I went through the exact same exercise over the last few weeks. Comparing the Dell XPS 15 to the new MacBook Pro (with an i9 processor) ad nauseam.
I love using macOS and have been using MacBooks for more than a decade now.
My 2012 MBPr is starting to show its age, but only when working on my largest project where I spend most of my time. I could have literally sat and coded myself out of the frustration but I decided the continued opportunity cost is outweighing the actual cost of replacing the machine.
When Black Friday came I was ready, and Dell had some decent discounts to sweeten the deal. Then just before I pulled the trigger I thought about how well the MacBooks have served me over the last decade, especially the last one still running nearly perfectly after 6 years. I also thought about what kind of software I'll be developing over the next 6+ years and I couldn't conclusively say that I won't be touching macOS or iOS...
I realised that a big part of why I've always gravitated towards Mac are actually two less technical reasons: the uptime is enormous and the leverage is off the charts. If I have to total the amount of time lost due to some kind of failure (hardware or software or configuration) over both my previous MacBooks it would probably be a day, two at most, over 10 years.
We can babble on forever on the nuances of this or that, but for me it came down to "it just works, and keeps on working", and I can then target way more platforms by using Apple hardware than most other general purpose platforms. Speaking for myself I just don't know where I'm gonna be in 6 years again, it could still be full-stack as it has always been, or it could be iOS, or watches, or maybe I would be booting into Windows to build out something there (heavens forbid). Having the leverage to tackle any of these situations is both empowering and comforting.
I bit the bullet, paid the Apple Tax and got the new MacBook Pro with an i9. Time will tell if my assumptions hold as well as they've done in the past.
I'm still getting used to the new keyboard, and this Touch Bar is peculiar. At the office I plug into a monitor and use a normal Apple keyboard with an escape key. I guess as with all things Apple I'll get use to the quirks and move on. As with all things Apple I also still need to acquire a bag full of new dongles...
I hope this helps, it feels a bit like a rant. Maybe I'm writing this out to justify my spending to myself, and not to you. If it is Stockholm syndrome, well, then I'd rather be held captive by Apple than the others 🤷♂️
Wow Kenneth, this helps a lot. Let me answer inline:
I went through the exact same exercise over the last few weeks. Comparing the Dell XPS 15 to the new MacBook Pro (with an i9 processor) ad nauseam.
I'm starting to think that each MBP power user goes through this exercise at some point. We all have have read somewhere that "PCs cost less" but similar to what you say afterwards in your answer: I've had to deal with issues for a total of a couple of days in two years. My first MacBook lasted 4 years before I sold it, the last one is at six years and the one in between was stolen :D
It is true though that newer MBPs seem to be made with a lower quality bar and they can't be upgraded, which means that I have to get the highest builtin configuration I can afford and that's it, which is a little of a bummer.
I would steer clear from the i9 though, a lot of hardware makers (not just Apple) are having issues dissipating the heat in laptops
We can babble on forever on the nuances of this or that, but for me it came down to "it just works, and keeps on working", and I can then target way more platforms by using Apple hardware than most other general purpose platforms.
Yeah, macOS/MBP for me is truly the right combination, I'm just a little unenthusiastic about the lack of innovation and needless price hikes
Speaking for myself I just don't know where I'm gonna be in 6 years again, it could still be full-stack as it has always been, or it could be iOS, or watches, or maybe I would be booting into Windows to build out something there (heavens forbid). Having the leverage to tackle any of these situations is both empowering and comforting.
True that, I don't know either. I think we're going in the direction of people being able to target whatever they want by using cross platform environments. The only big lockin I still see is the need for MacOS to develop (or at least build) iOS native apps but there's obviously no incentive for Apple to change that.
I bit the bullet, paid the Apple Tax and got the new MacBook Pro with an i9. Time will tell if my assumptions hold as well as they've done in the past.
Let me know about i9 and the heat :D Talking about taxes, I found out the other day that I can rent Apple hardware as a business and change it every two or three years, with warranty for theft and damages. I basically pay a monthly fee and at the end of the lease I can switch to a newer model. Hardware as a service I guess :D This would definitely lessen the burden (and the guilt) of shelling out thousands of dollars
I'm still getting used to the new keyboard, and this Touch Bar is peculiar. At the office I plug into a monitor and use a normal Apple keyboard with an escape key. I guess as with all things Apple I'll get use to the quirks and move on. As with all things Apple I also still need to acquire a bag full of new dongles...
I use a Microsoft keyboard and a Logitech mouse at home so I'll just need to get used to that when I'm around. The dongles though are unforgivable. I wonder how much money Apple makes only on adapters (see the fact they haven't adopted USB-C for the phones yet, but oddly they did for the iPad Pro: The iPad Pro's USB-C port is great. It should be on my iPhone, too)
I hope this helps, it feels a bit like a rant. Maybe I'm writing this out to justify my spending to myself, and not to you. If it is Stockholm syndrome, well, then I'd rather be held captive by Apple than the others 🤷♂️
Ah ah it's not like the others aren't for profit companies anyway :-)
We could call it the "get out of my way and let me be productive syndrome".
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I went through the exact same exercise over the last few weeks. Comparing the Dell XPS 15 to the new MacBook Pro (with an i9 processor) ad nauseam.
I love using macOS and have been using MacBooks for more than a decade now.
My 2012 MBPr is starting to show its age, but only when working on my largest project where I spend most of my time. I could have literally sat and coded myself out of the frustration but I decided the continued opportunity cost is outweighing the actual cost of replacing the machine.
When Black Friday came I was ready, and Dell had some decent discounts to sweeten the deal. Then just before I pulled the trigger I thought about how well the MacBooks have served me over the last decade, especially the last one still running nearly perfectly after 6 years. I also thought about what kind of software I'll be developing over the next 6+ years and I couldn't conclusively say that I won't be touching macOS or iOS...
I realised that a big part of why I've always gravitated towards Mac are actually two less technical reasons: the uptime is enormous and the leverage is off the charts. If I have to total the amount of time lost due to some kind of failure (hardware or software or configuration) over both my previous MacBooks it would probably be a day, two at most, over 10 years.
We can babble on forever on the nuances of this or that, but for me it came down to "it just works, and keeps on working", and I can then target way more platforms by using Apple hardware than most other general purpose platforms. Speaking for myself I just don't know where I'm gonna be in 6 years again, it could still be full-stack as it has always been, or it could be iOS, or watches, or maybe I would be booting into Windows to build out something there (heavens forbid). Having the leverage to tackle any of these situations is both empowering and comforting.
I bit the bullet, paid the Apple Tax and got the new MacBook Pro with an i9. Time will tell if my assumptions hold as well as they've done in the past.
I'm still getting used to the new keyboard, and this Touch Bar is peculiar. At the office I plug into a monitor and use a normal Apple keyboard with an escape key. I guess as with all things Apple I'll get use to the quirks and move on. As with all things Apple I also still need to acquire a bag full of new dongles...
I hope this helps, it feels a bit like a rant. Maybe I'm writing this out to justify my spending to myself, and not to you. If it is Stockholm syndrome, well, then I'd rather be held captive by Apple than the others 🤷♂️
Wow Kenneth, this helps a lot. Let me answer inline:
I'm starting to think that each MBP power user goes through this exercise at some point. We all have have read somewhere that "PCs cost less" but similar to what you say afterwards in your answer: I've had to deal with issues for a total of a couple of days in two years. My first MacBook lasted 4 years before I sold it, the last one is at six years and the one in between was stolen :D
It is true though that newer MBPs seem to be made with a lower quality bar and they can't be upgraded, which means that I have to get the highest builtin configuration I can afford and that's it, which is a little of a bummer.
I would steer clear from the i9 though, a lot of hardware makers (not just Apple) are having issues dissipating the heat in laptops
Yeah, macOS/MBP for me is truly the right combination, I'm just a little unenthusiastic about the lack of innovation and needless price hikes
True that, I don't know either. I think we're going in the direction of people being able to target whatever they want by using cross platform environments. The only big lockin I still see is the need for MacOS to develop (or at least build) iOS native apps but there's obviously no incentive for Apple to change that.
Let me know about i9 and the heat :D Talking about taxes, I found out the other day that I can rent Apple hardware as a business and change it every two or three years, with warranty for theft and damages. I basically pay a monthly fee and at the end of the lease I can switch to a newer model. Hardware as a service I guess :D This would definitely lessen the burden (and the guilt) of shelling out thousands of dollars
I use a Microsoft keyboard and a Logitech mouse at home so I'll just need to get used to that when I'm around. The dongles though are unforgivable. I wonder how much money Apple makes only on adapters (see the fact they haven't adopted USB-C for the phones yet, but oddly they did for the iPad Pro: The iPad Pro's USB-C port is great. It should be on my iPhone, too)
Ah ah it's not like the others aren't for profit companies anyway :-)
We could call it the "get out of my way and let me be productive syndrome".