I used to worry that Apple was slipping. Apple TV+ especially made me question the direction of the company. Then I got a MacBook Pro with an M1 chip. It’s honestly stunning.
I still get a lot of value from Apple. For me the biggest plus is the longevity of their products. Or at least it used to be! I have a maxed out mid 2015 MBP 15” that’s going strong and a sturdy iPhone 7 Plus. I am concerned about he longevity of new iPhones (glass backs?) and of course the well documented issues with the new mbp.
Overall, for the quality of the hardware, ease of use and quality support I have always gotten from Apple, I am a customer for life. I value ease of use and design above everything, so I would never switch to windows, Linux or android (cue the hate but you must admit, if nothing else Apple products are damn easy to use. If I have to spend 1 extra hour configuring something, or do anything cusom whatsoever that is unacceptable to me)
They have legitimately incredible products and services. The M1 alone was a game-changer in so many ways, and as far as I'm aware Apple has always been innovating that way.
I don’t know that its what Apple does right but that the broader PC market continues to shoot itself in the foot. Little things like pre-installed bloatware and the inability to figure out smooth trackpad scrolling (still!) keep me firmly on Apple devices. And more recently, the M1 platform is remarkable, so I tip my hat to them for that and doing the basic stuff right (mostly—there have been blemishes obviously).
This. I was vehemently against Apple products for well over a decade. Then I got a MacBook Air in the mid 2010s, and begrudgingly admitted that they made pretty decent hardware. Still kept Android (some Samsung, then Pixels), though.
Then Apple Silicon launched, and I bought a base-spec M1 Air. Almost 3 years in, and I have never owned a better laptop in my life. It is astonishing the amount of power and battery life they've managed. It destroys my work-assigned fully-spec'd i9 MBP in every conceivable metric.
Finally, I swapped a Pixel 4a 5G (tried Pixel 5 and 6, was disappointed with both) for an iPhone 14 Pro, non-Max. After getting used to iOS, I have to admit that iPhones are better than Android in nearly every way. The only thing I really miss is Android's launcher. Everything else is just better, as long as you stay within the Apple ecosystem. Pairing new devices, Universal Clipboard, scanning PDFs from the phone directly into Preview, FaceTime, iMessage... it's better. Period.
This is an interesting point. Besides making a few $1 purchases of songs or podcasts with iTunes (which I haven't done since 2018), I've never been an Apple customer. It hasn't taken any special effort to avoid them, either. But I'm struck by two things in Apple's favor:
(1) I keep hearing fantastic things about their new M1 processors and laptops, and it actually has me slightly interested in Apple for the first time in my life, so that's impressive.
(2) Just the extreme loyalty among people who are Apple customers.
But it hasn't distracted the company. Each of those things I listed are massive successes in their own right.
Not everything Apple does is a success, but they have gotten it more right far more often than wrong. The M1 chip affects also their entire existing computer line. AirPods work beautifully across iphones, macs, and ipads. Apple watch integrates flawlessly with my iphone (answer calls, play pause etc). These are accessory products that reinforce the main ones which they continue to upgrade beautifully every year.
They are able to balance both (Cool New Thing and upgrade cycles) and through it all, keep their product list to a relatively small number of items/skus. Compared to google who offers so many additional services and applications.
When Steve Jobs passed in 2011 I was certain that Apple would lose its way and start diluting their products/brand. To the contrary the last 10 years where an absolute tour the force in expansion of the spirit of Apple. Sure there where some issues. There always are. But in general it is incredible how they scaled to such epic proportions while maintaining this high level of discipline and excellence. I am amazed. Congratulations to the people who made it possible.
I've been using Macs since the 68k days and I have been waiting for this to happen. Apple makes, in my opinion, wonderful products, but they'd always been so niche and have to act that way. That meant product introductions at fan events (Macworld), outrageous pricing, etc. We're seeing that change and it's great. Apple is pushing products out when they're ready, their products are more competitively priced, they're more open than they have been in the past, they're selling through normal channels rather than exclusive retailers like they did in the past. . .
I own 2 separate apple PCs. And seriously considering replacing one of them (Mac Mini) with Mac Pro ($3000 starting price !!) for video work. And probably getting another mac laptop for wife.
I got on the apple fan train kinda late, like right around when they transitioned to Intel.
With that said, I sometimes feel Apple hitting it big with iPhones was similar to someone winning a lottery. Often when someone wins jackpot, he grows distant from friends/family because of his money. He loses his direction in life due to the sudden infusion of wealth.
The decisions made since Ive has left Have me hopeful for a better future at Apple. They’re never going to be perfect, but things are going in the right direction. Their laptops are getting ticker for crying out loud!
It is kind of amazing how much the landscape has changed. I have always used Apple computers and phones, and I used to view Apple as a vaguely sinister company, but one that produced the best products. It is very weird to me that they are now a model for non-evil practices among large tech companies.
reply