Do you try before buy?

[nightcap965]

Long time Apple fanboy. I never miss an opportunity to visit the Apple Shrine, er, Store and yield to the Hands On Imperative. I had a very enjoyable evening last night at my friendly neighborhood (OK, it's about 60 miles away) Apple Store, and came home with a new iPad Pro. I had to balance it in my hand and allow myself to be wooed.

I love Apple stores.

 

[Steve686]

With phones- preordered so no chance to try.

iMacs-i run my own 4K video on them to see if I like how they handle them while in an Apple Store.

MBPr-same as iMacs

Pre iPad Pro iPads-always try them first and don't preorder. They are a more personal device and I like to see if they would fit my style of usage size wise. I've had every model and size except the original. The original always felt like a tank.

iPad Pro-didn't test it to order it.. Would've ordered anyway. But I did test the pencil because I have hated every stylus before the Apple Pencil. The Pencil is probably the best peripheral Apple ever made.

Apple Watch- prordered without trying. Cancelled because I wasn't sure if it was for me. Went to a store after a month, tried it, bought it on the spot. Probably the item in most need of trying before you buy.

 

[Acorn]

I bought my ipad mini without trying it out. I figured I would get used to the smaller size from the standard ipad size. That never happened and I should have chosen the ipad air instead. I do find the mini a bit small for my comfort.

 

[Jasmynp]

I watch and read early reviews and forum posts. If things are generally favorable, I buy and do a trial run inside the return window. If I like it, I keep it. It's important to me to load on my own stuff on and see how it would really behave in my specific use cases.

 

[jagooch]

I bought my ipad mini without trying it out. I figured I would get used to the smaller size from the standard ipad size. That never happened and I should have chosen the ipad air instead. I do find the mini a bit small for my comfort.

I had the same experience with the Ipad mini 3. I bought it without trying it in the store. Then I played with it using different accessories, a case stand, a bt keyboard, etc. None of those accessories make it work for me so I sold it on craigslist.

A year or so later, I got the ipad air 2 from Craigslist. the experience was ok but I still didn't it use it very often. After I bought a Belkin QODE ultimate case, I started using it constantly as the form factor and overall utility of that keyboard over the logitech ultra thin keyboard made it my go-to device.

 

[Andy847]

I always do if possible. Just because some of the new features that some devices have, I might not be familiar with, so I like to familiarize myself with how it works. Since electronics are expensive if you like a lot of devices, I want to make sure the features are something I would want and work for what I need in my workflow. I have a 27" IMac, but tried that before buying, mostly because it was a very expensive purchase. Even though my buddy's I saw and tried, I still needed to see it in action at the Apple Store, with some help from one of the salespeople who could show the little nuances of it. Now I love it.

As for the Ipad Pro 12.9, I've had regular Ipads in the past and always sold them or returned them, because the drawing experience was not that great. The stylii before the Apple Pencil leaved little to be desired. I was Strictly Android, before my Ipad Pro, having Samsung Note phones and tablets. I thought they were the best, but after trying the Apple Pencil at the store, the side by side feature, and other things like speed, I was pretty impressed with what Apple had done with the IPP. So it was worth buying after trying. I could have gone with a Samsung Note Pro Tablet, but it's old tech being 2 years old already and rather put my money towards new Tech like the IPP. I highly doubt I could go back to a smaller tablet size also, after using the IPP 12.9

 

[sparksd]

No, I prefer a longer, hands-on experience. Only tech things I've returned are items that didn't work.

 

[Channan]

If we're talking strictly iPad purchases, I don't need to try before buying as I know the newer ones will be better than the older ones. I did try the first gen iPad before buying as I thought the iPad was a joke at first, but after playing with one I realized I loved the giant touch screen. After that I've always ordered iPads when I felt it was time to upgrade and have never been disappointed with a purchase.

 

[smooth]

For iPhone, no I did not try first. I had already made the switch to Mac and when I decided to get my first smartphone, iPhone 4 was the winner. I knew it would sync well with my Mac so I just went for it.

Now when I switched to Macs, it was a different story. I had a little experience using MacBooks in church and school and liked it but the prices of Macs almost scared me off. I ultimately made the leap and after a bit of a learning curve decided I was not going back.

With the iPad, I had never planned on getting one. My wife got one and before long I was constantly wanting to read on it so I decided to get my own.

As far as upgrades go, it's just a matter of deciding on which model. When the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus came out, there was no decision as the bigger the screen the better as far as phones are concerned. For the iPad, I was torn between the Mini 4 and Air 2 but ended up sticking with the 9.7 - glad I did.

 

[rui no onna]

My trial is the 14-day return period that Apple Stores have. Since Apple is both manufacturer and retailer, and given their relatively higher markup compared to competitors, I feel that's pretty much their customer satisfaction or your money-back guarantee.

So far, only thing I've returned is an Apple Leather Smart Case for the iPad Air. The dimensions on that thing was just off. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn I've spent more than $10K on Apple products ever since I got the original iPhone (in 2007).

 

[Ffosse]

No, I just read the reviews; if they're good and I want the product, I'll walk the mile to the store and buy.

 

[12vElectronics]

I generally buy before I try. My standards are fairly low in general though lol