Apples are fragile?

They use the same components...

 

Nope. The same if not better than most PC manufacturers.

 

Which PCs?

If we're talking about IBM ToughBooks, I'd say generally yes they are more fragile, but if we're talking about Dells, then they're much, much more rugged.

 

Considering how much abuse my macbook has been through and is still flying along, I'd say they're definitely more durable than Dell's from experience.

 

Just because they look nicer doesn't mean they're more fragile.

 

Macbooks, no (unless compared to certain Thinkpads).

Macbook Pros, unfortunately yes imo. Any bit of pressure against the screen will dent it. You can even apply some pressure with your finger to the back of the screen and you'll see a swirl on the screen.

edit: maybe I should rephrase what I said a little bit. If "fragile" means a failing hard drive / components etc. then the MBPs are like any other laptop. But it's very easy to damage the aluminum "cosmetically" I guess?

 

All I can say is my PowerBook survived a motorcycle accident in my backpack taking no visible and functional damage last october. Luckily I took almost no visible and functional damge too.

 

In general the metal casings will take some dings pretty easily but that doesnt mean that it wont keep on working. It will just look a little less nice.

 

well...apples do bruise if there dropped

 

Oh Gawd no....

Take a look at any number of 'total cost of ownership' studies and you'll find that Macs come out way ahead and always have.

I support both Macs and Windows for a living and can tell you I wish it was only Macs - I'd have a much easier job.

 

Where?



I think that most general computers are surprisingly tough. Granted you shouldn't expect your computer to survive repeated abuse, but they won't fall apart from the slightest fall.

Macs are no different than other computers in that sense; they're meant to be handled carefully.

Now if we' were to compare a Toughbook (or whatever it's called, the Panasonic one) with the macbooks/mbps, that would really be one interesting experiment!

 

Not sure if this question is physical or mental

Yes, some of Apple's products are fragile (even though if you are not being careful with):

Powerbook battery charger (poor durability)
iPod nano (scratches)

 

Not so much a question of fragility as one of poor design. The iBooks were tougher than the Macbooks, the G3 Powerbooks were tougher than the G4 Powerbooks, which were tougher than the Macbook Pros, etc. No construction material will hold up over time if it's badly put together.

 

Like most here are saying, compared to the average PC laptop, they're pretty damn durable. My girlfriend's black MacBook has been tossed around, dropped, etc., and it still works fine. I've spilled some liquid and such on my white one, and it's still flying. So compared to the average Dell or something, I'd say they're tougher.

Compared to those PC laptops that are designed to withstand anything? Well...they're designed to be tough. Anything's going to be fragile compared to those.

 

Apple products have a very good build quality overall.

 

My ibook g4 is more than 3 years old now. it has slipped off of many beds, couches with the lid open and it still works like a champ.

 

I've only ever had one PC laptop. It was a Compaq from around 1999. I don't believe it was nearly as durable as my MBP. The most vulnerable part of it was where you plugged the power supply into it. I had to completely open up my Compaq to access the part the power supply plugs into and solder and glue it back in place, which only held for a short time. In short, I personally think it was a piece of junk.

MagSafe was a genius invention, in my opinion

 

I don't think they are any more or less fragile than PCs. But they are generally better built imo.

 

I dropped my macbook once from five feet high by accident and it survived, with no internal or external cosmetic damage. Although it was in an incase sleeve. But i've also seen a Macbook screen crack in a book full of bags

 

I think they are tuff

 

I don't care what anyone says, and I frankly wish that people would stop ignoring this issue-- MacBook cracking. Everyone else I know with a MacBook has the exact same crack above the right magnetic latch. Oh, and then there are the hundreds (thousands?) of corroborating pictures found on the internet. Apple build quality may be less fragile than the rest of the industry in many respects, but when you essentially manufacture the hardware yourself, it is much less likely that such a specific flaw that is so inherent within the design itself will ever be resolved (especially when your marketing pattern requires cranking out the exact same flawed hardware for 2 years after the isssue has surfaced). Conversely, the PC industry has the arguable benefit of putting out many hardware builds which eventually get evolved and refined for known defects over shorter time period. What I really don't get is why fellow MB owners seem to talk about being so glad that they bought AppleCare "because that crack on the palm rest would have been SO expensive to fix!"-- when the flaw was inherent within the purchase to begin with.

 

My school bought 30 macbooks a few months ago, and not a single one has a crack in it. One did have a bad keyboard, which was replaced.

My MBP is perfect... no stuck/dead pixels, no yellow screen, no problems of any kind. So is my wife's.

Apple's build quality is fine, in my experience.

 

Give it a year. I'm willing to bet at least 1/3rd of them will have had cracking issues by then.