I have this. I have zero visualization, in the little visual on the wiki I'm a 5. For the most part, I don't really notice any downsides. These are the things that I've noticed are difficult for me that I have attributed to it.
- I can't remember directions based on visual landmarks.
- A mild case of face blindness. I recognize people with distinct features pretty well, but it's common for folks to be going for a handful of trendy looks, and anyone with the same trendy look might as well be the same person to me.
- A pretty strong case of "out of sight, out of mind." Like, I kind of forget about people, including family and loved ones, if I haven't seen them in a while. Kind of a hard one to explain.
- I can't see my wife's face in my head, which makes me sad.
- I have to be the jerk tourist who takes pictures of all the cool stuff I see, because if I don't I won't remember them in a few months. My travel memories are mostly tied to how I felt in the area.
- Not sure if it's actually tied to aphantasia, but I don't dream. Like, not just visually but at all. When I sleep there is nothing. I can still tell that time has passed once I wake up, but I don't have any mental activity that I can even remotely remember happening while asleep. I'm sure there is some, it just doesn't make itself known to me.
There are a handful of perks that it comes with as well though:
- I can watch scary movies and then sleep immediately as no images of scary things can haunt me
- In that same vein, I am able to deal with gruesome stuff, and bounce back quickly since there is no "image burned into my head"
- Along with no dreams, I have no nightmares, so that's also a plus
- It appears to aid in an understanding of abstract logic; I have attributed my success in the software engineering field to it, at least partially.
I have a similar background, and I actually am automating my home. However, what Google/Alexa tote as automation isn't actually automation; I still would have to say something/press a button.
I have a pretty healthy home assistant setup, with stuff like electrochromic film on my windows that will dim the windows if someone is sitting near them and the sun is at the right angle to be in their eyes because I hate when I have to hold my head in a position to keep the sun out of my eyes.
I picked an extreme example, but I've also got things like reminders when my laundry or dishes are done (running off of a metered plug, so it just detects power spikes from the machines), presence detectors in rooms to automate lights on/off, and a whole slough of things that will happen when I click the play button on Plex (lights go out, curtains close, windows dim). I've got humidity sensors in the bathroom for starting/stopping the vent fan, I've got particulate/heat/humidity sensors for starting and stopping the hood vent in the kitchen.
Obviously these things save a few seconds here and there but it is nice to not have to think about these things anymore.