Do you own any Apple products, and what is your approach to them

[Neroon]

So last week I got my very first Apple product ever, I was never really interested in them, never liked their pricing, but honestly that wasn't the biggest reason. The biggest reason was that I never cared to own any of their devices. I'm a gamer so that is a huge thing already. I was a huge fan of Windows Phone, and have used Android phones since with a Metro loader on it, and currently using a Fold 3.

 

I actually did consider a Macbook Air for a while when I needed a laptop for school (recently went back to school to get a Bachelor degree), but ended up getting a Thinkbook Plus Gen 3 (it's the 21:9 screen laptop with a tablet screen next to the keyboard) for a very good price, and much cheaper than a Macbook Air, with way more options, storage etc.

 

But then came the iPad, to be more specific an iPad Pro 12'9 inch M1 1TB/16GB with Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, for a lot less than a base model M2. (I paid 1k for the whole set - which was about 3k new)

I had been wanting something to sculpt on (I love modeling and 3d printing, but sculpting with a mouse is crap), and I just felt that this was the right device for it. You could do it on Android tablets or even a Windows one, but the iPads are way ahead in that space, not to mention they have a ton of great apps for creativity.

 

Honestly, it's been a very solid experience, obviously it's a very high quality device, everything works as it should, and honestly there is no proper competition in the space.

 

I have been a fan of Surface devices since they first released, in fact I still have the original Surface RT with touch cover here, and my old Surface Pro with type cover is owned by my sister, and honestly I still think that Surface RT combo is arguably still my favourite device I ever owned. Not because it was the best, but because it was exciting tech with so much potential.

This combo reminds me a lot of that, I prefer the keyboard and kickstand combo a little over the magic keyboard, but I definitely do prefer some of the advantages it has over the Surface system (mainly that you can actually use it on your lap, and that the screen sits higher)

 

Honestly, I would recommend it to anyone if they were in the market for something like that, and if I could go back, I might not have bought the laptop, hell I might end up selling it.

But only to those who got plenty of money, because the price is insane, I find it absolutely baffling that a base model here is like 1400, and a 2TB is like 2800. They want double for 2TB, 8GB extra and a different screen. It's ridiculous, just like 128GB in such an expensive device is ridiculous. Even games hit like 30+ gigs these days on these devices, what are they thinking selling that kind of storage.

 

And this is really where I keep coming back to. It's not that I don't think Apple devices are not worth getting, battery life, their M chips, general build quality, quality of their parts, weight, sound etc are all top notch. But unless you don't need much storage at all, it's all just so extremely overpriced.
To be clear, even their base models are still very expensive, as they definitely don't have cheap options, but I do feel that with their M chips they became a lot more competitive and worth looking at. If you don't need a specific system to work on, I do think an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard is actually 1 of the best devices you can own, and is a fantastic addition to my Windows PC and Android phone.

[NinJake]

I think the "on sale" m1 macbooks are an insane value for the price. They can normally be had for ~$750. If you buy a refurb you can obviously go even lower, and for the average non-power user, the m1 air/pro books are more than powerful enough.

 

I alternate between android and apple phones. I'm not sure what android I'll get next, but I was getting the OnePlus phones for a while. I'm currently still using the iPhone 12, but it hasn't shown any signs of wear/sluggishness quite yet, so I haven't even begun researching my next android.

 

Working in the tech industry, I think it's beneficial to be open-minded about different pieces of technology. Having some sort of bias towards one company or another for no particular reason is silly in my opinion. (think amd vs intel... amd vs nvidia... apple vs android... windows vs macos... ford vs chevy... democrats vs republicans...) There's a lot of unnecessary divisions between things, and rather than "picking a side and sticking with it", try to understand the pros/cons of each individual thing, and weigh those "actual, factual" pieces of knowledge into determining what device is best for you. Going back to my alternating between phones, I think it's nice to stay as up to date with android and apple, but don't want to spend the money to have 2 phones at all times.

[_Omega_]

would maybe but airpods but as  they only have bad support on android im out... 

[GOTSpectrum]

I'm unlikely to own an apple device in the near future, not because I hate them or anything like that. I don't agree with the amount of ewaste that is made from them locking down repairs but I just don't spend enough to consider them within budget 

 

[Donut417]

About 4 or 5 years ago I bought an iPhone XR to replace my OnePlus 3T. I got sick of Android devices only getting a couple of years of updates, while Apple does 5 to 7 years. I really liked the iPhone.

 

Then in 2019 I had some issues with Windows 10. This led to me going to Linux for some time. My friend convinced me to go back to Windows so we could game. Then Covid happens and I got Stimulus money like I was a stripper. I ended up buying a 13" Intel Macbook Pro. I found I really like the Apple ecosystem, especially iMessage, its nice getting all my text's on my computer.

[iramo94]

I recently bought a used m1 air to try out Asahi, it's pretty great hardware, I wish the software from Apple was as good.

[Erioch]

The last time I used an Apple product (imac) was in 2013 and it made me irrationally (rationally, really) angry.

 

My office used one of those really old Macs (the tall skinny ones)  back in the mid 90s until it literally blew up.

[Seccedonien]

I used an iPod from 2007 to 2012 or something and that has been it, I used iTunes twice to put music on them (I had 2 in that time period) and disliked that software so much I just did not bother ever changing the music on it. It was useful every now and then with it's browser (when you had a wifi connection) to watch a video but modern phones and Spotify made that product obsolete and I never had another Apple product since except for my EarPods which I recently bought as a backup for my wireless ones.

[kirashi]

3 hours ago, Neroon said:

So last week I got my very first Apple product ever, I was never really interested in them, never liked their pricing, but honestly that wasn't the biggest reason. The biggest reason was that I never cared to own any of their devices. I'm a gamer so that is a huge thing already. I was a huge fan of Windows Phone, and have used Android phones since with a Metro loader on it, and currently using a Fold 3.

 

I actually did consider a Macbook Air for a while when I needed a laptop for school (recently went back to school to get a Bachelor degree), but ended up getting a Thinkbook Plus Gen 3 (it's the 21:9 screen laptop with a tablet screen next to the keyboard) for a very good price, and much cheaper than a Macbook Air, with way more options, storage etc.

 

But then came the iPad, to be more specific an iPad Pro 12'9 inch M1 1TB/16GB with Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, for a lot less than a base model M2. (I paid 1k for the whole set - which was about 3k new)

I had been wanting something to sculpt on (I love modeling and 3d printing, but sculpting with a mouse is crap), and I just felt that this was the right device for it. You could do it on Android tablets or even a Windows one, but the iPads are way ahead in that space, not to mention they have a ton of great apps for creativity.

 

Honestly, it's been a very solid experience, obviously it's a very high quality device, everything works as it should, and honestly there is no proper competition in the space.

 

I have been a fan of Surface devices since they first released, in fact I still have the original Surface RT with touch cover here, and my old Surface Pro with type cover is owned by my sister, and honestly I still think that Surface RT combo is arguably still my favourite device I ever owned. Not because it was the best, but because it was exciting tech with so much potential.

This combo reminds me a lot of that, I prefer the keyboard and kickstand combo a little over the magic keyboard, but I definitely do prefer some of the advantages it has over the Surface system (mainly that you can actually use it on your lap, and that the screen sits higher)

 

Honestly, I would recommend it to anyone if they were in the market for something like that, and if I could go back, I might not have bought the laptop, hell I might end up selling it.

But only to those who got plenty of money, because the price is insane, I find it absolutely baffling that a base model here is like 1400, and a 2TB is like 2800. They want double for 2TB, 8GB extra and a different screen. It's ridiculous, just like 128GB in such an expensive device is ridiculous. Even games hit like 30+ gigs these days on these devices, what are they thinking selling that kind of storage.

 

And this is really where I keep coming back to. It's not that I don't think Apple devices are not worth getting, battery life, their M chips, general build quality, quality of their parts, weight, sound etc are all top notch. But unless you don't need much storage at all, it's all just so extremely overpriced.
To be clear, even their base models are still very expensive, as they definitely don't have cheap options, but I do feel that with their M chips they became a lot more competitive and worth looking at. If you don't need a specific system to work on, I do think an iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard is actually 1 of the best devices you can own, and is a fantastic addition to my Windows PC and Android phone.

I own an iPad Mini 5 that gets used infrequently for a handful of iOS only music / DJ apps. Now that Apple's latest iPad Mini no longer offers a built-in headphone jack, I see no point in replacing this with the Mini 6 (or 7 when it's released) because DJ'ing over Bluetooth introduces lag and I'm unwilling to purchase or carry around a USB-C to 3.5mm dongle just to use wired headphones.

[Vilacom]

The only reason I'm not on a full apple ecosystem is because of my desktop for gaming.  The seamless sync between my phone, ipad(which I use far more than any other piece of tech i own) and my laptop is just so easy and pretty fantastic.  My macbook pro that i bought back in 2018 still works great for everything I do with it(photo editing and email/web surfing).  When I got my new iphone last year all you do is hold the damn thing near your old iphone/ipad and it syncs perfectly.

There are absolutely downsides to apple, cost being a big one.  But I gotta hand it to them, the actual experience using the ecosystem is pretty fantastic.  

 

[da na]

I think I might have a Lightning cable at the bottom of a drawer somewhere..?

[Montana One-Six]

I recently wanted to get one of the older ipods (non touch) mainly because of nostalgia but the better ones in good condition are unjustifiably expensive for something ~15 years old.

Other than that I really don't see any reason why I would want Apple. I mean my desktop is used for gaming so apple is not a good option. For laptops I considered Apple in the past but since I use Linux on laptops it doesn't make sense to go Apple. You can get a better laptop than Intel Macs for cheaper and the Apple silicon stuff isn't working that great with Linux right now. I also never considered getting an iphone mainly because of the restrictiveness compared to Android.

[Spindel]

I have:

iPhone 

iPad

Apple Watch

AirPods Pro

Mac Mini (M1)

Apple TV 4K (1st gen)

 

My relation to my Apple devices are that they are my phone, tablet, smart watch, computer, wireless ear phones and media player.

 

I know how they work and prefer the way they work that’s why I use them.

 

On the computer side I hate Windows (I still use Windows on my work issued computer) and Linux has no software support and is to fiddly.

[seanondemand]

Something is only overpriced when people stop paying for it. 

[lewdicrous]

I've been switching over to Apple products throughout this year. Probably the best decision I've made.

[geomac]

About two years ago I switched from Samsung Watch, Samsung S20, and windows laptop to all Apple. I still build computers and use Linux and Windows on desktops / servers, but after trying the iPad (because that was the only realistic tablet option) I was open to trying Apple ecosystem.

 

The biggest annoyance was windows laptops, I've just personally have had extremely annoying issues between the bloatware, windows, drivers, and motherboard firmware and interactions therein. Android was okay, but no longer had any feature advantage over iOS anymore now that all the Android companies started converging on their hardware and software design. iOS, while locked down, is pretty solid. MacOS is alright, I do most of my work in Linux so MacOS is not very limiting on the go for me.

 

The tight integration that Apple enforces is limiting but convenient and stable, and I'm happy with my decision.

[undergroundbeef]

I currently have:

• 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro (M1 Pro)
• iPhone 13 mini
• iPad mini (current generation)
• AirPods Pro
• AppleTV HD
• AppleTV 4K
• HomePod mini (x3)

In the past I've had:

• iPod 2nd Gen
• iPod 3rd Gen
• 17" G4 iMac
• iPod Photo
• iPod Shuffle (a few of them)
• iPod Nano (a few of them)
• iPod touch
• iBook
• Intel MacBook Pro (a couple of them)
• Intel MacBook Air (a couple of them)
• Mac mini.... probably 4 or 5 of them over the years
• Intel iMac
• iPhone (day 1)
• iPhone 3G
• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 4S
• iPhone 5S
• iPhone 6
• iPhone SE (2 of them)
• iPhone XS
• iPhone 12 mini
• AirPods
• iPad (day 1)
• iPad mini (1st gen)
• iPad Pro
• AppleTV 1st gen
• AppleTV 2nd gen
• HomePod
• Apple Watch... probably 3 or 4 of these
• Probably a couple other iPads

I've had a lot of Apple stuff over the past 20 years.

 

I know I can do whatever I need to do on Windows or Linux. I can and have done all that as well. I've used Linux on and off for over 20 years, and Windows was my daily driver before the Mac. It was boredom that got me to first move to the Mac. Windows was boring and I was looking for something different. That's where Linux entered the picture, and even alternate shells for Windows (I used aston for a while... I'm surprised this is still around, https://www.astonshell.com). None of it scratched the itch. I had an iPod and at the time iTunes wasn't available on Windows, so I had to use Musicmatch Jukebox, which was really awful. The desire for something new and different, coupled with iTunes envy made me try the G4 iMac. The integration between iTunes and the iPod was fantastic. I then got a RAZR phone and was able to use iSync to sync it with my Mac contacts, which was fantastic, and something I didn't see anyone doing on Windows. Seeing OS X develop over the years, starting at 10.2 was pretty fun. Every year there were massive new features that changed the way I used the system. I hopped on board when they were the scrappy underdog, and road the wave to what they are today. It's been cool to watch.

 

While I can get what I need done on any OS, I prefer the way macOS works and it fits my workflow better at this point. On top of that, the integration between the product feels much better. I don't have to jump through hoops or spend much time playing system admin in my free time, I can simply use the stuff. There is a lot of value in that for me. I have also found the 3rd party apps to be of higher quality. I think a lot of this goes back to the early days when Apple was small. The people who developed for the Mac did it because they loved it, and that was something that could be felt when using the software. Windows and Linux software always felt much more utilitarian, there was no artistry to it. One specific app I remember was Disco, an app to burn CDs and DVDs. When burning a disk, colored smoke would rise out of the app's window. Stupid stuff like that made me want to burn a disk. When I would go back to Windows from time to time, if felt like I was using the same apps I used 10 years ago, and they looked/felt the same to. There was nothing new. On OS X/macOS it seemed like there was a ton of progress when it came to the software it was running and it was fun to watch all this new stuff come out and try it. I've mostly stabilized now on the apps I  use, and I think the industry has as well, as things have shifted to mobile-first. Of course, even the 1st party apps included in the OS seem much better for macOS vs Windows. I use a lot of the Apple apps, where I always feel like with Windows I need to go find other options. Even the "good" Windows apps, I've tried to get into OneNote probably 2 dozen times and I just can't do it, but Apple Notes is great.

 

One big distinction I've noticed is that on Windows and Linux you're presented with a toolbox. Here are a bunch of features that can do things, and you can put them together in a way that works for you to create a process and solution to whatever problem you have. Great. On Apple products they identify and problem and say, "here is a solution to problem X." I like that better. The old MS Outlook has To Do items. It is the worst To Do system I've ever seen, because it's just a toolbox. I have spent hours learning various features, trying to design various systems, watching videos about other people's systems, but nothing just works. I need to always remember my system and use Outlook in a way to support that system and give it the care and feeding it needs. Apple has Reminders, it's a To Do list, it's simple, but has built in an obvious solutions for some more advanced options. I don't need to spend hours of my time to have it become useful. This does mean doing things in the "Apple way," but I find that to be a small price to pay to have software get out of my way and become useful. And yes, MS bought WunderList to make their stand alone To Do app, which is better, but I still had to screw around and turn a bunch of stuff off to stop it from pulling in information from Outlook and making a mess of things, but I digress. I think this difference of solutions vs toolboxes is why Apple has been more successful than Microsoft and launching new product categories. Microsoft makes something new, tosses it to the public, and says, "figure it out." Apple presents a problem people may not have even known they had, then presents a product to solve that problem.

 

[igormp]

Only have a work issued MBP 14". The battery life is pretty good and performance is ok (specially considering that it's a laptop, but still far behind my desktop), but MacOS itself sometimes is pretty... annoying. It also has some weird bugs, but that may be specific to the M2 Pro models (some coworkers also face similar issues).

 

I personally don't like Apple devices, mostly due to their systems. iPhones currently have amazing battery and reasonable size for the base model (RIP Mini models), however the lack of sideloading, having to pay a license to develop on it, only being able to do so with another Mac device and the system being tightly locked me down makes it not worth for me, so Samsung it is. I'm plenty happy with my S22.

 

I also have a Samsung tablet, but that was mostly because it was way cheaper than an iPad and all I use it for is taking notes and reading some comic books. An iPad could've served me as well, but not worth the price and it's not like I'm using all the device has to offer.

 

Specially in my country, most Apple devices are just not worth the price. My MBP was north of $5k, whereas the same device goes for less than $3k in the US, which is still pretty expensive. Personally I'd have gone for a laptop that's half the price and slapped linux on it (like the Z13), but compliance stuff and yadda yadda. Sadly there's no 32gb version of the MBA, otherwise I would've preferred that instead.

 

I did give my parents iPhones and iPads because that's what they're used to.

 

So yeah, I wouldn't get an Apple device because I do not like their OSes, but can tolerate it for work since I do need to get shit done.

[freeagent]

I started with a 4S 8GB, then 5s 16GB, 7 32GB,  XS Max 256GB, and now 14 Pro 1TB. We  have some iPads kicking around for the kids, and an Apple TV for the bedroom so she can watch her shows. She is also an iPhone user who converted from the droid. I did have an old Galaxy S3 that I put a 4400mah battery into and sold for a hundred bucks lol..  

[Neroon]

I'm kinda surprised how many of you serious Apple users there are.

I have no doubt a lot of anti Apple people dodge this topic, vs Apple users opening it, but I always assumed this place wasn't that heavily into Apple.

 

Do you follow the general criticism that LMG in general has on Apple products, or do you think they are unnecessarily harsh on them.

I actually had that with the iPad (with Magic Keyboard), because they reacted as if they tried too hard to make it something it's not, when I do believe it's a perfectly fine set up for the right user. In a time where so many people don't care for laptops or desktops, this gives you something that you otherwise have to buy a seperate machine for. Obviously from our perspective as laptop/desktop users it's less relevant, but I believe tablets with keyboards attached to them, are a perfecf fit for so many people.

 

That said, I do think LMG has eased up on them a bit, mostly because Apple has been delivering things that people been wanting. And I don't mean a faster or better iDevice. But in tech as a whole. A fast, light and high quality laptop with excellent battery life/management etc. 

I used to see them only as a different eco system, and it wasn't so much about being better, but being different.

 

Like hands down, if you don't have an OS preference, don't need much storage, but you need a laptop that goes all day, 100% get a M1 Macbook Air, it's that simple.

 

[Killjoy_NS]

Well considering phones....I will never buy iPhone.
Same thing basically as any other android phone, except it costs a lot more.

[ToboRobot]

i have an airport base station, m1 air, and iphone se. 

Nothing is the latest or greatest, but it works, well, and working together better than anything else.

I also have a gaming windows box, and a linux server, so I am not tied to any platform or ecosystem.  But a mac laptop is probably the best laptop experience over windows or linux from my experiance, and the continuity with iphone makes life simple.


Most Apple devices are premium, not luxury products, so you pay more but get a superior product. 

[Kisai]

1 hour ago, Neroon said:

I'm kinda surprised how many of you serious Apple users there are.

That's because people like "Apple", or even Apple hardware, but not base configurations and locked-down/hard-to-repair aspects. Which to be fair is not usually enough to dissuade people from a purchase. It just dissuades people from purchasing an Apple device because it doesn't meet their needs.

 

Apple has thus far been a lot less evil than everyone else selling phones and AIO computers, but that doesn't mean they aren't without fault.

1 hour ago, Neroon said:

Do you follow the general criticism that LMG in general has on Apple products, or do you think they are unnecessarily harsh on them.

 

 

If there is any one Apple device you can own without controversy, it's the iPhone. This is because the iPhone is the de-facto standard for smartphones, and everything has to meet the iPhone at parity or it's not a good device. 

 

The iPhone is so good, or even the ONLY device in some use cases (such as mocap) because it's a device that people can easily get. If you want to do mocap stuff, your alternatives are much-more-expensive mocap gear that you have to pay through the nose monthly to use, or you have to BYO setup with trackers that doesn't even come closer to what ARKit can do by itself.

 

Basically for $600-$2000, you get an iPhone that you can also use for things other than mocap. Where as a dedicated IMU stereo webcam gets you a camera that is only really useful for one kind of mocap, and is otherwise just a 720p webcam when stereo isn't used. Why would you spend almost nearly $700 for a stand-alone camera, that isn't supported by most mocap software anyway. 

 

People greatly underestimate how much kit the iPhone actually replaces that once required separate hardware:

- Photo camera (which is good as most non-DSLR cameras, $400)

- Video camera (which is good-enough as long as you don't need zoom,  $1200)

- AR tracking (See above, minimum entry $700, more typical $4000)

- Music Player (Remember iPods? Remember CD players? Remember the Walkman? $100)

- Game player (Good grief a Nintendo Switch is $400 by itself)

- Web Browser

 

And that's just what it does out of the box without apps. We didn't get into other music/audio applications which would require at least a professional microphone. We didn't get into using it as a portable POS (Point of Sales) device. There's lots of other things that only require one additional piece of hardware that the iPhone can easily replace bringing your laptop along.

 

The iPhone replaces easily $4000 worth of separate hardware, so the price is easily justified if you travel. If you're not traveling, and you barely use your phone for anything but a single task, maybe that single piece of hardware is a better value than the iPhone. But it's typically not unless you're like a wedding videographer/photographer.

 

Where as Android phones can rarely, if ever do all of this. Sure, Android phones like to tout their cameras, but then you get stuff like this and question why you would ever buy one if it's going to produce misleading images. When you get into forensics, you would be unable to rely on Samsung phones because they alter the images without consent. DLSS-like functionality to add detail that isn't there in the first place is false advertising.

 

But what about other Apple hardware?

 

The Mac Pro has always been a fantastic value... when you could add RAM and Disk's yourself. Without that functionality, the Mac Pro may as well not exist, because you can't add PCIe Geforce and Radeon GPU's to it to get more GPU functionality. Fundamentally, Apple's "Mac Pro" offerings haven't been good since end of the 2012 models. Apple hasn't released models that are suitable or even attractive over comparable Intel offerings from other OEMS. The ARM silicon model will simply never be attractive at all because people aren't going to throw away their Mac Pros after 3 years when the needs change.

 

On the other end, the Macbook Air and iMac may as well be thrown away after 3 years. That is wasteful.

 

That is why people are more angry about the unrepairability and lack of user-upgradable functionality, because the computer offerings are always weak to begin with, so they have much shorter life spans. Instead of being computers you can hold onto for 7 years like you could historically do with all Mac's before 2012 models.

 

All these e-waste increases happened after Steve Jobs died in 2011, which to me signals that perhaps the product engineers at Apple were no longer told "No" to stupid ideas like the butterfly keyboard (2015-2019) or the touchbar (2016-2022), and I would put "soldering the RAM and SSD" to the PCB in the "Stupid ideas" bin.

 

In the context of a laptop, I'd rather have the option to upgrade it, in the context of a desktop, I will NOT buy a desktop that I can not upgrade the RAM and SSD in.

 

Hence "iPhone = acceptable compromises", "MacBook Air/MacBook Pro = unacceptable base configurations", and "Mac Studio/Mac Pro = Why do these products exist without upgradable RAM and Storage???"

 

All Apple hardware, charges 2-5x as much for RAM or Storage than other vendors using the exact same parts, which is something to grumble over, it becomes extremely "WTF??" when you look at the Mac Pro wheels for $500, when you could go to Home Depot and buy furniture casters for $5 a piece. You could also just buy a "desktop" wheel frame, they exist, because workstations are heavy.

 

Again, most of the whining about Apple comes down to two edge cases:

- Hardware is underpowered, and upgrades are over priced

- Hardware is to closed/proprietary making too much of it e-Waste

 

There will eventually come a point where no further improvement in CPU and GPU power is possible, which might even be in the next decade, by which then the only differential will be RAM and Storage. Every computer will be some low-power SoC because that's the only thing left to improve on without telling everyone to go back to programming in C.

 

[Arika]

The worst thing about Apple devices is Apple as a company.

But, and a lot of people know this about me, I used to have a quote in my signature saying:

"judge a product by its own merits, not by the company that created it"

As such I have no issues with getting and using an apple device if it suits my needs.

 

In fact in probably going to be picking up an ipad pro next week despite being someone who a lot of people would say is anti-Apple.

[RabbidEwok]

Depends which ones you get and why. I’ve tried pretty much all of the currently sold ones bar the Mac Studio and Pro. Some worked for me and I still have them, some haven’t and they’ve been moved on. Generally though they make good to excellent quality products, some which make competing products look stupid and they last quite a long time before being replaced. If I didn’t swap my phone every two years my phone would last me 5 years, my laptop I’m expecting to last 5-10 with a battery replacement amd my watch is a fairly new addition that I’m still making my mind up on.