Why I dislike Apple products

[PsychoFish]

So I regularly get blasted off-forum for my extreme dislike of anything Apple Inc churns out. Being in the IT field I still prefer to tell people to stay clear of these abominations if they want to connect to my secure corporate network or do anything remotely useful with their device.

So, let's start with the MacBook (Retina) released in 2015. It has a 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core M Broadwell processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.6 GHz) with 4 MB shared L3 cache. Not the fastest processor in the world, sure as hell not faster than a Core i7-3770S (which is Quad core @ 3.1 GHz). It has 8 GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM and RAM is not upgradeable. NOT UPGRADEABLE? Ok, not like most people need more than 8GB of RAM today, but still. So I can't really fault them on the memory choice here at all LPDDR3 @ 1600MHz is perfectly acceptable for a laptop. Graphics are pushed by a Intel HD 5300 graphics with LPDDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory on a 12" 2304 × 1440 (16:10) 226 ppi display. I find the display a tad small, but if you're into a 12" display, then good on you. On to the storage, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD, not too shabby...and lastly it has a nice 480p webcam. Wait, what? 480p? Why not 720p? It makes no sense. No worries, if you don't really use the camera. Surely you do want to (if you're insane like me) use say an external keyboard, mouse and BluRay writer. Oh, I can't because there are no USB type-A ports. I have to use an ADAPTER?!

So can someone please explain to my why the MacBook is deemed superior to say the Asus G551JW with an Intel i7 4720HQ processor, 16 GB RAM LPDDR3, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4GB DDR3, 1TB 5400 RPM HDD and a 128 GB SSD, Blu-Ray writer, 720p webcam and 3 x USB 3.0 ports? Or even the Dell XPS 13? Acer Aspire V3?

Maybe I don't get it, is there something I'm missing? What am I missing? I'll rant about the iPhone next...

 

[Donisia]

Not missing much except for brand preference as well as it is supposedly a sign of wealth as they are overpriced most times

 

[Wyvern]

It's supposedly the best to use for designers and so on. But I don't see the draw - iTunes is the reason I hate it.

 

[StaggerLee]

So I regularly get blasted off-forum for my extreme dislike of anything Apple Inc churns out. Being in the IT field I still prefer to tell people to stay clear of these abominations if they want to connect to my secure corporate network or do anything remotely useful with their device.

So, let's start with the MacBook (Retina) released in 2015. It has a 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core M Broadwell processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.6 GHz) with 4 MB shared L3 cache. Not the fastest processor in the world, sure as hell not faster than a Core i7-3770S (which is Quad core @ 3.1 GHz). It has 8 GB of 1600 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM and RAM is not upgradeable. NOT UPGRADEABLE? Ok, not like most people need more than 8GB of RAM today, but still. So I can't really fault them on the memory choice here at all LPDDR3 @ 1600MHz is perfectly acceptable for a laptop. Graphics are pushed by a Intel HD 5300 graphics with LPDDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory on a 12" 2304 × 1440 (16:10) 226 ppi display. I find the display a tad small, but if you're into a 12" display, then good on you. On to the storage, 256 GB or 512 GB SSD, not too shabby...and lastly it has a nice 480p webcam. Wait, what? 480p? Why not 720p? It makes no sense. No worries, if you don't really use the camera. Surely you do want to (if you're insane like me) use say an external keyboard, mouse and BluRay writer. Oh, I can't because there are no USB type-A ports. I have to use an ADAPTER?!

So can someone please explain to my why the MacBook is deemed superior to say the Asus G551JW with an Intel i7 4720HQ processor, 16 GB RAM LPDDR3, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 4GB DDR3, 1TB 5400 RPM HDD and a 128 GB SSD, Blu-Ray writer, 720p webcam and 3 x USB 3.0 ports? Or even the Dell XPS 13? Acer Aspire V3?

Maybe I don't get it, is there something I'm missing? What am I missing? I'll rant about the iPhone next...

I'm going to play devil's advocate here because I like a balanced discussion, not because I'm an Apple fan. I'm really not, the only Apple product I own is an ipod. Full disclosure, I do love my ipod.

Apple products will always lose on hardware when comparing it to an equivalently-priced PC/ notebook/ phone. Unfortunately it is not fair to compare Apple products purely on this level. When you buy an Apple product, you are buying a complete package that includes exceedingly well-optimised software. iOS/MacOS software is optimised specifically for each device that it runs on which is a feature that you will never, ever find on PC hardware/ Android hardware.

Apple products are designed for and marketed to consumers that don't have any desire to have to tweak, configure or customise in any way. Apple users prefer a single out-of-the-box solution that at a PC environment seldom provides. The isolated ecosystem of Apple products directly enables this through strict quality control of third-party software as well as the above-mentioned software optimisations of each Apple product. This ecosystem also allows a seamless integration with other Apple products. This is a highly desirable feature for those who are less technologically inclined, or for those that just don't want much hassle.

Their products are designed for a specific market, one which I do not fall into, but I can appreciate it for what they are trying to accomplish and how they are, in my opinion, doing so very well. I'm not saying that any of these attributes make Apple products worth the price, or that they make Apple products necessarily superior, I'm just saying that it's not so simple to compare apples with... well... Apples.

 

[DieGrootHammer]

Fantastic comment [MENTION=9032]StaggerLee[/MENTION]. I share your sentiments completely.

We tend to forget that there are more people in the world that is not technologically inclined, nor actually care if a product is faster than another. If you take a survey of random people from the street, by far the biggest portion will not care at all that the Apple products are slower than their competitors. As people that read and have an interest in technology, it's easy for us to see which one is better, because we understand the difference better

Apple has always made a product that is extremely easy to pick-up and use. You get the hang of the interface and the system very quickly, the software available for all Apple products are insanely well designed to run of their products, and they are rather intuitive to use. This is the biggest reason why people not only got roped into the marketing behemoth that is Apple, but stayed there as well.

Also, if you already have an iPhone and an iPod, you almost cannot get any better than getting a Macbook, just for the eco-system that Apple creates. If you are loyal to the brand and keep getting Apple products, you will have a good time.

But, as people that are interested in technology, we know that Android and Windows devices are just as capable as any Apple device, and it's a fact that any competing product are much better technologically than an Apple product. But we are the minority of users, by a long shot.

 

[ArchieChoke]

fanboyism unfortunately.
Not sure where the link is, but some dude went around town showing the new Iphone - IOS 9 (But it was an android device).


People really didnt know the difference and were sold on "apples" new device look and OS.

I hontesly promote apple to users that I know will struggle with having the ability of full control over your devices.
If apple made a tv that had on/off, I would promote that too so grandma doesnt auto tune her tv.

 

[mottamort]

Fantastic comment [MENTION=9032]StaggerLee[/MENTION]. I share your sentiments completely.

We tend to forget that there are more people in the world that is not technologically inclined, nor actually care if a product is faster than another. If you take a survey of random people from the street, by far the biggest portion will not care at all that the Apple products are slower than their competitors. As people that read and have an interest in technology, it's easy for us to see which one is better, because we understand the difference better

Apple has always made a product that is extremely easy to pick-up and use. You get the hang of the interface and the system very quickly, the software available for all Apple products are insanely well designed to run of their products, and they are rather intuitive to use. This is the biggest reason why people not only got roped into the marketing behemoth that is Apple, but stayed there as well.

Also, if you already have an iPhone and an iPod, you almost cannot get any better than getting a Macbook, just for the eco-system that Apple creates. If you are loyal to the brand and keep getting Apple products, you will have a good time.

But, as people that are interested in technology, we know that Android and Windows devices are just as capable as any Apple device, and it's a fact that any competing product are much better technologically than an Apple product. But we are the minority of users, by a long shot.

That would be fine and all, if 100% of the people in my life with Apple products don't go out of their way to try and convince me that Apple is SUPERIOR in every way etc.
Which is totally different from people that just don't know any better.

[MENTION=6600]PsychoFish[/MENTION]. I hear they've even stopped making mac's with RJ-45 ports. Going FULLY wireless only on their Macs. ...is that true? o_0


Also, anytime anyone tells me their iPhone is superior I go "give it here, I have some movies on my pc i wanna give you...oh wait, you can't use your expensive phone as a basic flashdrive without jailbreaking it? too bad"

 

[PsychoFish]

So why do people buy a MacBook and then run Windows on it then? Makes no sense. I'm trying to make sense of the hype train. The Mac OS is fine, but it's as stable as any Linux (being based on BSD helped); The limited hardware support is likely due to the wring of proprietary code to ensure the OS can correctly interface with the hardware. Software options seem very limited.

 

[MalicE]

PsychoFish I couldn't agree with you more. and the iphone is fucking retarded

It's supposedly the best to use for designers and so on. But I don't see the draw - iTunes is the reason I hate it.

I'm a designer and I refuse to work on a mac

fanboyism unfortunately.
Not sure where the link is, but some dude went around town showing the new Iphone - IOS 9 (But it was an android device).


People really didnt know the difference and were sold on "apples" new device look and OS.

I hontesly promote apple to users that I know will struggle with having the ability of full control over your devices.
If apple made a tv that had on/off, I would promote that too so grandma doesnt auto tune her tv.

not the one you're referring too but just as funny

 

[PsychoFish]

[MENTION=6600]PsychoFish[/MENTION]. I hear they've even stopped making mac's with RJ-45 ports. Going FULLY wireless only on their Macs. ...is that true? o_0

Honestly don't know and really don't care either.

Also, anytime anyone tells me their iPhone is superior I go "give it here, I have some movies on my pc i wanna give you...oh wait, you can't use your expensive phone as a basic flashdrive without jailbreaking it? too bad"

I just have to ask them to connect to my wireless, as Apple doesn't support EAP-IKEv2; Or ask them to please take the battery out of their phones.

 

[Blazzok]

I immediately thought about this image. Although not as relevant anymore as it used to be, still funny

Counterpoint though is that people probably don't buy Macs with the intention of gaming. If they do then they should be shot.

I also have appreciation for the whole Apple ecosystem, everything just works and interacts with other Apple products, etc. However it is the user base trying to convince you it is superior in every way (and that is why they are willing to pay insane amounts for it) that is annoying as hell.

If you like your iPhone because it is fast, is made of metal, you can't bugger up the software and whatnot, good on you. I have no gripes with you or your iPhone, I think it is a good phone (just way too expensive, apart from other reasons I don't want one). I like my Android because it is half the price, has expandable storage, I can modify the software or put another OS on it and is also made of metal (if you so choose). I don't try and force feed you Android, why do you try and force feed me iPhone?

 

[MalicE]

an oldie but a goodie

 

[Dohc-WP]

I have some apple products and to be honest i have never had a problem with itunes, yes it takes a bit longer to maybe install a ringtone on the iphone and it is less customisable but not once have i had to worry about installing an antivirus also an iphone from 2-3 years ago can still run the latest operating system the apple system is not as fragmanted as android and yes i also have an android phone and its still stuck on the 4.2.1 os that came with it cause android phone devs dont care much about upgrading there phones to the latest Os's (apart from the very few top tier phones that usually end up getting 1 upgrade for the most)

also apple devices are super optimised a dual core iphone with 1 gig of Ram will perform faster than a quad core phone running android with more ram. (apps are just more optimized for the hardware)

long term support , the Ipad 2 is going to receive Ios 9 (that is a device from 2011, see if that will ever happen with an android device)


when it comes to Imacs yes the devices are not upgrade able but if you look at the amount of engineering involved in an apple product then you know you will receive a quality product. the screen quality, it barely makes a sound its compact etc some people just want less clutter and something that works straight out of the box (as been said by previous posters).

 

[MalicE]

I have some apple products and to be honest i have never had a problem with itunes

the problem isn't so much itunes itself but the fact that you can ONLY use itunes.

when it comes to Imacs yes the devices are not upgrade able but if you look at the amount of engineering involved in an apple product then you know you will receive a quality product. the screen quality, it barely makes a sound its compact etc some people just want less clutter and something that works straight out of the box (as been said by previous posters).

My Acer worked straight out of the box when I bought it 5 years ago and it still does so perfectly. and you don't hear as much as a squeak out of it. and that Acer [17", 4gb ram, 750gb hdd, 2.3GHz i3] cost me R11000 less than a entry level MacBook Pro [13", 4gb ram, 500gb hdd, 2.5GHz i5]

 

[StaggerLee]

fanboyism unfortunately.

That would be fine and all, if 100% of the people in my life with Apple products don't go out of their way to try and convince me that Apple is SUPERIOR in every way etc.
Which is totally different from people that just don't know any better.

I don't try and force feed you Android, why do you try and force feed me iPhone?

It seems to me that the problem here isn't with the product itself, it's with people that use the product who also happen to be pretentious wankers. There are people like this on both sides of the fence. The whole "PC-master-race" douche-baggery is a case in point.

So why do people buy a MacBook and then run Windows on it then? Makes no sense. I'm trying to make sense of the hype train.

This is because some software simply is not supported on Mac. In all honesty, if you boot up Windows more frequently than MacOS on your Mac device, then you should have bought a PC. These are not the people that I am referring to in my previous post but I certainly don't believe that it makes up the majority of Apple users.

The Mac OS is fine, but it's as stable as any Linux (being based on BSD helped); The limited hardware support is likely due to the wring of proprietary code to ensure the OS can correctly interface with the hardware. Software options seem very limited.

Stability aside, the software optimisations for the proprietary hardware also enable that hardware to run more efficiently than the same hardware on an un-optimised system.

I would like to summarise my position on this issue.
- I also dislike pretentious wankers
- There is clearly a place in the market for Apple products owing to the number of consumers that want simplicity and strangely enough, fewer choices when it comes to settings and customisability. Apple's phenomenal increase in market share over the past 15 years is evidence enough of this.
- Yes, I agree that Apple products are over-priced in our local market.

 

[Crableg]

I don't mind apple products, I have never been a fan of their Laptops / PC's, but I enjoy my iPod and i'll probably get an iPhone as my next upgrade, so i don't have to have 2 separate devices.

Their PC's and Laptops are STUPIDLY over priced for what you get though,

 

[MalicE]

I don't mind apple products, I have never been a fan of their Laptops / PC's, but I enjoy my iPod and i'll probably get an iPhone as my next upgrade, so i don't have to have 2 separate devices.

Their PC's and Laptops are STUPIDLY over priced for what you get though,

I won an iPod couple years back and I will admit it is the one Apple product I like. the batter life on that thing is amazing. interface is still stupid though

 

[PsychoFish]

Stability aside, the software optimisations for the proprietary hardware also enable that hardware to run more efficiently than the same hardware on an un-optimised system.

This used to be the case though, since Apple made the move from PowerPC to Intel x86 the underlying architectural differences have gone away. The underlying CPU is now a bog standard Intel x86 based processor on a Foxconn motherboard which has a custom layout, but still boasts 100% of the same components you will find on any other laptop with a Foxconn motherboard, which is then roughly the same as Acer, Dell or Sony (all of these use Foxconn to produce "custom" motherboards).

 

[StaggerLee]

This used to be the case though, since Apple made the move from PowerPC to Intel x86 the underlying architectural differences have gone away. The underlying CPU is now a bog standard Intel x86 based processor on a Foxconn motherboard which has a custom layout, but still boasts 100% of the same components you will find on any other laptop with a Foxconn motherboard, which is then roughly the same as Acer, Dell or Sony (all of these use Foxconn to produce "custom" motherboards).

Ah, but when you are writing custom drivers for your components (like Apple does) you can squeeze out every last bit of performance from them. You simply cannot do that when you have to consider that the component is going to be used in multiple configurations. In that case you limited to providing performance as specified by standards.

 

[TheAvenged87]

That would be fine and all, if 100% of the people in my life with Apple products don't go out of their way to try and convince me that Apple is SUPERIOR in every way etc.
Which is totally different from people that just don't know any better.

[MENTION=6600]PsychoFish[/MENTION]. I hear they've even stopped making mac's with RJ-45 ports. Going FULLY wireless only on their Macs. ...is that true? o_0


Also, anytime anyone tells me their iPhone is superior I go "give it here, I have some movies on my pc i wanna give you...oh wait, you can't use your expensive phone as a basic flashdrive without jailbreaking it? too bad"

Those kind of people who need to explain to someone else why their device is superior give me a headache. Some people feel the need to inform you that their device is superior, not thinking that it might only appeal to them. These days, it is strangely more the Android-fanboys that I get this from.

In the same breath, I use a GS4 and I've never used it as a flash drive, listened to music or watched a movie on it.

I don't understand fanboy-ism at all.I use a mish-mash of everything. An iPhone 4 as my running mate with running app (RunKeeper) and music loaded on it, a Galaxy S4 as my primary phone (I know, time for an upgrade), a Windows laptop (it doesn't really matter what platform I use, all my work is browser based anyway), a Google Chromebook for when I am not in the mood to use my primary laptop and an iPad. I use all of these in perfect harmony.

I do enjoy Apple products for what they are: out-of-the-box user experiences that I don't have to customize or mess around with. Solid first party and third party applications and uses. Good looking device designs and a great inter-device ecosystem.

If I do feel the need to customize, I do it on my Android device (which I hardly ever do, because the S4 is a rubbish device - perhaps I just got a dud).