I’ve been meaning to do this for a long time: my tech resolutions for 2026

Florian Bodoky

30/12/2025

Translation: Elicia Payne

New Year’s resolutions are like GTA 6 – often postponed. But I’m sure I’ll get these five things done before the GTA release in November. I think.

New Year’s resolutions are the last socially accepted form of self-deception. You can express them without taking them seriously, and you can ignore them without feeling ashamed. Because, by mid-February at the latest, collective amnesia will return anyway. Yet every year it comes back. And this one’s no different. I set myself five goals – and I’m feeling optimistic. For now, anyway.

Meta’s messaging app

I use WhatsApp. This isn’t information, it’s a confession. Not because I particularly like it or think it’s good. No, in fact, the opposite. Because it’s easier to sit in comfort than rebel. The thing is, I’m all ready to go. Threema’s installed. Signal too. I’ve created my profile. I’ve even imported contacts, studied the data protection settings, read articles and had conversations about it. In theory, I’ve switched over – the practice is yet to happen. I take comfort in the fact that many others have been «planning to do this for a long time». And they’re all still there. Family, friends, professional contacts. Nobody leaves. Nobody wants to be the first. Everyone’s waiting for the right moment that never comes. This year, I’m going to take the lead and start the trend.

Expensive pedometers

I own two smartwatches. One’s an Apple Watch SE – from a time I let myself be persuaded to delve even deeper into the Appleverse. And then a Huawei Watch Pro 2, I bought because I wanted a smartwatch that was visually the closest thing to a classic watch. Both watches measure things I didn’t even know existed. Heart rate variability sounds like a term from space travel. The watch vibrates, informs, analyses, reminds – an accessory with burnout potential. And what do I do with it? I track my steps – that’s it. So my plan for 2026 is to take this data seriously – or get rid of the watches.

Blind subscriptions

My credit card statement is an involuntary moraliser. It reminds me every month that the phases of my life in which I wanted to be more creative, more organised, more sporty or more VPN-protected were extremely short. I pay for software that should help me improve my everyday life. Today, it merely helps the providers’ balance sheets. I’ve had some subscriptions for years. They just run along in the background, ignored. But the lack of motivation in me surpassed the amount these programs cost per month. 2026 is the year I’m making a clean sweep. Anything I haven’t used at least once in December 2025 will be cancelled in January, no ifs no buts. No «maybe later».

The App cemetery

My smartphone’s full of apps I don’t need. There are various reasons for this. Some of them are forced on me by Apple. I don’t need them, I don’t want them – but I can’t get rid of them. I need some for devices I test for my job – and that’s where the problem starts. The majority are only used once – or only once for lengthy periods of time. That’s why I don’t bother sorting apps into folders for specific purposes. I only need them once anyway – that’d be a waste of time. So I could actually uninstall them. But the prospect of using it again in two years’ time for a follow-up device is enough of an excuse for me not to have to worry about it «right now». Instead, I scroll through seven pages of unused apps every day to find the one I want to start – and get frustrated about it every time. 2026 will be the year I put this to an end. Get rid of the junk – even at the risk of having to download and install it again one day.

The second screen reflex

I can’t watch a series without having my smartphone in my hand. Not out of boredom, but out of habit. I write messages while McNulty arrests dealers, shop while Wonder Woman saves the world, check my account balance while FC Basel plods towards its next goalless draw (no idea which is more painful to watch). Sometimes I even banish the movie to my laptop because I need the TV for the PlayStation. The only place for single screen time now is on the toilet. And that’s what I want to bring back into 2026.

Are you keen to change something in the new year? Let me know in the comments!

Florian Bodoky

Editor

Florian.Bodoky@digitecgalaxus.ch

I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue. more

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