Eh, all these broad brush sweeping statements and specific individual issues are just noise and random data points. It all just depends on what you want or need. I’ve been on Macs and iOS devices since 2008 and it’s bee great. Excellent well supported high quality systems that have lasted many years and given me outstanding value for money overall. Yes I’ve had hardware failures, including 2 hard disk failures. One was on a 6 year old machine so par for the course, the other was a few months out of Apple Care but they replaced it for free anyway.
I completely believe the horror stories though. They’re a huge company operating all over the world. Frankly these things can happen with any company. I only use iMacs and a Mac Mini so can’t comment in detail on the laptop keyboards but I can understand why people were upset.
It entirely depends on your own specific needs and circumstances. For me a Mac is a powerful, well built consumer desktop and Unix workstation, with some great convenience features. For someone else they might be over priced inflexible systems lacking needed capabilities.
You are correct that its easy to mis-apply broad sweeping statements based on individual complaints, however, Apple's extended warranty program generates billions of dollars and the Apple repair market is also worth hundreds of millions (sorry don't have a handy link, this is just waht I remember the last time I looked. Should be easy enough to Google). Its clear that like any other product Apple products too fail, and its also clear that the customers understand that Apple products fail.
Apple has more and more in common with other luxury goods, such as expensive cars, which have a glamourous reputation but are notoriously unreliable after only a few years. Then they are eye wateringly expensive to repair.
For someone buying simply for utility, Apple is best avoided. Their market position and financial incentives are aligned against selling you a machine that is solid in the long term.
Apple is more akin to a Fashion Line than an Electronics company
They have a premium price not because they are a premium product but because "influencers", celebrities, and the wealthy use them, thus they "must be premium" and must have a high $$$
It is perception vs reality, it is marketing vs substance
In this Apple is Genius at perception and marketing
I completely believe the horror stories though. They’re a huge company operating all over the world. Frankly these things can happen with any company. I only use iMacs and a Mac Mini so can’t comment in detail on the laptop keyboards but I can understand why people were upset.
It entirely depends on your own specific needs and circumstances. For me a Mac is a powerful, well built consumer desktop and Unix workstation, with some great convenience features. For someone else they might be over priced inflexible systems lacking needed capabilities.