Ok, let's do this. First of all, some background: I am an owner of a 16" MBP with a 12-Core M3 Pro CPU, 36 GB of RAM, and 512 GB SSD. I represent a non-typical type (I guess) of a somewhat power-user. Non-typical because I don't deal with workloads related with intensive graphics/video processing or AI/LLM tasks, yet I really need high-enough multi-core performance because I develop optimization code for next-generation wireless communication networks and run simulations (that often are really intensive) using parallel computing to simultaneously utilize all P- and E-cores. I also own an old MBA 13" 8 GB / 256 GB (Late 2013). I have used in the past Windows PCs for many years (and I hate the latest Windows version with passion) and I exclusively use Android phones (IMHO, Android is miles above iOS the last many years and a high-end Android phone is a much better machine than the latest iPhone -- but this is another discussion for another thread).
Let's start from the
hardware - and I am talking exclusively for laptops here, since this is the area I am familiar with. Everything boils down into one word:
experience. I love the experience. Please let me elaborate. My MBP provides performance which is faster than most typical users would ever need and satisfying for most more-intensive-than-typical workloads (like mine). The machine feels snappy when I am running simulations and at the same time I have 100 tabs open on the browser and a few other apps are running (from LaTeX, PowerPoint, Word and PDFs - with 10s of documents open in each one of them - to Facebook and whatever). At the same time, the laptop remains dead-silent and cool and its battery lasts longer than I would ever need. So after only a few generations of M-Series SoCs, we have CPUs that are not only impressive in terms of power efficiency (performance/Watt), but they are also very good in terms of absolute performance (much better than the majority of the competition in the Windows PC realm actually) while maintaining low fan noise, low temperature, and long battery life! On top of that, the screen is a gem (amazing brightness, amazing whites, 100% color gamut etc.), the speakers and the trackpad are the best out there, the build quality is top-notch, and the keyboard is really good (not the best out there, but really good - it is closer to my tastes than most others, but it is not perfect, and I certainly understand why some people don't like it). Everything - from watching a movie or YouTube videos to listening to music and from browsing with 100 tabs open to running simulations utilizing all 12 CPU cores - feels snappy and effortless.
Moving into the
software (the other important aspect of what makes the user experience good), I love macOS - with all its flaws. I like its sleek and minimal design/its aesthetics, of course. But more importantly: I love the concept of the menu bar (having on top the menu of your application, which adapts to each and every one application). I love having apps as icons on the menu bar too. I love the extra capabilities that the Option modifier key gives you. I love the tight integration of the OS with key shortcuts and trackpad gestures - really simplify and accelerates things. I love the "drag-and-drop" logic behind the OS - essentially, you can drag-and-drop pretty-much everything everywhere, and when you realize that, your life becomes simpler and better (it took me a while). I love the consistency across the OS (Windows Systems Settings, this is for you) - with one exception: the inconsistency between the actual file manager and the pop-up file manager window when you try to "Save as...". I love (as opposed to many) the Finder as a file management system, I much prefer it over its Windows counterpart which I believe tries too hard/overcomplicates things in its effort to be more advanced and for that reason fails. For me, having the ability to drag-and-drop my most often used folders to the side panel, open new tabs, use column view, group or sort (Option key is your friend again!) files in column view, add the path at the bottom, and rename a group of files using index or count number is more than enough. Windows tilling is not that good as in Windows, but for my needs, it is more than fine. Spotlight is very powerful (and much better than Windows search - but then again, what isn't?). And then there are small things - the ability to automatically group files in the Desktop by category (e.g. screenshots) etc., which are probably present in Windows too. Other small things that in my opinion were missing or there were not to my liking or small problems, I solved them with apps/utilities (e.g. AltTab, Aldente, etc.), most of which are free or low-price (a few bucks). I also love that today there are apps where you can create an ecosystem between your Mac and your Android devices (from file transfer like AirDrop to Continuity), so I don't feel that I really miss something from not using iPhone. Also, I certainly enjoy the fact that I have never experienced a lag or a BSoD or a forced OS update or had to deal with bloatware and ads etc. And I love the support for the last macOS that the machines have for 7 years. Given that any 5-10 years most people are bying a new laptop, it is OK.
What I dislike is that in few cases, macOS seems to suggest that it knows better than the user - you can find this irritating behavior in a couple of places.
Overall, the combination of hardware + software with the above characteristics makes for a very enjoyable user experience. This is not my previous... experience with Windows PC: many crashes, long loading times (even in File manager, when I had to deal with large files, I had to wait to load!), constant forced updates (often at the worst times), many laptops that lasted less than a year or about 1.5 year, high temperatures, high fan noise, low battery life, mediocre performance, and me feeling fighting against the machine at the end of the day... To be fair, the situation lately is much better than what I described above in the Windows laptops world, yet many issues remain and, frankly, I feel that Windows laptops have somewhat closed the gap with M-series MBPs (and MBAs), but they are not really there yet. The direct competitors at this level of quality and performance are
not less expensive, yet they are arguably worse in almost every key aspect (power efficiency/battery life, fan noise, temperature), typically with only marginally better or even slightly worse absolute performance (I am talking multi-core here, in single-core more often than not M-series SoCs are better anyway), worse trackpad, and at the best scenario in favor of Windows PCs, with comparable screens (OLED vs. Mini-LED -- I prefer the latter, probably I am a minority) and with comparable speakers (often worse). But even then, they come with Windows - which are a no-go!
Furthermore, there is nowadays a trend of using SoCs in Windows laptops as well, so more and more RAM upgradeability is not possible even in the Windows laptop domain.
To sum up, the MBP for me is a poweful, efficient, and robust machine which comes with an OS that solves more problems than it creates, simplifies my life and makes for an enjoyable user experience. I know that I will use it for many more years without a problem.
What I hate in the current landscape are the high configuration prices. And OK, for RAM I somehow get it, because we are not talking about SO-DIMM modules here, there are technical reasons why it is expensive (although even here it is more expensive than it should), but on the SSD side, 200 USD for 256 GB of storage in 2024 is laughable. External SSDs could be a workaround, especially in a few years given that M4 Pros and above come with TB4 ports, but it is not an ideal solution (for a desktop it is ok, but for a laptop it is not the best solution). Fortunatelly, for my needs, 512 GB - 1 TB of SSD is enough; but in general, the pricing scheme is not good.
I also hate the product segmentation strategy: after all the upgrades in RAM and perhaps minor updates in storage, you are typically only 100 USD below the next tier which is usually a far better option. This pushes you to the next level, but then you start again the whole "let's upgrade" thing and so on and so forth...
What I would like to see/ what I am missing? Over the last many years, each new macOS release is nothing more than a minor update. The tight integration of hardware and software in Macs gives the opportunity for much more. I would love to see, for example, at least a good fraction of the customization that is offered by KDE Plasma 6 (which is amazing by the way) - at least at the Appearance side of things. I wouldn't say no also to something like the start menu (the only thing I am missing from Windows - when implemented correctly, as in earlier versions of Windows, it is very useful). The Launchpad is not the same thing.
If you made it until here, you are a hero and you deserve the best in life!
