Why do people use Mac desktops over laptops?

Because the iMac and Mac Pro are more powerful than the MBPs and the iMac even costs less.
Some don't have a need for portability and prefer a bigger screen (27" is still not that common outside the iMac and some displays).
The Mac Pro has more expansion options.
The Mac mini is just a 13" MacBook (Pro) redressed without display.

There are probably more reasons, but I am too lazy to go search for them.

 

Let's see, I just bought a 27" iMac. I7 3.4ghz, 16gb ram, 2gb VRAM.

Biggest Mac book screen, 17" (if you buy last generation products) - difference of 10". Turns out, a lot of people like having 10" of extra screen. Like myself.

My iMacs processor is 3.4ghz. Biggest MacBook processor? 2.7ghz.

All I'm saying is even if you completely specd out MacBook pro your going to spend a lot more money and get a lot less power than if you got an iMac.

 

Some people like having their computers grounded and not moving around. Also, desktop machines tend to handle video editing better than laptops. I don't have a MBP, but I know my MacBook tends to transform into a jet engine when I do any intense video editing.

 

Keyword being "Can be".

My imac is being used by everyone in the familiar, so there is more utility in having a large 27" screen that my dad can look at without having to strain his eyes, and less advantage to bringing it around (what would my folks use then?).

I also have an ipad for mobile use, and I current find this setup more versatile than laptop + external display.

 

You can run Linux on Macs too.

 

Why? Macs use the same basic components as other x86 based computers. But then again ...

 

Because I think for the majority of us we prefer doing our work at our (home) office on a large screen where we don't feel uncomfortable. We have all our necessary external drives and such already connected to the desktop and do not have to worry about reconnecting them each time.

While a Retina Macbook Pro is a remarkable notebook with an amazing display, using it on my desk (without any additional accessories that don't come in the box) means lowering my head and staring at a relatively small screen. It's an amazing notebook for those who like doing most their work in various workplaces. However I feel much more comfortable doing the majority of my work in one single place without having to worry about connecting it to an external display (a minimum $800 investment for a comparable 27 inch 1440p display).

That being said, I find that an iPad fills most of my mobile needs and may even consider an Air in the future if I so require more computing power outside the home office. But getting a MBP is simply overkill for me since I will rarely use it at the one place I do most of my work: home office.

 

iMac 27" 3.4 Ghz i7 16GB Ram. Also iMac 20.5" C2D 4GB Ram. I like having the real estate when I have several programs running. Especially when I am working with Adobe CS. All my work done on 27" but do occasionally browse on the 20.5". Age also plays into it for me as my eyes are not what they use to be. Great powerful machine that does everything I could ask of it. Will be going Mac Pro on my next upgrade though with the Apple Display.

 

Power and expandability. A mac pro can have up to 128 gigs of ram, an internal raid array, multiple graphics cards with multiple high end displays, 12 physical cores with 12 virtual cores for a total of 24 processing cores.

If you are a pro user you need power and expandability in a nut shell.
Hence desktop over laptop.

 

I like having 3 monitors to work on. It's a lot easier than a small laptop screen.

 

Just a quick note: the current MBP CPUs are faster than anything you can get with the iMac right now. The i7-3820QM in the MBP turbo boosts up to 3.7GHz while the i7-2600 in the iMac turbo boosts up to 3.8Ghz, but the Ivy Bridge is more efficient, making the mobile CPU around 5% faster than the i7-2600.

 

If you don't need portability then there is no reason not to get a desktop

 

Well I like the bigger screen and I don't want to have a network of wires on my desk just so I can hook an external monitor up to a laptop.

iMac + Macbook Air + iPad Nano (if it comes out) will be the perfect combo for me.

I don't have much love for the MBPs.

 

I have a Mac Pro and a MBP. They both serve their purpose. My Mac Pro powers my three desktop monitors and has the ability to house an internal blu-ray drive, 4 HDDs in the sleds, hold multiple PCI-e graphic cards (I have two installed), hold a backplane cage with 4 x 2.5" HDDs in the lower optical bay which takes advantage of the Mac Pro's 2 ODD Sata ports and a PCI-e internal sata card, and have a PCI-e esata card that I use to connect my two external raid boxes. A MBP cannot do the majority of that. However, for work on the go, my Mac Pro is worthless. Depending on the person, each machine may have a purpose.

 

Better ergonomics, better price-performance ratio, bigger screen, if you don't need the portable power of the MBP then it's really hard to justify the cost compared to a powerful desktop system.

Also if you do need to travel with a laptop, depending on where you travel, a MBP can be a very shiny theft-magnet. These are desirable machines and easily attract unwanted attention.

I have a cheapo Dell laptop from work that I toss in my bag without a care in the world, I don't worry about scratches or damage, and it flies under the radar of most potential thieves. I'm waiting for the iMac redesign but that will be my main system at home.

An iMac/Mac Pro at home and a cheap laptop or iPad for mobile use, is in my opinion the best of both worlds, unless you MUST have the power of a full-on MBP while on the go. You don't need it for email/facebooking/watching movies.

 

I love my iMac. It's my main Apple product. It's got that gorgeous 27" screen, 7200rpm HD, and the built in speakers are really good, even.

It only has the i3 processor, but boots faster and smoother than my Macbook Pro with the i7. I look at the iMac as my home base, and use the MBP as a portable extension when I'm on the move.

The other really cool thing, is that, even though my MBP has Thunderbolt and the iMac is one release behind that feature, I can use the MiniDisplayPort to MiniDisplayPort adapter that Belkin makes, to turn the iMac into an external display for the MBP when needed. I love that feature.

I guess I've always been a desktop kinda guy...

 

1. Screen real-estate is immensely larger and sometimes necessary for worksations and graphic designers.
2. 2560x1440 27" display is beautiful.
3. Some desktop parts are used for better performance, obviously not all parts.
4. All in one simplicity, speakers, display and computer.
5. Some people don't like laptops or they like a full size keyboard and mouse.

Heck, even though I'm building a PC I'm probably going to get a macbook pro and cinema display a fews years down the track.

 

Better screen, cheaper price, better performance, less noisy, better aesthetics, better internal storage options.

 

People have their reasons which were listed by previous posters.
But official sales numbers will show u that people (in general) actually do prefer laptops over desktops.

 

That's because most people don't need a monster machine.

There's one thing left out in the discussion, though: noise. A full load, an iMac is much more quiet than even the new retina mbp.

 

I prefer them because I want to store all my data on internal hard drives (I have external for backup only) and therefore need the expandability. I have 3 TB now, but will soon double that. Kind of hard to do in a laptop...

 

I think that many people who own an iMac would love to also own a mbp but found it wasn't economically feasible. So, for most it is an either/or decision. And, for whatever reason, the iMac supports all their own or family or business needs at the expense of portability.

I prefer the versatility that a notebook computer can provide. I can use it anywhere in the house and take it with me on the go. So, mu mbp does get majority of my usage. But I do have a desktop as well for those rare occasions that I need to do something slightly too intense for my mbp and don't mind being tied to a desk for a while.