To have had it up to here with Apple!

[AlecOrAlonzo]

Just back from the Apple Store where a bearded, loafer wearing, tattooed youth has informed me that not only is my less-than-2-year-old MacBook totally goosed but also as the OS is wiped my chances of selling it on are probably nil. £800+ to fix he said without so much as a blush. He was unsympathetic to my squawk of horror.

Also, the iPad mini I have is so old I have to start it up with a crank handle and it just puts wee black squares for emoticons because they hadn't been invented when I bought it. A new one is £400! What the hell?! I've owned cheaper cars! What will it do for £400? I'd want it cleaning the loo and making my tea for that money. I only use it for pricking about on here and listening to The Archers.

Also, the iPhone I have is second hand and old - 5 possibly? - and in danger of giving up the ghost.

What's the score? What do I replace my aging tech with that isn't going to put money in the pockets of these robber barons? I'm not going to held to ransom by these fuckers. There's no way their stuff is that much better, is there? Surely there's good, reasonably priced tech out there?

They used to be good. I got free battery replacements for my MacBook whenever the battery life started to struggle, and multiple free earphone replacements (the £60 ones) whenever one ear stopped working. Then suddenly they stopped and denied that they'd ever replaced those things for me ("You must be mistaken, we've never had that policy and I don't believe that any member of staff would have done that". Well they did, across multiple Apple stores...)

My niece is still using the very first iPhone3G, my mam is still using an iPhone 4.

Husband has a iPad mini 1 cell model that cost £200 seven years ago. Dd has an iPad two that still works for the basics fine.

Some androids are great too. My galaxy s4 is still in great condition after six years.

Pros and cons to both, some android phones are in the same or higher price bracket as iPhones to be fair.

I know people whose expensive android devices have bricked or fucked up and had serious issues.

I know people whose expensive android devices have bricked or fucked up and had serious issues.

Thing is, you can buy cheap android devices in a way you can't with apple. My smartphone coat me £120 simfree and £10 a month and ive had it for two years. If it dies, gets lost or stolen it isn't the end of the world.

Also if you don't rate the build quality of a particular android phone you can get a replacement from a geapcof other manufacturers, you aren't locked into using Apple's hardware.

I'd like to get rid of my Apple phone and iPad as they are seriously over-priced for what I use them for - but I have a gazillion photos as well as films, music etc that I would presumably lose if I did. Is there any way around this, apart from printing everything off and writing off the cost of the films and music? I hate being trapped!

As someone who works in digital forensics, a rare few of us have iPhones.
Many of my colleagues, me included, have the one plus family of phones. We're happy to go with the new Huawei models and Android in general.

The app library is great and the phones are sold with an actual useable amount of memory.
I've had my one plus 3t for over 2 years, so just paying for data now and the battery is still great, processing still quick etc.

Check out some of the tech sites and their lists of beat smart phones. Apple still feature because they're a great product and they do make a good product, but it's throwaway tech now. I can't justify their price for the life it has.

Completely ditch iOS and switch to Android. More product choice, cheaper to buy, longer lasting and easier to use IMO. I'd never go back to Apple. Complete waste of time and money.

Android is leaps and bounds ahead of ios now,anyone who buys an iPhone new now is a Muppet who doesn't know the value of money.
But I wouldn't be with anything other than a MacBook, I cannot stand Microsoft windows and would never go back.

Thank Oreo. I am currently trying to get the cost of a new battery back from Carphone Warehouse, since I bought the phone from them and not directly from Apple. They are trying to wash their hands of it, claiming that EU law isn't compulsory for them to follow Sale of Goods Act should protect me but at the moment they are ignoring me. I'm argumentative and stubborn and won't give up though!

I have come to the conclusion that Carphone Warehouse is not a company I will ever use again for expensive products, since they just wash their hands of any responsibility after 12 months.
At least if I'd bought it from Apple directly, they would have replaced the battery free of charge, as they bloody well should, since they made a crap phone.

If that's all you want a tablet for, I'd be surprised if an Amazon Kindle fire doesn't do the job. It doesn't have all the flexibility (no NowTV for one) but I use it for iPlayer so assume sounds would be ok too.

I also love my Samsung phone. It's not the newest. I got it refurbed from music magpie. I love being able to customise home screens more with widgets, and find it really user friendly.

I’ve got a 1st generation IPad Air. Still works ok other than the keyboard going a bit funny sometimes, but when it stops working I won’t be getting another Apple tablet. I’m quite happy with an Android phone too.

The wee iPad mini is working fairly well (crashes a bit too often; doesn't play all videos or load all pages) but the thing is that BBC Sounds won't work on it and they're getting rid of radio iplayer so how will I listen to The Archers?! 😱 Disaster!

Something needs to change!

Kindle Fire does not get a good review. Is it really ok? What else is there?

Kindle Fire is cheap, so the spec isn't great - I have a six year old Samsung tablet that has a higher spec than the current Fire tablets.

However, DS has had a Kindle Fire for a few years now, and if it's just watching videos, reading books and mooching about online it works fine (he's not allowed to use the browser, but I've used it when on holiday.)

Always worth keeping your consumer rights in mind if an expensive thing has gone wonky. Also remember your claim is against the place that sold you the thing, not the company who manufactured it.

I have a Microsoft Surface Laptop and love it.

I remember how excited I was when I bought my first iPhone. After 2 months I just hated, hated, hated it and got rid of it. Decided to try Samsung and I have never looked back. So much better, easier to handle, camera superior. I'm currently on Samsung S9plus and it's fantastic. My previous one (S5) still works fine for my young son to use, I just wanted an upgrade.

I have 2 Kindle Fires 8" and 10" I use the smaller one (was free with some ink cartridges) when away from home. Pleased with both. I have just upgraded from iPhone 5 to iPhone XR and am very pleased with it. The iphone5 was getting out of date. I reckon the XR should be ok for 5 or 6 years. I bought the phone outright and have a contract sim.

Laptop: Lenovo are just fine. Both of my daughters have them. So would I but my university had a monopoly agreement with HP when I last replaced my laptop through work. The hinges tend to break if you handle them roughly, though.

Tablet: I think any Android tablet will do the things you want. I have a Google Nexus and agree they are crap, but most Android tablets do the job (better than an iPad, at any rate). But if you do want an iPad you can get a perfectly good refurbished Mini 4 for just over £200.

Phone: I just bought a second-hand Sony that was top-of-the-range two years ago. Does everything you want it to, and much more. £80. Plus £7.50 or £10 a month on GiffGaff (need the £10 goody bag in data-heavy months but £7.50 is usually plenty).

I don't understand why people keep buying brand new devices when they have no intention of using most of their capability. I'd rather pay £200 to get a two-year-old fairly high-spec device than £600 for a brand new low-spec one. And the idea of paying over £1,000 for a piece of crap with a picture of an apple on it would never occur to me.

For what you describe, yeah a kindle would be fine!

I got mine mostly for using as a kindle, but it's perfectly fine for Netflix, iPlayer and web browsing.

I have a p20 lite phone. It's pretty good but no better than the p9. My son's s8 has an excellent camera. He got it on ebay for about 180.00 with a v small crash in corner, not noticeable.

Pc, we've always had Dell. Dh works in It. Not sure if cheaper.

We have a fire, but kids v rarely use. My poor, deprived kids, never had an ipad.

I’m in Australia and have found Apple customer service to be really great. I’ve had a phone replaced (under warranty), I literally walked out the store with a new phone. And we just had an iPad replaced which technically I don’t think they had to. And my partner had a new screen put on his phone (under warranty) but it was done on the spot for him. All of this has cost us nothing. We made appointments for the store online, so no waiting around and I’ve called their tech support line before and found the people great.

What’s wrong with your MacBook?

I do think recent Apple launches have been a bit stagnant and boring, however I still prefer Apple over Android. I think the coming years will tell whether Apple makes a comeback or not, they seem to be focusing on the services like Apple Music etc instead of better tech, and I suppose that they have done so well in the past that they don’t need to one-up Android every launch as they have such a loyal fan base, so there’s no incentive for them.

Having said that, there a certainly better Apple devices from the original iPad mini and iPhone 5 - not surprised that you’re finding those devices frustrating. If you’re happy to buy 2nd hand, you’d probably be able to get an updated Apple device for a reasonable price. But if price is your main concern, you could definitely get a cheap android tablet etc, sounds like it would be fitting for basic usage.

I love my iPhone though the battery life is shite. I have a Huwae (sp) for work and I hate it.

I have a Lenovo laptop for work and it's great, thinking about getting one for home as our old Samsung just died.

Apple products aren't for the budget-conscious.

@Greyhound22 a little off topic but I love Steve and Maggie I sent a request for a Monday shout out on his Instagram and he sent my kids a personalised video with Maggie. Made their day (mine more so)

I have a Samsung tablet. I find it fine for general browsing, watching videos and the odd admin task. Cost about £180 I think. My only issue is the battery life isn't great but I think that's partly cos I leave it open.

Have a Motorola phone. Cost me £140 a year ago and still works exactly the same. It's not the greatest camera but it'll do for taking hundreds of pics of the baby. Decent battery life, works to call and text/WhatsApp fine and only costs me £7 a month sim only.

I have apple products at work, they look nicer and have better graphics but that's all.

sux2buthen wow a Steve and Maggie shout out! I love them. DH turns a funny colour whenever the music starts.