I second this I learned the most of Apple hardware and software by doing hakintosh in the mid 2000s as a high schooler. Nothing like having to fix kext issues on the only computer you have. This got me started in Linux and home server/lab setup. I helped run an e-commerce website deployed on a VPS from the experience.

When Nokia and their Linux OS died around the time I graduated college I went iPhone and android to see which is most like Linux. I then started my career so I wanted something more turn key I’m now in full Apple ecosystem. I still have a home lab. I don’t expect a lot of people to be technical with Apple but they are out there.

I take on a homelab or Apple ecosystem project every weekend to keep my skills sharp. What I’ve noticed after several years of doing this is that I know a whole lot more about what the homelab services can do than I do about the iPhone in my pocket. Today, for example, I forced myself to go through the Health app and enter things like medications. Pretty soon my devices were reminding me to take my medication and asking me to log what I took. Despite all the reading I do about Apple products, I didn’t realize that the app would remind me to take the medication. That’s really useful!

Another example is when I learned how to make the iPhone make white noise. Who knew that the accessibility features included that? Or that you can choose ocean waves or rain instead of the white noise? And here’s something I learned entirely by accident when trying to pay for something at the store — pressing the sleep button three times toggles the white noise feature. I don’t think that’s written down anywhere.

This is why I need some of those in-depth tutorials. They always expose you to a dozen tangentially related capabilities while you’re learning about the subject of the moment.