Hello everyone!
I just registered on the forum and wanted to share a bit about myself and my journey with Apple:
I am a 24-year-old system administrator from Italy, and I have been working in tech since 2017. I never really cared for Apple products, but my family was always divided, with my mom using an iPhone (from the 3 to the 6) and my dad using Android (mainly HTC and Samsung).
My first proper Apple product was an iPhone 8 I won in late 2017. I used it for a couple of weeks, but I ended up not liking it and gave it to my mom.
In 2019, I got my second Apple product, an Early 2008 15" MacBook Pro, which was in pretty bad shape. It was going to be thrown out at work, so I decided to save it, completely upgrade it with an SSD, and patch it to Catalina.
Then, in 2018, my old company was going to throw away a Mid 2013 MacBook Air. I couldn't do much in terms of upgrades, so I decided to run Linux on it and use it as a test bench in the office. Unfortunately, this MacBook Air was thrown out last year.
In late 2020, after the M1 Presentation, my desire to get a MacBook to fix up grew stronger (thanks to people like Luke Miani, SnazzyLabs, and MKBHD). So, I acquired a very cheap, working, mid-2015 MacBook Pro with a broken screen and repaired it: new screen, new keyboard and backlight, new SSD, and then, when I accidentally fried it, a new and upgraded motherboard with dedicated graphics and a more "powerful" CPU.
I ended up selling it for a small profit in November '21, but macOS felt fresh, snappy, and much different than the usual Windows 10 experience.
Longing for more, I ended up getting a fantastic deal on an M2 Air that I used daily for around 8 months. To this, I added a 2018 12.9" iPad Pro (with Apple Pencil, AirPods Pro 2, and the green folio cover).
Feeling like I needed a little more performance, I sold the M2 Air and got an M1 Pro (14") that I now use daily.
During the summer, a colleague of mine showed me his iPhone 12 mini, and I fell in love. This phone would be the perfect addition for a lightweight EDC, so I decided to get a green iPhone 13 Mini with the green leather cover and the green Apple wallet.
My last two purchases were the Apple Watch Ultra (with, you guessed it, the green Alpine Loop) and an iPad Air 5th gen that I still have sealed. I think I could sell it or trade it in when the new iPad mini comes out.
I wouldn't say I have fully converted to being an Apple fanboy, but by building an ecosystem around my needs and daily life, I can definitely see some of the advantages of using Apple products (though I can also see some of the disadvantages).
I am now looking around to see if I can find a cheap MacBook (the small 12" from 2017, 16, or 15), and I can't wait for the release of the new iPad Mini to finally retire my Z Fold 3.
Thank you so much to everyone for reading, I hope you have a nice day! 😀