Apple is known for its overly priced software with predated hardware 2+ generations back. I see apple products a lot and I wondered if anyone had any insight into apples hardware and OS whether or not it is even useful as a work computer/station or if its just a statement made by people to show they can get the most expensive tech product?
What are your guys onions?
Id really like to know.
a dual xeon x79/x99 board is useful still and a lot of the mac laptop parts can be used in windows/linux laptops or just have a new os installed. phones can be rooted and you can install custom software but it is a hassle. so the hardware does have value outside of the apple environment, and ofc you can use it as intended.
Ninety-nine percent of people only need a web browser and an office suite to work on their PC. Apple provides this with superior UX.
The remaining one percent is split between people that need something to process one type or combination of data, and people that need a fancy text editor and compiler. Apple provides these with superior UX
The value isn't in the hardware, it's in the UX. They've got the closest ecosystem to just works™ as can practically exist. No setup and no downtime is a lot more valuable to the average (individual, desktop) user than customize-ability or technological freedom (real or perceived.)
That's why apple makes money.
I used my macbook pro from 2009 for garage band...garage band is great mac osx sucks... it feels like a cheap stolen rip off from some open source linux.
I put windows 7 on it once for a while... the drivers were on the mac disc's.
I put Slackware 14 on it...it ran pretty good except for the back light on the key boards... my Slackbook Pro 
I can appreciate the hardware in this macbook pro.. it has withstood the test of time, and I am still using it. I will never buy another apple product as long as I live.
EDIT: oh ya I also built iPhone apps on it for a while...
its useful to buy broken ones cheap, repair minor problems and sell for a huge profit.
My only use case. For some reason, people still pay $500+ for 2 generation old laptops with 5generation old hardware inside.
The Apple Watch, iPhone, MacBook combo has been pretty useful for me as a college student. Nothing impaticular is that impressive unless you have all. I think Apple builds better ecosystems. That's about it