Why did I switch to macOS after almost a decade of using Linux-based operating systems?
My love for computers started in 2007 during my school days. I had chosen C++ as a subject during my school. Fortunately, next year I got a chance to pursue my graduation in Computer Engineering from one of the reputed engineering institutes in north India. Now I was looking for my first laptop in 2009 and my father somehow arranged $350/₹ 30000 and I went to Delhi’s Nehru place to buy it. I chose the Lenovo G series laptop with 1 Gb ram and a Pentium Celeron processor. For the first few weeks, I struggled with windows XP due to viruses being transferred like Corona in the boy's hostel. Later by one senior, I was introduced to Ubuntu as an OS in which no virus can attack the system and even I used to see virus files helpless lying in USB pen drives on it. From here my journey started with Ubuntu OS and in the next few years, I tinkered with tons of Linux distros and ultimately settled with Ubuntu for 90% of the time.
Recently I switched to macOS and here are a few reasons why I think I will never go back to Linux based distros:
Am not a tinkerer but needs a machine to solve problems
If you are not a hobbyist or not an avid fan of Ubuntu/Linux-based distros in general or you don’t mandatorily need this OS for your workflow then you might be spending too much time just tinkering and trying to fit in because of multiple reasons.
Frankly, every good product is available on Windows/macOS but mostly not on Linux-based distros and then you will try tinker with your system to just make things work and you might not succeed every time. macOS gave me all the tools and applications I needed so that I can focus on the problems which I want to solve rather than fixing something for which I can pay a small amount and let others fix it.
Freedom
Generally, freedom is associated with the Open source and the GNU movement. Today am referring to the fact that on macOS I have a lot more freedom to choose my tools and applications than any other OS. I understand Windows OS might provide more applications but I don’t use those applications or are available on macOS. I can develop iPhone and Android phone applications on macOS, web applications, Backend services and can work on ML/AI technologies, etc. If needed then I can install Ubuntu/Windows on a virtual machine and a few use cases which are left can easily be handled this way.
Apple devices can be value for money if you choose wisely
I agree that Apple sells some stupid monitor stands and tires for $1000/₹ 100000, but you don’t need to buy those. Today Macbook Air costs around $800/₹ 80000 and if you are patient and can time your purchase you can get this machine cheaper as well. MacBook Air is the beast, it has 8 core CPU, an awesome display, 16Gb of ram, a super chassis, and great built quality. I think no laptop today or in the next few years will even come closer to Macbook Air at this price point. If you are a professional and can spend more then the base model of Macbook Pro 14/16 would fly with your dreams.
Apart from price, I feel Apple gives the most polished experience of a computer in terms of hardware and software as of today.
Reliable & Predictable performance
As of today as per me, macOS is the best Operating system out there and once you get hang of it then you will realize how crude the experience is of Windows & Linux-based operating systems. macOS gives you predictable performance which I could never expect from other operating systems.
Awesome efficiency
Today Apple claims 21 hours of battery life on a typical laptop computer. In the real world, you will easily get 16 hours of battery life, it can vary according to your use case but the fact of the matter is you can expect 3x battery life of what you are getting on other operating systems & laptops. The cherry on the cake is that the Apple machine blasts off other machines in terms of performance. This simply means apple is highly efficient in providing breakthrough performance. Another great thing about Apple laptops gives identical performance whether power is connected to laptops or not and this is impossible to find in others.
Durability
Apple computer might cost you 2.5x of an average PC but it gives a trouble-free service for 5–6 years. It's just not about age, it's about a machine that is relevant for 5–6 years in terms of performance and efficiency.
Good second-hand market
Whether you want to sell your 3-year-old apple machine or you want to buy a decent MacBook from the first owner. Apple product gives great value in that sense as well.
I was not able to sell my $1300/₹ 100000 Lenovo Thinkpad e480 after 18 months in the second-hand market for $200/₹ 20000. If it was Macbook Air I could have easily sold it at a premium.
Better hardware
Apple even in their cheapest segment such as Macbook Air provides a best-in-class display, keyboard, chassis, and CPU in their respective price segment.
Better software experience
In my perspective macOS is a much better operating system than any other system out there. Also, third-party applications are more polished on macOS.
Awesome interoperability among iPhone, iPad, and MacBook
No other manufacturer has come even close to how seamlessly apple products work across product lines.
PS: You can go bonkers and spend $7000 on a Macbook Pro but the person who spends it probably understands it and is paying a premium for their workflow and Apple understands that only a few would like to customize their machines at that level. But the fact is you don’t need to spend that much amount of money.
