Shadowing Practice: You Should Buy An iPhone Mini in 2026. Here's Why... - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Okay, so I bought the iPhone 13 mini in 2026.

And it's probably not for the reason you might expect.

So here's the problem I feel a lot of people are dealing with.

You don't need less technology.

You want better boundaries with the technology that you have.

You still need texting.

You still need calls.

You still need photos, FaceTime, calendar, music, certain apps on your phone that have just become good tools for you.

But you also don't want a device in your pocket that's

been engineered to pull all of your attention from you at all times.

And that is not a self-control issue.

That is a design issue.

Now we all just get this idea that, you know, in 2026, I'm just going to use my phone less, but these devices are designed to be sticky.

They're designed to deliver dopamine.

They reward distraction.

They punish boredom.

So asking yourself to just have more discipline is an uphill battle, which there's something be said for that don't get me wrong

but when the very nature of the devices

that we're using is against us it's really hard to do that's why most people try

and then slide right back in to just using their main smartphone

that they bought a few months ago okay

so for context in this video why i bought this for

context here i have the 17 pro from apple as my

main smartphone it's my work first device i run my business off of this thing it's where creation communication administrative stuff entertainment,

everything is on this phone.

It's basically a computer in my pocket.

And honestly, I don't want to cripple this phone at all.

Like, it is a powerhouse and I want to use it for that reason.

But what I wanted was a way to put it completely away

when I'm at home at nights and weekends with my family.

Now, if you're anything like me, you've tried to fix this before.

Dumb phones, deleting apps, focus modes on your phone, putting your phone in another room, just using your Apple Watch, even switching to Android devices.

I've literally tried all of it

and it usually works in some capacity until real life

and real tools show up that need to be used that are only on your other phone.

And I've talked about it in the past, there's been a lot of discussion on this channel in the comments about Android,

iPhone, iMessage, AirDrop, those things that have grasped me about Apple that I just can't escape.

So this isn't something you necessarily deal with maybe you could

use these same tactics we're gonna share in this video to help you have a two phone system

but for me iPhone is where it's at

and where I have to stay so when I'm using dumb phones

or removing apps and things like

that are trying to cripple my iPhone it just adds friction in all the wrong places

so dumb phones remove too much

and for me literally everyone except for maybe two people that I know use an iPhone and use iMessage.

These people are used to sharing albums of photos using the Photos app through Apple, shared calendars with iCal, iMessage.

We don't use WhatsApp.

We don't use Telegram or whatever else is out there.

We also love FaceTiming.

I've got kids.

I've got family with kids.

People want to see each other and FaceTime is huge for us.

So that friction of not having FaceTime, not having iMessage, not being able to airdrop something to my wife when she needs it quickly.

Those add friction points where it doesn't really make sense.

Like those aren't innately bad things like social media or like doom scrolling and stuff.

Like I'm fine getting rid of those but these tools we need are important.

So I end up just going back to this phone and trying to dumb it down or something, which I also don't love because the second I actually need the tools in the powerhouse of this phone,

I have to take the time, again, more friction to get them back on here.

The breakthrough for me wasn't about having a better setting on my phone or using a dumb phone or an e-ink device.

It was realizing that physical separation is more powerful for me personally.

As long as everything lives on one device, everything's a simple tap away.

However, if I'm using a dumb phone device, everything I need is on my other device.

And so I have to go get it.

And then it just unlocks Pandora's box all over again.

So instead of fighting the type of phone, I changed the system in which I use it.

But here's the question I would ask you.

What is it worth to you to be present with friends and family?

How much would you be willing to pay to be more present with your friends, to be more present with your family, to be more present with your kids?

And when you frame it that way, getting an old used iPhone, paying a little bit more, might actually make sense.

One phone stays powerful, entertaining, useful in the work setting.

The other phone stays useful for family in capturing moments with the kids and FaceTiming mom and dad.

Now, let's talk about the iPhone 13 mini specifically.

I had the iPhone 12 mini and I absolutely loved the form factor.

There was something about this small phone and there are

so many reviews

and videos on YouTube of people missing the small form factor of the iPhone 12 mini and the iPhone 13 mini.

Biggest problems here were obviously battery life was a big one.

And then the other one is just Apple consumers, Apple customers always just want the latest and greatest and biggest and best.

We're seeing it with the iPhone air sales as well.

People are just migrating back to the Pro models because, in my opinion, for me, it's all about the cameras.

But people have their reasons.

So when I found a reason to get another iPhone, I knew I had to go mini.

Now, it's not just wanting the mini and the form factor.

There's a few things going for it here as well.

A smaller screen size means if I were to explore entertainment on here, it's teeny.

If I was going to type out long ideas or emails for work, the keyboard is cramped.

It's also cheaper.

It's older, so I'm not paying another thousand dollars for a second phone.

I think I got this one on eBay for around 270 bucks.

It actually came kind of beat up, which I thought it was going to be more refurbished than it was, but I found this nice little case on Amazon,

which kind of covers up the cameras were a little bit dinked up around the outside.

So this covers up everything.

It looks really nice and slim.

It's definitely protective.

I truly didn't mean to do that.

And this one actually came with the screen protector on it

which I just left on there so it's a nice little package

and honestly you wouldn't really be able to tell that it's not brand new when you have this case on.

I'll leave a link to this specific case down in the description below if you want one.

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But some other things about this is it's not so old that the cameras are absolutely terrible.

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The cameras are still pretty good.

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You have your main camera and you have an ultra wide camera.

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I have the latest version of iOS running on this.

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I haven't seen any hiccups with it so far but I need to say like you don't need the mini.

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I think it's perfect for me specifically

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and honestly maybe for everyone it's perfect just

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because of the form factor of the small size you throw

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in your pocket you barely feel it you're less inclined to reach for it.

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I would say for most people in in the same boat

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as I am just getting a newer iPhone maybe the 16e

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if you've got a little bit more money to spare

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and you don't care

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so much about having dual cameras really like any later version of an iPhone that's not like a 5

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or a 4 or something where the image quality is going to be terrible.

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That's sort of the place where I was at.

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I think like a 12, 13, 14.

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Any of those would be perfect for this system.

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So if you want to try this system, get yourself your latest and greatest smartphone that you love using every day.

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Put everything and anything you want on here.

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Make it a beast of a phone.

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Knowing that you'll have this phone to keep just the essentials on.

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Remove temptation on here and add friction where it's necessary.

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Let me sort of show you how I have mine set up and maybe you can pull some ideas.

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Okay so another thing is I actually have an old Apple Watch Series 7 here as well

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which I think is important

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because this watch is set up to be just as much of a powerhouse

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and relay all the information on my main phone that is on there right.

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So I don't want to be at home on wi-fi and getting emails on here right.

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So I actually found it's a good second step to either just leave your watch off

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while you're at home or if you like having like your health tracking

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and all that stuff and again like the apple experience on your wrist

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but without all the distractions you have an old apple watch

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laying around all of your health data syncs across your account

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so it doesn't matter which apple watch you're wearing so

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when i get home i put the iphone 17 aside i

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put the apple watch 3 ultra aside apple watch ultra 3 aside

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and i pick up this old apple watch series 7

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iPhone 13 mini and now I have a distraction free

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but fully Apple ecosystem set up here right

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so here's my home screen super minimal these are basically all the apps

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that I really want to worry about with when I'm with my family

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so calendar is a huge one for our family whether we're always like can we go outside

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or not photos of course Spotify we're always listening to music in my family

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so it's important to have that now what I use notes for is a to-do holding list

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So basically when I'm away from like my main computer or my main iPhone, if I have an idea for a video or if Maria's like,

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hey, this week, can you get toilet paper at the grocery store?

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I need a place to put that.

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So then when I get back to my main sort of working area, I can write it down on my Uggmunk cards or put it in my Sonsama to-do list on my phone.

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So this is really just a place to put sort of to-dos, which I think is super helpful as well.

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obviously camera down here obviously messages I have a quick question drop down below

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when you go to call someone on your phone do you

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use the phone app I usually only am calling people

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that I've recently talked to so I just go to

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that conversation come up here and hit call are you like me

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or do you actually

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or more often than I'd even I just ask Siri to call the person let me know

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if you're like me with that or if you use the actual app I just keep the phone app up there.

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It's not a huge deal to me.

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Same with FaceTime.

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I just ask the assistant here to make that call instead of pulling that up.

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If you swipe over here, I've got nothing.

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And this is really it.

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Oh, W is Safari.

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So I set this daily font website, which is cool.

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It cycles through daily fonts each day, which I love design and fonts and stuff.

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So it's just my home screen.

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So this sort of is a distraction-free thing too.

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I have a browser on here in case someone has a question or my wife is like, hey, when does that coffee shop open?

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I need to be able to access that.

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Now over here, I really have removed a lot of that from the phone.

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I don't have any games.

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I've tried to remove as much of the stock apps as I can and I don't use.

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However, there are certain things like, let's just come through my library here find my fitness hatch

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sleep are my kids like sound machines nest is our thermostat right

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so there's and then ring doorbell is on here so there's things

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that I want to be able to access while I'm at home

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but aren't necessarily distraction kind of apps Kindle is an interesting one

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because I have found reading on my iPhone in this like minimalist view

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so fun like just to be able to pull out my phone

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and read a book instead of zoom scrolling is amazing now

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the problem is this is still taking me away from family time

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so I try to only use it when like my wife's doing scrolling

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or like my kids are watching TV maybe

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but I'm still on the fence whether I should have this on this phone or not.

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I do think it's a good replacement for social media

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and stuff but I don't know if the point of this phone is like completely non-distracting.

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This might be a little too much.

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The other sort of last pro tip I could recommend is

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with browsing you can have like an allow list of websites and a block list of websites.

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So if you really want to like

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if you're prone to be like well let me just go

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on Gmail really quick in my browser to check my emails you can sort of block those things

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and then maybe have your your spouse sort of put a passcode on it

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so only they know it so you really can't use

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that stuff and really lock this down all right

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so using this method to me being honest I've been using this for a few weeks now

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and I rarely pull my phone out of my pocket unless I need to take a picture of my kids

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and then I have a camera

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that goes straight into Apple photos I can access it later

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edit it whatever I want on here I can airdrop it straight from the 13 mini

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or later on when I'm with my wife.

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It's already in my photos, so I'm not using this much.

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Sometimes I'll play a song for my kids on Spotify.

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Sometimes I'll write down a to-do.

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Sometimes I'll check the weather.

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But ultimately, I just am not using my phone more around my kids, and I'm not worried about missing a moment by taking a picture on a different device

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or not being able to text a friend back quickly because I'm on an e-ink device.

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This has just been perfect system for me.

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Right, so the when here again isn't using your phone less, it's thinking about your phone less.

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When you're home, your attention isn't split.

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You're forcing yourself through physical distance, through some discipline but more so physical distance, to be present and just have the tools you need in your pocket.

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And I think that's what a good boundary feels like.

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When you start to rewire your mind to think, I can't access these things while I'm at home, then you stop wanting to.

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So yes, I know a lot of you will talk about just discipline.

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We need to be more disciplined.

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We've gotten so addicted and used to this stuff and I fully agree with you, but for the here and now and let's fix this today, that's really hard to do.

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This is a great system I have found honestly better than any other to help me with this issue.

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So if this video has helped you rethink your relationship with your phone

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and the setup that you might have to cut down on distractions.

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Feel free to like this video.

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Let me know if you've tried other things that have worked in the comments down below.

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If I missed anything, let me know in the comments down below.

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I want this to be a good community where we can learn from one another.

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On this channel, our aim is to help you find intentionally designed and well-made tech to build calmer, more focused lives.

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So if that sounds cool to you, please subscribe.

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Like this video for more.

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Watch this video next.

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I think you're gonna love it and we'll see you all in the next one.

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65 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “You Should Buy An iPhone Mini in 2026. Here's Why..”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: iphone, apple, device. This video has 228 sentences and 2846 words to shadow. The speech runs for 14:01. The speaker talks fast, about 203 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 85% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
distraction noun	/dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/	Something that distracts.
friction noun	/ˈfɹɪkʃən/	The rubbing of one object or surface against another.
airdrop verb		To deliver goods, equipment, or personnel by dropping them from an aircraft in flight.
powerhouse noun		A power station; the building housing a power station
font noun	/fɑnt/	In metal typesetting, a set of type sorts in one size.
scroll noun	/skɹoʊl/	A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll.
smartphone noun	/ˈsmɑɹtfoʊn/	A mobile phone with more advanced features and greater computing capacity than a feature phone.
browser noun	/ˈbɹaʊ.zəɹ/	One who or which browses.
boundary noun	/ˈbaʊndɹi/	The dividing line or location between two areas.
boredom noun	/ˈbɔɹ.dəm/	The state of being bored.
doorbell noun	/ˈdɔɹ.bɛl/	A bell, buzzer, or chime device mounted on or adjacent to a door's exterior, meant to be rung by a visitor to announce one's presence.
dopamine noun	/ˈdoʊ.pəˌmin/	A monoamine C₈H₁₁NO₂ that is a decarboxylated form of dopa, present in the body as a neurotransmitter and a precursor of other substances including adrenalin.
hiccup noun	/ˈhɪkʌp/	A spasm of the diaphragm, or the resulting sound.
innately adverb		In an innate manner, referring to a property that is possessed merely by its nature.
migrate verb	/maɪˈɡɹeɪt/	To relocate periodically from one region to another, usually according to the seasons.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
cover up verb		To conceal or disguise.
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.
beat up verb		To give a severe beating to; to assault violently with repeated blows.
come through verb		To come into a room or other space through a door or passageway.
come up verb		To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
drop down verb		To sail, move, or row down a coast, or down a river to the sea.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
get back to verb		Return to (an activity)

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

You don't need less technology.
It's basically a computer in my pocket.
I've got family with kids.
I truly didn't mean to do that.
That's sort of the place where I was at.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	have just become · you've tried · I've talked
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	been engineered · are designed · be said

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 78 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: rethink /ɹiːˈθɪŋk/, thermostat /ˈθɝməstæt/, breakthrough /ˈbɹeɪk.θɹuː/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: distraction /dɪsˈtɹæk.ʃən/, friction /ˈfɹɪkʃən/, refurbish /ɹiˈfɝbɪʃ/, temptation /ˌtɛmpˈteɪʃən/, intentionally /ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/
Long words — get the stress right: minimalist /ˈmɪn.ə.məl.ɪst/, ecosystem /ˈikoʊˌsɪstəm/, intentionally /ɪnˈtɛn(t)ʃənəli/, separation /ˌsɛp.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like distraction, friction, airdrop.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: You Should Buy An iPhone Mini in 2026. Here's Why... - Learn English Speaking with Video

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