What are the real advantage of Mac?

Hey guys,

What’s the real use of mac that a windows can’t? I’m specifically talking about macbook pro and other windows counterpart laptops like xps 13, I’m planning to get a laptop and has been windows for all my life, and honestly it seems like macbook pro and other premium windows laptop are not really priced differently. Since this is a chance to buy one i just thought that I may as well look on both sides of the coin. Also portability is a requirement. Currently looking at asus ux305 as an alternative to the mac if not the xps 2013.

Based on what Im seeing on a apple store:
-trackpad was a beast
-best screen i’ve seen on a laptop
-build quality

I hope you guys can share your experience on mac, specially on software side…

Here’s my usage:
Music creation
Web Browsing
Video editing.

Thanks

OSX and the Apple ecosystem isn't all that bad but the major concern for me has always been the cost. It's expensive. No offense to OSX the operating system itself, but Apple itself has always been really annoying for me with their concept of wanting to control the way that you use your computer.

A Mac might be decent if all you do is content creation. But... the premium windows laptops tend to have much better specs. Like... much better, without the thermal throttling. The content creation software tends to be thought out and easy to use, but there will still be the hardware bottleneck.

Software wise I've never really liked the Macs, but hardware, specifically build quality is always good. But the build quality and even the software comes at a cost, not just money from your wallet but also an impact else where in the world.

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In my country the price is not really that far off from each other..I'm also at the point were simplicity of my machine is over the customization aspect since it's not really a desktop.

It is true that the specs of a high end laptop is better, but dont you think mac is way more optimized to the software it is supported? I tried using one and its like a butter.

Better battery.

You got that right, that's what the reviews also said.

Unless you are specifically using some thing like Logic then most all the music creation stuff is also on windows. Reason, Reactor, Ableton and so forth are all on windows.

And I don't think that it is that Mac is optimised software wise but that windows is such a jack of all trades out of the box that it lacks on that front initially, once you actually make windows work for you and cut the junk out then it is every bit as fast and efficient.

Mostly the whole "Mac is made specifically for an therefore better." is from people who don't know what an OS is, does, how it does it and how to actually use it correctly.

Being a user of most platforms out there, there are a few things to say about OSX.

Content creation, yes, it used to be the case that Macs where leading the industry for a very long time, and originally the adobe creative suite was better implemented for OSX than Windows. Also, memory management from the OSX was far better than Windows. Tables have turned though.

The Windows client of the Adobe suite currently has nothing to envy from the OSX one, but one feature (as far as I am aware that is). Application background. Like really?

On the contrary, the OSX client has one major feature to envy from windows. 10 and 12 bit output support. And if you are into content creation, you are in a very good position to understand the benefits from that. (I can expand here if you like.)

As to memory management. Still trying to see the new windows behavior under adobe cc. unfortunately my workstation PC is not here yet to know in detail, but the one I am in at the moment is already faster than my mac. And my mac is 4 years old, where as my PC is 8 years old. (core 2 duo etc).

After the latest build in Mavericks, the whole OS feels sluggish and less responsive, as to Yosemite...dear God don't get me started.
A beta version of an operating system, released to the public and still not working 100% perfect. OSX used to be smooth and trouble free. you could open up like 100 videos and let them play together at the same time with no cracks or performance issues. The last two OSX that came from mommy Apple changed that to the worse.

I am actually so disappointed that I wont even try to go to the positives, which mind you, are no longer that many.

As macs are also unix based they're also quite handy for python development. I realize that's quite a limited use case though :) Could also just get a windows and boot linux but hey. The build quality on mac's are also pretty amazing so there's that.

Some advantages of OS X over Windows that might not ncecessarily directly appeal to your average desktop user can still indirectly improve the experience by being available to the developers of Mac software. Some examples are:

  • OS X is actually UNIX, entailing a powerful and proven set of operating system utiilities and interfaces (much like what you would see imitated by GNU/Linux)
  • Dtrace is a part of the OS, giving developers unmatched insight into the system and allowing access to the running state of software all the way from the kernel to the user applications for inspecting and debugging performance bottlenecks, complex interactions between various software and the underlying OS, and more.
  • The rich collection of high level frameworks and low level interfaces available to developers simplifies application development. The frameworks I find most compelling are the multimedia support libraries.

On a more user-facing front, Apple is highly opinionated, and for good reason. People want decesions to be made for them, because making decisions is hard. Macs are simple to use, and beyone even that they are simple to buy. There's not an infinite range of Macs to choose from like there are PCs. There's one trusted brand, with a few easy to understand product lines. It doesn't take a lot of research to decide which product to buy, you just choose something that fits your budget or fits in your bag if you don't have a budget. You don't have to think very hard about it, you don't have to remember nonsensical product names like VZ-0623q+ EVO 1080 mark IV.

The most important thing I think is don't let anyone make you believe there is an ultimate best in Mac vs PC because it's not algebra and there's no correct answer. You'll find things you like and dislike on either platform. The programs are different, but ultimately you can achieve the same thing either way you go. If you don't mind dropping the money on a Mac and are interested in trying something different from Windows, go for it. If you think Windows is fine and would rather spend less money, get a Windows PC. With Apple you get the excellent build quality, wonderful trackpad, gorgeous display, and powerful software. You can get those same things with a PC, though it will take a lot more effort to find one.

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Is this assuming you already have a decently high end desktop PC?

I wish I knew how to do lower level development. I only know Java.

Very good point, thats also my view currently...

Im not really sure about the optimization part its just a guess, but I can tell that the snappiness and fluidity of mac's interface is better at least on my eyes and fingers..

Not a powerful one but enough to play games at mid high. Mostly mid though on the latest titles.

Then ya better battery life, display is solid, although it becomes overkill in the retina models, and a good track pad.

Main downsides are heat, since the whole thing conducts heat, and the lack of hardware options.

I mean for the price of the mac you could simply go with a mid range laptop with the same hardware + a large SSD with the money saved.

i7 4510U + 1080p for 700 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6R42AH7053

What model were you planning on getting and what's your end budget?

I have a 2014 13" macbook pro. The build quality is really good, stuff just works and I've never had any issues with it. The battery life is crazy good. I have an actual pc that I use for games and I really wouldn't recommend a macbook for games.

The biggest thing for me is its battery life combined with its portability. Its easy for me to just slip it into any bag.

Ii forgot to add portability as a requirement also i really dont need a powerful one as i have a desktop already.

Really stuck on 13" and under then? Because the one I linked is fairly thin.

Well this one's 13" has an i7 5500U, and can fold it's screen back, in addition to having a touch screen
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834299446