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Ask Slashdot: What Is the 'Special Appeal' of Apple Products?
Reader dryriver writes: As someone who comes from MS-DOS/Windows PCs background, I've never quite understood the appeal of Apple's products. I don't think Apple's products are terrible or anything, but I just fail to see what is so special and different about Apple's electronics that many Apple users would never dream of switching to a non-Apple product. Where does the 'special appeal' of Apple products reside? And why are Apple users so very loyal to Apple products, even though with Apple's pricing policy, you rarely get the best bang-for-the-buck in a product?
To name just one thing, I like to control when my computer updates. I don't want it updating in the middle of a presentation.
A bit like owning a porche 911 or a corvette
Yeah, yeah... Feeding the troll...
Porsche is spelled with an s in it.
"porche" is just french for "porch".
The 911 is pretty much the best sports car on the planet that can still be used as a daily driver. Calling it a 'crap car' is just being petty, and probably jealous.
The Corvette is more hit and miss as a car, and it's no 911, but in terms of raw fun per dollar it's pretty hard to beat.
Ironically though you are probably right about the Apple. The *mystique* (here you actually do want the 'french' word. mystic is just wrong.) and bragging rights is a big part of the appeal. Apple is a cooler brand than Android or Samsung or LG etc... but Apple's brand strength is fading, IMO.
The answers (the honest ones anyway) are going to be kind of boring too. I don;t bother with the iPhone, but as far as the MacBook Pros are concerned:
* The shit just works.
* Minimal upkeep (no need for Antivirus, UI-munging applications, anti-MS-spyware fix-ups, anti-forced-upgrade fixups, registry editing, etc.)
* The hardware generally outlasts its competition (my main laptop is a 4-year-old MacBook Pro in near-perfect condition, that shows no signs of slowing down.)
* It's UNIX under the hood (open Terminal.app, go nuts.)
* 99.9% of the commercial/consumer stuff made for Windows will also have an OSX version (which is the only reason left that my main laptop isn't a Linux one - stupid CG software houses...)
* Resale value, as in, >2 year old Macs actually have one.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
I'll have a stab. The environment is just 'better'. Application software works well together, synchronisation with the phone is excellent, the gesture-controlling is really nice (trackpad on desktop and/or laptop - never been a fan of Apple's mice). For the more technical there's the Unix underpinnings too, although that has been eroded a little by Win 10's ability to install a Windows kernel-based Unix distro and run natively.
Text rendering is better - I really, really notice the difference in typography when switching between Windows, Linux and the Mac. The graphic design is arguably better, though that comes down to preference and I don't dislike Win 10's design language. Consistency is better - when you have the latest shiny Win 10 UI, you know that as you click around in the new Settings you'll eventually hit ye olde Control Panel and apps that don't appear to have been updated in looks since NT4. The new stuff is normally a veneer too - every time you get serious with a Windows machine, you end up blowing past its current shell and into the old NT4 tools to do 'real work'.
File handling is better - none of this "can't move a file because it's open" nonsense, and you can rename the files as they're open as well. Built-in back-up.
You get the idea. It's not the just the machine, it's not just the software - it's the overall environment that's nicer. That's what makes it worth it to me.
-Not having to switch all my stuff to Windows.
-Not having to wonder if I still need to use anti-virus software.
-Not having to wonder if MS is key logging me.
-Not having to wonder what info Google Chrome is sending to Google.
-Not having to guess where to take my laptop for repairs.
-Not having to care if iTunes is any good on Windows.
-Not having to shop at Best Buy or order a laptop sight-unseen off the internet.
-Not having to worry about interoperability with my phone.
Maybe if they jailbreak, but there has yet to be an iOS compromise in the wild for phones that are not jailbroken.
Back when I had a Samsung Galaxy S3, Android was a bit choppy so I could understand how people who were highly sensitive to that would dislike it. But these days Android is just as smooth as iOS with many more features. So I don't really understand what people see in the interface for iOS over Android.
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.