[ythn]

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.

[WaltPurvis]

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.

[Pigo]

I can appreciate, and respect, a user who is honest about a preference. People who throw out "it just works" give you guys a bad name.

[TheOneTrueKyle]

Hackintosh it up. Youy won't regret it

[WaltPurvis]

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.

[TheOneTrueKyle]

Yeah I agree. My 2010 MBP isn't going to last much longer and have no idea where to go after it dies.

[awj]

As a counter-anecdote, my Apple devices seem to be the only ones that don't give me problems.

[curun1r]

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.

[stillworks]

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.

Nothing is perfect and nothing is worst ever.

[pfranz]

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.

[1] http://a.co/21dD7Iw

[gmac]

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.