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Chromebooks have matured enormously as developer machines — but 2026 marks a genuine turning point. Google has announced a brand-new category of premium Android-based laptops called Googlebooks, due to arrive in autumn 2026, built on the Android technology stack and deeply integrated with Gemini AI. At the same time, the classic Chromebook line continues, with all devices released in 2021 and beyond now guaranteed 10 years of automatic software updates. If you are evaluating a laptop for Android development today, the landscape looks quite different from even a couple of years ago — and this article will help you navigate it.

TL:DR – The core developer appeal of ChromeOS remains the same: you can build an Android app in Android Studio running under Linux, then sideload and test it directly on the same device as a native Android app — no emulator, no second device needed. That workflow is still one of the most underrated advantages of developing on ChromeOS hardware. But the hardware choices, the software support windows, and the strategic direction from Google have all shifted significantly.

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Last Updated: 30 May 2026

Read more: Choosing a Chromebook for software development

Thank You for the Music, iTunes — A 2026 Update

This article started life as a post about finally giving up on iTunes and Apple Music in favour of Plexamp. That journey is still worth telling, but enough has changed since then to warrant a proper revisit.

TL:DR – The short version: Plexamp served me well for a while, but I have since moved on again — this time to AIMP on Android. The longer version is below.

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Last Updated: 30 May 2026

Read more: Thank You for the Music, iTunes

2026 Update: Where Does the Early 2015 MacBook Pro Stand Now?

This article was originally written at a time when the Early 2015 MacBook Pro represented a genuinely compelling buy in the refurbished market — a reliable, well-connected machine at a fraction of new MacBook prices. In 2026, the picture has changed substantially. Apple's transition to Apple Silicon, which began in late 2020, is now complete and mature. The M-series chips have raised the performance and efficiency bar so dramatically that even a well-specced Intel MacBook Pro from 2015 struggles to keep pace with daily modern workloads, and more critically, it is stuck on macOS 12 Monterey — an operating system that is now several major versions behind and no longer receives security patches.

If you are reading this because you already own one of these machines and want to squeeze more life out of it, the information below remains useful. If you are shopping for a refurbished Mac today, please read the update section first and consider an Apple Silicon model as your starting point. The Early 2015 MacBook Pro is now a legacy device, and buying one in 2026 is a short-term solution at best.

If You Are Shopping for a Refurbished Mac in 2026

The refurbished Mac market in 2026 is rich with excellent Apple Silicon options. M1, M2, and M3 MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models are widely available through Apple's own refurbished store, through certified resellers, and through the secondhand market at prices that have come down considerably as newer generations have arrived. These machines run the current version of macOS, receive full security support, and will continue to do so for many years to come.

For buyers on a tighter budget looking for a low-cost Mac that will genuinely last, the MacBook Neo is worth serious consideration. It represents Apple's most accessible entry into the Apple Silicon lineup and offers a level of day-to-day performance and battery life that no Intel MacBook can match, at a price point that makes it a realistic alternative to the ageing 2015 model. Buying an Apple Silicon Mac today — even a modestly specified one — gives you a machine that is current, supported, and future-proofed in a way that the Early 2015 MacBook Pro simply cannot be.

As a rule of thumb: look for any Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) released after late 2020 as your minimum starting point. Avoid Intel Macs for new purchases unless you have a very specific legacy software reason to do so, and even then, go in with open eyes about the support limitations.

About the MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) — MacBookPro12,1

What follows is the original article, preserved for owners of this machine and for historical reference. The model identifier is MacBookPro12,1, Apple model number A1502. It was introduced in March 2015 and discontinued in July 2017.

A MacBook Pro is an essential tool of my trade. When I buy one I have usually done a significant amount of research and bought the best specification I can justify, with a plan to keep it for at least five years. That approach served me well through the pre-USB-C era. The USB-C MacBook Pro generation that followed the 2015 model brought with it a run of reliability problems — logic board failures, and the now-infamous butterfly keyboard mechanism — that soured many long-term MacBook Pro owners, myself included. The Early 2015 model predates all of that, which is a large part of why it remained sought after in the refurbished market for so long.

Introduced in March 2015 and not discontinued until July 2017, this MacBook Pro was available in a range of configurations: i5 and i7 processors, 8GB or 16GB RAM, and 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB flash storage. The hardware cannot be upgraded after purchase, so when buying secondhand, the advice remains: seek out the highest specification you can find. The ideal configuration is the 3.1GHz Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512GB or 1TB flash storage. The difference in secondhand price between a base model and a maxed-out one is now minimal, and the headroom matters.

Pros — Core i7 3.1GHz model

• 13-inch Retina Display. The 13.3-inch LED-backlit IPS panel at 2560×1600 remains a genuinely good screen — sharp, colour-accurate, and comfortable for long sessions.
• 60W MagSafe 2 power. The magnetic power connector that saved countless MacBooks from being dragged off desks. Apple eventually came to its senses and brought MagSafe back on current models, which tells you everything about how good the original design was.
• Intel Core i7 5557U (Broadwell) 3.1GHz. A fifth-generation Intel 64-bit dual-core processor. Capable for the era, though by 2026 it shows its age against Apple Silicon in all workloads.
• 16GB RAM. Soldered and non-upgradeable — another reason to buy the 16GB model. PC3-14900 (1866MHz) DDR3L on-board memory.
• 512GB or 1TB PCIe flash storage. Fast for its generation. Avoid the 128GB and 256GB models; they fill up quickly and cannot be expanded.
• Intel Iris Graphics 6100. Integrated graphics, non-upgradeable. Adequate for everyday use and light creative work.
• Non-removable battery. Some units were subject to a recall programme that has long since closed. Battery health on secondhand units varies — always check cycle count and capacity before buying.
• HDMI output. Direct connection to HDMI displays and TVs, including 4K.
• Two USB 3.0 ports. One on each side — a practical layout that the USB-C-only generation abandoned to widespread frustration.
• Two Thunderbolt 2 ports. Supports external displays via Thunderbolt and DisplayPort. Devices can be daisy-chained. Maximum of two simultaneous external displays.
• Force Touch trackpad. No moving parts; haptic feedback. Still one of the best laptop trackpads ever made.
• SDXC card slot. Direct import from camera memory cards — another feature Apple removed and has since partially restored on newer models.
• Backlit scissor-switch keyboard. Does not suffer from the reliability problems of the butterfly mechanism keyboards that followed.
• 720p FaceTime HD camera. Functional, though noticeably behind the 1080p and Centre Stage cameras on current Apple Silicon MacBooks.
• 3.5mm audio jack. Digital and analogue in/out. Still here, still useful.
• Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. Adequate for most uses, though Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5 on current machines offer a meaningful improvement in busy environments.

Cons — in 2026

• Stuck on macOS 12 Monterey. This is the most significant drawback in 2026. Monterey no longer receives security updates, which is a real concern for any machine used for banking, business, or anything sensitive online.
• No AppleCare available. Any warranty depends on the seller — typically one to two years from a certified refurbisher. Check carefully.
• Intel architecture. Apple Silicon has moved so far ahead in performance-per-watt that the gap is now very wide. Many modern applications are optimised for Apple Silicon and run in compatibility mode on Intel.
• No USB-C or Thunderbolt 3/4. The accessory and display ecosystem has shifted further towards USB-C since this machine was made. Adapters help, but it adds friction.
• No Ethernet. A Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet adapter solves this, but it is an additional cost and something to carry.
• No FireWire. A Thunderbolt-to-FireWire adapter is available if you have legacy FireWire devices.
• No optical drive. As with all modern Macs — use an external USB drive if needed.
• Fan noise under load. The Intel chip generates heat and the fans respond accordingly. Apple Silicon machines in the same chassis run silently under equivalent workloads.

The Honest Verdict in 2026

The Early 2015 MacBook Pro was, for a time, the gold standard of the unibody MacBook Pro era — reliable, well-connected, and free from the quality problems that followed it. It earned its reputation. But in 2026, recommending it as a purchase to anyone who does not already own one is difficult to justify. The operating system ceiling, the absence of security updates, and the performance gap relative to Apple Silicon all work against it.

If you own one and it is working well, there is no urgent need to panic — but be mindful of the security implications of running an unsupported OS, and start planning your next machine. If you are shopping today, put that budget towards an Apple Silicon Mac. Even a base-specification M1 MacBook Air from the refurbished market will outperform this machine in almost every measurable way, run the latest macOS, and have years of software support ahead of it. The MacBook Neo, at the accessible end of Apple's current lineup, is the natural successor for buyers who want a compact, capable Mac that will last.

The 2015 MacBook Pro deserves its place in the history of great Apple laptops. In 2026, that place is in the past.

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Last Updated: 31 May 2026

Flutter in 2026: Still the Right Bet

Flutter is an open-source software development kit created by Google. It supports cross-platform development from a single codebase across Android, iOS, web, Windows, macOS, Linux, and beyond. What began in 2014 as a Google experiment codenamed "Sky" and launched publicly in December 2018 has, by 2026, grown into one of the most widely adopted mobile and multi-platform frameworks in the world — powering everything from Google's own products to smart-city super apps, airline booking systems, and casino resort experiences.

I was at the Flutter 1.0 launch at the Science Museum in London in December 2018. I could see the potential immediately and became an early adopter. That instinct has held up. I have now built or managed dozens of apps to production on the App Store and Google Play, all built on Flutter by talented teams of professional developers. In 2026, I have no reason to change course.

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Why Flutter?

I have been working on mobile applications for over twenty years: starting with the original Nokia Communicators and SyncML; through the Symbian era with Nokia Series 60 and Sony Ericsson UIQ; and into the modern smartphone age.

I product-managed the first successful automated test tools for Symbian, Windows Mobile, Qualcomm Brew, and early BlackBerry 10 devices. I have managed app development for Apple iOS and Google Android ever since. Cross-platform development has always been close to my heart — and close to my frustration.

There is no room in small-budget projects or early-stage startups for a sprawling team of platform zealots. Cross-platform developers tend to carry a broader, more pragmatic perspective — comfortable across front-end and back-end, across platforms and toolchains. I prefer working that way.

The problem has always been compromise. One platform gets treated as the reference, the other gets a port. Platform capabilities get muted by technical or pragmatic limitations in the toolchain. Features that feel native on one device feel slightly wrong on another.

Flutter addresses these problems in a genuinely different way. Rather than wrapping native components, it renders its own UI at 60 or 120 frames per second using the Skia and Impeller graphics engines. The result is consistent, high-quality interfaces across every platform it targets — without the lowest-common-denominator trade-offs I spent years managing around.

When I made the decision to standardise on Flutter, I framed it as a ten-year bet. We are now well into that window, and the framework has grown faster and further than I expected.

Flutter in 2026: The Numbers Speak

Flutter is no longer an early-adopter story. As of December 2024, Flutter had over one million monthly active developers globally. It powers nearly 30% of all new iOS apps — up from around 10% of tracked free apps in the Apple App Store in 2021, according to Apptopia data. It is a top-5 open-source project on GitHub by contributions, with over 1,400 contributors and more than 50,000 packages published by over 10,000 package authors. Over 90,000 developers participate in Flutter Meetups across more than 60 countries.

Google has described Flutter as entering its "production era." That phrase resonates with me. This is not a framework still finding its feet — it is one that enterprises, startups, and independent developers are betting serious money on.

Who Is Using Flutter?

The showcase of production Flutter apps has expanded dramatically. Google's own products built on Flutter now include NotebookLM, Google Pay, Google Earth, Google Ads, Google Classroom, YouTube Create, Google Cloud, Google One, FamilyLink, and Fitbit Ace. Beyond Google, the list of serious production deployments is long and growing:

• Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) rebuilt their mobile app in Flutter and won the Red Dot Design Award, the Webby People's Voice Award, and the iF Design Gold Award.
• Toyota uses Flutter for in-vehicle infotainment systems.
• LG Electronics is building the next generation of webOS with Flutter.
• Whirlpool cut development costs by 50% after adopting Flutter.
• Supercell reduced their core code size by 45%.
• PUBG MOBILE connects over one billion players using Flutter.
• talabat transitioned from siloed native development to a unified Flutter codebase in 2026.
• Expo City Dubai built a smart-city super app with Flutter in 2026.
• NotebookLM shipped a 4.8-star Flutter app in just seven months.
• Headspace, MGM Resorts, and Kikoff are all running Flutter in production.
• SNCF Connect used Flutter to prepare their app for the French summer sports events.

These are not side projects or MVPs. These are flagship, high-traffic, award-winning applications. The argument that Flutter is not ready for serious production work is simply no longer credible.

FlutterFlow

FlutterFlow is the real deal. It is a visual development environment that exports clean, editable Flutter source code directly into your DevOps pipeline via GitHub. It has matured considerably since I first started using it, and in 2026 it sits comfortably in the workflow of both professional developers and product managers who want to get further through a build before handing off to engineering.

It is quite realistic to publish an app built entirely in FlutterFlow, or to build a prototype app there to test out feasibility. The gap between what a technically minded non-engineer can produce in FlutterFlow and what a full development team would build has narrowed significantly. You can read more about my work with FlutterFlow elsewhere on this site, although I've lessened my use of it more recently it is a great toolset and you should check it out.

Flutter in My Own Projects

One example I return to often is a small community app I manage — built alongside a long-running online community that has existed since 1998. Originally written in 2021 in FlutterFlow and published on Google Play, and the App Store simultaneously with identicl features it was refreshed and updated in 2026 with minimal effort. That is the compounding benefit of Flutter: apps written several years ago do not feel like legacy code. The framework evolves, the tooling improves, and updating an existing app to take advantage of new capabilities can be straightforward.

For larger client projects, we ported an app from JavaScript and an end-of-life cross-platform framework to Dart and Flutter. That migration took several months and represented real technical debt to clear. But the payoff was sustained: new feature development was faster, the codebase is cleaner, and the company was acquired.

The Honest Assessment

Flutter is not perfect. No framework is. There are edge cases where deep platform integration still requires native code. Package quality varies across the ecosystem, as it does in any large open-source community. And while Flutter's web support has improved substantially, it remains better suited to some web use cases than others.

But the trajectory is unambiguous. A framework that covered two mobile platforms in 2018 now supports six major platforms. A framework used by early adopters and experimenters in 2019 now powers apps used by hundreds of millions of people. A framework that was a promising bet in 2018 is, in 2026, an obvious choice for anyone building a cross-platform product with a serious ambition and a realistic budget.

If you are still evaluating Flutter versus the alternatives, the question has largely been answered by the market. The more interesting question now is how you use it — and that is where tools like FlutterFlow, the depth of the package ecosystem, and the quality of the developer community make the real difference.

Note: An earlier version of this article was originally published on my LinkedIn. This version has been substantially updated for 2026.

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Last Updated: 31 May 2026