Why All-In with Apple? Part 3 – Results
The final and third part and continuation of Why All-In with Apple? Part 2 – History – Ted Bouskill (bouskillblog.com)
In the fall of 2010 while I was working for Glentel communications I had access to every available cellular phone made. I could touch them, play with them, use them and decide when money isn’t a consideration, what works best for me and my family?
The staff at Glentel mostly used iPhones. A few that hated Apple used Android and some still loved the older simple phones that didn’t want a computer in their pocket who used low end phones.
At the time I had a Windows desktop PC that I was always refreshing with improved internal hardware, a two year old Windows laptop that when I bought it was the biggest, and most powerful money could buy (can’t remember the brand right now) and a four year old MacBook Pro.
Over the next year I realized that the Apple ecosystem simply worked. I quickly found I wasn’t spending as much time managing my electronics and more time using them. In general I’ve been buying products that were one generation older to save money and still very happy with the results. The iPhone 12 Max Pro was the first Apple product I bought when it came out because it was so much of an improvement over the iPhone 8 I was using.
I’m going to list all the benefits and discoveries along the way that led me to decide I would go all in with Apple. Everything just works.
Backups
I first used an Apple Time Capsule which worked superbly. Trivial to setup and use. Now with iCloud backup, I don’t need it, however, it’s still an option.
Updates
They just work. I know there have been some that have had a few issues. I never have. I still experience the pain I’ve suffered updating Windows, UNIX or Android on our family Windows based gaming PC.
Restoration/Migration
Moving to a newer device is so easy. Never experienced something as easy on other platforms. If you use two-factor authentication providers like the Google Authenticator there an extra step, otherwise trivial.
Target Disk Mode
An absolute life saver. When my son left a MacBook pro running under a blanket and it overheated, it wouldn’t boot fully. I recovered everything using this mode to install on a newer MacBook Air.
The Apple Community
Apple fans love helping other apple fans. It was a very welcoming and helpful community.
Hardware Quality
Apple devices aren’t more expensive because they have a larger profit margin. Figures I’ve seen for profit based on production cost for the devices percentage wise matches competitors, Apple uses higher quality parts and works with suppliers to meet Apple’s standards for quality. Unlike other manufacturers, Apple hasn’t raced to the bottom to get the lowest quality viable device to market to beat their competitors.
Service Life
I’m using a MacBook Pro that is 7 years old. There is no reason to replace it. My 11 year old MacBook Air would still be usable if my sons hadn’t damaged it by letting it overheat sitting on a bed. Sadly, the second time they’d done it with a Apple laptop! All Apple gear I’ve had has had a longer usable life than any PC or laptop I’ve had that is not Apple.
Parental Controls/Apple Family
It works amazingly well. I can control time online, what they see, content, give them a spending allowance, control apps they download for free. Managing a family with Apple was so easy.
Apple Messenger
Text messaging between two iPhones has a bunch of extra fun features, plus if you are on WiFi, it didn’t register as a text message. I saved a fortune sending texts to family years ago when I didn’t have unlimited texting.
Shared Services: iTunes, Apps in App Store, iCloud Storage, …
As part of a family plan for a slight cost increase we could share apps, iTunes services, et cetera automatically. I can give them an allowance to spend on apps.
Privacy (they don’t monetize your data)
Apple has been increasing privacy to prevent Apps on the App Store from harvesting and selling privacy information without my knowledge. They actually closed a loophole that was allowing Facebook to benefit financially with targeted ad revenue. That change hurt Facebook enough that Facebook has a hiring freeze on now in 2022 due to investor pressure to fix the losses.
Security
I’ve worked in computer security. All my contacts confirm Apple is far more secure. Many Android devices can’t even be fully wiped clean if you resell them. A few friends in security are admittingly cheap and use Android and will confirm they have to spend extra time and effort to be secure.
App Store Quality
When my son had an Android app we were flabbergasted by the low bar for what is available as an app. So much noise made selection difficult. App store quality on the Apple platform is superiour.
Apple Airplay
Something so simple is very much appreciated. At a family gathering we can quickly share files in seconds.
Photo Editing/Sharing
Creating shared photo libraries is easy, fun and actually an under utilized feature by many Apple users. The Apple Photo application even has a ML search engine. I can look for pictures of dogs and it will search my library and find them.
Apple Care/Support
Worth every penny the few times I’ve had to use it.
Find my … (Phone, iPad, Laptop)
This has been such an amazing feature. A huge stress reliever a number of times. To find my children or devices in a pinch. Nothing serious thankfully.
Spotlight (Finder)
Microsoft has mimicked this feature, however, Apple had it right a LONG time ago.
Usability
There is a rule of diminishing returns in software. Getting the first 80% right is easy. As you increase the the usability the time spent grows exponentially. Unlike other companies, there is no ‘good enough’. Apple will spend extra time and money refining and refining the user experience so that it’s excellent.
Innovation
There is no doubt, the Apple GUI benefited from the work of others, however, Apple has been copied far more than it’s copied someone else.
Resale Value
From my experience, all Apple products hold their value well. You can get refurbished devices from Apple or other vendors as well as buy from others online.
Summation
I’ve probably missed many features, that was all at the top of my head. I don’t care if someone knows or doesn’t know that I own Apple products. I’m a loyal customer because I’ve saved so much time in family IT support as well as benefiting from features that on other platforms are cumbersome, awkward or non existent. In my opinion, I’ve gotten great value for the money spent on Apple products.
Apple customers are very loyal. Once you’ve had the products, experienced them, you realize that they are working hard to make sure you aren’t just buying a name, you’re buying products they’ve spent a lot of time and effort into building for you so you’ll remain a loyal customer.
That’s why Apple customers aren’t price sensitive. Many are like me, price sensitive in many other aspects of their life, not with the Apple products that have great value.
