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Why do people buy Apple?
- Thread starter Tech198
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the8thark
macrumors 601
The Main reasons I buy Mac:
1. Hardware - power consumption. Macs (especially the iMacs) are class leaders for low power consumption. Power bills are expensive enough as it is. If I can help that with a computer that uses a lot less power, that's something I'll take.
2. The Hardware - display. The iMac display is simply amazing.
3. OS X - No driver hell or hardware incompatibilities. For the most part things just work.
4. Price. Higher initial costs but the cost over time (with servicing/antivirus "which Macs don't need 99% of the time" and power added in), is actually cheaper per year.
5. Multiple OSes. There is no other hardware that can legally run all of the following OSes:
OS X: 10.9
OS X: 10.6 (via Parallels/fusion)
Classic OS 9 (via sheepshaver)
Dos (via dos box)
Windows XP/7/8 (via parallels/fusion or Bootcamp)
Linux (whatever distro you want via virtualisation or bootcamp)
Downsides:
I do want user replaceable RAM and a 7200 rpm HDD in the 21.5 iMac. But they are no longer an option. I can though get 16GB ram pre-installed and a fusion drive. More costly but in the long run better I feel.
I'd have to add in an external optical drive as well. I'd just get the Apple superdrive. The iMac I have is the last 21.5 model with an internal optical drive.
Those 2 downsides are not big issues. And when I eventually upgrade my iMac I'll be ok with that. My 2011 iMac is 3 years old already and still works just as well as when I got it day 1. I don't know when I'll feel it getting too slow for my needs. In my previous iMac 2006 model (the last plastic white model), I felt it getting slow for certain things by 2011. That's 5 years. So by that pattern I have to wait to at least 2016 before I think of getting a new Mac. That's 2 years more.
thejadedmonkey
macrumors G3
Beats me. I haven't purchased a new Apple product since they made them non-upgradable - and lets not talk about how buggy OS X is these days.
Savvy salesmen will tell you that most of the time people buy on emotion, and then rationalize their decision with reason.
This is why professional level advertising is usually heavy on pushing emotional buttons. We tend to find this annoying, because we, especially we nerds, don't like to think of ourselves as being driven my emotion.
Steve Jobs was, among many other things, a thoroughly brilliant salesmen. He was an insightful realist about the human condition, and he sold us a wonderful story about ourselves. And we bought the wonderful story about ourselves, as pretty much anyone would do.
And to a great degree, that is why you are reading this on a Mac.
Brilliant marketing.
Which you will now vehemently deny, while the real salesmen in the room quietly smile to themselves.
This is why professional level advertising is usually heavy on pushing emotional buttons. We tend to find this annoying, because we, especially we nerds, don't like to think of ourselves as being driven my emotion.
Steve Jobs was, among many other things, a thoroughly brilliant salesmen. He was an insightful realist about the human condition, and he sold us a wonderful story about ourselves. And we bought the wonderful story about ourselves, as pretty much anyone would do.
And to a great degree, that is why you are reading this on a Mac.
Brilliant marketing.
Which you will now vehemently deny, while the real salesmen in the room quietly smile to themselves.
I bought an iMac and iPad because of the operating system and the app ecosystem available. Here just isn't anything like it in the windows world. I remember all too well the wasted hours and days fiddling with windows crap like IRQ settings, com ports, the never ending ant virus software updates and scans. What clinched it for me was trying to do video editing on windows. Forget about it. After rendering for hours and trying to burning a DVD I'd get some obscure meaningless error and have to start all over again. I had enough.
ShiggyMiyamoto
macrumors 6502a
That's not entirely true. You can hackintosh almost any PC these days, given you get the right drivers for stuff from the vast Hackintosh community out there, and you'd be surprised at how well OS X can run on generic hardware. You'd TECHNICALLY be going against Apple's EULA, which means if you take the plunge and install OS X on non-Apple hardware, and there's an issue you can't resolve? Don't go crawlin' to Apple for help and tell them you installed OS X on a non-Mac... they'll look at you funny and deny any support.
Hackintoshing is fun, as you can basically build with compatible parts your own Mac and many times match or exceed the power of a Mac Pro for much less money. I could be exaggerating somewhat, but people have built some pretty powerful Hackintoshes out there. At one point my very PC here was running OS X Mtn Lion (back when I had an i5-2500k in it) and it ran quite well. I also remember back when I was running an i5-750 on the P55 platform/chipset I ran OS X Snow Leopard just fine as well. This is all done using OS X's installer WITHOUT ANY MODIFICATIONS to the installation process. Totally vanilla.
I've since upgraded to an i7-3770k (as listed in my sig below) and I've been meaning to re-Hackintosh to see how OS X runs on newer, faster hardware, but I don't have the time to devote to a complete system change over again at the moment.
Anyway, my point with all this is that you can ==INSTALL== OS X onto almost any generic PC, but getting support from Apple is a no-go. The Hackintosh community is pretty good though, so you'd be in good hands with them.
Southern Dad
macrumors 68000
Right, you can "build" something that will use OS X. I can take mine straight from the Apple store and either or both and add Linux to the mix if I wish.
I buy Apple, because:
1) The product provide the maximal experience with minimal hardware
2) The design
3) Apple's retail pricing policy. You can buy it and not be angry 2 weeks later
4) Apple's online support policy (not the stores or authorized partners)
A few remarks:
1) I like products that are designed to do a few things right.
Apple TV is the greatest example. MacBook Air is a great example.
There are "better" products. But IMO they are overloaded with features, want to be everything to everyone and usually are disappointing after a few weeks of use.
2) You can get other stuff with Apple's design/build quality. But they usually make other compromises. Battery life, pricing, stability. etc.
3) I like it a lot that my iPad I bought a few month ago still has the same retail price. I actually like that Apple doesn't do spec bumps so often.
4) If you bought online, the support and return policy is great here in europe. I never had to argue with any support guy or anything. It doesn't have to be free of charge, like it most times actually is. But I like that you know what you can expect.
If you ever dealt with Dell, HP or even Lenovo these days, you'd rather consider buying a replacement yourself than dealing with their support.
1) The product provide the maximal experience with minimal hardware
2) The design
3) Apple's retail pricing policy. You can buy it and not be angry 2 weeks later
4) Apple's online support policy (not the stores or authorized partners)
A few remarks:
1) I like products that are designed to do a few things right.
Apple TV is the greatest example. MacBook Air is a great example.
There are "better" products. But IMO they are overloaded with features, want to be everything to everyone and usually are disappointing after a few weeks of use.
2) You can get other stuff with Apple's design/build quality. But they usually make other compromises. Battery life, pricing, stability. etc.
3) I like it a lot that my iPad I bought a few month ago still has the same retail price. I actually like that Apple doesn't do spec bumps so often.
4) If you bought online, the support and return policy is great here in europe. I never had to argue with any support guy or anything. It doesn't have to be free of charge, like it most times actually is. But I like that you know what you can expect.
If you ever dealt with Dell, HP or even Lenovo these days, you'd rather consider buying a replacement yourself than dealing with their support.
OSX is "production friendly" and far more optimized for multitasking. I love the Finder, color labels, short keys and minimal interaction of the OS during work.
I bought my first Apple device, an iPhone, in 2008 when the only smartphones on the market were Blackberry and Windows Mobile devices and I liked it so much that I wanted to get a Mac. Nothing more to say.
ShiggyMiyamoto
macrumors 6502a
Why do you say "build"? You really can do what I described. It's not for the faint of heart or people without patience for tinkering... It's a hobby, albeit a niche one. Once setup and tweaked right, it runs like any other Apple-made machine would, without the obvious touches that Apple hardware would have. The only reason why I had my PC Hackintoshed was because my MacBook (listed as deceased in my sig) died, and I missed using OS X, so installing OS X on my custom rig was the only solution for me at that point in time. Once I find time and money to do it again, I totally will, even when I have my rMBP I plan on getting later in the year.
Tsuchiya
macrumors 68020
Well regarding MacBooks:
Overall Apple offers the least compromised product on the market. Price aside which laptop can match the combination Apple offers? Even things like the solid keyboard and large glass trackpad with gestures are spot on.
- Slim, durable, high quality build.
- Solid battery life (which more or less delivers on promises)
- Reliable product support- I know that in a few years time I could have this laptop repaired
- OSX is no-nonsense and hassle free
Overall Apple offers the least compromised product on the market. Price aside which laptop can match the combination Apple offers? Even things like the solid keyboard and large glass trackpad with gestures are spot on.
It's not usually considered good form to ask an open question, and then eliminate one of the important potential answers.
I bought my first Mac and 3rd Macs for the hardware. My first Mac was a Mini. At that time there simply wasn't a viable PC alternative with that form factor. And by buying it on the refurbished section I got such a good deal that I simply couldn't match the price with a PC of any form factor. Up until then I had built my own PCs, and had gotten tired of the amount of time I was needing to spend being my own tech support.
My 2nd Mac - a laptop - was for the software and hardware. The OS and its integration with the hardware and applications made me more productive than I had been.
My 3rd Mac was a 2008 Octo-core... and it was bought for the hardware. There simply wasn't a PC with that amount of heft for that price. I forget his name now, but at the time I regularly read a column on ZDNet. It was a good column, full of good advice... even if he thought Mac owners were crazy. He regularly mocked Apple and its 'Apple Tax' and would point out how much more PC heft you could get for the money. Until the 2008 Octo-cores came out. He was floored that he could not match those specs with a PC without spending several hundreds of dollars more. My Mini was struggling badly to keep up with my Photoshop files... so I bought my Octo-core from the refurbished store and saved even more money. Six years later it is still in occasional use, and I'm about to sell it for a figure approaching $1000. So there's another reason - resale value.
Now I'm just invested in the system. And it just works. And, despite your protests... it is safer even if it's not totally immune. Market share has little to do with it. The old pre-OS X versions had many more malware attacks and were a lot less safe from infection despite having far less market share than OS X does.
so, it's true what they say them.. "specs aren't everything"
if everyone believed this then no one would be buying the latest hardware, in fact manufactures would still be only putting out older hardware, just because its it would work...
Of course this isn't the case, or maybe its just "an Apple thing" about people don't care much about specs.... But to me, specs are everything, apart from software which would be second, PPC would still be around and we'd all still be buying them if Apple thought that hardware doesn't matter..
It still works, maybe not for the best OS, but it still works..
Sorry, this is the kind of thing i hear when i hear that "it's not about specs."
Yes, i do come from a windows background ages ago, but that doesn't matter.
To me, specs are specks, doesn't matter which machine it is.
You wouldn't buy a old 1992 car and say i'm gonna race a 2013 car would u ?
The only reason Apple can get away with this is "they make it popular, and great software".
if everyone believed this then no one would be buying the latest hardware, in fact manufactures would still be only putting out older hardware, just because its it would work...
Of course this isn't the case, or maybe its just "an Apple thing" about people don't care much about specs.... But to me, specs are everything, apart from software which would be second, PPC would still be around and we'd all still be buying them if Apple thought that hardware doesn't matter..
It still works, maybe not for the best OS, but it still works..
Sorry, this is the kind of thing i hear when i hear that "it's not about specs."
Yes, i do come from a windows background ages ago, but that doesn't matter.
To me, specs are specks, doesn't matter which machine it is.
You wouldn't buy a old 1992 car and say i'm gonna race a 2013 car would u ?
The only reason Apple can get away with this is "they make it popular, and great software".
With respect, I don't think you get the "It just works" thing. We don't mean "It just works" like a 1949 Ford Harvester tractor continues to work. We mean that the goal is to have everything from the HW to the SW work well together in a balanced way. Apple doesn't always hit this target, but that is the target they aim for.
To use your analogy, a 1992 car that has been tuned from the ground up to run races is still going to beat a modern car that is hobbled by some parts that are don't work with the rest.
A common problem, not universal, but it is a common problem that a couple of parts will hold the whole system back. That is because people buy based on specs they don't understand. So what if the CPU is blazingly fast (a spec commonly used to base a purchase decision on) if there is a bottle neck getting data to and from the HDD. Or how many people pay any attention to the RAM speed. What's the point of a blazingly fast video card if the bus it's plugged into is slow?
And because the OS is written by somebody else, it is not tuned for any particular combination of parts It just has to cope with whatever combination it is presented with. I have a great deal of respect for the coders at MS. To get their OS to work with virtually any combination of HW from dozens and dozens of vendors is a truly magnificent piece of SW writing. But they don't get an opportunity to tune it for a relatively small subset of HW.
Macs tend to balance all these variables so that the user gets a consistently fast experience. The "Just Works" saying means that you don't (generally) need to troubleshoot driver issues. That Macs can do cool things on ad hoc networks together for example I was astonished at AirDrop.. used it for the first time this week. There are many more examples of the cool things Macs can do with one another ... most of which PCs can do too, to be fair. The difference is that because a Mac can easily predict what HW and SW is in another Mac you don't need to go and tune the settings like you commonly do with a PC. PCs have the handicap of not really knowing what the other PC is capable of doing, so you have to set up each connection often.
I know this because I sit on a Board where commonly bring our laptops. Everybody has different tech skills. The Macs are doing their cool network thing in less than a minute, while the PC guru is going around for several minutes having to set each PC up individually. It's the little things like that make the phrase "It just works" true.
benzslrpee
macrumors 6502
well, back in 1992 there was this Japanese car... Honda NSX maybe? i think was a little fast if you like that sort of thing. the 0-60 was sub 5 seconds which i guess is still ok in 2013. heh. ok, funnies aside, you are correct. specs are indeed specs, regardless of machines.
so wouldn't it make more sense to value a purchase on something else? like, oh i don't know, this just "looks" better? cause that's what i told the gf when she was deciding between panties and thongs. boy... this just got weird 😱
so wouldn't it make more sense to value a purchase on something else? like, oh i don't know, this just "looks" better? cause that's what i told the gf when she was deciding between panties and thongs. boy... this just got weird 😱
The Doctor11
macrumors 603
960design
macrumors 68040
1) Hardware... find me a comparable Windows laptop for less. 8 hour battery life, 512SSD, i7 latest gen, retina equivalent screen, those are some pretty tough specs to match
2) Resale.. how much is your 3 year old dell worth? Wanna guess how much I get for my mac?
3) Software and hardware is created by the same company. Everything just works better. Nearly zero downtime from security updates, software updates, OS virus updates, virus protection updates, printer updates.... blah
4) I don't buy a computer to 'fiddle' with it. I buy it to work and make money.
2) Resale.. how much is your 3 year old dell worth? Wanna guess how much I get for my mac?
3) Software and hardware is created by the same company. Everything just works better. Nearly zero downtime from security updates, software updates, OS virus updates, virus protection updates, printer updates.... blah
4) I don't buy a computer to 'fiddle' with it. I buy it to work and make money.
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Bernard SG
macrumors 65816
Specs are relevant if you routinely do some "heavy-lifting" computer-activity (CAD, video, professional photo-editing, studio recording...). Which concerns only a small segment of users.
The rest of us have no problem using older generation hardware.
By the way, one other reason to buy a Mac: they seem to never die. My 2007 iMac is in a ridiculously perfect state of functionality. Just had to upgrade its Ram at some point.
I've used Windows for years, I never had the reliability issues that so many Apple users frequently mention. Maybe because I know what I am doing and don't fiddle.
I cannot tell you why Macs are slower than the same spec PC, so are not favoured by gamers. Perhaps the BIOS is configured conservatively as many Win laptops are, to aid reliability? I expected OSX to be faster as it is leaner, it doesn't have the legacy inane system file and registry structure.
My first venture to Apple was the iPhone 4, after seeing my friends 3GS, flipping through photos. Smooth and polished. So, now I use a 5S, iPad Air, and am a recent switcher to a rMBP, 15", 8GB, 528GB SSD, ATV3
To answer your specific question. Because Apple has chosen to optimize their systems for a more broad user base and not just for gamers. Whether this is a wise decision or not is another debate. But a system optimized for gaming requires different specs than one optimized for Photoshop (for example). Apple simply chooses not to optimize for games.
To address some other points you make.
I did not mean to say many PC makers made an otherwise decent system, but with a crappy part that hobbled it. Rather I meant that PC makers (generally) make a decent system - but then add a really well specced part. They market the system on the superiority of the well specced part(s), which is then held back the capabilities of the average parts elsewhere. It is still a decent, solid, system of course.
Hardware drivers are still the the Achilles Heel for both Macs and PCs. The vast majority of drivers work fine, and most users luckily don't have to deal with debugging them. I still remember when a common debugging routine was simply to change the order that HW drivers were loaded. This actually resolved many issues. But when you look at the Help Tips... one of the first things recommended when someone is having system issues is to make sure the system is updated... which means ... making sure the drivers are up to date.
Apple systems have fewer driver issues simply because the hardware choices are so limited. There's nothing magical about the OS - it's just easier to deal with a limited range of options.
I'm not trying to debate "which is better". The original question was asking why people chose an Apple computer. For the reasons listed in my posts, I like being a Mac Head. My reasons may not be applicable to anyone else. If you want a fast gaming rig, then I will be happy to agree that a Mac is not your best choice. It's not what Macs are designed to do.
For me personally - the software is the key. It's always been smoother - even in the 90s.
Granted... the latest iterations of OS X have been less stable for me.... but it's still much smoother than what any of the 'nix-distributors or Microsoft have been able to achieve on the desktop side of things (server is completely different)
Although one could argue part of that comes from their closed hardware nature - but hackintoshes run quite well nowadays (even with hacked-up drivers) so that argument is pretty much null and void.
At the end of the day I use OS X, windows 8, Ubuntu, and Centos 6 on a nearly daily basis... and OS X is still the best overall experience. Windows 8 is very very close behind, however, and I'm excited to see how the oncoming "desktop friendly" updates will work.
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As far as android vs ios goes - I had the original Razr Maxx and original ipad - and this january I got a nexus 7 and a 5s - iOS wins hands down. Even simple stuff like how it handles touch input at the system level works better.
At least in my experience, android is also a complete energy suck. It actually used to be decent in the 2.x and 3.x days - but 4.x is just awful at power management. It's well documented but Google just refuses to fix it. Kind of sad, really.
I have no direct experience with Windows mobile - but from what I've seen it works pretty well too. I was actually considering trying it out instead of an iPhone - but apparently the manufacturers hate Verizon.
Granted... the latest iterations of OS X have been less stable for me.... but it's still much smoother than what any of the 'nix-distributors or Microsoft have been able to achieve on the desktop side of things (server is completely different)
Although one could argue part of that comes from their closed hardware nature - but hackintoshes run quite well nowadays (even with hacked-up drivers) so that argument is pretty much null and void.
At the end of the day I use OS X, windows 8, Ubuntu, and Centos 6 on a nearly daily basis... and OS X is still the best overall experience. Windows 8 is very very close behind, however, and I'm excited to see how the oncoming "desktop friendly" updates will work.
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As far as android vs ios goes - I had the original Razr Maxx and original ipad - and this january I got a nexus 7 and a 5s - iOS wins hands down. Even simple stuff like how it handles touch input at the system level works better.
At least in my experience, android is also a complete energy suck. It actually used to be decent in the 2.x and 3.x days - but 4.x is just awful at power management. It's well documented but Google just refuses to fix it. Kind of sad, really.
I have no direct experience with Windows mobile - but from what I've seen it works pretty well too. I was actually considering trying it out instead of an iPhone - but apparently the manufacturers hate Verizon.
Im sorry but it will not. My pc (i built mind you) cost me around 800 dollars and in GPU, RAM and CPU severly beats a Mac pro in speed. All the PCs ive owned have lasted for 5 years PLUS if proper care is taken. As for software ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING IS COMPATIBLE especially when running linux as a secondary operating system. As internet security this is very usful when runing things like androroot or THChydra which mac users have very little hope of runing. Sure apple may be user friendly but restricts itself in the proscess by not allowing users to simply do anything of value (not true to some users but for me it is most certainly true. It restricting itself is however very true). Overall if you want speed and equal if not better quality, build a windows pc with a boot disk of linux (or a certain partition whatever) and you will be out runing your freinds as well have any software you would like.