The MacPro is the centre of all the things I do; work, music, entertainment... It really is the do-it-all device.
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Other If you could only own 1 Apple product...
- Thread starter jsmith1
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You can see from reading the results of this thread why Apple concentrates so much resource on its phones. I miss the days when computers were the company's primary product.
The assumption is that I won't have any other devices from other brands. If that's the case, then I would choose the iPhone, because a phone is basically critical in today's world. A laptop is even optional these days compared to a smartphone. You can do almost anything that you would do on a laptop (albeit the experience is different), but there are things you won't be able to do on a laptop alone.
So iPhone it is.
So iPhone it is.
I agree that Apple should continue to make quality MacBooks, iMacs and macOS.
However, iPhones and iPads are the most popular devices now. They are user friendly, easy to use and provide everything an average user needs.
Steve Jobs in one of his interviews said that Personal Computers (including Macs) will be used only for certain purposes. For example, when someone needs to type a lot, do heavy video editing etc. He compared this development with cars. Long time ago most people in the US had pickup trucks. However, with time, people started to buy smaller, "city friendly" cars, due to the obvious benefits. Pickups are still here, they are just used only when someone really needs them. Same with Personal Computers.
I've noticed recently that many people want to swipe on MacBook's screen like it's an iPad (maybe you've experienced the same). And many of these people are from older generation, so to say. I think it's a testimony to how ubiquitous iPads and iPhones have become.
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It’s the progression of technology. Many people said the same thing about laptops back then, missing the days of bulky tower desktops. The reality of today is the phone is THE computer for majority of people. It’s just that the form factor is totally different.
Although not as easy as iOS, you can use QuickTime to record your Mac screen.
Record your screen in QuickTime Player on Mac
Use QuickTime Player on your Mac to record a movie of your entire screen or a portion of your screen.
support.apple.com
Fascinating though Steve’s take is, I’m not so sure about the way things are heading. I think Apple Silicon has been transformative for the consumer Mac laptop, in battery life and performance, to the point where a lot of people are saying, why don’t I use a lap-top as actually that, a device with a keyboard and a trackpad that I actually use on my lap? With 10 hour battery usage and instant-wake, its a much more versatile device than the ipad, and you’re not giving up much convenience by going with it.
The ipad is actually a simplified computer, not just a touch-screen. If you don’t need the complexity and versatile software of a Mac, it is a simpler device, and compared to 2008-style laptops which weighed 3 kg and lasted 3 hours on a charge, the 10 hour duration and instant-on and light weight and ease of use of the iPad were revolutionary.
But for someone who is actually fully computer-literate, having a lightweight wholly-capable computer with a keyboard and Mac OS on your lap is probably superior for couch use, and that is what the M1 MacBook Air is. That said, that leaves a big market for people who are familiar with smartphones and who would like a larger screen to work with on a couch or in bed.
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Navigation of the UI in WindowsNT/2000 was much more straightforward than the morass of clicks it takes to find useful settings starting with WindowsXP and up to and including Windows 10.
NT 3.51 was fairly bulletproof for me day on and day out, at least until they moved the GPU drivers into the kernel. Things then got dodgy. I do miss NT 3.51/4.0. Oh well, things change. At least I don’t have to use Windows on a daily basis anymore, so that’s a blessing.
What an interesting question…I think the iPhone is kind of a given, but outside of that…I think I would get (and I already own) a cellular iPad mini. To me, it meets the portability requirement (it even fits in pockets), but is also easy to plug into an external monitor and pair with a mouse and keyboard. To me it’s the best compromise if you could only have one device.
Ipad mini 5 with sim. Does pencil counts as a product. If not, then an Apple pencil to.
Frank
Only iPhone for me, while I have a Watch and Airpods, I could live without them. And I have never had an iPad or a Mac (my Surface Pro fits me better than either of them. But don't dare to take my iPhone away!
I can do so much more with a mac than anything else -- iPad, iPhone, etc.. I can write code. I can use Mathematica to its full potential. I can compose music. I'd go back to a land line before I'd give up my Mac.
My first Apple Product was an Apple ][. My second was the original 128K Macintosh.
My first Apple Product was an Apple ][. My second was the original 128K Macintosh.
As of my response here, iPhone is at 108, and Mac combined (desktop + laptop) is at 107. They have been running roughly constant since the poll was created. Mac remains very important to Apple.
Macbook. No contest. I really like my iphone but I could use a Pixel. I like my iPad but it's a content consumption device. But I work and play on my Air and while I'd be OK on Android, I don't want to use Windows ever again.
I chose laptop. Prior to the M1 launch I would have chosen iPad. This is mostly based on the hours per day I spend actively using my devices. The iPhone is obviously amazing; but it’s not like I could spend a day working on an iPhone alone. I could probably suffer through with a stripped down android phone if I had to; but I need my MacBook. No way I would deal with Windows just to have an iPhone!
I bought an M1 Air and loved it so much I upgraded to a 14” Max. I‘m so excited about apple laptops again after quite a few years of being pretty frustrated with them. I honestly had mostly just been using my 10.5“ iPad Pro for quite a few years, as I didn’t like the direction MacBooks were going. I love my iPad still (especially the wonderful audiophile jack/aka headphone jack). But now that I can run a few iPad apps on my Mac I don’t use the iPad nearly as much. So much excellent app development has been going on in iOS that is would be hard to not have access to it at all. With M1 that bridge is available.
I bought an M1 Air and loved it so much I upgraded to a 14” Max. I‘m so excited about apple laptops again after quite a few years of being pretty frustrated with them. I honestly had mostly just been using my 10.5“ iPad Pro for quite a few years, as I didn’t like the direction MacBooks were going. I love my iPad still (especially the wonderful audiophile jack/aka headphone jack). But now that I can run a few iPad apps on my Mac I don’t use the iPad nearly as much. So much excellent app development has been going on in iOS that is would be hard to not have access to it at all. With M1 that bridge is available.
I think for those who always used Personal Computers it's harder to move to an iPad. For example, I also prefer to do all the work related stuff on an iMac or MacBook.
However, it's completely different for those whose first device was a phone or a tablet. Many young people are introduced to the tech via iPhones and iPads (not tower PCs like before).
Also in many developing countries Personal Computers were and sometimes still are too expensive. So people do all the work using phones and tablets. If you look at mobile banking data there, phone and tablets are way ahed of PCs (including Macs).
And in any case, 95% of the time people are simply blowing the web, checking emails, chat with friends and watch movies. iPad or an iPhone is perfectly capable to cover these needs. And PCs are here for the other 5%, when you actually need to write a huge essay or do some video editing.
Here's a good take on this:
Own MBA, iPhone, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Easily iPhone wins; after using it for nearly 10 years, quality of this device made me try switching to Mac. Apple Watch is on the other side of spectrum; the one I could easily live without, I often even forget I'm wearing it.
It's not just that, though. There's a fair amount of software that is on macOS but that doesn't exist on ios/ipados and there's some where it exists on ios/ipados, but there are more macOS choices.
For example, code editors. Much more choice on macOS and I can also run VMs, etc on macOS. You're just not doing that on any phone, mostly because of the size. You could on an iPad in terms of input devices and display size, but the software and OS support isn't there and even if it was, there's no real advantage except in the 'only one device' case. By the time you outfit an ipad with the keyboard case etc it's about the same price as an Air.
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I own a variety of devices. Frankly, my Samsung tablet or Samsung phone is just as useful as my iPad and my iPhone. My preference is largely influenced by the ecosystem I use more, which is Apple.
But, no PC-Windows can be a substitute for my MacBook-macOS. Hence, my one and only irreplaceable Apple product is my MacBook.
But, no PC-Windows can be a substitute for my MacBook-macOS. Hence, my one and only irreplaceable Apple product is my MacBook.
In that case: none at all.
I really like my Apple devices, but what I like about them most is the way they integrate with each other.
Therefore, if it comes down to switch to one Apple device only - and have all the other stuff from different ecosystems, that Apple Device would not be able to outplay its biggest strength - seamless integration - anymore, but rather act as a disturbing factor. Therefore, I'd rather switch to either Android/Linux or Android/Windows altogether and enjoy the possibilities of integration there (which I think are not as sophisticated as within the Apple boundaries, but better than a heterogenous environment with one Apple alien amongst other non-Apple residents).
I really like my Apple devices, but what I like about them most is the way they integrate with each other.
Therefore, if it comes down to switch to one Apple device only - and have all the other stuff from different ecosystems, that Apple Device would not be able to outplay its biggest strength - seamless integration - anymore, but rather act as a disturbing factor. Therefore, I'd rather switch to either Android/Linux or Android/Windows altogether and enjoy the possibilities of integration there (which I think are not as sophisticated as within the Apple boundaries, but better than a heterogenous environment with one Apple alien amongst other non-Apple residents).
Yes. But this is a "pickup truck" example. Same goes for heavy video editing, scientific research etc.
Most of the people use their computer for web browsing, online shopping, checking email etc. And iPad is perfectly capable to do that. When they need to do a lot of typing, huge spreadsheets, they would use a PC. But this is just 5% of the time.
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