For me, there's still no alternative. And I also will not recommend anything but a Mac to friends and family. They just have the best personal computer on the market, period.
Out of all the devices I've ever owned, my Apple devices have had the most hardware failures. My iPhone 4S's headphone jack stopped working. I bought a replacement and installed it myself
(which was a nightmare) but it was still broken. Turns out the logic board had an issue and replacing that is hundreds of dollars. My Macbook Pro 2010's hard drive cable failed. New one was $50.
I've never had any hardware issues with my PCs or Android phones. Sure, they arguably have more software issues, but those are "free" for me to fix.
Apple may be a good fit for some people, but it's too expensive for my blood. I'm not paying $1500 for a laptop only to shell out another $50 a year later for a hard drive cable. That's bullcrap considering my $150 chromebook has been running for 4 years now with 0 issues.
This has been my experience also. It seems like Apple is delivering premium hardware and build quality -- they're certainly charging premium prices -- but in my family I can think of at least five show-stopping hardware failures with Apple products in the past few years, and zero such failures with a comparable number of Windows/Android devices. In addition, Apple's hardware specs no longer justify premium prices, in most cases.
With Apple these days (and especially for Macs) the simple fact is you're paying a high price for underwhelming hardware that's not especially reliable.
I still strongly prefer the Mac OS, so I can't see myself buying a Windows PC anytime soon, but I'm not a happy customer.
I do use a Hackintosh for my desktop, but that's not really a viable option for the general public, and even for myself I'd prefer to just have Apple start selling decent desktops again.
My Apple devices have problems, but so did my PCs and feature phones before them. It feels like the Apple devices have fewer problems, but that could just be a feeling or the fact that devices in general have become less problematic in the time since I've started using Apple's products.
But where I think Apple distinguishes itself is the user experience when there is a problem. It's the main reason why I recommend Apple to my non-tech friends and family. When a PC fails, you have to call the manufacturer and run the gauntlet of phone support. If there's something amiss in the hardware, you'll likely have to send it in to be fixed/replaced. With Apple, it's a Genius Bar appointment. I've always thought that the "Genius" in "Genius Bar" didn't refer to the slightly-above-minimum-wage tech support person helping you but, instead, to the person who realized that giving users friendly and non-scary tech support was crucial to the user experience. My mother, who is from a generation that will never be comfortable using computers, doesn't fear to make an appointment and resolve issues when I'm not available. Back when she had a Dell, she was too afraid to call their support line without me being present.
For every "<brand-x> has given me most trouble whereas <brand-y> has been reliable" example, there will be a "<brand-y> has given me most trouble whereas <brand-x> has been reliable" example.
I have a Black MacBook from 2009. Still working. The shell has developed a slight flex and the fan gets as loud as a blender but still perfectly serviceable.
The iPhone I bought in 2009 kept going until end of 2012, at which point I decided getting a new iPhone would be too expensive. After shying away from not buying an iPhone due to it being expensive and having tried everything from HTC devices, Nexus devices and even Lumia Windows Phones, finally back to iPhone. (Lumia was very nice though and quite like the Windows Phone experience)
The iPad 2 from 2012 is still not willing to give up. Keeps a good battery charge.
Recently I got a MacBook. It gets a lot of hate from a lot of people. But I will say it here... I LOVE that keyboard ! Works for me and I find it better than the MacBook Air. (This is again subjective)
It is not hard to see that I am an Apple Fan Boi and consume the Apple Kool Aid BUT I have had Lenovo, Thinkpad and HP Windows laptops from work. Lenovo with Windows Vista kept spinning it's fans even in Sleep Mode when I had left nothing running on it. HP blew it's mainboard. Thinkpad was the only one which kept going and I quite liked the tracking nipple on it.
I got a MacBook Pro (2014). Have not experienced any major hiccups. It runs pretty much everything that a developer needs.
I think Apple are going through the change and everybody is feeling the pain of change.
Things will be OK in a couple of years. I hope...
BUT Apple need to sort out issues with some of it's iOS apps. The Music app is Wonky. ! WhatsApp leaves the message text box hanging on screen if I force touch into WhatsApp from lock screen !!! And this is happening on a 6s.
Portable devices go through a heck of a lot more stresses than desktops. I've gone through my share if issues. At least half the time Apple takes care of it without issue. I have a 2011 MBP and a month or two ago my hard drive cable went bad. It was $20 on Amazon[1] and easy to replace. Apple products are so ubiquitous I feel like spare parts are easier to find. Maybe there are PC equivalents, but I can't imagine ordering a hard drive cable for a 5yo laptop off Amazon Prime.
I also avoid 1st gen models and usually wait a few weeks/months under the suspicion production issues are fixed.
You may be an outlier. I may be an outlier too. It's anecdote v anecdote.
But the only Apple hardware I or my family ever had an issue with (out of 8 iPhones, 4 MacBooks, 2 iMacs, a PowerMac, an Apple TV, and various accessories) was a MacBook Pro that failed after 6 years' heavy use. I'm pretty happy with that.
This response would've been exactly what I'd say like a year ago. The thing is that while a mac has in history delivered a better experience I'm not quite sure that's still the case. If you're buying premium hardware for a windows machine you'll still get a very stabile workstation.
I think it's just a tool in a toolbox and that your personal choice should depends on what you're using it for. Actually, hadn't it been for xcode being macOS only, i'd probably be on a linux machine right now, and if I worked more with 3D modelling I'd be on a windows machine due to the better availability of hardware/software.
Yeah, I don't want to switch for the same reasons, but this will be the first time I've actively resented buying a Mac. I've always understood that I'd pay premium prices for premium quality, but with the new MacBook Pro, I feel like my allegiance to MacOS is being exploited. They're simply too expensive, especially if, like me, you like in the U.K. or Europe.
Not to mention the benefit of taking your own to the Apple store when needed. And the insane degree to which they bend over backwards to fix things free, even more so if you bought direct from Apple and have AppleCare.
I agree, and for me it all comes down to the OS. I've tried using other computers and operating systems, but as a software developer, my income and livelihood depend on me being able to produce code and do so efficiently. I'm more than willing to spend $2500 on a computer, one that I will one day be able to sell for ~$1000 if my past experiences hold true in the future, that works smoothly without hiccups and has a pristine top of the line OS that works seamlessly with all of the programs I run.
I've tried Linux and like it, but some things just do not run the same as on my Mac.
I've also tried Windows recently and the OS just feels gross, slow, and buggy after working with macOS and Linux.
>> And I also will not recommend anything but a Mac to friends and family. They just have the best personal computer on the market, period.
Shouldn't you at least ask what your friends and family intend to do with their computer?
Macs are great in general, but they're not great at everything, so you shouldn't just give a blanket recommendation for a Mac without considering how it's going to be used.
And that's the problem. I do want to move away from MacOS but I don't see anything better yet. And there are a lot of useful apps unique to Apple's ecosystem and iCloud. Well, looks like I'm knee-deep in a vendor lock-in.
Not really, Microsoft has build some good and affordable machines. Had it been only to Mac, computers would wouldn't have reached the mass market. Same with iPhones.
I've never had any hardware issues with my PCs or Android phones. Sure, they arguably have more software issues, but those are "free" for me to fix.
Apple may be a good fit for some people, but it's too expensive for my blood. I'm not paying $1500 for a laptop only to shell out another $50 a year later for a hard drive cable. That's bullcrap considering my $150 chromebook has been running for 4 years now with 0 issues.