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That's Apple's entire sales structure. It's not a bad one at the end of the day (and it works great for them and the target audience), it just sucks if you get caught in the garden and then have to get out. My mobile and media devices are all Apple, because it just works. There are times when I miss an Android phone, but those are very far and few between at this point.
That said, my daily driver PC would never be a Mac. Too many of my apps don't work, most of my games don't work, and the whole not being able to upgrade them is an absolute deal breaker for me. I had a MBP years ago and it was an excellent device but the software was a killer and not being able to upgrade it sealed the deal with going back to Windows for laptops.
If upgradability is important to you, you might find this company interesting.
I haven't bought one (yet), but watched some review videos on YouTube. The versatility of these machines is a marvel, for sure.
Microsoft and Android have been doing their best to align and create an ecosystem of their own. Probably not as good as Apple's since there are multiple manufacturers and hardware involved, but it's still something I'd consider down the road.
I haven't bought one (yet), but watched some review videos on YouTube. The versatility of these machines is a marvel, for sure.
Microsoft and Android have been doing their best to align and create an ecosystem of their own. Probably not as good as Apple's since there are multiple manufacturers and hardware involved, but it's still something I'd consider down the road.
I've known about Framework for awhile. Great idea, but I doubt their longevity. Not because of QC, but I don't think they'll have the sales to make it work.
For me, as long as I can upgrade/replace my RAM, SSD, battery quickly, I'm a happy camper. I tend to buy the highest end CPU I can get at the time and get it with a dGPU that'll get me through at least 3 years. If a gaming laptop lasts me that long, I'm good. I've gone less time.
My issue with MacBooks is, what you buy it with is what you have forever. If you buy it with 16GB RAM and find out a year later you need to run apps that are gonna take you over that, you're @ss out. Same thing if you find out you're gonna need a bigger SSD. And Apple charges an absurd amount of money for upgrades. I mean, please - $400 to go from 16 to 32GB RAM, or $800 to go from 16 to 64? At that point, you're bending over and taking it up the pipe without the KY. $600 to go from a 512GB SSD to 2TB? I can buy a faster SSD myself for $150. Personally, there's a reason the only time I buy Macs is when I'm paying for it with someone else's money. No way would I toss my own hard-earned cash into that. At least their mobile devices are "somewhat" grounded in reality when it comes to pricing in the high-end catagory, but you can still get other phones and tablets cheaper.
Or in my case, when I buy a laptop, I don't care what SSD it comes with because I'm going to put a 2TB+ one in there before I even set it up, because it's a hell of a lot cheaper to upgrade it than it is to buy it with said 2TB SSD.
That strength later became their biggest weakness. This is why, although Bill Gates was immensely influential in the early-mid part of his Microsoft career, he was hurting the company in his last several years by mostly avoiding the hardware market. This was in the mid 2000's where portable devices were really taking off.
It's odd because Microsoft did exactly this with the Xbox in 2001, to stop Sony's Playstation from becoming a monopoly and cutting into the PC market. And to this day, I'm not sure to what extent the Xbox is even profitable, but it is an important strategic part of their brand.
I think you only think that because they failed, not because they didn't try.
Remember the Zune and Windows Phone (albeit this was more a partnership w/ Nokia)?
There is also the Surface... which is still around.
And of course Xbox, which is a fairly big success (just under 10% of MSFT's revenue).
They got into pretty much everything at one point or another. It's just how successful they were. Aside from Xbox, MS has always been more business centric (Windows, Office, etc.)
And the cloud is where it's at now.... hence Azure and moving everything to a service.
I do think if MS hadn't bailed on the Phone they'd be #3 in phones right now, if not 2. People really liked that last gen WinPhone. But then they went all in on apps for Android and Apple and in the long run was a pretty great idea.
It is difficult to pinpoint one specific reason why Apple "beat" Microsoft, as both companies have had their own unique successes and challenges over the years. However, here are a few potential factors that may have contributed to Apple's success over Microsoft:
Design: Apple has always been known for its sleek, minimalist design aesthetic, which has helped set its products apart from competitors. In contrast, Microsoft's early products were often criticized for being clunky and unappealing from a design perspective.
Innovation: Apple has been credited with pushing the boundaries of innovation in the tech industry, particularly with its introduction of the iPhone in 2007. Microsoft, on the other hand, has often been criticized for being slower to innovate and failing to keep up with changing consumer trends.
Branding: Apple has done an excellent job of building a strong brand identity, with a focus on premium products and a loyal fanbase. In contrast, Microsoft has struggled to establish a clear brand identity, often positioning itself as a more utilitarian option compared to Apple's more aspirational image.
Vertical Integration: Apple's approach of tightly integrating hardware and software has allowed it to create a more seamless user experience for its customers. In contrast, Microsoft's focus on software has sometimes led to a more fragmented user experience.
It's worth noting that these factors are just a few potential reasons why Apple may have had more success than Microsoft in certain areas. Ultimately, both companies have had their own unique strengths and challenges, and both continue to be major players in the tech industry today.
Again, coming at this from the "Who beat who" angle is disingenuous, imo. Apple beat MS on phones.... that's it. Period. Apple barely compete with Microsoft in basically every other metric.
What big innovation has Apple had, truly huge innovation... since 2007?
I've known about Framework for awhile. Great idea, but I doubt their longevity. Not because of QC, but I don't think they'll have the sales to make it work.
For me, as long as I can upgrade/replace my RAM, SSD, battery quickly, I'm a happy camper. I tend to buy the highest end CPU I can get at the time and get it with a dGPU that'll get me through at least 3 years. If a gaming laptop lasts me that long, I'm good. I've gone less time.
My issue with MacBooks is, what you buy it with is what you have forever. If you buy it with 16GB RAM and find out a year later you need to run apps that are gonna take you over that, you're @ss out. Same thing if you find out you're gonna need a bigger SSD. And Apple charges an absurd amount of money for upgrades. I mean, please - $400 to go from 16 to 32GB RAM, or $800 to go from 16 to 64? At that point, you're bending over and taking it up the pipe without the KY. $600 to go from a 512GB SSD to 2TB? I can buy a faster SSD myself for $150. Personally, there's a reason the only time I buy Macs is when I'm paying for it with someone else's money. No way would I toss my own hard-earned cash into that. At least their mobile devices are "somewhat" grounded in reality when it comes to pricing in the high-end catagory, but you can still get other phones and tablets cheaper.
Or in my case, when I buy a laptop, I don't care what SSD it comes with because I'm going to put a 2TB+ one in there before I even set it up, because it's a hell of a lot cheaper to upgrade it than it is to buy it with said 2TB SSD.
I tend to always buy something relatively maxed out on specs and it can last easily for 7-10 years. I will likely not need 32GB of RAM for a good while for what I'm using the machine for. Hard drives are becoming less relevant to me as well, especially with cloud storage. The M1 ARM processor was top notch at the time, outperforming almost anything put out by Intel or AMD. My last MacBook Pro, purchased in 2020, cost around $2200. That's maybe slightly higher ($1800) than what I'd spend for an equivalent build of Windows laptop. I have absolutely no regrets with that purchase; best laptop I've owned.
I just built a new PC to replace the monster I built...in 2016. Still "only" 16GB of RAM (with 2 empty slots, of course).
Few people still truly need 32. I say this all the time.
My memory is that Apple wouldn’t even exist if Microsoft hadn’t helped them out.
Microsoft probably wouldn't exist if they hadn't copied the operating system from Apple.
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Why Apple beat Microsoft
