Apple mac :I've never owned apple products. Is an apple mac worth it? Android phones and lap tops.

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We've had dodgy lap tops for years. Does anyone think 1 grand is worth it?
I don't know much about it all but I do love photos and videos and heard you can edit these on apple mac easily?
Dh is very much against apple products and we have never had apple phones etc.

No one?

I have an Apple Mac at home but use Microsoft at work. I much prefer Microsoft. Apple has some annoying quirks.

I would burn through windows laptops every 18 or so months, but my MacBook is almost 5 years old and still going strong. However I’m also in the Apple environment so I make use of being able to airdrop files between my phone and laptop, sharing notes on iCloud etc.

My macbooks generally last me ten years, before I pass them on to a local charity that gives them the once over before donating them to kids who wouldn't have one otherwise.

I haven't had anything else for 30 years, on my new (this year) fourth macbook plus a desktop mac.

My MacBook is indestructible, software updates are easy, it never goes slow, it syncs with my phone and other devices. For all those reasons I love it but if you are used to Windows then there will be some differences to get used to and if you regularly switch for work and home it can be annoying because your hands get used to certain shortcuts which don't work for the different devices.

What on earth are you doing to them? I have only owned three Windows laptops in the last 20 years.

My current one is an Acer Aspire 5 that I bought during lockdown and is still going strong.

I'm not an Apple fan TBH.

Having used both extensively, I believe Apple Macs are well worth the extra cost.

Pros

1. Life often 9-10 years, (with a battery replacement at 7-8)
2. More secure that Windows
3. OS interface doesn't change dramatically with upgrades. (i.e. you can still find everything!)
4. OS upgrades have always been free.
5. iCloud synchronisation / back up works really well
6. Apple Support online or in store is good.
7. iMessage / FaceTime included at no additional cost.
8. Hardware is generally very reliable
9. Apple silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) is really fast, and will get faster as applications get re-written.
10. Entry Model spec is perfectly usable.
11. Integration with iPhone excellent. (i.e. photos and files synchronise well)
12. Good migration tools if moving from windows.
13. iCloud storage (currently) good value

Cons

1. High purchase price, especially if you upgrade from base spec
2. Repairs expensive if you damage it.
3. Built in Apps (Pages/Numbers/ keynote) are a very limited, but MS Office works well now and is around £45-£60. Per year.
4. Small learning curve if coming from windows.
5. Unable to run Windows applications (without additional software)

Hope you make the switch.

I've inherited my husband's old mac book. It's a bit slower than it was when new obviously and is too old to take the newest update but by far I prefer it over any previous windows device I've had.
I will be replacing it with another mac book in the future.

He on the other hand has switched to a windows device so I think it's all a matter of preference.

Also you can get Microsoft on the Mac book if that's the main issue

i love mac's and hate PC 's. i am in a creative industry and they work for me but my needs are not complicated. if i was you i would book into an appointment at an apple store if there is one near you and ask them to show you a mac. then make your mind up.
but like other posters i have had mine for years and have passed them onto family members

Excellent advice thank you everyone

For me it's main use would be photos and transferring old video tapes onto discs

My Mac’s been going for more years than I can remember and I used to have to replace my windows laptops every couple of years at most. I work from home and I’m a heavy user. So it’s definitely been worth it for me.

the last time i bought a mac air i went into an apple store and the advice was not to buy the more expensive model. the only time
someone hasn't tried to upsell me !

Lots of people feel very strongly about this. They're both fine.

Macs probably better for heavy users in creative professions or hobbies. Also Apple things talk really nicely to each other.

You don't sound like a heavy user at all and all your other things I guess are not apple, and you've mentioned price, so I'd just get a slightly nicer ms setup.

@TheSpottedZebra what would a slightly nicer ms look like? What sort of things do people consider to be an upgrade?

I used to work supporting Macs and used to love them and wouldn’t go near a PC. But since Steve job’s demise I reckon they’ve gone seriously downhill and I won’t go near one. My partner has a 6 year old one and every time he’s says there’s a problem with the damn thing I go and hide…

I don’t know what you guys are doing to your laptops but I’m a heavy user and I have 3 dells ranging from 8 years to 2 years and they all work fine! Though they aren’t cheap - my newest was £1500.

I do love iPhones and iPads but find macs non intuitive. If you’re a creative person though they may work better for you so it depends how you use it.

I love the photo management system (Photos) on my MacBook but make sure you take the time to learn how it works. The retina screen also means you can see your photos in very high resolution while editing/preparing to print.
I have no issues running programs on it like PhotoShop, Microsoft Office etc.

The only things that don't work very well are the Boots website and SLC website which is an issue with their web design being incompatible with current Macs.

I've only ever had android phones and Apple laptops.

My Mac is over 10 years old now and only just starting to be annoying. Meanwhile DH's Windows laptops are forever faulty, breaking down and generally needing repair/replacing.

Have never bought the most expensive Mac either. They are great for idiots as I don't need to think about anything bar what screen size I want while buying DH's Windows was a massive research exercise.

ETA, I have a really decent work laptop that isn't a mac which is great - think book X1 which copes with the software I use for research. Costs more than my macbook though.

Team members who don't run the software I do have Dell (Latitude from memory).

I don't think the differences between mac and windows are that great anymore tbh.

computer scientist here - when I went to do my MSc in 2000 I found the whole uni comp.sci.dept was using Macs. I switched. Never regretted it.

I've never had a Mac fail, ever. I have had iPads, iPhones, laptops, desktops. My Apple devices eventually become obsolete, but they have never once broken down in 24yrs. Much safer in terms of viruses too. My current laptop is a 2015 model, it will not run the very latest operating system, but every programme that I need to use still works well. What usually happens is that an update to a programme I use frequently needs a more up to date operating system. At that point I have to decide whether the programme update is crucial or not. At some point I have to bite the bullet and get a new machine.

When a Mac wants to install an update it will ASK YOU and do it at your convenience. In my last job I had to use a Windows machine owned by the department in order to log onto our systems.... the number of times the bloody thing told me not to close it down because it was installing an update - when I was just quickly trying to check something en route to somewhere 🤬.

for anything involving graphics, photos etc. you have more options and control on a Mac. IMO of course.

Why don't you do into an Apple store and get some advice there?

One of my ex students works in our local one - he told me that in their training it is drummed into them never to recommend anything that is not suitable for the customer. An unhappy customer is worse than no customer. There is no commission on sales, so they will never push anything on you.

Yes, they will favour Macs over Windows, but you won't get a hard sell.

I have a Mac Mini at home, I don't need a laptop as I don't go anywhere. I think it's pretty good value and you buy the screen separately so I have a huge one. I always worked with a PC so it took a bit of getting used to when I changed to a Mac, but I'm quite Apple entrenched now with an iPhone and an iPad so it's handy that everything works together.

Mac user here - love them for being easy/intuitive to use, safe, stylish, durable and, as pp mentioned, they ask before updating. Also have an iPhone so they work together. Had to use a non-Mac for one work function for a while and hated, hated, hated it - especially when it would randomly start updating software when I was in the middle of meetings.

However if you are already ok with non-Mac maybe that’s not an issue for you. Main downside is initial cost plus you can find you’re locked in to the Mac ecosystem once you have lots of documents/photos in Apple storage and it’s hard (but obvs not impossible) to move.

Someone mentioned the cost of Microsoft office as a downside. I tend to work in Pages and Numbers and export to docx/xls as needed, at no cost. Apple can open Microsoft documents so no issue there, but it does convert them to Pages etc.

Apple is extremely good quality. I've used Apple products since 1995 so way before the craze of iMacs and iPhones. If I buy a MacBook I'll get a good 7-8 years use out of it before I buy a new one. They're not as vulnerable to viruses either. My work laptop is a Windows PC and I get a new one every 18 months or so.

I have used both, work in IT. My kids all have macbooks, which I support. I have a high end win laptop. At work I use a mixture of win laptop and brand new macs.

I have to say I'm not a fan of macs and find them really clunky to use in comparison and they take forever to update. Cheap windows laptops (of which I've had a few) are also pants. If you spend the macbook money on a top end windows laptop it will be just as good, if not better, and far more flexible, imo.

If you're not a power user though I dont think it really matters, an expensive laptop of either variety will be much better than a cheap one.

If you use OneNote, be warned, its awful on the Mac version of Office.

Also ive had win laptops for decades and never once had a virus. Win defender works fine for home users and you can install and AV software of you want to, not necessary imo. Not sure where that idea comes from. We use both macs and win laptops at work and the IT dept has to install the same end point protection on both.