Anyone here use an iPhone and a windows laptop? (No fanboys here! Just honest love for tech)

[ajcgn]

I enjoyed my iPhone 4 so much that I switched from PC to MBP in 2011 (when my PC started to die on me)

I preferred the photo processesing software on the MBP, but other than that, after six months I wondered if I wasted my money by switching. But then I soon realized, my MBP wasn't freezing on me like my PCs before, and I didn't have to do a system restore, like the many times I did with my PCs before, and the software didn't seem to conflict like on my PCs before, seems like I can leave my MBP on forever without rebooting. So, having gotten used to OS, I have been happier in the long run and have really integrated with my iPad and Apple TV other Apple stuff.

However, I am comparing a 2011 MBP to a 2007 HP laptop and other even older laptops, and I realize that this is probably not a fair comparison. Given the price of the MBP, I hope it lasts a few more years, as I am too lazy to research whether switching back to Windows would be better. Reading the OP, I guess I have to keep an open mind now.

 

[joeblow7777]

However, I am comparing a 2011 MBP to a 2007 HP laptop and other even older laptops, and I realize that this is probably not a fair comparison. Given the price of the MBP, I hope it lasts a few more years, as I am too lazy to research whether switching back to Windows would be better. Reading the OP, I guess I have to keep an open mind now.

Not to generalize, but I find that a lot of die-hard Mac users left Windows some time ago, often during the XP to Vista years, circa 2006-2008 which was generally considered to be a low point for Windows, and have therefore not realized that PCs have improved quite a lot since then.

The other problem is that getting a good PC does indeed require some research. If you're buying a Mac, you know what you're getting. Apple doesn't put out low quality machines, and they strive for a uniform experience across them. PCs, however, run the gamut. Some are awful, and some are just as good or even better than comparable Macs. I'm currently using the 2015 Dell XPS 13, which I think is one of the first ultra-portable PCs that surpasses the MacBook Air. The Surface Pro 3 is also a great device if you're okay with the form factor.

 

[Ghost31]

Yes,have been for years.
I've been using Windows 10 for a few months and been a beta tester and now have the released version and I'm very happy with it.

I'm absolutely shocked how good windows 10 is. After windows 7 I was so done with Microsoft. They really stepped it up

 

[Ghost31]

Not to generalize, but I find that a lot of die-hard Mac users left Windows some time ago, often during the XP to Vista years, circa 2006-2008 which was generally considered to be a low point for Windows, and have therefore not realized that PCs have improved quite a lot since then.

The other problem is that getting a good PC does indeed require some research. If you're buying a Mac, you know what you're getting. Apple doesn't put out low quality machines, and they strive for a uniform experience across them. PCs, however, run the gamut. Some are awful, and some are just as good or even better than comparable Macs. I'm currently using the 2015 Dell XPS 13, which I think is one of the first ultra-portable PCs that surpasses the MacBook Air. The Surface Pro 3 is also a great device if you're okay with the form factor.

This is my biggest issue. I just looked at a bunch of pcs on best buy and other places and cross checked with video reviews on YouTube and man. It seems like every pc comes with some stupid compromise that makes it suck. I found a hp laptop I really liked but it turns out they put a tiny battery in it and the trackpad is crap. Speakers weren't anything to brag about either and this is for a $900 pc.

From what I see, if you want a good pc you gotta spend more and at that point, we are approaching the same pricing as apple laptops. Which kinda puts the "apple tax" saying to rest. I'll check out the dell xps out of curiosity. I need something that's comparable to a MacBook. Ssd, high res screen, solid trackpad and good build quality

 

[joeblow7777]

I need something that's comparable to a MacBook. Ssd, high res screen, solid trackpad and good build quality

The XPS hits all those points. It's trackpad isn't as good as a Mac, but I'm not sure that any PC's is. Apple seems to have done some magic there. The XPS 13 comes in a 1080p non-touchscreen model, and a QHD (3200 x 1800 resolution) touchscreen model. Arguably it's most impressive feature is the fact that it's 13.3" display is nearly bezel-less so that it's dimensions are barely bigger than an 11" MBA, and considerably smaller than any other 13" laptop.

Due to the higher energy demand of the extra high resolution display, the touchscreen model doesn't match the MBA's battery life though.

 

[Ghost31]

The XPS hits all those points. It's trackpad isn't as good as a Mac, but I'm not sure that any PC's is. Apple seems to have done some magic there. The XPS 13 comes in a 1080p non-touchscreen model, and a QHD (3200 x 1800 resolution) touchscreen model. Arguably it's most impressive feature is the fact that it's 13.3" display is nearly bezel-less so that it's dimensions are barely bigger than an 11" MBA, and considerably smaller than any other 13" laptop.

Due to the higher energy demand of the extra high resolution display, the touchscreen model doesn't match the MBA's battery life though.

This is definitely in my top 3 now as far as pc laptops are concerned. I'll need to try this baby out in person to really know for sure how I feel about it, but so far from what I'm seeing this looks like a buy to me. I just watched this review. Wow. Loving the small footprint.

And did I read correctly about 15 hours of battery life?!

 

[joeblow7777]

This is definitely in my top 3 now as far as pc laptops are concerned. I'll need to try this baby out in person to really know for sure how I feel about it, but so far from what I'm seeing this looks like a buy to me. I just watched this review. Wow. Loving the small footprint.

And did I read correctly about 15 hours of battery life?!

Fair warning: Dell's reported battery life seems to be exaggerated. I have the QHD touchscreen model which they claim 11-12 hours for. I get more like 7-8. I've read that the non-touch is more like 10-12 hours tops rather than 15.

If you do decide to purchase one, I strongly suggest buying directly from the Microsoft Store. They offer almost Apple-like support as well as "signature editions" of PCs which come with absolutely no bloatware (something else you need to watch out for on PCs).

 

[z31fanatic]

Even 7-8 hours is pretty damn good for a non Apple laptop. That's almost on par with the new rMB and the 13" rMBP (actual work).

 

[andyp350]

The battery life and touchpad are two reasons i'll probably never go back to a Windows laptop (ignoring the fact that I much prefer OS X)

 

[BlueGoldAce]

My 2015 Lenovo carbon replaced a MacBook Pro. Battery life is easily 7 hours. Not MacBook Air hours, but he machine itself is superior to the MacBook Air hardware wise, even has a pcie ssd.

Had the new dell xps 13. Screen was incredible....but the trackpad was great, but not good enough for my taste

My Lenovo keyboard and trackpad are the best I have ever used, even better than my 2011 MacBook Pro.

 

[joeblow7777]

It's worth mentioning that PC trackpads can actually improve over time if the manufacturer puts out updated drivers. Certain aspects can even be adjusted in settings. For example, while using two-fingered scrolling I originally found that it was too slow, ie. took too many swipes to get to the bottom of a webpage. I then found in the settings that I could increase how many lines scrolled with each swipe. Much better!

Of course, I've always been a PC user, but I have played around with Macs enough to acknowledge they they have better trackpads. That being said, I can understand why someone who is used to Macs might find it harder to accept PC trackpads than I do. I imagine it's like when you become accustomed to high resolution displays and then try using lower res ones.

 

[mrex]

I only went from Windows to Mac about 2 years ago. But every time I use my work (Windows) PC which has much higher specs than my Air (i7/8GB vs. i5/4GB, both with SSD), I am surprised how slow that thing is.
I will certainly try out Windows 10 soon, but the problem I normally find is that initially it works fine but with a couple of weeks or months it all slows down like crazy until you do a fresh install.

everytime i use my work pc or mac, it is so close that on someday i throw them against to a wall. everytime i use my laptop at home, i smile... on every morning i go to work, i can make coffee while my computer is starting... im pretty sure it has nothing to do with your computer nor win, but your work things (management/secure/account policy/etc).

 

[joeblow7777]

everytime i use my work pc or mac, it is so close that on someday i throw them against to a wall. everytime i use my laptop at home, i smile... on every morning i go to work, i can make coffee while my computer is starting... im pretty sure it has nothing to do with your computer nor win, but your work things (management/secure/account policy/etc).

Yup. I'm a teacher, so I can't speak for other workplaces, but I know that school computers are always bogged down with software, extra security, and network restrictions. It's like having lead weights tied to the OS. That's why I use my own personal computer. Also, chances are that PCs in most workplaces don't have SSDs, and I find that now that built-in processors and RAM tend to be overkill for most productivity uses, it's hard drives that are the bottleneck. They get cluttered and fragmented. It's not fair to compare machines with SSDs to ones with HDDs.

 

[bhags8]

I love tech. Currently have Galaxy s6, ipad air 2, nexus 7, and HP Spectre x360 convertible laptop with Windows 10. Great laptop and love Windows 10. It has i7, 256gb ssd, 8gb ram just like macbooks. But I switch like every cycle for each gadget. For instance, before this laptop I had a 2014 MacBook air. Before my galaxy s6, I had the 6+, HTC One m8, Nexus 5, iPhone 5s, Galaxy s3, blackberrys, iPhone 4, Motorola Droid, Samsung Instinct, etc, etc. No fanboy here. Dunno how people can stick to one brand when each one has so much to offer. Will probably get a 6s too. Love it all.

 

[Ghost31]

I love tech. Currently have Galaxy s6, ipad air 2, nexus 7, and HP Spectre x360 convertible laptop with Windows 10. Great laptop and love Windows 10. It has i7, 256gb ssd, 8gb ram just like macbooks. But I switch like every cycle for each gadget. For instance, before this laptop I had a 2014 MacBook air. Before my galaxy s6, I had the 6+, HTC One m8, Nexus 5, iPhone 5s, Galaxy s3, blackberrys, iPhone 4, Motorola Droid, Samsung Instinct, etc, etc. No fanboy here. Dunno how people can stick to one brand when each one has so much to offer. Will probably get a 6s too. Love it all.

You my friend...are doing it right. I appreciate people that have a love of technology and not just a single company. We need more people like that because really, we wouldn't be where we are today because of just one company. They all contributed. I like Apple alot right now, but where would we be without google? Or Microsoft?

 

[eric3312]

I just sold my retina MacBook Pro to use as savings towards my next MacBook (sky lake) and I've been managing ok with just my iPad Air 2 and iPhone 6 for a bit. Then I heard about windows 10 coming out and saw the reviews and decided "hey. I have an old windows 7 laptop in a box somewhere. Why not update that thing and try out windows 10? It's free!"

So I did. And after like 4 hours later of updating my laptop (Jesus Christ it took so long I took a nap) I finally got to try it and wow. This is not the windows I remember. The design language is actually good! The edge browser is pretty cool and looks like it'll be good for ms to build upon, I like their selection of apps and the fact that instead of going to the Netflix site and searching for videos to play (like I gotta do on my Mac) I can just click on the netflix app and boom. Instant Netflix awesomeness. The snapping of the windows is way more intuitive than OS X (even though I got by ok with better touch tool) the live tiles are actually pretty neat and easily customizable and Cortana is like Siri for windows. Why the hell don't we have Siri on mac yet?! And I liked the "iPhone companion app" on there. Was interesting to see how much windows works well with iPhone. Looks like Cortana is gonna be coming to iPhone soon too? Excited

All in all, I'm pretty shocked. I had been away from windows for so long that I had no idea how far they've come. It's actually not a crappy OS anymore! Who knew? I'm still buying a Mac at some point when sky lake comes, but who knows? Maybe I'll load windows 10 on there and go back and forth between OS's all the time.

Anyone here in the same boat?

I use an iPhone and Windows computers.

I am a PC technician and a majority of our business clients use Windows systems. But a lot of them also have iPhones alongside.

This is fairly common in the business world.