my wife and I need our own laptops?

Do I need a desktop as well as a laptop?

There's a lot I could to do reduce the number of devices I have/use. But the fact of the matter is, I don't want to. I'm very fortunate to be able to afford all of this stuff, and I love technology, so why not?

How many devices do you have? I'd love to hear if my list is within the bounds of normality. I think it is; for techies at least, but it would be nice to know for sure.

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