I set up a linux system as a NAS. Wasn't hard. I can access it in Windows, macOS, and even on mobile via ES File Explorer (use old versions only, no newer than 3.x, as newer ones include spyware/malware/ads)
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Looking To Move Off Apple Platform
- Thread starter Mikeeee
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Since COVID I've become for more dependent on my smartphone for various reasons. But our house is already a mixed house. Windows, Mac, iphone, ipad. Works for us.
Well I haven't gone anywhere other than to a smaller grocery store that doesn't work with Samsung Pay, Google or other pay systems other than cash or card so the only reason my phone would be on me is for music during the trip. a decade old HTC Thunderbolt in Airplane mode would be both more private and perfect for BT music. At work, there is zero signal for cellular, only marginal wifi, so again, music, taking notes of part numbers, and the occasional Google search/PDF view, again, that same Thunderbolt works for that.
Anything media consumption related I have decent tablets for.
Anything media consumption related I have decent tablets for.
iMac: Windows all-in-ones are pathetic. Even their expensive models are still using old hard drives, and they are as hard to upgrade as iMacs. There's a reason the iMac has become the gold standard. PC OEMs don't care much about this market. I would just suggest getting a laptop and a monitor instead, or traditional PC tower so at least you'll get some upgradeability.
Phone: If you are in the US, wait on the Pixel 6. The rumor is since Google is opting to use its "own" chip (more like a rebranded Exynos), they'll be going for 5 years of OS updates. That will be better than Samsung's current 3 years promise. But if you want an ecosystem, go with Samsung. Samsung is working closely with Microsoft that Galaxy Phones integrate better with Windows PCs than other Android phones.
Apple TV: If you already have an Android TV, you can skip this. If not, you can opt for a Chromecast or Android TV boxes. I have a cheap Xiaomi Android TV box, and I can even install Apple TV app on it (if you still want to use that).
Apple Watch: wait for the Galaxy Watch 4. Google and Samsung is collaborating in renewing WearOS.
iPad Pro: Samsung Galaxy Tablets are literally the only choice for decent Android tablets. The hardware is great. The missing piece are the tablet optimized apps. Samsung Dex is awesome though, as the Galaxy Tablets can become like a pseudo laptop.
Airport: It's a router, so I think you can keep it by at least keeping one Apple device to set it up. If not, any modern mesh router system imo is a great alternative (I prefer mesh network than single router).
My Galaxy Tabs are all from 2012--7 inch, 10.1" Cellular Note, 8" Cellular Note, and a Tab 2 10.1. Everything works. I don't update anything so they don't lag or slow down. Still great for media consumption aka Netflix, YouTube (via browser, haven't tested the app since '17) and Prime.
They were the last to have a true 'tablet UI' that remotely compared with iPads. Tablet UI died after Android 4.4. Thank you very much, Google!
I HATE google apps and WearOS, so I'll stick with Galaxy Watch 3. Assistant on WearOs is awful, and Bixby can still send texts hands free. Even if Assistant worked on WearOS, you have to tap 'send' manually. It's not a hands free voice control like it was on Android Wear 1.1. I also prefer Samsung's own apps. More features, more customization, no risk of them dying like Google's apps always do (no Play Music on WearOS, means no offline music player!) Also, WearOS is horrible with battery. I don't know why Samsung felt they needed to go with an abandoned platform that is run by a company notorious for no privacy, and killing services once you get used to them.
They were the last to have a true 'tablet UI' that remotely compared with iPads. Tablet UI died after Android 4.4. Thank you very much, Google!
I HATE google apps and WearOS, so I'll stick with Galaxy Watch 3. Assistant on WearOs is awful, and Bixby can still send texts hands free. Even if Assistant worked on WearOS, you have to tap 'send' manually. It's not a hands free voice control like it was on Android Wear 1.1. I also prefer Samsung's own apps. More features, more customization, no risk of them dying like Google's apps always do (no Play Music on WearOS, means no offline music player!) Also, WearOS is horrible with battery. I don't know why Samsung felt they needed to go with an abandoned platform that is run by a company notorious for no privacy, and killing services once you get used to them.
Give it a few weeks to see if you still feel the same since it's expensive in terms of time and money.
I would like to move away from both Mac and Windows.
My situation is a 2011 imac with High Sierra and a Dell Latitude D630 running Win 7. I've never owned a cell phone or tablet. I don't use cloud services, the App store, of any of its other services. I don't use social media. I don't use WiFi. I watch a lot of YouTube, but I have been moving to Odysee and Rumble. I do a lot of writing. Even considered going back to a typewriter. Probably not. You get into the problem of supplies.
I've been looking intermittently for a couple years to replace the Dell laptop, and lately I wondered if I could buy a Linux laptop, with a distro already installed. I researched some companies that do this. I started another thread about that.
Although I prefer the MacOS by far, I loathe the direction each company has been going.
Companies seemed to be locked into the $1000 mark. Below that, I doubt you can get a reliable computer. But that's a guess.
My situation is a 2011 imac with High Sierra and a Dell Latitude D630 running Win 7. I've never owned a cell phone or tablet. I don't use cloud services, the App store, of any of its other services. I don't use social media. I don't use WiFi. I watch a lot of YouTube, but I have been moving to Odysee and Rumble. I do a lot of writing. Even considered going back to a typewriter. Probably not. You get into the problem of supplies.
I've been looking intermittently for a couple years to replace the Dell laptop, and lately I wondered if I could buy a Linux laptop, with a distro already installed. I researched some companies that do this. I started another thread about that.
Although I prefer the MacOS by far, I loathe the direction each company has been going.
Companies seemed to be locked into the $1000 mark. Below that, I doubt you can get a reliable computer. But that's a guess.
My HP laptop cost $499 and has a Ryzen 5, 8GB RAM, a 250GB SSD, and I put Linux on it. Runs perfectly well here.
My Gaming rig ended up costing a total of $699.
My Gaming rig ended up costing a total of $699.
Probably the 1st step is to build your own PC if you like tinkering. So many options there to get what you want at whatever budget you chose. A good PC and a monitor will then open up plenty of options including if you still want to keep your hand in with macOS later with a mac mini, MBA or whatever.
In terms of phones, watches and iPads it really is a more personal choice. But as mentioned earlier some items such as iPad as standalone from the ecosystem are still the best option in the tablet market.
If you want something hardware-based to replace Airport then lots of choices, 1,2 or 4 disk Synology or similar.
Where did you buy these laptops? Is it possible to upgrade them (RAM, hard drive)?
I bought it at Walmart in 2019. I was going for spec-to-spec (aside Retina, which hasn't shown up in Windows-based laptops yet) with my 2019 MacBook Pro. So, 8GB RAM, 250GB SSD, long battery life, and so on. I also was specifically looking for something NOT dependent on USB-C. (I won't go into that rabbit hole here).
the RAM, HDD can be upgraded yes, but you will need to know how to take it apart. I think the RAM is easily accessed, but not so much the SSD. Unlike a Mac, however, it's not glued together.
The gaming rig I ordered from a builder. It can be basically part-to-part taken apart and replaced. Everything on it is a standard, from the case, mobo, RAM, GPU, etc. It's just a custom built system. I recently got 32GB RAM for it since 8GB couldn't handle heavy games anymore.
the RAM, HDD can be upgraded yes, but you will need to know how to take it apart. I think the RAM is easily accessed, but not so much the SSD. Unlike a Mac, however, it's not glued together.
The gaming rig I ordered from a builder. It can be basically part-to-part taken apart and replaced. Everything on it is a standard, from the case, mobo, RAM, GPU, etc. It's just a custom built system. I recently got 32GB RAM for it since 8GB couldn't handle heavy games anymore.
Gaming rig was $699, laptop was $499.
Gaming rig came with a (keep in mind this was 2019) :
ASRock A320M-HDV Motherboard w/PCI-Express and optional NVME storage header
AMD Ryzen 3 factory overclocked 4GHz CPU
8GB Team Group PC3000 DDR4 SDRAM
1x 250GB SSD (Western Digital)
1x 1TB 7200rpm HDD (Western Digital)
4GB AMD Radeon RX570 GPU
3 RGB Case fans
MSI Wifi adapter (unsure exact model. got two antennas though)
Cooler Master CPU fan (standard)
Case with water cooling headers/templates, RGB lighting
Windows 10 (well, hehe, not anymore!)
Not bad for a starter system. I am unsure the power supply as I would have to unplug everything from the system to remove it, but so far it's not blown a capacitor yet! I do believe it's 500W. I of course added some Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB RAM (32GB) to the system as 8GB was too low. I needed the extra RAM to get MS Flight Simulator 2020 running properly.
I was able to overclock the GPU from the stock 1650MHz to 3100MHz without it crashing, although fans get pretty loud at that speed. Optimal stable overclock is around 2150MHz, you get that top level by undervolting. You can access each and every setting (all unlocked) via Radeon settings or in Linux, some third party tool I forget the name. Been working so I haven't actually powered it on in awhile. It comes in handy when off during winter. The CPU came factory set to 3.5GHz but I OC'd it to 4GHz via Ryzen Master and maxing out all the power settings to use 100% CPU. I bought it to game, so it gets no other use other than playing great PC games (enjoying that UHD resolution and all the things consoles lack, such as PC-exclusive mods and graphic options.
The HP laptop isn't a gamer, it's just a simple machine, but it has:
AMD Ryzen 5 2.5GHz CPU
8GB SDRAM
250GB SSD
in-built multi card reader (sadly I damaged mine by inserting the card adapter upside down, sadly it allows that and it gets stuck needing needle nose pliers which damages the reader. D'OH!)
1x-USB-C port (not for charging, it's for external stuff. I don't use USB-C)
1x-HDMI out
2x-USB-3.0 ports
Whatever "HP Fast Charging Technology" is, but it recharges pretty quickly. Not good for more than 4 hours video playback; my MacBook Pro could go 6-7.
I had to replace the Wifi card with an external USB card since the built in one had a lot of trouble keeping connected to any wifi network, It'd work a few minutes then just disconnect.
Wiped out Windows (the 11 beta) and put Linux on there (Deepin).
Gaming rig came with a (keep in mind this was 2019) :
ASRock A320M-HDV Motherboard w/PCI-Express and optional NVME storage header
AMD Ryzen 3 factory overclocked 4GHz CPU
8GB Team Group PC3000 DDR4 SDRAM
1x 250GB SSD (Western Digital)
1x 1TB 7200rpm HDD (Western Digital)
4GB AMD Radeon RX570 GPU
3 RGB Case fans
MSI Wifi adapter (unsure exact model. got two antennas though)
Cooler Master CPU fan (standard)
Case with water cooling headers/templates, RGB lighting
Windows 10 (well, hehe, not anymore!)
Not bad for a starter system. I am unsure the power supply as I would have to unplug everything from the system to remove it, but so far it's not blown a capacitor yet! I do believe it's 500W. I of course added some Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB RAM (32GB) to the system as 8GB was too low. I needed the extra RAM to get MS Flight Simulator 2020 running properly.
I was able to overclock the GPU from the stock 1650MHz to 3100MHz without it crashing, although fans get pretty loud at that speed. Optimal stable overclock is around 2150MHz, you get that top level by undervolting. You can access each and every setting (all unlocked) via Radeon settings or in Linux, some third party tool I forget the name. Been working so I haven't actually powered it on in awhile. It comes in handy when off during winter. The CPU came factory set to 3.5GHz but I OC'd it to 4GHz via Ryzen Master and maxing out all the power settings to use 100% CPU. I bought it to game, so it gets no other use other than playing great PC games (enjoying that UHD resolution and all the things consoles lack, such as PC-exclusive mods and graphic options.
The HP laptop isn't a gamer, it's just a simple machine, but it has:
AMD Ryzen 5 2.5GHz CPU
8GB SDRAM
250GB SSD
in-built multi card reader (sadly I damaged mine by inserting the card adapter upside down, sadly it allows that and it gets stuck needing needle nose pliers which damages the reader. D'OH!)
1x-USB-C port (not for charging, it's for external stuff. I don't use USB-C)
1x-HDMI out
2x-USB-3.0 ports
Whatever "HP Fast Charging Technology" is, but it recharges pretty quickly. Not good for more than 4 hours video playback; my MacBook Pro could go 6-7.
I had to replace the Wifi card with an external USB card since the built in one had a lot of trouble keeping connected to any wifi network, It'd work a few minutes then just disconnect.
Wiped out Windows (the 11 beta) and put Linux on there (Deepin).
Last edited:
Apple TV - Shield TV Pro
Apple Watch - Samsung Active 2
iMac - Surface Studio (beautiful machine) if you are not affraid of the price tag -- or the Surface Pro. I really like my surface pro
Apple Watch - Samsung Active 2
iMac - Surface Studio (beautiful machine) if you are not affraid of the price tag -- or the Surface Pro. I really like my surface pro
My setup is as follows:
MacBook Pro - HP 15c Laptop PC
Apple TV - Amazon Fire TV Stick + Roku (Roku comes in handy--Fire TV stick bugs out often)
iPhone 6s - Samsung Galaxy S20FE 5G
Apple Watch Series 5 - Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
MacBook Pro - HP 15c Laptop PC
Apple TV - Amazon Fire TV Stick + Roku (Roku comes in handy--Fire TV stick bugs out often)
iPhone 6s - Samsung Galaxy S20FE 5G
Apple Watch Series 5 - Samsung Galaxy Watch 3
Wait, Surface Studio? You are recommending a $3500 machine that cannot even be upgraded to Windows 11?
First Gen wasn’t that much … Dang i didn’t know it couldn’t be upgraded to 11. my bad! it is a gorgeous computer though.Wait, Surface Studio? You are recommending a $3500 machine that cannot even be upgraded to Windows 11?
I didn’t realize you could clock the 570 so high. I gave mine to my brother, so I can’t poke around with it.
You can get it that high, but it's not entirely stable. At that point you actually lose FPS. Best OC is 2150.
Is that the memory clock or the core clock you are boosting? My Sapphire Pulse (8GB model) I gave my brother only allowed a core OC of 1350, with a memory OC of around 1900. I know the Pulse cards had meh VRMs so that was pushing things.
Oh no it was the core clock. Memory clock wouldn't go above 1750 max. That one was less important for my games though, no real performance boost there.
I might have lucked out on the silicon lottery as well. There's tons of RX 570 owners with less luck doing what I have done. Some have stability issues well below what should be a stable overclock.
I would not replace everything at once. You have already spent a lot of money on Apple devices (and probably software). Why do you want to spend even more money buying other products just because you are pissed off at Apple? You may have spent 20k in the last 10 years, but you will probably spend some additional 3-5k just for these replacements. And then you may need to buy additional software to go with your new products. Just wait for them to need replacement and then find something that suits you.
iMac. I would not replace a 2020 iMac right now. There is no PC equivalent. Your iMac is already pretty good at this point. You may continue using macOS or install Windows on it. Plus, PCs will get ARM processors in the next few years. Just wait a few more years and see whether there is something to replace your iMac.
iPhone 12 Pro. Honestly, you do not need it to get replaced, it is already fine. A Galaxy S21 does not bring any improvement over the iPhone 12 Pro, it is just a competitor from a different brand. Just wait to see what Samsung and other manufacturers comes up with next, and then decide.
Apple TV. No need to replace it. They are basically all the same.
Apple Watch. Replace it only when and if you get a different phone. You may go for the Samsung counterpart.
iPad Pro. This is hard. No real replacement here. You may opt for a high-end Samsung Android tablet. Or you may want a Windows laptop/tablet/2-in-1 instead. They are not exactly like the iPad Pro, but, depending on what you do, they can more suitably replace it. It depends on what you use it for.
Airport. Perhaps you can go for a mesh network.