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Jeeve Stubbs

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Sep 23, 2024
368
405
Since the 1970s, the products and services offered by Apple have been excellent for the most part, but some have been less appreciated. Which ones do you consider the three worst?
 
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At number 3:
2014 Mac mini -- some models were weaker than the ones they were replacing. Specifically the base model having 4GB of RAM and a 5400 RPM hard drive and a dual core 1.4Ghz Intel CPU in 2014 was just unusable.

At number 2:
Butterfly keyboards, how easily those keyboard broke stained the reputation of the entire MacBook line and poisoned the enthusiasm for the Touch Bar and exclusively having USB-C ports.

And at Number 1:
The App Store. With Apple being the sole arbiter of software on iOS it gives the platform an attitude that I feel has hampered its true potential.
 
The three worst I've ever seen? Or the three worst I've owned? Haha. Oh boy.

1. It's a toss up between The $1000 Apple Pro Display XDR stand. Or the $700 Mac Pro wheels. I just can't. I get that there's people here happily rocking $50,000 watches and probably driving a $300,000 weekend car or whatever, who are the ACTUAL intended audience for those things... but even still. I've had a mac pro and a few powermacs over the years.. that day felt like they were giving me the middle finger and sticking their tongue out lol.

2. The plastic core duo/core solo macbooks. They scratched up easily, the plastic would get brittle and crack around the edges, the palm rests would discolor, and they had the worst LCD on anything made after like 1998. With a like 5 degree vertical viewing angle. And the shiny screens had orange peel too!

3. Any cable made during that 1998-2017 era. Apple kept experimenting with different plastics and rubbers and never seemed to get it right.

Worst I've ever owned?

1. Plastic macbook

2. PowerMac G4 Mirrored Drive Doors. It had its merits but it was an uglier quicksilver. Somehow adding a huge heatsink and a bunch of holes didn't make it any quieter lol.

3. iPod Hi-Fi. It sounded good if you blasted the volume but was very "meh" otherwise. The 30-pin dock connector was very delicate. If you used the minijack input the speaker would never go to sleep unless you unplugged the minijack.

Best I've owned or had family own?

1. 2012-2017 11"/13" macbook air. Those are the epitome Apple laptops. They feel great, they have great keyboards, great trackpads, awesome battery life, and are stupidly durable for how thin and light they are.

2. Power Mac G4 Quicksilver. I was blown away by the design language Apple had in the early 2000s.

3. Mac Minis (all of them, yes even the 2014 everyone hates). Small, cheap, indestructible, dependable. They seem to last forever. They're basically worthless used because nobody wants them lol. Even now I see people groaning over the prospect of buying an M4 Mac Mini because it's the cheapest Mac, but nobody can argue with the merits and the low price lol.
 
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