One more reason why I like Apple

[MichaelB]

My in-laws visited over the holidays. On Jan 1 my German brother in-law was in his room watching a ski competition that is apparently a new year German tradition. He had an app on his iPhone that accessed his cable TV subscription. Two clicks on his screen and we were able to mirror the signal through our Apple TV 4K to our 50” plasma. He was ecstatic and I was reminded once again at how Apple has such a deep understanding of user interface. They are in a league by themselves.

 

[Ronstar]

My in-laws visited over the holidays. On Jan 1 my German brother in-law was in his room watching a ski competition that is apparently a new year German tradition. He had an app on his iPhone that accessed his cable TV subscription. Two clicks on his screen and we were able to mirror the signal through our Apple TV 4K to our 50” plasma. He was ecstatic and I was reminded once again at how Apple has such a deep understanding of user interface. They are in a league by themselves.

Yes they are in a league by themselves. Even down to the little things. Like whenever I type an Apple product like iPhone, etc, the computer capitalizes the word accordingly on its own.

 

[braumeister]

You bet. When I was a consultant to Apple back in the 90s, one of the first things I had to learn was their human interface guidelines. As I recall, it ran to something like 30-40 pages of requirements, and they were very strict about it. The result is that for most things in the Apple world, "it just works" is the usual reaction. They put an enormous amount of effort into making things as intuitive as possible.

 

[audreyh1]

Yep!

The integration at home and between devices is just fantastic. Even my Tesla runs some Apple apps (Apple Music, Podcasts). Very nice.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Call me a fanboy, but I’m very happy with our iPhones, iPads, iMac, CarPlay, and AppleTVs. And iCloud makes it seamless to edit spreadsheets, etc., on multiple devices. If only handoff worked with AppleTV, so that when I listen to a podcast on my phone I could continue it on the TV.

 

[Midpack]

After 30+ years in the WinPC world and 1 Android phone, if you’d have told me we’d ever switch to Apple I would have laughed at you. But it began with

• an iPad in 2011 (replaced twice now 2020),
• then two iPhones in 2014,
• another iPad (replaced once to 2020),
• a Mac desktop and a MacBook Pro in 2020,
• and finally an Apple Watch in 2022.

IME the Apple ecosystem is worlds better than Win/Android WRT quality, UI, privacy and just how extraordinarily well the devices work together. I also don’t miss the periodic crashes I had to fight through with every PC I ever owned. YMMV

 

[Montecfo]

We do not own any Apple products, except the stock bought at $5 and later at $26.

Grateful for the returns!

 

[athena53]

I'm still a Windows/PC person but Apple is creeping more and more into my life. I had an iPhone through my last employer; when I retired they told me I could keep it if I paid $550. It was 18 months old and a new version had been released. I got the new one for $600. So now, of course, I want to stick with them!

Then I got an Apple watch as a part of a heart health study. Wow. I love all the health features (it warms my hypochondriac heart), I like getting texts and phone calls on my watch if my phone is in another room, and my 7-year old granddaughter is still finding things it does that I didn't know about (remote control of my iPhone camera). A couple of days ago I discovered all the watch faces on the phone app and can't wait to show her! It says something about the user experience that a smart but barely-literate 7-year old can figure it out.

I still haven't pulled the trigger and bought a Mac, though.

 

[GenXguy]

I ordered an iPhone but I'm primarily a Windows / Android person. My career involved Windows a lot after early on working with Apple more. I feel so embedded in the Windows world, it's hard to imagine leaving now. The systems I build have always been stable, so I'm not dealing with crashes.

 

[pb4uski]

I ordered an iPhone but I'm primarily a Windows / Android person. My career involved Windows a lot after early on working with Apple more. I feel so embedded in the Windows world, it's hard to imagine leaving now. The systems I build have always been stable, so I'm not dealing with crashes.

While I had worked with TRS-80s and Wang computers and Compac suitcase PCs for work starting in 1983, our first PC was a Macintosh 512k in 1984 and I was an Apple fan for many years, including a number of Newtons during their short run. I had to fight like hell to get a Mac at work since my megacorp was so Windows centric.

Then I joined another employer that was Windows only and have been away from MacWorld since 1998. My uncle has a Mac and the few times that I have tried to help him I hate it. Ditto for friends with iPhones, though DD and DSIL love their iphones.

Totally Windows and Android here and I love my Google Pixel phone... best phone that I have ever had.

 

[audreyh1]

We also owned a Newton way back there. Have owned Macs since they came out in 1984.

At work we developed software and hardware for both Mac and Windows PCs. I was happy to drop the Windows world as soon as I retired.

DM beat me though. She used an Apple IIe at school.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I'm an Apple fan but not a fanboy. I've only had iPhones but appreciate the ease of use and security. My PC is getting on 12 years and I'm starting to think of replacement (running fine now but at some point it will fail or lose MS support). I don't like MS pushing the subscription model (still using my Office 2010 suite) just to use something I already own and I've been slowly using Google Drive applications more and more. -Handy when I travel with a cheap Chromebook. (I have mixed feelings as Google does many things well but I think they are "evil") I'll possibly get a Mac (maybe a Macbook with docking station) but am a bit concerned about accessing old files created in the windows environment over the years even though at this point it's probably a non-issue.

 

[target2019]

Yes, casting has been around for quite awhile. I cast from Google Pixel phone to LG TV, son casts from Apple to LG TV, and so on. Chrome tablet casting, too.

Many apps can now take advantage of the sophisticated networking that is in many homes. Makes sense, especially if you've spent over a grand for a tiny screen.

So, around the holidays we were looking for a movie. Someone opened their phone, logged into xfinity, and cast Apple TV to our screen. Like falling off a log.

 

[aja8888]

Gee, maybe I should dump my Chromebook, Android phone, Fitbit and move over to the dark side?

So, how much would this change cost me?

Maybe I can set up a Go Fund Me site to take contributions?

 

[target2019]

Gee, maybe I should dump my Chromebook, Android phone, Fitbit and move over to the dark side?

So, how much would this change cost me?

Maybe I can set up a Go Fund Me site to take contributions?

I think you should visit an Apple Store, and talk to the greeter, then the scheduler, then the sales person, and so on.

It's a nice phone, Tesla's a nice car, and so on. I'm fortunate that she insists on an iPhone, so I get to deal with multiple OS glitches throughout the year.

My sister-in-law came over in a new Honda HRV. She has to learn about "the computer," but really just wants to drive a car.

 

[Ronstar]

Gee, maybe I should dump my Chromebook, Android phone, Fitbit and move over to the dark side?

So, how much would this change cost me?

Maybe I can set up a Go Fund Me site to take contributions?

Yes you need a MacBook Pro, An iPhone 15, an Apple Watch, and an iPad.

I haven't checked prices, but $5k should get you started. And a little bit of a learning curve.

 

[frayne]

Apple convert here and transitioned about ten years ago and never looked back. Their products are simply bullet proof, intuitive and work.

 

[aja8888]

Yes you need a MacBook Pro, An iPhone 15, an Apple Watch, and an iPad.

I haven't checked prices, but $5k should get you started. And a little bit of a learning curve.

My wife had an iPhone 6S which I still have in a drawer somewhere and it still has cell service. I should go find it and charge it. She had an iPad and it's around here somewhere too. She was the complete opposite of me in a tech sense, although when something tech of hers went haywire, she would ask me to fix it!

$5K to switch? (maybe not at this point).

 

[Ronstar]

My wife had an iPhone 6S which I still have in a drawer somewhere and it still has cell service. I should go find it and charge it. She had an iPad and it's around here somewhere too. She was the complete opposite of me in a tech sense, although when something tech of hers went haywire, she would ask me to fix it!

$5K to switch? (maybe not at this point).

I have almost all Apple devices with a couple of Android things. I can't grasp the Android devices at all.

It's best at our age not to switch regardless of the cost.

 

[street]

Apple products here totally also. I was asked to change to android back when I was working, and I wouldn't. I never liked their format for being user friendly.

 

[aja8888]

I have almost all Apple devices with a couple of Android things. I can't grasp the Android devices at all.

It's best at our age not to switch regardless of the cost.

My Chromebook does everything I need done, except run tax software, which I have a refub'ed desktop for. And it has a touch screen so it can be used as a tablet. The Motorola phone is adequate and interfaces with my EV quite nicely.

Yeah, switching now may not be ideal at my age. It would be hard to justify it.

 

[sparky08]

I'm half and half. I still have my Mac from work and I think Apple makes a better tablet, so I have an iPad.

But my phone is a Pixel and I have a Chromebook for 90% of my laptop use. I wear a Pixel watch. And we have a Chromecast on every TV.

I think the UI and interconnectivity issues are more of a marketing ploy nowdays.

 

[Lakedog]

Switched to Macs over 10 years back but still have an Android phone since I mainly use the phone for calls/texts/maps. Have always had Moto phones which do everything I need and typically cost under $100 through my provider. Prefer the MacBook Air vs the phone for most things internet related.

 

[DuluthGA]

I went into the Verizon store a few years ago considering switching from my iPhone to.a Pixel. The young sales clerk said we recommend people of your ….maturity stick with what they have. She really wanted to say age but was too nice to do so,.

Started with an Apple 3 desktop in 1982. Two floppy drives, visicalc and Qume daisy wheel printer, Started with 128KB of ram and upgraded to 256KB after about a year. All in we had over $10k in it. The local Apple dealer would have to bring customers by the hospital to see ours as he couldnt afford one for display

 

[athena53]

Yes, casting has been around for quite awhile. I cast from Google Pixel phone to LG TV, son casts from Apple to LG TV, and so on. Chrome tablet casting, too.

Many apps can now take advantage of the sophisticated networking that is in many homes. Makes sense, especially if you've spent over a grand for a tiny screen.

Ah, this brings back memories- I'd created a video of old family pictures with music for Mom's 85th birthday- she had terminal cancer and we'd planned a huge gathering (with her agreement that it would be a celebration and nothing maudlin). YouTube sent me a nasty message that they'd blocked access to it for anyone but me because it had copyrighted music in it- which it did, but I'd bought it off iTunes and the video didn't carry ads or produce money any other way. I was afraid 20+ people were going to have to huddle around my computer screen to watch it but my brother and I, step by step, hacked our way through using Chromecast on my phone to send it to his TV. Success!

I'm glad it's easier now. Side note: I got my 2 granddaughters into Apple stock last month (and own it myself) so this thread makes me happy! Probably not good market timing but they're only 7 and 9 so we have a long time horizon.