> I've never personally understood the point of macOS for power users

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspicuous_consumption

Haha right. They last so much longer than non-Mac laptops from a hardware PoV, and especially how long they end up being used. That's why they retain their second hand value so much better than Windows laptops, because you can buy a Macbook of a few years old, know exactly what you're getting and that it will last another few years unless you're extremely unlucky.

At this point, not-a-Mac often stands out more if you want to cite conspicuous consumption.

Nobody ever sees my Mac but me and the monitor is a horrible old Dell one with a thick black bezel. If we were talking about iPhones, I might agree with your point.

The same thing is true for laptops like Frameworks or Thinkpads running linux, just conspicuous to a different audience.