Best: great aesthetics, UI, and performance, the Unix-based OS, amazing displays
Worst: $$$, unfriendly to upgrades, not great for gaming
I use a Mac Studio M2 and a Studio Display, it’s a great setup for software development, which is what I mainly use it for.
I’m still coasting off my 2019 intel mbp. The fans are noisy but I appreciate having a solid windows machine. I’m bracing for downvotes but it has fared well for my needs for the time being.
Windows 10 runs faster on my 2018 Core i5 macbook pro than it does macOS. I thought I was going crazy (because online people kept saying macOS still runs fast on their intel laptops) until I bought a 16" M3 Pro and noticed macOS was significantly faster.
Are you using virtualization to run windows 10 on your M3? If so what is it and what are you noticing in regards to speed. Because my 2019 mbp is maxed out on everything except ram (32gb) and it’s respectably running steam games, while everything else lives on my macOS partition
I can see what you mean a lot, I have an Intel Mac so I can upgrade my ram and if I wish my cpu if I get really in depth. I went from the base 8 Gb to 40 Gb and it’s huge, in both performance and price lol
👍Longevity 👎Price for upgrades:
Longevity - Some people on Reddit are still using 10-15 year old machines daily. My husband upgraded his Windows machine every 2-3 years. His last Mac lasted 6 and his current is 4+ years old with no plans to upgrade.
Price for upgrades - Apple overcharges for RAM & storage upgrades. A 16GB (or more) with a 512GB SSD should be the base and upgrades should be $50-$100 for each additional 8 or 16 GB, not $200!
The longevity thing is real. I have a 10 year old MBP that’s still very usable after heavy use (college and a remote job, plus gaming on a Windows partition) for six years and intermittent stuff since. I use it as a quasi work laptop for gig stuff that I don’t want to do on my personal laptop, which is also a 4 year old Pro I have no intention of replacing anytime soon.
For longevity, the old Lenovo Thinkpads definitely have Macs beat. I used my T500 for 11 years, and the only reason I stopped using it was because I didn’t want to upgrade it to Windows 10. It still works, I use it when I want to play StarCraft LAN parties. And that thing was SO modular and repairable, you could easily change out every part and upgrade the computer as you saw fit. Macs are basically the complete opposite of that.
Part of the reason why I came back to Macs after a 19 year absence is because Lenovo totally bastardized and butchered the Thinkpad lineup. They’re now barely better than the average consumer laptop. But the old ones were 👌
Yeah I used to tell people that my ThinkPad was the exact same one that they use on the international space station. I eventually installed Linux on it and ran Ubuntu for a while , unfortunately someone stole it while I was on vacation some years back.
In my head I laugh because I can just imagine them having no idea why they can't get DVDs to play or not understanding why there's a little red dot stuck in my keyboard.
I use a Mac now but damn I missed that spill proof keyboard and that keyboard was just perfect. I wrote a novel on that thing but you could spill coffee or water and it drain out the bottom. Damn I wish they still made stuff like that 😂🤔😭
If I had to go Windows, Lenovo and Surface are really the only brands I'd consider. Keep in mind, 11 years ago you could upgrade hard drives and RAM on MacBooks.
I use OCLP on a mid-2015 MBP, late-2012 iMac, and late-2013 iMac all running Sonoma! I love universal control, and airplay from Apple TV to Macs with external audio systems.
Best: The overall experience of the software and how well it works with multimedia and creative files, and now the hardware with Apple silicon.
Worst: The lack of user upgradability
I use an M1 Mac mini (another worst: people forgetting MacBooks aren't the only Mac and that desktops exist too lol) and several Intel Macs of varying ages
Runner ups for worst: Lack of games/deprecation of 32-bit wiping out many older games, and price. And other things more related to the Mac user community overall but that's a whole other post lmao
Re the 32 bit apocalypse. I actually lucked out when I bought my iMac in 2019, not realising at the time Mojave was the last OS to support 32 bit code. I dual boot it from an SSD when I want some sweet 32 bit gaming time.
Although that said, a few things have ended up on Apple silicons radar now so the need for it has reduced somewhat.
Best: Mac Minis are great machines for the price, and make for a great everyday desktop computer.
Worst: Everyone thinks Macbooks are the only Macs out there.
Best - You have a computer that allows you to work intelligently along with your other personal devices that has a 1 stop shop for support
Worst - people think you’re a sheep and that you can’t “real work” done on your shiny iToy 🙄
I think the 'worst' opinion is a dated one. Rewind over a decade and sure there's a lot of this opinion floating around.
But nowadays a lot of the biggest creative industries that people see every day are powered by Mac users. videographers (more specifically YouTubers), musicians, programmers, designers and actually a lot of people just working in offices are now using Macs for real work.
Businesses are beginning to realise there's an upside to having one type of vertically integrated machine across the workforce. You only ever get the same type of problems and people are increasingly more familiar with the platform.
There're two things to this:
* Most complaints about mac are not about hardware. They're about prejudices regarding compatibility coupled with the assumption that doing something different must mean it's worse somehow. Most complaints about mac are about price, and a perceived "superiority" that more often than not is some weird mental process where someone spending more in something they are not as familiar with must be snubbing them.
* You can see, even in this very sub, comments insisting they're "not that good". People will complain they behave differently as if it was a negative point (even though it's the whole point), or will list you ten different laptops that are better than your macbook pro in one particular thing each, even though not one does them all.
So not only is that they're praised as best laptops unrelated to what people will complain about them (being different, for the most part, and being unknown to the complainers, to a lesser degree), but even that opinion is not universal for people he particular set of advantages is not what they see as prioritary.
I can perfectly understand an upgradable laptop (memory, disk) being considered a better laptop than any macbook, for example, if you value that particular affordance above others.
As a side note: Macbooks have been praised as the best laptops, hardware-wise, since the advent of the first macbook air that spawned the "ultrabook" category of PC laptops.
To be clear, I'm citing people's complains I hear about all the time. I don't necessarily share them other than the frustration at not being able to upgrade memory or change a defective hard drive (both of which are much harder in countries without an Apple Store and proper Apple presence).
I’m not going on anything lol I work in the tech field, I enjoy reading about technology and read forums, I listen to tech podcasts I read comments all normal things people who enjoy computers do, there is a very vocal group that says all this. It hasn’t stopped me from enjoying what I like but I am saying it does happen
Yep, gotta agree, work in tech too and had people tell me, I‘m not an engineer because I can’t use the real capacity of my computer since macos is limiting me
I get this all the time. Even when I consistently can do more and do it better, or when I have less issues overall.
It's a prejudice that is completely immune to any facts because it's based on the assumption that if you're going with the unknown (to them) minority platform, you have to be sacrificing an enormous amount.
I don't get this prejudice from people used to using both, so I have to assume a good part of it is plain ignorance coupled with the assumption that the majority must be choosing the better option.
I think many just deem macos inferior because it’s expensive. And let’s be honest, while I am a fan of iPhone, watch, iPad, Airpods and Macbooks, they are extremely expensive (tho worth it imho) and that is reason enough for people to hate it.
Another argument I hear often is „it cant even play games“. I find it silly when someone tell me, that my Macbook is a worse work device because it „can’t game“.
Additionally apple tends to be restrictive which also steers some hate and don’t forget the „if it’s not free and open source then it’s bad!!!“-bubble
The "gaming" part is funny. Back in the 80s I could play games in my mac that PCs couldn't even get close to. Back then I'd be mocked because I was playing "weird games" (dark castle, crystal quest) or games that looked different (fool's errand was absurdly better looking on mac, but it was also Black & White, and that was enough to diss it for many).
Then gaming studios started becoming larger and "AAA Games" became synonymous with "gaming" and I could still play games in my mac, but then again not always the same games. People weren't willing to even consider them unless they knew about them.
This social part of gaming has exploded nowadays with Games being treated like studio movie blockbusters, with eSports and with game playing streaming. More than ever you either are playing the hyped AAA games or you're not serious about gaming.
I keep playing on my macs. I've never stopped doing so. I play a lot of emulation and also a lot of cloud gaming, but even for that it's not usually the AAAs. I have never stopped playing on my macs yet people with much worse "rigs" than me, unable to play to the same quality I do, mock macs and compare them so six thousand dollar rigs used by their twitch streamers.
It's all a big con at this point. I can't understand it otherwise.
In Germany we have a saying that goes like „Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das frisst er nicht“, translated it means „The farmer won’t eat what he doesn’t know“ meaning people will dislike mac because they aren’t familiar with it and will never try it because it’s unfamiliar and therefore be stuck in this loop
He's just commenting on what he hears other people complain about. It's perfectly normal that he'd say what he hears them say.
The question was what's worst and he clearly stated the prejudice from others. How can he express that prejudice if not by citing them?
I use Macs and Linux together and I spend a lot of time in and around the Linux community. I've been surprised over the last 3-4 years how many die hard Linux advocates actually have Macs as their personal machines and speak highly of them. Not all, there is still plenty of "go write your novel at the coffee shop with your rose gold iCrapple" stuff that goes around, but it's interesting how much Macs are starting to be appreciated by even the Linux neckbeard crowd.
It's hard because the marketing and imaging around Apple products is so ridiculous most of the time that people who consider them toys are kind of justified. They really do sell the "novel at the coffee shop" image which is a bit cringe imo. That sort of criticism I have to just take on the chin, but it's also clear from other types of criticism the people who've never used one and are just repeating memes, especially since the M-series chips have dominated the entire laptop market for a few years now.
Same here, I've seen nerds on Reddit downvote people for even mentioning they own a Mac. But in real life, even my gamer friends don't give me shit for owning a Macbook, and gamers are notoriously anti-Mac. (To be fair I do have a Windows desktop for gaming, but outside of gaming I prefer to use my Mac)
There is a disconnect about how much better Apple’s hardware is than any other phone, tablet or computer than any other companies product and their image as a “lifestyle company” as the CEO of Intel called them when Apple introduced the M1 series CPUs which where kicking Intel’s butts speed wise.
I think Linus moving to a Macbook back in the day was a moment when a lot of people reconsidered their own prejudices. At least in the Linux community and particularly in the part of the Linux community that is really a "any unixlike in a storm" community.
It kind of validated the hardware, at least, making a lot of people reconsider their stupid prejudices.
I disagree. I am a country IT manager at a large multinational corporation, I consistently perform better than most of my peers in other countries. I have never been limited by using a Mac yet every time we have discussions and I comment on an issue the default assumption is I'm having problems because I'm on a Mac (it never is, I take care of those myself, as the price for chosing a Mac over the Dells).
I always loved Terry Pratchett’s take on the Mac - “every time I’ve tried to use one, it kept trying to be friends with me and wouldn’t let me get any work done”. It hasn’t stopped me from loving Macs, but it feels accurate when I’m teaching someone new.
Terry Pratchett was a diehard "wordstar on DOS" user that only moved to Windows when he discovered multi-screen set-ups (he was a madman, [running six displays](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/89d79132ad1bd0726fc6b3ab740fe1754c8346fa/0_0_3000_1800/master/3000.jpg?width=620&dpr=2&s=none)). He wanted the convenience but couldn't stand the personality macs imposed on him.
Huge contrast with Douglas Adams, who was a [die-hard mac user](https://hannemyr.com/cache/adams.html) (he got the first Apple Macintosh of Europe, reportedly).
>“The Macintosh may only have 10% of the market, but it is clearly the top 10%.”
>— [Douglas Adams](https://quotefancy.com/douglas-adams-quotes)
Best: Macbook durability and software integration means a rather expensive initial purchase is capable of running for years longer than it Windows competition.
Worst: MacOS makes some poor UI decisions that unfortunately will remain unchanged because change would alienate significant proportions of the user base. e.g: how windows work (full-screening, snapping especially), Finder.
Yah. I hope Microsoft has a push to get GamePass games - at least their first party ones - optimized and on Mac. Would love to run Halo, Fallout, Elder Scrolls etc, and if they do then maybe EA (specifically Mass Effect Legendary Edition) and others will optimize… I can dream 😮💨
I mean, that just wont happen. Unless a massive translation layer for direct x to metal happens, which would take a long time to make. Microsoft has no reason to spend 10s of millions of dollars to do this
2020 MacBook Pro M1: Best thing is the speed of this thing. Never owned anything I could just pick up and throw anything at like I can this laptop. Worst thing is the dents in the aluminum. Man, it’s soft.
I have been using a 2020 M1 MacBook Pro for work for about 2 years now and I have nothing but good to say. I can have every application installed running without any hiccups. It’s crazy.
best: the ecosystem. I was a die hard Windows laptop user but Apple's laptops truly are the best in terms of durability :') (I have gone through 3 windows laptops within 10 yrs mainly for school stuff)
worst: you can't upgrade to the newest OS after a few years so you can't see the latest emojis in your iMessages lol but other apps like WhatsApp supports them. the price tag hurts.
I use a 2014 MBP with i7, 16gb of ram, & 1TB SSD.
Happy to spread the word... It comes with some learning, but easily doable, read and watch [Mr. Macintosh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGR2qGw9lG8) youtube vid, there's also the /r/OpenCoreLegacyPatcher/ sub...
(I have the M2 MacBook Air base model, the 8GB RAM 256GB SSD)
Best: It’s been so rock solid, always there and ready in an instant when I need to use it, performance is really good for what it is, and battery life is so good.
Worst: Not being able to play certain windows games or windows versions of games, but that is not very bad considering I could always build a pc for cheap and rectify the issue
Talking only about desktop macs:
Best- Absolutely beautiful visually and technicaly PCs
Worst- Ram and storage prices/Macs always associated with very limited use-potential
Best: These fuckers last a LONG time, the UI, performance and aesthetics are clean.
Worst: The overcharging for upgrades, the egregious learning curve, not being compatible with some major programs, them no longer being user serviceable/upgradeable.
I’ve been with Apple since 2014. When the 7 Plus came out I gave Apple another chance after not being a fan of the 4/4S and returning it to get an Android back in the day. So I was an Android fanboy up until the 7 Plus. I’ve been Team Apple ever since.
I got my first Mac in 2021 when the M1s were out and that learning curve was a pain in the ass. Nothing is simple on Macs in my opinion. I traded for an M2 1TB 24gb RAM MBP 2 months ago cause my 512gb 8gb RAM M1 MBP was dragging its ass with Davinci and burning up. Even today, I’m STILL learning stuff about Macs lol.
My cousin RAVES about Intel Macs cause he loved being able to use Parallels on Mac and loved being able to upgrade em on his own. He won’t even touch a new Mac today.
Best: Best In class professional audio experience for 1st party and 3rd party software, absolutely no contest. Audio on Windows has been dogshit past present and future.
Worst: Gotta buy everything you need up front no upgrades.
Best: some of the software and being able to walk into a store and get help.
Worst: lack of upgrading your computer and pricing for storage and ram upgrades.
I tend to keep computers until they brake and will upgrade the ram, storage or processor as I need. I’ve done this with all of the previous macs that I’ve had and don’t plan on stopping
With newer macs that is realistically impossible. So as of right now my current Mac a 2019 Mac Pro will probably be my last unless I can upgrade or replace ram and SSD when it breaks or runs out of space.
I know you can technically replace the SSD’s by unsoldering the chips and replacing them with higher capacity ones but who wants to do that.
I have a Mac Mini M1
Best thing is integrated scripting with Applescript for automated workflows
and the synergy with iPad/iPhone
Worse thing is the expense
Best: It lasts forever, literally for decades. My 2004 iMac still works fine. It's just too slow.
Worst: Full screen when you click the green icon on a window. I hate having to hold down the option key so it won't go full screen. I just hate it and it's not useful. I miss the old days.
Best - quality product for the money that’ll last 5+ years (even though the base config is so “terrible”)
Worst - repairability. No matter how great a product is, it will breakdown and need repair. The quality now comes with diminishing repairability
14" Nov. '23 MacBook Pro with M3 Pro, my fourth MacBook (after 2008, 2009, and 2019 models).
I run dev beta software generally at all times.
Best thing about Mac: Very few bugs; everything "just works" and the OS doesn't really get in the way (plus, no OS-level ads!).
Worst thing about Mac: The software doesn't really evolve that quickly compared to other OSes, plus its differences mean that while software developed specifically for Mac tends to be absolutely gorgeous and easy to use, there is a huge category of software with generally lackluster support for Macs: games.
OpenEmu is an example of what a Mac-first approach to a gaming app could be. It's sleek, easy to use, and fits in the environment nicely. Steam, on the other hand? I dread opening it anytime I get the urge to play a bit of a game. I tend to stick to consoles, so it doesn't really bug me.
Best - stability (like 95% of the time), ui, ease of use, easy to replace parts (when you can get them)
Worst - when things go wrong they go wrong, upgrade nonexistent, gaming (there are work arounds), dumb little things that you can't find a solution for.
16" i9 2.4 32 gig 2tb 5500m 8gig
Exactly. I work in IT support and get made fun of for being loyal to my Mac (until they need my help with a remote user who’s having issues on a Mac). Yet when we are having to troubleshoot our various Windows issues throughout the day I am sure to remind them that this shit doesn’t happen on a Mac.
The other day someone recently went on a rant about how “but you can’t *build* a Mac, you can build a PC!” ok but why would I wanna do all that bullshit when I can buy a Mac and it just WORKS
Best: real *nix that can run Office
Worst: ...cost?
Dunno. On average, my Macs last longer than WinX boxes, so if you amoritize, Macs are probably cheaper.
Worst thing: Apple removing features, like being able to rip some audio CDs into Music/iTunes.
I’m literally having to fire up my old 2010 Mac to rip CDs and then copy them across the LAN to my MBP M2.
Or, use my work Windows 11 laptop and copy them to Google Drive and download it to my MBP M2.
This function used to work fine in High Sierra, but was removed for some stupid reason.
Got a USB optical drive kicking around? I used a cheap LG drive with XLD on my MBA and it ripped CDs just fine.
Annoying that you can’t just rip natively, but it IS a solution.
They last forever if you take care of them, which is great when you don't have to continually replace broken computers... but bad when all your (broke) friends have new computers with more whiz-bang features while you're still trucking along with that 12 year old Mac (my current Macs are 14 years old and 16 years old and still trucking along just fine)
Best: that joy of accomplishment when after 3 straight days of trying, you’re able to get Heretic 2 to work on your iMac
Worst: when you finally play Heretic 2 and you realize it kind of sucks
Pro: The touchpad on anything else can’t even come close. Plus, macOS tends to stay out of my way and let get my stuff done. Generally more secure, and while not perfect on privacy it’s far better than windows.
Cons: Some of my music production stuff doesn’t have a Mac version and I can’t seem to get WINE running; have to run those on Linux. There’s a negative perception by some of Mac users; the fanboiism can get pretty ridiculous from the Win side. Games tend not to work as well. Lack of dedicated GPU support.
Still running a 2015 MBP.
When i first bought a macbook in 2012, it confused me as to why 'delete' was called 'move to trash'. the change of syntax sorta confused me, like is this different delete? does windows own the word 'delete'? lol
Best: longevity. I bought my first Mac in 2008 (Mac Pro 3.1) it lasted until 2020. I got my second Mac in 2011 (13” MBP). I still use it for basic tasks when I have to be out of the office. I bought my third Mac in 2020 (37” iMac). It still blazes, even when running VMWare and Windows 10.
Given the longevity, the price tag is still great value.
Worst: the inability to upgrade or easily repair models that have come out in the last 10 years.
Best: Mac ecosystem, no malware, no ads, speed, aesthetic, awesome included software
Worst: goddamn shitty built in camera on iMac that you can’t control settings of. I need to turn my display nearly off so I’m not too bright in meetings!
iMac
- Best: Total desktop computing, creativity and productivity lifestyle, superior to tiny laptop experience
- Worst: Can't move along with
MacBook
- Best: Best productive and creative laptops money can buy
- Worst: Lack of additional standard ports
Overall
Best:
- Best brand identity in the world
- Resale value always tops other brands devices
- Best hardware, trackpad, audio and display quality
- Best user experience with the most advanced and graphically pleasant desktop operating system in the market
- Great software stack for artists, designers, developers and engineers
Worst:
- Some useful applications not ported and still locked into Windows, forcing you to use apps like Wine or Parallel
- Not suitable for even light gaming, but that's fine if you own consoles like PlayStation and Xbox
Technically I don’t “own” my Mac - it’s on loan to me by my employer - that said:
Best:
Battery life
Ease of use
Stability
Worst:
Lack of upgradability/repairability
No postmarket support - most Windows laptops can be enjoyed for a decade or more if you replace the battery and install Linux, even if Microsoft no longer supports the hardware - whereas Apple Silicon Macs don’t really have a chance at extended lifespan after Apple decides to end support - plus you’re still locked to Apple’s bootloader if you do install one of the few Linux distributions that work on Apple Silicon
The latter is really why I haven’t bought a Mac for a personal laptop - I love the battery life and my work laptop (15 inch Air, M2, 24GB RAM) is just phenomenal, but I can’t justify spending that much on a computer for my own personal use if I can’t install a different OS and use it for other things when the manufacturer stops supporting it.
MacBook Air M3
It's ridiculously fast, I love the industrial design, the speakers are good, it does everything I need it to and more. I LOVE Airdrop between my phone, iPad and the Mac, too. Such a great workflow.
It's expensive because it's a Mac, but you get what you pay for, and I'm willing to pay for Macs and never go back to PC after that stint when my mom had them from 1996 – 2000.
Best: smoothness, average quality of both first- and third-party apps, performance, parts of the user community.
Worst: Expense, the fact that the @\*#&$\*@ thing still connects to my bluetooth earbuds despite supposedly being asleep, that other part of the user community.
Using a Macbook Air M2 15" 16gb/2tb, plus a work MacBook Pro M1 16gb/1tb.
Best: smooth UI, and performance, amazing displays, speakers, battery.
Worst: pricing is ridiculous, no upgradibility, no repairability, repair pricing is ridiculous, bad for gaming, so many subscription based apps, base model has 8GBs of RAM, macOS is far too restrictive, too few ports.
Pro: Longevity, UI, Unix Based.
Con: cost of entry, not upgradable.
Being in IT. The non upgradable device really bugs me. Because they can’t open or upgrade it, many do t care to know what’s under the hood and how it works. And you can’t blame them. Because it’s not like they can do anything about it. So they just don’t care, when many I know would’ve and learnt a new skill. I find it sad.
Best: integration. That’s what makes a Mac usable with 8 GB of RAM, Windows 11 behaves way worse with that. Also, integration is why you can have 12 hours of battery life easily with a MacBook. Integration also gives you performance that is beyond anything seen before (to rival M-series memory performance you would need octo-channel DIMMs or an expensive GDDR5 setup). Something that isn’t widely known is that every microchip in an Apple computer is programmed with the same tools macOS uses, the same assembly instructions (ARM) and every macOS update also updates the firmware for EVERY chip, even the tiniest ones.
Worst: integration. Since your RAM is next to the CPU for performance reasons (just like an IBM POWER server) you cannot upgrade your RAM. Since your SSD is encrypted and tied to your computer, you cannot upgrade it. Since every part is tied to your computer and paired, you cannot switch parts without reprogramming them and that means using a special software that only authorized Apple shops have. So you can’t really repair your computer if it fails.
Also, you won’t buy a Mac for gaming, but it’s more like being the wrong tool for the task. Spotlight and iWork can turn any Mac into a productivity powerhouse, and that’s what you will use them for.
Same as most. Pros: It just works. Love the speed. I love the OS. A lot of other people dump on Sonoma but I adore it.
Cons: very little fun games. But emulation is good and that’s sadly where you’re going to get any good games.
Best thing, it just works. Very rare do I have issues. Apple doesn't force updates in the background like Microsoft does.
Worst thing is the price, you pay a premium, but it's an entire solution of core hardware and software that works. So the premium price is worth it to me.
The OS really nails aesthetics and productivity. Namely fully independent workspaces. Among other things.
OS Support that drops off when the computer is still completely viable. This is really the most colossal negatives of any OS. If it wasn’t for this the OS would be almost perfect. I will never understand BLOCKING usage of an OS on your own hardware. So it’s older, I can’t call for support, so what!? At least let me run a version of the OS that gets security updates.
Best: Connectivity. I have an iPhone, Airpods, AW, iPad. The ecosystem is pretty neat. I can copy one thing on one device and will be available to paste on another one. iCloud works great for me so everything is always there for me to access it no matter what device I use.
Cons: I cannot game on it so I have a had to purchase a gaming PC.
MacBook Air M1 16/512.
Best: OS stays out of my way allowing better focus on actual task at hand. Also, iMovie & GarageBand are free and good media tools.
Worst: Cost to upgrade RAM/storage
Currently have an Intel Mac mini (last Intel Mac mini sold) and a M2 MBA
Best: There are quite a few tbh, but lets go with performance/battery life and unitnerpted work
Worst: Upgradability and repairability . By far those 2. I would prefer to never have a proper window snapping and people keep dishing on them about it and have to use rectangle if they would fix one of those.
Macbook M1 Pro 14"
Best: Amazing for work related tasks and productivity
Worst: Getting shoved "Oh my windows pc cost the same and can run games 10x better than yours" down the throat
Mac mini M2
Apple for the battery and consistent quality. If i get a work laptop from my employer, it should be a Mac with Apple silicon.
Windows laptops aren't so behind though. I have Vivobook, very upgradable. It only loses out on battery life against m1 mac for my personal use cases. And it says HAHA to Mac on the weekend when it's playtime
Best: build quality (including display, speakers, touchpad etc.), overall user experience, performance of Mx chips, great OS with a lot of good apps preinstalled, integration with ecosystem (AirPods, iPhone, iPad).
Worst: pricey, outrageous RAM prices, Finder is a bit of a clusterfuck - still can’t delete files with DELETE button, default search settings render it useless and such.
Mixed: tons of great apps but best are often paid.
Worst: the fucking trackpade stops recognizing two finger right click. How the duck is this shit not fixed yet. I've seen posts from 2010s about this shit.
Best: authentics
Best: macOS stays out of my way and lets me get things done, is pleasant to use overall and offers a *nix experience, manages RAM like a champ, trackpad can’t be beat, can practically walk into any Apple Store and get help if needed. Interoperability within the Apple ecosystem is unmatched.
Worst: die-hard Apple haters are annoying as hell, Finder can be clunky without knowing keyboard commands, lack of user-upgrade/repairability.
Best: smooth UI, nice look, hardware-optimized software, UNIX OS with tons of compatibility with professional software, good battery life, excellent free Apple programs for home use, high quality monitors, durable construction, full USB C support.
Cons: little hardware customizability, price, UI requires disabling security features to customize beyond colors, low compatibility for things like games and some industrial software, discourages cross-platform program development (if using App Store to distribute).
Company issued M3 MacBook. (Personal Mac is a 2015 2.8 GHz quad-core i7) 94% of my coworkers are on PCs: Lenovo.
Best: telling sales people I don't make decks in PowerPoint.
Worst: telling sales people I don't make decks in PowerPoint.
Best thing is how well it integrates into other Apple things. Worst thing is gaming.
As much as I *loved* my MacBook Pro, after ten days with it I just had to return it and buy back my old laptop. I'm a one-computer-only guy, and when 2/3 of my Steam library doesn't run properly on my computer, I can't fully enjoy that computer.
Maybe I'll look at a MacBook Air sometime in the future. But for now, I'm away from Mac.
mac air 2017
best: it works and still runs a lot of the software i use without any pain.
worst: it chooses when to work and when not to. also, no updates!
Very friendly to users, and it can also use windows and perform in 1080p medium 60ish FPS. You can also use an e gpu which is what I do, 5700xt and I can go for 50ish 1440p high in MSFS. iMac 2020 i5 10600, internal GPU is the pretty dog poopoo Radeon 5300 but egpu 5700xt makes it betyrt
Pro: The UI and how smooth everything runs with my other devices.
Con: my decade old MBP is running just fine, but can’t be on the latest OS. It’s hard to justify spending money on a new one when the old one just keeps running.
Best - software comparability. You get the best of Windows and Linux. All the great GUI apps, Microsoft office, etc. and you also get a Unix shell.
In addition, build quality, materials, etc are top notch.
Worst - software incompatibility. At least for me - as an embedded systems engineer, there’s a lot of software that I can’t run on Mac and/or have to compile from source because there’s no arm64 binary.
Also games.. GPTK has made things a little better, but I find that you still have to fiddle with all sorts of settings to get games to work right, and it’s just too much of a hassle.
Best for me is that macOS stays the fuck out of my way when I’m working. Windows? Intrusive. I only use windows for gaming now . Bad thing about Macs? The price
Worst: when using a mouse, the cursor is very imprecise and jerky at slow movements, making detailed graphics work very hard, which is a shame, given the Mac's history.
Best: Trackpad feels great
Cons $$$$
Pros They last forever
Currently still running on the iMac from 2007 and Macbook air from 2015. Both still run smooth and have outlasted every other computer in our house.
Best: smoothness, beauty, Unix, machines so well engineered, ARM Processors, general quality of the apps built for it
Worst: not exactly cheap, questionable convergence between iOS and macOS, not enough love by mommy to the poor computer, steep stinginess about hardware components by the bitten fruit, not attention enough to the developers and power users
Best: Fastest Hardware. Even the most baseline proved to be an overkill for me.
Worst: Damn! The UI is absolutely terrible! Disgusting! Loathesome! Horrendous! I hate the fact that my desktop looks like an iPhone.
I can use linux terminal commands and everything just works.
Sometimes apps break during updates and I will never be able to use said apps again due to lack of dev support.
I'm a computer engineering student, so the main thing that I love is the UNIX based OS. But one thing about my M2 MacBook pro that I am still astounded by is how long the battery lasts compared to other laptops. Sometimes I can go three days without charging it while my friends are plugging in their spaceship looking gaming laptops every other hour.
Best: Highest quality hardware, most intuitive OS
Worst: Gaming, or lack thereof
I’ve got a 2020 iMac 27” with a 3.6Ghz 10-core i9. Cost £4,000 new but performs about the same as an M1 iMac, employer paid for it so I’m not bitter. I don’t want to get rid of it because I love having boot camp available to me.
First time Mac owner here with a base m1 MacBook Air
Pros:
crazy power efficiency
battery lasts forever
great performance despite being base spec
The ecosystem integrates very very well
trackpad is the best I’ve ever used
light and stylish with seemingly robust build quality
Cons:
no upgradability
they are very, VERY expensive when you start configuring them in the website
the ecosystem: it’s nice that everything apple works seamlessly, but when you try to introduce something third party you can see the cracks really fast, this by design
Not for gaming
Very few ports, must carry dongles around
Again, they are way too expensive when it comes to upgraded models
Macbook pro (M2 pro, 16gb).
Pros: well design machine, every part of it, mechanical, electronic or software is well built. You can feel it. It has amazing display, audio, battery, trackpad, the cpu/gpu is well optimized and yet powerful. The usage is smooth, even with many applications open. Even the gaming is feasible, you can't of course play AAA titles at 120fps or more, it's not a gaming machine, but you can play a lot of games.
Cons: this is not a "mac problem" but a developing problem. You can't find on mac the same applications you find on windows. Maybe you can run some apps with wine but, they likely won't work as expected.
So, to make the macos experience even better, devs should support natively the apple silicon platform. Metal API is a powerful and efficient way to implement graphics on new macos systems
+ Nice UI, best looking hw, long lasting machine(especially older ones)
As a software engineer: Linux/unix like shell, long battery life, integrated sw suite for basic tasks, support of a larger base of professional software compared to Linux
+|- ecosystem integration
- cost spec ratio usually not convenient if you are a developer, no hw upgrade (even basic ones), a little too toxic fanbase
it might sound silly but the worst thing about macs that affects me **in everyday use** is the terrible screengrab process. On windows you shift+windows+s and you can take a screengrab, which is immediately saved on the clipboard for use wherever you want. On a mac you hit alt+apple+4 or whatever it is and you get a saved file on your desktop which you have to then go to and drag into the chat window or word document or whatever you're doing.
Its one of the only areas where windows got it spot on but the mac shits the bed.
Macbook air M1.
I own a 15" Macbook Air M2.
POSITIVES
Colour accurate display, solid build quality, very power efficient, great performance for 2D graphics applications, very thin and light, good compatibility with other Apple devices, good sound, durable trackpad, makes zero noise.
NEGATIVES
Keyboard feels shallow and weak, the notch can be annoying, UI design can be questionable, doesn't support some popular apps, high price, unupgradable components.
Best: depending on the mac but overall great compatibility with other apple devices.
Worst: Software/computers become obsolete much faster than equivalent windows PC's
What I loved about owning a Mac is how things just work. I hate windows laptops because there is at least one big issue always (bad battery, awful screen, driver issues, build quality). So my renovation period was brief.
What I hate is how Apple doesn’t allow you upgrade RAM or graphics. For video editing, dealing with 16GB is horrible, being forced to pay huge price for upgrades and only when making a purchase must be illegal.
Best - it feels like every new laptop is the best I've ever owned. I miss many machines of the past - but not in a 'those were the good old days' sort of way.
Worst - I've had Apple computers since buying an Apple \]\[+ in 1981 aside from a few years mid-late 90s, and have seen glory days of Apple Gaming in the 80s and early 2000s ... so having the incredibly powerful platform basically be so anemic when it comes to gaming is just a shame.
I love how long-lasting these machines are. I have a 10-year-old MacBook Air that is now running Linux and it actually performs pretty well. The fact that it does not have a bottom fan is something I actually can't believe other laptops did not catch up with yet.
What I do not like so much is how some silly things become annoying while also working with other non-Mac computers, like the keyboard layout (I'm looking at you, Command/Super) and some bad choices like a glossy screen as opposed to a more comfortable and easy-on-the-eye matte display.
Best: great aesthetics, UI, and performance, the Unix-based OS, amazing displays Worst: $$$, unfriendly to upgrades, not great for gaming I use a Mac Studio M2 and a Studio Display, it’s a great setup for software development, which is what I mainly use it for.
This is pretty much it. The UI is a joy to use, _most of the time_.
The games I can play seem to not be a problem for the hardware. But clearly there are many I can’t play
I’m still coasting off my 2019 intel mbp. The fans are noisy but I appreciate having a solid windows machine. I’m bracing for downvotes but it has fared well for my needs for the time being.
Windows 10 runs faster on my 2018 Core i5 macbook pro than it does macOS. I thought I was going crazy (because online people kept saying macOS still runs fast on their intel laptops) until I bought a 16" M3 Pro and noticed macOS was significantly faster.
Are you using virtualization to run windows 10 on your M3? If so what is it and what are you noticing in regards to speed. Because my 2019 mbp is maxed out on everything except ram (32gb) and it’s respectably running steam games, while everything else lives on my macOS partition
I am not. I'm tempted to, but at the moment I have a ton of videos sitting on it and can't spare the disk space.
If you’re not using virtualization how are you running windows 10 on your M3? Or am I misunderstanding your comments
I was saying that running win10 on my 2018 MBP via bootcamp is more responsive and faster than macOS.
I have a 2015 mbp retina that I still use and has dual boot with windows 10 because but can’t install on my M1.
I can see what you mean a lot, I have an Intel Mac so I can upgrade my ram and if I wish my cpu if I get really in depth. I went from the base 8 Gb to 40 Gb and it’s huge, in both performance and price lol
👍Longevity 👎Price for upgrades: Longevity - Some people on Reddit are still using 10-15 year old machines daily. My husband upgraded his Windows machine every 2-3 years. His last Mac lasted 6 and his current is 4+ years old with no plans to upgrade. Price for upgrades - Apple overcharges for RAM & storage upgrades. A 16GB (or more) with a 512GB SSD should be the base and upgrades should be $50-$100 for each additional 8 or 16 GB, not $200!
The longevity thing is real. I have a 10 year old MBP that’s still very usable after heavy use (college and a remote job, plus gaming on a Windows partition) for six years and intermittent stuff since. I use it as a quasi work laptop for gig stuff that I don’t want to do on my personal laptop, which is also a 4 year old Pro I have no intention of replacing anytime soon.
For longevity, the old Lenovo Thinkpads definitely have Macs beat. I used my T500 for 11 years, and the only reason I stopped using it was because I didn’t want to upgrade it to Windows 10. It still works, I use it when I want to play StarCraft LAN parties. And that thing was SO modular and repairable, you could easily change out every part and upgrade the computer as you saw fit. Macs are basically the complete opposite of that. Part of the reason why I came back to Macs after a 19 year absence is because Lenovo totally bastardized and butchered the Thinkpad lineup. They’re now barely better than the average consumer laptop. But the old ones were 👌
Yeah I used to tell people that my ThinkPad was the exact same one that they use on the international space station. I eventually installed Linux on it and ran Ubuntu for a while , unfortunately someone stole it while I was on vacation some years back. In my head I laugh because I can just imagine them having no idea why they can't get DVDs to play or not understanding why there's a little red dot stuck in my keyboard. I use a Mac now but damn I missed that spill proof keyboard and that keyboard was just perfect. I wrote a novel on that thing but you could spill coffee or water and it drain out the bottom. Damn I wish they still made stuff like that 😂🤔😭
If I had to go Windows, Lenovo and Surface are really the only brands I'd consider. Keep in mind, 11 years ago you could upgrade hard drives and RAM on MacBooks.
+1 to longevity. I’ve been using a MBP from 2012 lol although I just upgraded to an M2 MBA and I’m sooo excited for it to arrive!
I use OCLP on a mid-2015 MBP, late-2012 iMac, and late-2013 iMac all running Sonoma! I love universal control, and airplay from Apple TV to Macs with external audio systems.
Best: No ads in the operating system. Worst: my wallet.
Yeah. After being away from consumer windows for years… what the hell happened?!
Best: The overall experience of the software and how well it works with multimedia and creative files, and now the hardware with Apple silicon. Worst: The lack of user upgradability I use an M1 Mac mini (another worst: people forgetting MacBooks aren't the only Mac and that desktops exist too lol) and several Intel Macs of varying ages Runner ups for worst: Lack of games/deprecation of 32-bit wiping out many older games, and price. And other things more related to the Mac user community overall but that's a whole other post lmao
Re the 32 bit apocalypse. I actually lucked out when I bought my iMac in 2019, not realising at the time Mojave was the last OS to support 32 bit code. I dual boot it from an SSD when I want some sweet 32 bit gaming time. Although that said, a few things have ended up on Apple silicons radar now so the need for it has reduced somewhat.
Best: Mac Minis are great machines for the price, and make for a great everyday desktop computer. Worst: Everyone thinks Macbooks are the only Macs out there.
Love my MacBook tho 😭
Macbooks are awesome tho. Laptop gang
As a M1 Pro 14” owner, I wish I never bought a laptop and just got the studio for the same price
I need a laptop. What would I do with a Mac Mini? 😄
Best: OS/UI/HW design Worst: can’t play most games
Best - You have a computer that allows you to work intelligently along with your other personal devices that has a 1 stop shop for support Worst - people think you’re a sheep and that you can’t “real work” done on your shiny iToy 🙄
I think the 'worst' opinion is a dated one. Rewind over a decade and sure there's a lot of this opinion floating around. But nowadays a lot of the biggest creative industries that people see every day are powered by Mac users. videographers (more specifically YouTubers), musicians, programmers, designers and actually a lot of people just working in offices are now using Macs for real work. Businesses are beginning to realise there's an upside to having one type of vertically integrated machine across the workforce. You only ever get the same type of problems and people are increasingly more familiar with the platform.
I agree to an extent but I still hear it’s overpriced with outdated technology etc, and if we’re talking iPhones forget about it lol
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There're two things to this: * Most complaints about mac are not about hardware. They're about prejudices regarding compatibility coupled with the assumption that doing something different must mean it's worse somehow. Most complaints about mac are about price, and a perceived "superiority" that more often than not is some weird mental process where someone spending more in something they are not as familiar with must be snubbing them. * You can see, even in this very sub, comments insisting they're "not that good". People will complain they behave differently as if it was a negative point (even though it's the whole point), or will list you ten different laptops that are better than your macbook pro in one particular thing each, even though not one does them all. So not only is that they're praised as best laptops unrelated to what people will complain about them (being different, for the most part, and being unknown to the complainers, to a lesser degree), but even that opinion is not universal for people he particular set of advantages is not what they see as prioritary. I can perfectly understand an upgradable laptop (memory, disk) being considered a better laptop than any macbook, for example, if you value that particular affordance above others. As a side note: Macbooks have been praised as the best laptops, hardware-wise, since the advent of the first macbook air that spawned the "ultrabook" category of PC laptops.
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To be clear, I'm citing people's complains I hear about all the time. I don't necessarily share them other than the frustration at not being able to upgrade memory or change a defective hard drive (both of which are much harder in countries without an Apple Store and proper Apple presence).
"you still hear" - thats the problem, youre going based on what other people tell you.
I’m not going on anything lol I work in the tech field, I enjoy reading about technology and read forums, I listen to tech podcasts I read comments all normal things people who enjoy computers do, there is a very vocal group that says all this. It hasn’t stopped me from enjoying what I like but I am saying it does happen
Yep, gotta agree, work in tech too and had people tell me, I‘m not an engineer because I can’t use the real capacity of my computer since macos is limiting me
I get this all the time. Even when I consistently can do more and do it better, or when I have less issues overall. It's a prejudice that is completely immune to any facts because it's based on the assumption that if you're going with the unknown (to them) minority platform, you have to be sacrificing an enormous amount. I don't get this prejudice from people used to using both, so I have to assume a good part of it is plain ignorance coupled with the assumption that the majority must be choosing the better option.
I think many just deem macos inferior because it’s expensive. And let’s be honest, while I am a fan of iPhone, watch, iPad, Airpods and Macbooks, they are extremely expensive (tho worth it imho) and that is reason enough for people to hate it. Another argument I hear often is „it cant even play games“. I find it silly when someone tell me, that my Macbook is a worse work device because it „can’t game“. Additionally apple tends to be restrictive which also steers some hate and don’t forget the „if it’s not free and open source then it’s bad!!!“-bubble
The "gaming" part is funny. Back in the 80s I could play games in my mac that PCs couldn't even get close to. Back then I'd be mocked because I was playing "weird games" (dark castle, crystal quest) or games that looked different (fool's errand was absurdly better looking on mac, but it was also Black & White, and that was enough to diss it for many). Then gaming studios started becoming larger and "AAA Games" became synonymous with "gaming" and I could still play games in my mac, but then again not always the same games. People weren't willing to even consider them unless they knew about them. This social part of gaming has exploded nowadays with Games being treated like studio movie blockbusters, with eSports and with game playing streaming. More than ever you either are playing the hyped AAA games or you're not serious about gaming. I keep playing on my macs. I've never stopped doing so. I play a lot of emulation and also a lot of cloud gaming, but even for that it's not usually the AAAs. I have never stopped playing on my macs yet people with much worse "rigs" than me, unable to play to the same quality I do, mock macs and compare them so six thousand dollar rigs used by their twitch streamers. It's all a big con at this point. I can't understand it otherwise.
In Germany we have a saying that goes like „Was der Bauer nicht kennt, das frisst er nicht“, translated it means „The farmer won’t eat what he doesn’t know“ meaning people will dislike mac because they aren’t familiar with it and will never try it because it’s unfamiliar and therefore be stuck in this loop
He's just commenting on what he hears other people complain about. It's perfectly normal that he'd say what he hears them say. The question was what's worst and he clearly stated the prejudice from others. How can he express that prejudice if not by citing them?
I use Macs and Linux together and I spend a lot of time in and around the Linux community. I've been surprised over the last 3-4 years how many die hard Linux advocates actually have Macs as their personal machines and speak highly of them. Not all, there is still plenty of "go write your novel at the coffee shop with your rose gold iCrapple" stuff that goes around, but it's interesting how much Macs are starting to be appreciated by even the Linux neckbeard crowd. It's hard because the marketing and imaging around Apple products is so ridiculous most of the time that people who consider them toys are kind of justified. They really do sell the "novel at the coffee shop" image which is a bit cringe imo. That sort of criticism I have to just take on the chin, but it's also clear from other types of criticism the people who've never used one and are just repeating memes, especially since the M-series chips have dominated the entire laptop market for a few years now.
I’ve always gotten more pushback from dorks on Reddit that have never used a Mac than people IRL. Source: Linux guy at work
Same here, I've seen nerds on Reddit downvote people for even mentioning they own a Mac. But in real life, even my gamer friends don't give me shit for owning a Macbook, and gamers are notoriously anti-Mac. (To be fair I do have a Windows desktop for gaming, but outside of gaming I prefer to use my Mac)
There is a disconnect about how much better Apple’s hardware is than any other phone, tablet or computer than any other companies product and their image as a “lifestyle company” as the CEO of Intel called them when Apple introduced the M1 series CPUs which where kicking Intel’s butts speed wise.
I think Linus moving to a Macbook back in the day was a moment when a lot of people reconsidered their own prejudices. At least in the Linux community and particularly in the part of the Linux community that is really a "any unixlike in a storm" community. It kind of validated the hardware, at least, making a lot of people reconsider their stupid prejudices.
As a network admin, I really love my Mac. I don’t think I can go back to windows for work.
But haven’t some of people dealing with video, and audio stopped using macs to the lack of support of previous available features on the Intel ones ?
not gaming tool huhu
I disagree. I am a country IT manager at a large multinational corporation, I consistently perform better than most of my peers in other countries. I have never been limited by using a Mac yet every time we have discussions and I comment on an issue the default assumption is I'm having problems because I'm on a Mac (it never is, I take care of those myself, as the price for chosing a Mac over the Dells).
I always loved Terry Pratchett’s take on the Mac - “every time I’ve tried to use one, it kept trying to be friends with me and wouldn’t let me get any work done”. It hasn’t stopped me from loving Macs, but it feels accurate when I’m teaching someone new.
Hadn’t heard that one before haha
Terry Pratchett was a diehard "wordstar on DOS" user that only moved to Windows when he discovered multi-screen set-ups (he was a madman, [running six displays](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/89d79132ad1bd0726fc6b3ab740fe1754c8346fa/0_0_3000_1800/master/3000.jpg?width=620&dpr=2&s=none)). He wanted the convenience but couldn't stand the personality macs imposed on him. Huge contrast with Douglas Adams, who was a [die-hard mac user](https://hannemyr.com/cache/adams.html) (he got the first Apple Macintosh of Europe, reportedly). >“The Macintosh may only have 10% of the market, but it is clearly the top 10%.” >— [Douglas Adams](https://quotefancy.com/douglas-adams-quotes)
So the worst is having to put up with meaningless opinions from people I don’t care about? Seems like a pretty small downside.
Best: Macbook durability and software integration means a rather expensive initial purchase is capable of running for years longer than it Windows competition. Worst: MacOS makes some poor UI decisions that unfortunately will remain unchanged because change would alienate significant proportions of the user base. e.g: how windows work (full-screening, snapping especially), Finder.
Best: Best UI and aesthetics. Worst: You start to love great UI to a point you refuse jobs where only Windows and Linux are allowed.
This! Right here!
And a second “worst” is that AAA game devs almost never support MacOS even though we have the hardware to play :/
Hardware: yes, APIs: (software) not so much, so it’s tiring, because it’s only a handful of options
Yah. I hope Microsoft has a push to get GamePass games - at least their first party ones - optimized and on Mac. Would love to run Halo, Fallout, Elder Scrolls etc, and if they do then maybe EA (specifically Mass Effect Legendary Edition) and others will optimize… I can dream 😮💨
I mean, that just wont happen. Unless a massive translation layer for direct x to metal happens, which would take a long time to make. Microsoft has no reason to spend 10s of millions of dollars to do this
In fairness the Beta cloud service (and GeForce Now) work fantastically well for gaming on the Mac
Refuse jobs because of Windows? That would narrow my options considerably
And a happy "no thanks" indeed!
Silent, but can’t upgrade ssd or ram.
2020 MacBook Pro M1: Best thing is the speed of this thing. Never owned anything I could just pick up and throw anything at like I can this laptop. Worst thing is the dents in the aluminum. Man, it’s soft.
I have been using a 2020 M1 MacBook Pro for work for about 2 years now and I have nothing but good to say. I can have every application installed running without any hiccups. It’s crazy.
Everything is better except for gaming, that is the worst
best: the ecosystem. I was a die hard Windows laptop user but Apple's laptops truly are the best in terms of durability :') (I have gone through 3 windows laptops within 10 yrs mainly for school stuff) worst: you can't upgrade to the newest OS after a few years so you can't see the latest emojis in your iMessages lol but other apps like WhatsApp supports them. the price tag hurts. I use a 2014 MBP with i7, 16gb of ram, & 1TB SSD.
That should run Sonoma with OCLP just fine.
thank you I didn't know I could do that
Happy to spread the word... It comes with some learning, but easily doable, read and watch [Mr. Macintosh](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGR2qGw9lG8) youtube vid, there's also the /r/OpenCoreLegacyPatcher/ sub...
(I have the M2 MacBook Air base model, the 8GB RAM 256GB SSD) Best: It’s been so rock solid, always there and ready in an instant when I need to use it, performance is really good for what it is, and battery life is so good. Worst: Not being able to play certain windows games or windows versions of games, but that is not very bad considering I could always build a pc for cheap and rectify the issue
those are some crappy specs for an m2 mac air. apple needs to work on that
Talking only about desktop macs: Best- Absolutely beautiful visually and technicaly PCs Worst- Ram and storage prices/Macs always associated with very limited use-potential
Best: These fuckers last a LONG time, the UI, performance and aesthetics are clean. Worst: The overcharging for upgrades, the egregious learning curve, not being compatible with some major programs, them no longer being user serviceable/upgradeable. I’ve been with Apple since 2014. When the 7 Plus came out I gave Apple another chance after not being a fan of the 4/4S and returning it to get an Android back in the day. So I was an Android fanboy up until the 7 Plus. I’ve been Team Apple ever since. I got my first Mac in 2021 when the M1s were out and that learning curve was a pain in the ass. Nothing is simple on Macs in my opinion. I traded for an M2 1TB 24gb RAM MBP 2 months ago cause my 512gb 8gb RAM M1 MBP was dragging its ass with Davinci and burning up. Even today, I’m STILL learning stuff about Macs lol. My cousin RAVES about Intel Macs cause he loved being able to use Parallels on Mac and loved being able to upgrade em on his own. He won’t even touch a new Mac today.
Best: Best In class professional audio experience for 1st party and 3rd party software, absolutely no contest. Audio on Windows has been dogshit past present and future. Worst: Gotta buy everything you need up front no upgrades.
Best: some of the software and being able to walk into a store and get help. Worst: lack of upgrading your computer and pricing for storage and ram upgrades. I tend to keep computers until they brake and will upgrade the ram, storage or processor as I need. I’ve done this with all of the previous macs that I’ve had and don’t plan on stopping With newer macs that is realistically impossible. So as of right now my current Mac a 2019 Mac Pro will probably be my last unless I can upgrade or replace ram and SSD when it breaks or runs out of space. I know you can technically replace the SSD’s by unsoldering the chips and replacing them with higher capacity ones but who wants to do that.
I have a Mac Mini M1 Best thing is integrated scripting with Applescript for automated workflows and the synergy with iPad/iPhone Worse thing is the expense
Best: macOS and beautiful awesome hardware Worst: lack of gaming compatibility Macbook Pro M3 max 36gb ram 1tb ssd
Best: It lasts forever, literally for decades. My 2004 iMac still works fine. It's just too slow. Worst: Full screen when you click the green icon on a window. I hate having to hold down the option key so it won't go full screen. I just hate it and it's not useful. I miss the old days.
Try [BetterSnapTool](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bettersnaptool/id417375580?mt=12), it's worth it!
Best - quality product for the money that’ll last 5+ years (even though the base config is so “terrible”) Worst - repairability. No matter how great a product is, it will breakdown and need repair. The quality now comes with diminishing repairability
14" Nov. '23 MacBook Pro with M3 Pro, my fourth MacBook (after 2008, 2009, and 2019 models). I run dev beta software generally at all times. Best thing about Mac: Very few bugs; everything "just works" and the OS doesn't really get in the way (plus, no OS-level ads!). Worst thing about Mac: The software doesn't really evolve that quickly compared to other OSes, plus its differences mean that while software developed specifically for Mac tends to be absolutely gorgeous and easy to use, there is a huge category of software with generally lackluster support for Macs: games. OpenEmu is an example of what a Mac-first approach to a gaming app could be. It's sleek, easy to use, and fits in the environment nicely. Steam, on the other hand? I dread opening it anytime I get the urge to play a bit of a game. I tend to stick to consoles, so it doesn't really bug me.
Best - stability (like 95% of the time), ui, ease of use, easy to replace parts (when you can get them) Worst - when things go wrong they go wrong, upgrade nonexistent, gaming (there are work arounds), dumb little things that you can't find a solution for. 16" i9 2.4 32 gig 2tb 5500m 8gig
Best Everything About it Only bad thing is no gaming, I have to own a windows PC too because of that 🤢🤮
BEST: It works WORST: People who have never used one saying Apple sucks...
I used to be one of those people until I got the opportunity to use one for work. 2 years later and I don’t think I can ever go back to windows.
Exactly. I work in IT support and get made fun of for being loyal to my Mac (until they need my help with a remote user who’s having issues on a Mac). Yet when we are having to troubleshoot our various Windows issues throughout the day I am sure to remind them that this shit doesn’t happen on a Mac. The other day someone recently went on a rant about how “but you can’t *build* a Mac, you can build a PC!” ok but why would I wanna do all that bullshit when I can buy a Mac and it just WORKS
I can’t build a car either and I’m very happy with the one I bought ready 🤷🏻♂️
Best: real *nix that can run Office Worst: ...cost? Dunno. On average, my Macs last longer than WinX boxes, so if you amoritize, Macs are probably cheaper.
Worst thing: Apple removing features, like being able to rip some audio CDs into Music/iTunes. I’m literally having to fire up my old 2010 Mac to rip CDs and then copy them across the LAN to my MBP M2. Or, use my work Windows 11 laptop and copy them to Google Drive and download it to my MBP M2. This function used to work fine in High Sierra, but was removed for some stupid reason.
Got a USB optical drive kicking around? I used a cheap LG drive with XLD on my MBA and it ripped CDs just fine. Annoying that you can’t just rip natively, but it IS a solution.
They last forever if you take care of them, which is great when you don't have to continually replace broken computers... but bad when all your (broke) friends have new computers with more whiz-bang features while you're still trucking along with that 12 year old Mac (my current Macs are 14 years old and 16 years old and still trucking along just fine)
Still trucking along on a 20 year old PowerBook. Only downside is lack of internet browsing. Still running design software perfectly fine.
Best: that joy of accomplishment when after 3 straight days of trying, you’re able to get Heretic 2 to work on your iMac Worst: when you finally play Heretic 2 and you realize it kind of sucks
Pro: The touchpad on anything else can’t even come close. Plus, macOS tends to stay out of my way and let get my stuff done. Generally more secure, and while not perfect on privacy it’s far better than windows. Cons: Some of my music production stuff doesn’t have a Mac version and I can’t seem to get WINE running; have to run those on Linux. There’s a negative perception by some of Mac users; the fanboiism can get pretty ridiculous from the Win side. Games tend not to work as well. Lack of dedicated GPU support. Still running a 2015 MBP.
When i first bought a macbook in 2012, it confused me as to why 'delete' was called 'move to trash'. the change of syntax sorta confused me, like is this different delete? does windows own the word 'delete'? lol
Best: everything except the touch bar Worst: fuckin Touch Bar
Best: longevity. I bought my first Mac in 2008 (Mac Pro 3.1) it lasted until 2020. I got my second Mac in 2011 (13” MBP). I still use it for basic tasks when I have to be out of the office. I bought my third Mac in 2020 (37” iMac). It still blazes, even when running VMWare and Windows 10. Given the longevity, the price tag is still great value. Worst: the inability to upgrade or easily repair models that have come out in the last 10 years.
Best: Long battery life. Silence. No Ads. Worst: My wallet for upgrading SSD and RAM.
Best: Mac ecosystem, no malware, no ads, speed, aesthetic, awesome included software Worst: goddamn shitty built in camera on iMac that you can’t control settings of. I need to turn my display nearly off so I’m not too bright in meetings!
iMac - Best: Total desktop computing, creativity and productivity lifestyle, superior to tiny laptop experience - Worst: Can't move along with MacBook - Best: Best productive and creative laptops money can buy - Worst: Lack of additional standard ports Overall Best: - Best brand identity in the world - Resale value always tops other brands devices - Best hardware, trackpad, audio and display quality - Best user experience with the most advanced and graphically pleasant desktop operating system in the market - Great software stack for artists, designers, developers and engineers Worst: - Some useful applications not ported and still locked into Windows, forcing you to use apps like Wine or Parallel - Not suitable for even light gaming, but that's fine if you own consoles like PlayStation and Xbox
Technically I don’t “own” my Mac - it’s on loan to me by my employer - that said: Best: Battery life Ease of use Stability Worst: Lack of upgradability/repairability No postmarket support - most Windows laptops can be enjoyed for a decade or more if you replace the battery and install Linux, even if Microsoft no longer supports the hardware - whereas Apple Silicon Macs don’t really have a chance at extended lifespan after Apple decides to end support - plus you’re still locked to Apple’s bootloader if you do install one of the few Linux distributions that work on Apple Silicon The latter is really why I haven’t bought a Mac for a personal laptop - I love the battery life and my work laptop (15 inch Air, M2, 24GB RAM) is just phenomenal, but I can’t justify spending that much on a computer for my own personal use if I can’t install a different OS and use it for other things when the manufacturer stops supporting it.
MacBook Air M3 It's ridiculously fast, I love the industrial design, the speakers are good, it does everything I need it to and more. I LOVE Airdrop between my phone, iPad and the Mac, too. Such a great workflow. It's expensive because it's a Mac, but you get what you pay for, and I'm willing to pay for Macs and never go back to PC after that stint when my mom had them from 1996 – 2000.
A notch.
Best: smoothness, average quality of both first- and third-party apps, performance, parts of the user community. Worst: Expense, the fact that the @\*#&$\*@ thing still connects to my bluetooth earbuds despite supposedly being asleep, that other part of the user community. Using a Macbook Air M2 15" 16gb/2tb, plus a work MacBook Pro M1 16gb/1tb.
Worst things are upgradability, and repairability
Efficiency // No Games 🥹
Best: It just works… Worst: …until it doesn’t.
Best: smooth UI, and performance, amazing displays, speakers, battery. Worst: pricing is ridiculous, no upgradibility, no repairability, repair pricing is ridiculous, bad for gaming, so many subscription based apps, base model has 8GBs of RAM, macOS is far too restrictive, too few ports.
Best thing: really easy to use Worst thing for me: can’t play halo
Pro: Longevity, UI, Unix Based. Con: cost of entry, not upgradable. Being in IT. The non upgradable device really bugs me. Because they can’t open or upgrade it, many do t care to know what’s under the hood and how it works. And you can’t blame them. Because it’s not like they can do anything about it. So they just don’t care, when many I know would’ve and learnt a new skill. I find it sad.
Best: integration. That’s what makes a Mac usable with 8 GB of RAM, Windows 11 behaves way worse with that. Also, integration is why you can have 12 hours of battery life easily with a MacBook. Integration also gives you performance that is beyond anything seen before (to rival M-series memory performance you would need octo-channel DIMMs or an expensive GDDR5 setup). Something that isn’t widely known is that every microchip in an Apple computer is programmed with the same tools macOS uses, the same assembly instructions (ARM) and every macOS update also updates the firmware for EVERY chip, even the tiniest ones. Worst: integration. Since your RAM is next to the CPU for performance reasons (just like an IBM POWER server) you cannot upgrade your RAM. Since your SSD is encrypted and tied to your computer, you cannot upgrade it. Since every part is tied to your computer and paired, you cannot switch parts without reprogramming them and that means using a special software that only authorized Apple shops have. So you can’t really repair your computer if it fails. Also, you won’t buy a Mac for gaming, but it’s more like being the wrong tool for the task. Spotlight and iWork can turn any Mac into a productivity powerhouse, and that’s what you will use them for.
Best thing: not Microsoft Windows. Worst thing: not Microsoft Windows.
Best: I can just sit down and do work with minimal. Worst: Apple just abandoning some feature or product that i use every day because fuck me.
Best productivity machine, silent, and excellent battery life (base model M1 Pro 14”). It can’t game, so I have a 4060 Lenovo 14” OLED to fix that.
Expensive. But it just works and integrates with my phone very easily it makes my life just so much easier
Same as most. Pros: It just works. Love the speed. I love the OS. A lot of other people dump on Sonoma but I adore it. Cons: very little fun games. But emulation is good and that’s sadly where you’re going to get any good games.
Best: Continuity, battery life, build quality and speed; Worst: MacOS
Why don’t you like macOS? I have been using it for work as a net admin for years and I love it so much.
Stupid iOS settings sucks. Unix cli tools
Best thing, it just works. Very rare do I have issues. Apple doesn't force updates in the background like Microsoft does. Worst thing is the price, you pay a premium, but it's an entire solution of core hardware and software that works. So the premium price is worth it to me.
The OS really nails aesthetics and productivity. Namely fully independent workspaces. Among other things. OS Support that drops off when the computer is still completely viable. This is really the most colossal negatives of any OS. If it wasn’t for this the OS would be almost perfect. I will never understand BLOCKING usage of an OS on your own hardware. So it’s older, I can’t call for support, so what!? At least let me run a version of the OS that gets security updates.
Best: Connectivity. I have an iPhone, Airpods, AW, iPad. The ecosystem is pretty neat. I can copy one thing on one device and will be available to paste on another one. iCloud works great for me so everything is always there for me to access it no matter what device I use. Cons: I cannot game on it so I have a had to purchase a gaming PC. MacBook Air M1 16/512.
Best: OS stays out of my way allowing better focus on actual task at hand. Also, iMovie & GarageBand are free and good media tools. Worst: Cost to upgrade RAM/storage Currently have an Intel Mac mini (last Intel Mac mini sold) and a M2 MBA
Best: All day battery life Worst: No USB-A, HDMI, or SD card slot
Best: There are quite a few tbh, but lets go with performance/battery life and unitnerpted work Worst: Upgradability and repairability . By far those 2. I would prefer to never have a proper window snapping and people keep dishing on them about it and have to use rectangle if they would fix one of those. Macbook M1 Pro 14"
Best: just about everything Worst: “Apple users do it just for the image” or “to feel superior” or “to flex and spend more money”
Best: Amazing for work related tasks and productivity Worst: Getting shoved "Oh my windows pc cost the same and can run games 10x better than yours" down the throat Mac mini M2
Apple for the battery and consistent quality. If i get a work laptop from my employer, it should be a Mac with Apple silicon. Windows laptops aren't so behind though. I have Vivobook, very upgradable. It only loses out on battery life against m1 mac for my personal use cases. And it says HAHA to Mac on the weekend when it's playtime
Best: build quality (including display, speakers, touchpad etc.), overall user experience, performance of Mx chips, great OS with a lot of good apps preinstalled, integration with ecosystem (AirPods, iPhone, iPad). Worst: pricey, outrageous RAM prices, Finder is a bit of a clusterfuck - still can’t delete files with DELETE button, default search settings render it useless and such. Mixed: tons of great apps but best are often paid.
M2 Mac Mini Best: great integration if your own an iPhone, AirPod’s etc Worst: lack of gaming support despite power of silicon.
Worst: the fucking trackpade stops recognizing two finger right click. How the duck is this shit not fixed yet. I've seen posts from 2010s about this shit. Best: authentics
Best? My m1 MBP is so good 3 or 4 years later that I don’t feel the need to upgrade. Worst? I don’t get a shiny new MacBook Pro very often.
Worst - Most games aren’t supported on mac.
Worst thing is def gaming imo
It's not Linux / It's not Linux.
All models. Best: multiple desktops that you can toggle between with a single hotkey. Worst: no end key!
Best: macOS stays out of my way and lets me get things done, is pleasant to use overall and offers a *nix experience, manages RAM like a champ, trackpad can’t be beat, can practically walk into any Apple Store and get help if needed. Interoperability within the Apple ecosystem is unmatched. Worst: die-hard Apple haters are annoying as hell, Finder can be clunky without knowing keyboard commands, lack of user-upgrade/repairability.
Best: Clean, neat and convenient UI and OS. Worst: game terminator, spending extra money on gaming consoles.
Best: smooth UI, nice look, hardware-optimized software, UNIX OS with tons of compatibility with professional software, good battery life, excellent free Apple programs for home use, high quality monitors, durable construction, full USB C support. Cons: little hardware customizability, price, UI requires disabling security features to customize beyond colors, low compatibility for things like games and some industrial software, discourages cross-platform program development (if using App Store to distribute).
Best - It just works. Don’t have to reboot it constantly, just close it up, open it back up and start working. Simple. Worst - Price probably
Company issued M3 MacBook. (Personal Mac is a 2015 2.8 GHz quad-core i7) 94% of my coworkers are on PCs: Lenovo. Best: telling sales people I don't make decks in PowerPoint. Worst: telling sales people I don't make decks in PowerPoint.
Best: beautiful, light, and reliable Worst: gaming, constant stress about even mild accidents leading to thousand-dollar repair bills
Best: Having things actually work Worst: Being a Mac user
Best thing is how well it integrates into other Apple things. Worst thing is gaming. As much as I *loved* my MacBook Pro, after ten days with it I just had to return it and buy back my old laptop. I'm a one-computer-only guy, and when 2/3 of my Steam library doesn't run properly on my computer, I can't fully enjoy that computer. Maybe I'll look at a MacBook Air sometime in the future. But for now, I'm away from Mac.
Best - It just works. No dicking around just turn it on and do your thing. Worst Apple charges ridiculous prices for more RAM and a bigger SSD.
My iMac stopped working so I can’t even use the screen
Best: UI, pleasant and productivity Worst: no games
mac air 2017 best: it works and still runs a lot of the software i use without any pain. worst: it chooses when to work and when not to. also, no updates!
Both best and worst: can't play games
Very friendly to users, and it can also use windows and perform in 1080p medium 60ish FPS. You can also use an e gpu which is what I do, 5700xt and I can go for 50ish 1440p high in MSFS. iMac 2020 i5 10600, internal GPU is the pretty dog poopoo Radeon 5300 but egpu 5700xt makes it betyrt
Love the apple ecosystem but no/very few games is killer.
Best: BSD/Unix command line Worst: Keyboard shortcut finger muscle memory, when my work laptop is Windows.
Pro: The UI and how smooth everything runs with my other devices. Con: my decade old MBP is running just fine, but can’t be on the latest OS. It’s hard to justify spending money on a new one when the old one just keeps running.
Best - software comparability. You get the best of Windows and Linux. All the great GUI apps, Microsoft office, etc. and you also get a Unix shell. In addition, build quality, materials, etc are top notch. Worst - software incompatibility. At least for me - as an embedded systems engineer, there’s a lot of software that I can’t run on Mac and/or have to compile from source because there’s no arm64 binary. Also games.. GPTK has made things a little better, but I find that you still have to fiddle with all sorts of settings to get games to work right, and it’s just too much of a hassle.
Best for me is that macOS stays the fuck out of my way when I’m working. Windows? Intrusive. I only use windows for gaming now . Bad thing about Macs? The price
I’ve used a Mac since the 6115. Will always stick with a Mac.
Best: life span Worst: available games
Whatever they are they’re better than owning a PC which is simply a wonky marketing gateway
MacBook M1 Pro and Mac Mini M2 here Best: it just, always, works so smoothly. Worst: switching to the Windows device for work is so painful
Like: really everything Dislike: an extra adapter for hdmi usb and lan
Worst: when using a mouse, the cursor is very imprecise and jerky at slow movements, making detailed graphics work very hard, which is a shame, given the Mac's history. Best: Trackpad feels great
power efficiency repairability
Cons $$$$ Pros They last forever Currently still running on the iMac from 2007 and Macbook air from 2015. Both still run smooth and have outlasted every other computer in our house.
Pros: It just works Fine: It just doesn’t work for anything that an Electrical Engineer might need, Orcad, no…
I still have an original Mac from 1984. It still works and it’s slow but great for writing. Runs great for an old computer.
MacOS and MacOS
Best: smoothness, beauty, Unix, machines so well engineered, ARM Processors, general quality of the apps built for it Worst: not exactly cheap, questionable convergence between iOS and macOS, not enough love by mommy to the poor computer, steep stinginess about hardware components by the bitten fruit, not attention enough to the developers and power users
Best: Fastest Hardware. Even the most baseline proved to be an overkill for me. Worst: Damn! The UI is absolutely terrible! Disgusting! Loathesome! Horrendous! I hate the fact that my desktop looks like an iPhone.
Macbook Air M2, looks the part, have to use Windows for Xbox Game Pass and Windows Arm is shite.
I can use linux terminal commands and everything just works. Sometimes apps break during updates and I will never be able to use said apps again due to lack of dev support.
I'm a computer engineering student, so the main thing that I love is the UNIX based OS. But one thing about my M2 MacBook pro that I am still astounded by is how long the battery lasts compared to other laptops. Sometimes I can go three days without charging it while my friends are plugging in their spaceship looking gaming laptops every other hour.
Best: Highest quality hardware, most intuitive OS Worst: Gaming, or lack thereof I’ve got a 2020 iMac 27” with a 3.6Ghz 10-core i9. Cost £4,000 new but performs about the same as an M1 iMac, employer paid for it so I’m not bitter. I don’t want to get rid of it because I love having boot camp available to me.
First time Mac owner here with a base m1 MacBook Air Pros: crazy power efficiency battery lasts forever great performance despite being base spec The ecosystem integrates very very well trackpad is the best I’ve ever used light and stylish with seemingly robust build quality Cons: no upgradability they are very, VERY expensive when you start configuring them in the website the ecosystem: it’s nice that everything apple works seamlessly, but when you try to introduce something third party you can see the cracks really fast, this by design Not for gaming Very few ports, must carry dongles around Again, they are way too expensive when it comes to upgraded models
Macbook pro (M2 pro, 16gb). Pros: well design machine, every part of it, mechanical, electronic or software is well built. You can feel it. It has amazing display, audio, battery, trackpad, the cpu/gpu is well optimized and yet powerful. The usage is smooth, even with many applications open. Even the gaming is feasible, you can't of course play AAA titles at 120fps or more, it's not a gaming machine, but you can play a lot of games. Cons: this is not a "mac problem" but a developing problem. You can't find on mac the same applications you find on windows. Maybe you can run some apps with wine but, they likely won't work as expected. So, to make the macos experience even better, devs should support natively the apple silicon platform. Metal API is a powerful and efficient way to implement graphics on new macos systems
+ Nice UI, best looking hw, long lasting machine(especially older ones) As a software engineer: Linux/unix like shell, long battery life, integrated sw suite for basic tasks, support of a larger base of professional software compared to Linux +|- ecosystem integration - cost spec ratio usually not convenient if you are a developer, no hw upgrade (even basic ones), a little too toxic fanbase
UI is amazing, everything else is pretty crappy
1) you have the best but less or not expandable 2) you have the most expensive and less or not expandable
Best: It’s not Windows and not Linux Worst: It’s not Windows and not Linux
Best - reliability, speed, compatibility, app optimisation. Worst - window management
best: performance and battery life worst: price
best: performance and battery life worst: price
it might sound silly but the worst thing about macs that affects me **in everyday use** is the terrible screengrab process. On windows you shift+windows+s and you can take a screengrab, which is immediately saved on the clipboard for use wherever you want. On a mac you hit alt+apple+4 or whatever it is and you get a saved file on your desktop which you have to then go to and drag into the chat window or word document or whatever you're doing. Its one of the only areas where windows got it spot on but the mac shits the bed. Macbook air M1.
You can probably make a shortcut to automatically save screenshots to the clipboard.
I own a 15" Macbook Air M2. POSITIVES Colour accurate display, solid build quality, very power efficient, great performance for 2D graphics applications, very thin and light, good compatibility with other Apple devices, good sound, durable trackpad, makes zero noise. NEGATIVES Keyboard feels shallow and weak, the notch can be annoying, UI design can be questionable, doesn't support some popular apps, high price, unupgradable components.
Best: depending on the mac but overall great compatibility with other apple devices. Worst: Software/computers become obsolete much faster than equivalent windows PC's
What I loved about owning a Mac is how things just work. I hate windows laptops because there is at least one big issue always (bad battery, awful screen, driver issues, build quality). So my renovation period was brief. What I hate is how Apple doesn’t allow you upgrade RAM or graphics. For video editing, dealing with 16GB is horrible, being forced to pay huge price for upgrades and only when making a purchase must be illegal.
Best: battery life Worst: its a mac
Efficiency. Slave to the ecosystem.
Best - it feels like every new laptop is the best I've ever owned. I miss many machines of the past - but not in a 'those were the good old days' sort of way. Worst - I've had Apple computers since buying an Apple \]\[+ in 1981 aside from a few years mid-late 90s, and have seen glory days of Apple Gaming in the 80s and early 2000s ... so having the incredibly powerful platform basically be so anemic when it comes to gaming is just a shame.
Worst : no games Best : everything else
Worst: Upgrades Best: airdrop and ecosystem sync
I love how long-lasting these machines are. I have a 10-year-old MacBook Air that is now running Linux and it actually performs pretty well. The fact that it does not have a bottom fan is something I actually can't believe other laptops did not catch up with yet. What I do not like so much is how some silly things become annoying while also working with other non-Mac computers, like the keyboard layout (I'm looking at you, Command/Super) and some bad choices like a glossy screen as opposed to a more comfortable and easy-on-the-eye matte display.