For the last 2 decades Apple has positioned itself as provider of premium computing devices. Apple tech is supposedly distinguished by its superior industrial design, usability and processing power. I wanted to spend some time breaking down this marketing into some hard truths.
This article is focused entirely on personal computing (Laptops & Desktops). For those who think “Who still uses those? the future is mobile!”, I say “I shall smile upon the grave of a thousand iPad Pros bricked by an OS update”. For the sake of fairness, I’m ignoring all pricing factors in my criticism.
The hoax of innovation
The Mini in Mac Mini
The Mac Mini is touted as an ultra-compact marvel of engineering. A closer look at the innards of this pseudo-pc reveals some unfortunate truths.
The Mac mini is a laptop without a screen or keyboard.
The Truth
For generations together the Mini has been shipping with laptop grade Intel Processors. This means that the processor in a Mac mini is ~1/4 as fast as its desktop counterpart. For the steep price you pay for this aluminum wrapped candy box, Apple ships you a laptop without the burden of a battery or a display. I suppose it is truly eco-friendly, saving on the mercury and stuff.
To give credit where it’s due, Apple did invent the ultrabook. However, Windows laptops have perfected the form factor to an extent that Apple can’t compete. Tim Cook and his successors will continue to focus on the iPhone at the expense of OS X. All that remains is the cult of Mac.
A crippled child named Mac
OS X brings forth the ugliest face of the “less is more” paradigm. The platform was built to empower dummies and punish power users.
Finder a lost cause
Working with images on a Mac is a real struggle. ‘Finder’ refuses to store view states for folders, forcing users to play around with grid & list views for each navigation. Even today the OS lacks a real photo viewer, forcing users to open each image in a separate view.
Want to ‘Cut-paste’ instead of ‘Copy-paste’ ? It’s gonna cost you an extra key-stroke-combo-trick. Seriously, why would anybody ever want to move their files?
A cold dead mouse
Apple’s magic mouse ships with half as many buttons than its more popular counter part. If the disappearing button didn’t impress you, perhaps some wrist fatigue will put your mind at ease ? The magic mouse commands your respect by punishing you with its sharp edges and non-existent hand support.
Still not impressed? try using the butterfly keyboard on a Macbook.
$@&$ the planet , then Profit!
For Apple, the environment is a slogan that can be misappropriated to sell more products. Apple forces its recycling partners to shred all their electronic stock-pile, rather than re-use or harvest usable parts.
The company is notorious for its preventive measures to obstruct third party repairs. Greenpeace rates the Macbook Pro 1/10 (the lowest possible score) in repair-ability, the Dell XPS 13 in contrast scores 7/10.
Apple executives have made a hobby of suing third party vendors that develop accessories for its devices.
Mediocre design hijacked by loud marketing
In the early 2000s wrapping aluminum around some hardware parts and stolen inventions was an adequate measure to differentiate Apple from the relatively homogeneous computer market.
In 2018, the choice between Apple and a superior product boils down to consumer perceptions of luxury, status and reliability. Most PC brands have achieved feature parity with Apple. The loss of legendary marketeer- Steve Jobs also puts Apple marketing in a compromised position.
In an era where most PCs are faster & more fluid than similarly priced Macs, Apple’s core base of creative professionals find themselves in an odd spot. When the company you love doesn’t love you back, it’s time to move on.
