Whenever I hear somebody moving to a Macbook and make any sort of complaint onkine, lots of people unhelpfully tell you to buy a $1000+ iPhone and that will solve all your problems, or when an Android user is “switching to iPhone”, a similar thing happens with “just use a Mac”. Why the hell do you need to purchase all the expensive devices to just use one?
Most of the time, using an iPhone, Mac, etc., does not “just work”. Maybe the UI is simply not very usable (not just Liquid Glass, see MacOS’s terrible implementation of a settings app, iOS not having an option to combine the quick settings and notifications), third-party devices (headphones, chargers, tablets, etc.) simply do not work well (no, “get the iDevice” is not helpful!), iOS having the most ass file management that may as well not exist, all the different bugs poking around everywhere (through my own experiences with iOS* and my friend’s with MacOS), etc. “Give more money to Apple to fix it” is not good advice and does not help to solve anything.
Why is it that, when Apple has inherently worse hardware, everybody seems to put up with it? On their Macs, you have 60 Hz LCD displays on a $1000+ laptop, no good ports selection unless you spend thousands more, ridiculously priced memory and storage upgrades that would be a death sentence to any other company, very shallow key travel that feels terrible to type on compared to other options, etc. As for their iPads, you have similarly not so great displays on a relatively high end tablet unless you spend thousands on a tablet with an uber-fancy M5 chip (why would anyone need that???), a keyboard case that is so expensive despite feeling like a cheap membrane keyboard you got on Aliexpress and being so top-heavy, etc. Who in their right mind would purchase a $550 set of headphones made of ridiculously heavy metal, with uncomfortable cushions, terrible battery life, mid ANC, and several year old innards?
How has Apple manipulated so many people with their marketing? I don’t really see anything quite like it in other product segments. What is the secret apple sauce?
*note that I currently run an Android phone, but I have my issues with them too that I won’t get into. My particular device is very bloated and incredibly annoying to work with sometimes, but it’s what I’ve got. On my laptop I happily run Linux, where the device simply listens to me which is a nice change of pace
edit: Actually, no, I think something similar occurs with Nintendo (in video games) and Disney (for films)
I’m a nearly everything apple user. It started with a macbook air that I was gifted. It was an incredibly stable laptop that basically just always worked. I had no troubles doing things like finding the printers in my department or the library (something which was stupid frustrating with my prior laptop). I had that laptop without any other apple products for 7-8 years.
The iPhone started my move into everything else. I used to have a fit bit but when the battery died, I got the apple watch because it was so much easier to connect/keep connected. I got airpods for the same reason.
I want stuff that works the way I expect it to work and works all the time. Everything I’ve had is very stable.
Honestly, this has been my experience too. I’m not an all in Apple user, but I have had a few devices over the years and for the every day user, it’s a pretty easy experience.
I started with the old Apple router. That thing ran like a champ and I was really sad when they got rid of it. It was what made my gamer buddy more open to Apple products, games ran great on that thing. I didn’t purchase another Apple product for a few years. I used to talk so much shit about Apple and I was hopeful that the Microsoft Zune would be the iPod killer. It wasn’t, but I still have my 2 Zunes.
I had an original Motorola Droid with the flip out keyboard (something I truly miss). But the OS was garbage and I constantly had issues. Eventually, I purchased my first iPhone off a friend for about $50. I think it was a 6 or something. More to help friend out than me needing a new phone, it was my chance to try an iPhone for cheap. It was a significant upgrade to my previous phones.
After that, I have kept with iPhones because upgrading to a new system is extremely simple. Previously, you had to pay to transfer info from one device to the next, it could be done at home but it was a lot harder. With the iPhone, I literally just log in and everything is there. Yes, I save things to the cloud. Yes, I understand the problems it has, but I accept that. Now, I have an iPhone 13 that I will probably be able to get another 2-3 years out of. I don’t ever buy the Pro because it’s more than I need, I usually get the regular with more on device storage when I upgrade. I also have an AppleTV because I feel it’s one of the better plug in TV devices and it links seamlessly to my iPhone.
For me (and probably the vast majority of Apple device users) “it just works” is enough to keep me happy. I don’t need all of the customization that Android provides, but I’m so glad it’s an option for people. I have stability, user ease, and an ecosystem that, while it may be closed, it’s simple and doesn’t really have any issues. I almost never experience the issues that most people complain about with Apple products.
I’m still all in on PC though, I don’t need a Mac because it’s too expensive for what I do on my computer, which is mostly playing World of Warcraft. I still use Windows because I don’t do much with customization so many of the issues people have with Windows, I have never experienced. I’d like to move to a Linux system, but when I tried last year, I couldn’t get Warcraft running, so I switched back to Windows. I will likely wait until I get a new PC before I try again. With computers, most people’s options are Mac or Windows because that’s what is at the store. Linux isn’t typically sold installed on a device (which I wish it was) and a lot of people just want to open the box, start it up, and go.
I wanted to add that I’ve been everywhere in laptop operating systems. The computer that I used before the first macbook was running Mint. I use a Windows laptop for work. I’ve had 2 or 3 major problems with my macs. I’ve have 3 major problems with my windows machine so far this year (and a dozen other smaller issues).
Yeah, I’ve had a few issues here and there across all of my devices, but most can be fixed with a restart. I’m literally the only person at work who does not have constant problems with my work Windows laptop. But I’m also the only person who shuts it down every day at the end of my shift and goes out of my way to check for updates.
I get why folks who are more involved in their devices or prefer more customization may not like Apple products, but a lot of people just see them as a device to connect to the internet or write papers etc. and that’s about it. Folks like Apple because it works for them.
I’m really happy there are options for people to have a device that suits their needs.