I had been fairly anti apple my entire life. Believing they were massively over priced, and lacked support for many of the things I did personally.

In my younger years I was pretty big on graphic design, still big on video editing. People used to always say "Mac is better for design". I would ask, where did you get this from? Adobe runs on both platforms and updates often come out for Windows before they are ported to Apple (Adobe updates). And my Windows machines had powerful graphics cards, unlike macs.

However. A couple years ago I built myself an insanely expensive computer build with the best parts I've ever put into a machine. It died 2 years later.

I decided I just couldn't go through that anymore. I'm done building computers. I'm done with the little problems they always get. I'm done fixing my machine more than using it.

Since the $500 Mac mini, Apple has started looking interesting. Finally I bought the Mac Studio M3 Ultra.

So far so good. I wish I could play more games, but I could be looking into things like Crossover. There are a few old bespoke programs for old versions of Windows I also wish I could run once in a while but nothing too major.

And best of all, Apple Care +. I'm not dealing with a broken machine again. I'll be buying warranties for it until I'm done with it. Bought 2 years for I think about $200, and my understanding is I should be able to renew that service/warranty at the end of the two years. After that, we'll see.

I was in a similar boat with desktop Linux and Android. What got me to switch:

1. Build quality of Apple laptops was higher than anything else available at the time. Having a metal laptop meant you got a MacBook or a Toughbook. I got tired of plastic breaking, hinges loosening, etc. Their introduction of retina screens really sealed the deal.

2. The iPhone was first to solve seamless cloud backups.

3. AppleCare. I was traveling and had my phone on a restaurant table when a waiter dropped a salt shaker on it. He was horrified that he shattered my screen. I got it replaced when I got back to the states for like $10. Android phones at the time did not have this option.

4. Apple sold devices directly to you. Most other phones you had to buy through the wireless carrier with annoying fee structures and deceptive pricing.

5. I could use a decent photo editor ok macOS vs GIMP in Linux. I love what GIMP is trying to be but it is a mess UI-wise. Same with Lightroom vs Darktable.

6. iPhone more or less solved offloading files to the cloud. It is still bad and broken but it was at the time I switched workable vs what Android had.

7. Apple devices mostly got out of my way whereas with Android I had to tinker. I would still use desktop Linux if macOS wasn’t needed for my work, but at this point the difference is minimal.

8. They are not an advertising company. Google phones feel like devices designed to spy on you. “Personal data please!” Apple is not ideal here but at least their primary point isn’t to sell you car insurance.

This isn’t to say that Apple stuff doesn’t have warts. They cram way too much stuff in their systems. Their hardware is expensive. They often are behind the curve on performance. Their cloud offloading just does not work right for iMessage. Their protocols are closed and that is annoying. But at this point their stuff works well enough for me that I don’t see a reason to switch.

There are branded Windows PCs too. Go get a Dell and you're done with support. Let's not pretend that Apple is the only company out there that can provide quality hardware that will work for ages.