[Closed] What's so good about Apple stuff?

I'm just wondering what you get for the considerable extra dosh that Apple stuff costs.

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A massive sense of superiority. It's a like owning Macan.

😀

We have always found, longer last battery, just works, no slowing down as it gets older, I've never had an Apple device crash.

We get educational a fair discount which helps.

I'm just wondering what you get for the considerable extra dosh that Apple stuff costs.

The inability to admit that lots of other devices are as good if not better than your own 🙂

no slowing down as it gets older, I've never had an Apple device crash.

My iPhone 5 is forever crashing and or going incredibly slowly, my sons 5s threw a wobbly last week and would no longer connect to a mobile network.

For one thing, unrivalled customer service.

I've recently had an iphone7 replaced (broken screen) totally free. They just gave me a new phone in the Apple Store.
He said it was "warranty replacement"

Also had numerous other repairs and fixes done over the past 10 years, all done for free, and done while I waited. By people who know the product inside out.

You just don't get that with other makes.

all done for free, and done while I waited.

Someone I work with got told at an Apple store, your phone is nearly out of warranty wait until its out an buy a new one.

Makes far better pie.

What are we comparing your tablet to?

Guessing an iPad mini? Looking at the current model, you get 128GB of storage, a nicer screen, a faster processor for your additional £270 (ish).

If what you've got works for you then you're ok?

totally free.

No, that's why they cost 3x as much as non apple stuff.

You just don't get that with other makes.

I've never had that with Apple.

You just don't get that with other makes.

Because it's not necessary 🙂

They still work 2+ years after a lot of heavy use and don't slow down as much. Hardware doesn't screw up and if it does the replacements are free or very cheap.

Isn't this the same as my £500 Fiesta does everything I want, why would I pay £12k for a 2nd hand car.

Apple stuff lasts, my original macbook still going strong after 10years, current macbook pro still fast and copes well after 4 years, my iphone 4s last 4 years, not many windows pc's still going after 10years?!

"[i]...no slowing down as it gets older...[/i]"

Well that's not true. My 3-yo iPad mini almost grinds to a complete halt sometimes.

Because it's not necessary

Except when the battery causes a fire.

Well that's not true. My 3-yo iPad mini almost grinds to a complete halt sometimes.

And my original iPad is completely unusable, only use it for web browsing and crashes constantly.

I still can't believe that don't have USB ports on Ipads. Utter madness.

There is built in obsolescence of course. My trusty iPad 2 has just ground to a halt so I replaced with an iPad 9.7 inch. Open the box, turn it on, log onto my wifi - it asks if i want to restore from a cloud backup, i say yes and within ten minutes its up and running - even my games are saved at the same position they were at on my old iPad. Apple stuff generally just works.
Itunes however is shocking in my opinion....

I've had Android phones since the advent of smart phones, mainly samsung, though motorola too. I've recently switched to an iphone as it was cheap, and as a long term cost saving measure (now SIM only as Samsung contract was up, phone was buggered, and just paid excess on OH's insurance as she broke iphone and was due an upgrade anyway).

Anyway, it basically just never crashes, in fact I can't remember it crashing in about 6 months use. I don't have that many apps or bloatware installed however and I know it's only the 16GB model, but it is saying it's nearly full, despite having sod all music or videos/films on it.

That's the main benefit of apple products for me, they just seem to work, and I really want to dislike them. I do however find some aspects of ios really restrictive and frustrating, and less than intuitive. Prefer android for customisation and general functionality, access to menus and settings etc, but it is more buggy, and even the top end Samsung phones just seem to die a death after 2 years.

Essentially, Apple have total control over the hardware and software, avoiding any problems inherent with third party equipment. This is simultaneously their biggest strength and their biggest weakness; you can buy your Apple iWatch and be confident that it'll work with your Apple iPhone whilst your Apple iMac happily syncs its Apple iTunes up into the Apple iCloud so you can iRecover it iLater when your iMac iExplodes. Getting it to work with Chromecast, eh, you're on your own there, should've bought an Apple TV or an Airport.

Outside of their iNfrastructure, you've got a lot more freedom to do what you want. Shitloads of third party alternative apps, like cameras and keyboards? Check. Direct access to the file system to drag off your photos / music / data? Check. Connect your Nvidia tablet to your Lenovo PC? Why not. Send a document to a ten year old HP printer (or indeed, to pretty much any other app or service)? Piece of piss. For some people this freedom is a good thing, for others they prefer "it just works" at the expense of "so long as you do it the way Apple want you to." Horses for courses really.

Apple tend to use premium materials at least externally, so people can coo over their latest shiny made from aircraft-grade aluminium (whatever that is), brushed steel, glass with some impressive sounding name like "sapphire", before sticking it in a £3.99 Hello Kitty case from TK Maxx.

[quote=c_klein87 ]Apple stuff lasts, my original macbook still going strong after 10years, current macbook pro still fast and copes well after 4 years, my iphone 4s last 4 years, not many windows pc's still going after 10years?!

I built my desktop PC in 2005 with mid level parts. Still going strong, never had an issue.

FunkyDunc - Member
Someone I work with got told at an Apple store, your phone is nearly out of warranty wait until its out an buy a new one.

I had the pleasure of over hearing a conversation at a Genius Bar:

Apple: Yeah it seems to be the power button (on your massive, not very old, iMac thing) thats not working.
Him: Can you fix it?
Apple: I'll check............No.
Him: Oh
Him: ......
Him: ......
Him: ......
Him: ......
Him: ......
Him: ......
Him: ...... when's the new model out?

Nearly fell off my perch when we just accepted writing of his £2,500+(?) machine for the sake of a button!

My Ipad Mini was bought in January 2014, its still performing exactly as when new almost 3.5 years ago.

My Samsung Galaxy Tab which was bought in 2013, has been practically unusable since 2015. The Tab was half the price, but I find using it to be irksome and wouldn't buy another.

The Apple interface and IOS is a real pleasure to use, the screens are wonderfully vibrant and tactile. They feel like a high quality product when in use and the aftercare is superb. iPads/Iphones = win.

Conversely, I'm not as much of a fan of Macs. My Sony Vaio (around 25% less than an equivalent Mac at the time) is now 5 years old, lasts 7 hours on it's battery, is instant on, upgraded to Windows 10 without any problems and has been utterly faultless. Why would I buy something that, is essentially a PC, but for more money and which, for me at least, has a less friendly user interface.

They make good products, the extra dosh it costs is cos they're magnificent at marketing.

FunkyDunc - Member
We have always found, longer last battery, just works, no slowing down as it gets older, I've never had an Apple device crash.

We get educational a fair discount which helps.

All that says to me is that you haven't owned many bits of Apple kit 😆

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan or Apple's stuff. At one point the OS genuinely was ahead of Windows, not now though.

nealglover - Member
For one thing, unrivalled customer service.

I've recently had an iphone7 replaced (broken screen) totally free. They just gave me a new phone in the Apple Store.
He said it was "warranty replacement"

Also had numerous other repairs and fixes done over the past 10 years, all done for free, and done while I waited. By people who know the product inside out.

You just don't get that with other makes.

This is what massively ****s me off with Apple customer service. It's so inconsistent.

Design flaw with motherboard, widely reported, causes random crashes = I had to have a massive argument in the shop and practically beg for a replacement

Design flaw with GPU causing checkerboard on screen = They insisted it was due to my wifes teaching whiteboard software, it wasn't. Again I had to beg for a replacement

Broken magsafe on my dad's laptop, widely reported fault. The machine is pristine, and the cable has frayed even though the machine is never moved. He gives up arguing for warranty replacement and ends up buying a replacement himself.

Macbook case with cracking palm rest and hinges = I had to wait a year before they would let me get a replacement for free, tried to charge me £79 even though it was a very widely known design flaw.

Some gump walks in with a scratched up and smashed iphone = here you go sir, brand new phone and let me give you an iNosh while it copies your stuff over

@Sunday ime its online ads that do that, they are much more resource hungry. There is a fix fir that !

OP firstly by controlling both hardware and software Apple kit works better. Also the whole underlying basis of the Mac system is far superior to the rubbish Microsoft is built on. I am still using my 2009 Mac (with easy user upgrdes to hardware) whereas I never found a PC/laptop kept working beyond 3 years before grinding to a halt. With regards to phones the iPhone really was something new (I was always bbery and Nokia - two companies who have now virtually disappeared !!!) - the app availability is far superior to Android. iPad wasnt the first tablet but its by far the best

Apple has positioned itself as a premium product and has unpdecidented margins in tech ($10bn profits on $50bn sales just this last quarter). People are prepared to pay a higher price for something that works better and is more desirable from a design perspective

For one thing, unrivalled customer service.

Someone I work with got told at an Apple store, your phone is nearly out of warranty wait until its out an buy a new one.

My experience of Apple's customer service is that it's excellent, but they very definitely apply an attitude tax. We went in with an 18-month old iPhone 6 with broken screen (ironically, dropped when taking it out of a protective case to put into another one); my OH chatted to the "genius" about how awesome it was, how it had almost constant usage, and how devastated she was to have broken it, and he basically told her what to say in order to allow him to give her a new one for free. On the other hand, I've known folk go in with their bellendery dial set to 11 and got absolutely nowhere.

Bellendery dialed to 11 🙂

longer last battery,

just works,

I've never had an Apple device crash.

My last Apple device was obsoleted early by Apple. It's stashed away in its original box. Along with all the defunct batteries.

I'll admit to being an Apple fan. It started with an iPhone (which was superb and really did "just work") and has since moved on to iPads, iMacs, MacBooks and Apple TVs. I'd like to say I like them because they just work, but recent experience of freezing iMacs and MacBook buttons that don't seem as responsive as they used to be is tainting that view.

What they continue to do well, is make hardware that is quite simply a joy to use. Using the ubiquitous car analogy, I know a Skoda will objectively do everything I [i]need[/i], but driving a Porsche gives me what I[i] want[/i].

What Cougar said.

You get premium hardware (which is also available from other companies), you get good support, and you get a well tested but fairly closed ecosystem.

Nearly fell off my perch when we just accepted writing of his £2,500+(?) machine for the sake of a button!

See, the Appleverse is a bit skewed, because the high barrier to entry means that it's populated with people like that. The same people who pop up on here who say 'buy a MacBook' when someone expresses interest in a £200 Windows laptop. As if money's not an issue.

A lot of people switched to Apple when they got good - at that time, Windows was not as good. So they swore off Windows and entered the Apple cult, and their opinions of Windows are still based on XP. Even one of my colleagues was surprised to learn that 2 hour battery life is not a thing any more in Windows land, even though Macs are now based on the same CPUs.

Windows has become vastly better in recent years, and MS have become very clever using their money to really move the industry foward. As Apple once did, but now seem to be having a bit of a rest. Or they're too busy counting their money.

Cougar - Moderator
Essentially, Apple have total control over the hardware and software, avoiding any problems inherent with third party equipment. This is simultaneously their biggest strength and their biggest weakness.

I'm a fanbouy, and this sums it up.

All my devices are linked, they've worked flawlessly.

I'm looking forward to the iPhone8.

The way Apple stuff syncs across devices (computers, phones, tablets) particularly the way it stores all your credit cards & passwords is very handy.

I do all my gaming on my iPad now, mainly strategy games & conversions of real life board games. All these games generally come out on iOS way before Android (if they make it to Android at all). Don't even ask about a Windows mobile version 🙂 I admit this is a niche case, but it's a biggie for me!

The best thing about them is you can buy Hello Kitty cases :happy-joy:

I am still using my 2009 Mac (with easy user upgrdes to hardware) whereas I never found a PC/laptop kept working beyond 3 years before grinding to a halt.

Case in point. In 2009 that might have been true, but it's not true now. Still using a 2009 laptop in our house, running W10 a treat and doesn't crash ever.

yourguitarhero - Member

I built my desktop PC in 2005 with mid level parts. Still going strong, never had an issue.

Retired my thirteen yr old PC last year, built it for £200. 🙂

nealglover - Member

For one thing, unrivalled customer service.

Like lying to customers that they must have dropped their phones when in reality a shitty update stopped them working properly? 😐

So in summary, they give you massive blinkers. 😆

The way Apple stuff syncs across devices (computers, phones, tablets) particularly the way it stores all your credit cards & passwords is very handy.

Google does that too.

jambalaya - Member
Also the whole underlying basis of the Mac system is far superior to the rubbish Microsoft is built on.

Totally wrong. The underlying system on Windows NT is absolutely rock solid and has been for years.
In comparison to Apple, look at the filesystem for instance. HFS+ is total garbage. In fact, it's just been replaced on iOS, however the replacement is still in beta on MacOS.

jambalaya - Member
I am still using my 2009 Mac (with easy user upgrdes to hardware)

oh yeah and it saves sodding about researching stuff when deciding what new phone/tablet to buy or when I need a new computer for work!

the whole underlying basis of the Mac system is far superior to the rubbish Microsoft is built on.

Don't talk mince.

I am still using my 2009 Mac (with easy user upgrdes to hardware) whereas I never found a PC/laptop kept working beyond 3 years before grinding to a halt.

I'm still using my 2008 Dell laptop. Fast as the day I bought it - well, faster even, it's had a couple of hardware upgrades. Came with Vista, now running Windows 10 (I installed the latest "Creator's Edition" a couple of weeks back).

Is the latest version of OSX compatible with your 2009 Mac, incidentally? Sierra lists "late 2009" as the cut-off for compatibility so even if it is, I strongly suspect it'll be the last new version you'll see.

the whole underlying basis of the Mac system is far superior to the rubbish Microsoft is built on.

The HW platform basically the same, only Apple tend not to use the latest processors.

OSwise, MacOS is a Linux derivative which is archictually different to Windows, but modern Windows OSes are just as robust. I reboot my MBP way more often than my W7 PC as it locks up more...

I want technology to require as little of my input as possible, I have no interest in tinkering or customising and the apple products although far from perfect come the closest to achieving that of anything that i've used.

That's worth the extra cost to me although I understand that anyone that likes to tinker will find their closed system a negative feature.

MacOS is a Linux derivative

No it isn't. It's a version of BSD.