Poll: Could your next Mac be your last?

[Reality4711]

Almost (almost) every time I read a post from someone not using a Mac I glaze over. What on earth do I know about Unix/Linux/Algorithms/terminal/complex corporate networking interfaces/fiscal analysis(e.g. some Group Policy settings removed unless you upgrade to Enterprise edition) and - oh well you get my drift.

The reason I use Mac/iPad/iPhone covers all three.

I just want to get on with what I do and that definitely does not include any form understanding of what those little boxes are doing or trying to fix them. As long as they work despite me and I get stuff done who the hell cares. That pretty much sums up why I came to Apple and why I have stayed and I still do not know how to integrate a printer into a secure network but I can sell images round the world via any piece of kit on my desk without breaking a sweat.

I suppose if that ever gets too boring I can try and find out why I still use a single click mouse and if a two button mouse might save me 1/10000th of a second but why when the internet still takes the same time it did when I was using dialup (ok exaggeration is one of my little foibles) and I cannot think that fast anyway.

The performance of the computer, in general, outpaced my brain cell years ago.

 

[jeyf]

I have an early 2016 4K iMac. Its previous situation had (4) virtual machines running error free. In an attempt to repurpose this hardware i wiped clean installed Mojave. It will now only run for about a half hour then locks up with a Flurry screen saver. Way to go Apple. I need the iMac to run continuously reliably (not).

I took a MBP into the Apple store to get its keyboard warranty repaired. Also had Apple wipe up date the OS in it and it behaves the same as the above iMac. The MBP only runs for a half hour too. They warranty replaced the old keyboard with the same designed keyboard prone to fail.


its frustrating
I burned up personal time configuring the iMac to perform some backup work at home on my NAS box. Could not get the iMac via backupPro to reliably find the mounted AFP/SMP file servers. About 10% of the time it would backup with success. backupPro tech support told me to dump Apple. The servers mount w/o issue manually. The servers are constantly visible on a private VPN with success and I do the backup over vpn at work.

Every operating system has its issue but I could have spent less money for better performance.
I have (2) iPhone7's that do weird things too.

must be user error and or how I hold it

 

[Reality4711]

I have an early 2016 4K iMac. Its previous situation had (4) virtual machines running error free. In an attempt to repurpose this hardware i wiped clean installed Mojave. It will now only run for about a half hour then locks up with a Flurry screen saver. Way to go Apple. I need the iMac to run continuously reliably (not).

I took a MBP into the Apple store to get its keyboard warranty repaired. Also had Apple wipe up date the OS in it and it behaves the same as the above iMac. The MBP only runs for a half hour too. They warranty replaced the old keyboard with the same designed keyboard prone to fail.


its frustrating
I burned up personal time configuring the iMac to perform some backup work at home on my NAS box. Could not get the iMac via backupPro to reliably find the mounted AFP/SMP file servers. About 10% of the time it would backup with success. backupPro tech support told me to dump Apple. The servers mount w/o issue manually. The servers are constantly visible on a private VPN with success and I do the backup over vpn at work.

Every operating system has its issue but I could have spent less money for better performance.
I have (2) iPhone7's that do weird things too.

must be user error and or how I hold it

YUP!

 

[Beachguy]

67 yo and failing fast. Yup my next buy will be my last.

Thanks for th reminder.

Not far behind you. Definitely my last. If there ever is a new one I buy.

 

[Beachguy]

I echo your thoughts.

After seeing the $999 stand I decided to start moving away from Apple products.

I see comments like this and I just shake my head. You DO realize that the Mac Pro line is marketed to a specific group that usually pays MUCH more than that for products, don't you?

I love Jeeps. I can buy a $75,000 Jeep if I want... or a $25,000 one. Because they have one that is very expensive, does that mean I should give up on the ones I can afford? Good grief, some people are just WAY overreacting to the Mac Pro. I agree they are moving their prices too high on the other end, but criminy... the reactions I'm seeing are crazy.

 

[S.B.G]

I see comments like this and I just shake my head. You DO realize that the Mac Pro line is marketed to a specific group that usually pays MUCH more than that for products, don't you?

Yes. And you DO realize that even though I don't need and wouldn't buy a Mac Pro and all of that, that in combination with $1,000 to $1,500 iPhones and the general pricing of Apple products continually going up, that it is indicative of becoming cost prohibitive for the general user such as myself? I don't need and hardly used most of the fancy (and very cool) features of the iPhone. The camera's are amazing, but I don't need all that functionality, I'm not out taking photos for National Geographic, so why should I pay for it?

If I want to own Apple products, I have to pay the Apple Tax and it's getting to be too much for what I value in the products and too much for what I am willing to pay. The $999 aluminum stand is absurd for what it is, even if I were a Hollywood studio buying equipment to make multi-million dollar films. Why should the studio pay $1,000 for a piece of metal to hold up a display like that? The job can be accomplished for a lot less and done just as well.

It's not that I would ever buy such a product, it's that the culture, mindset and philosophy ($999 stands, $1,500 iPhones, iPad's et al.) that Apple is heading in is no longer the same direction I, as a consumer, want to head in.

 

[Beachguy]

Yes. And you DO realize that even though I don't need and wouldn't buy a Mac Pro and all of that, that in combination with $1,000 to $1,500 iPhones and the general pricing of Apple products continually going up, that it is indicative of becoming cost prohibitive for the general user such as myself? I don't need and hardly used most of the fancy (and very cool) features of the iPhone. The camera's are amazing, but I don't need all that functionality, I'm not out taking photos for National Geographic, so why should I pay for it?

If I want to own Apple products, I have to pay the Apple Tax and it's getting to be too much for what I value in the products and too much for what I am willing to pay. The $999 aluminum stand is absurd for what it is, even if I were a Hollywood studio buying equipment to make multi-million dollar films. Why should the studio pay $1,000 for a piece of metal to hold up a display like that? The job can be accomplished for a lot less and done just as well.

It's not that I would ever buy such a product, it's that the culture, mindset and philosophy ($999 stands, $1,500 iPhones, iPad's et al.) that Apple is heading in is no longer the same direction I, as a consumer, want to head in.

The price of everything is going up. But the complaining wasn't about the cost of a lesser Apple product; it was about the monitor stand of the Mac Pro. Yes, I think it is absolutely nuts, but that isn't the point. I see people over and over who use that and whine endlessly about the pricing on a machine they have no intention of buying even if it was priced in line with the trashcan Mac. Yes, Apple has priced itself out of my buying future, but if I am going too complain, it's going to be a product I am likely to buy, not some ridiculous example well out of my intentions or interest. When I bought my last phone, I could have purchased the iPhone X (current at the time) and gotten the free second X; I chose the 8+ because it more than met my needs, and the X was stupidly expensive.

Apple doesn't make computers "for the rest of us." They make high-end products. You pay for the Apple logo, and you pay for the Apple quality. Personally, I couldn't care less what a studio pays for a stand for a monitor, especially since it is FAR from necessary. When they said the price of the stand, I simply tunes it out; that stand doesn't exist in my world, never will, and never would. But I couldn't care less what it costs a business. That's their concern. My ex-wife was a graphic artist. I used to be amazed (and impressed) with the computers at her work. I was also amazed and impressed at the prices when they updated some of the hardware. The prices were more than this new Mac Pro, for hardware that did less (since this was in the mid-1990s.)

By your own admission you would never buy it. So WHY. DO. YOU. CARE??? I don't! I am more concerned about the pricing on Macbook Pros, Macbook Airs, and Mac Minis. I don't even care about the cost of the iMac because I will never buy one! Do your heart and blood pressure a favor and stop worrying about things outside your purchasing needs and, more importantly, outside your control. Buy something else like the rest of the world does. Good grief!

 

[CipherMe]

My last Macbook, 2015 air, was probably my las Macboom!

 

[S.B.G]

By your own admission you would never buy it. So WHY. DO. YOU. CARE??? I don't! I am more concerned about the pricing on Macbook Pros, Macbook Airs, and Mac Minis. I don't even care about the cost of the iMac because I will never buy one! Do your heart and blood pressure a favor and stop worrying about things outside your purchasing needs and, more importantly, outside your control. Buy something else like the rest of the world does. Good grief!

Looks to me like your blood pressure and heart could use the break. Mine is fine and I sleep soundly at night. Why does my opinion on the subject matter this much to you?

 

[Beachguy]

Looks to me like your blood pressure and heart could use the break. Mine is fine and I sleep soundly at night. Why does my opinion on the subject matter this much to you?

Your opinion means precious little to me. I just find it amusing that such ridiculous extremes are used for such an argument.

And my blood pressure is pretty much perfect. Thanks for caring.

 

[kazmac]

Strong possibility that this 2017 MBA I bought on sale a month ago to compliment my aging iMac is my last Mac. Apple are moving in directions I do not like or agree with (the TV App could be the last straw for me).

I’ve used Macs for 23 years and appreciated how I could be more creative with them. When they just worked, Macs stayed out of my way. Now I understand all the Walled Garden comments, and since late 2013 I’ve had almost nothing but constant problems with Apple software and lots of hardware.

Yes, I am Windows challenged for now. A part of me wants to try something else beyond Macs though, especially since so much of what I do is available for Windows and the TV App is just too totalitarian for what I am used to. Plus, some OEMs are just killing it with great designs and solutions to cooling etc.

 

[greywolfe]

My 2015 15” mbp was the last MAC for me.

 

[maflynn]

They make high-end products

Not for nothing, their laptop line is not high end, its typical consumer grade components. Take the GPU for instance, its inferior to much of the world thanks to Nvidia making great GPUs.

You pay for the Apple logo, and you pay for the Apple quality

You got that half right, you pay for the logo. There is no such thing as apple quality anymore. we've have 4 MBP models living under the keyboard repair program (2016 - 2019). we've endured the coating flaking off and Apple has a repair program for that. Multiple GPU failures with and repair programs (2008 - 2011). Just recently Apple has released battery and logic board recalls.

The price difference is between apple and its competitors - you can easily save one, even 2 thousand dollars buying a Dell, Asus, Thinkpad and get the same if not better quality but superior options like ports, or upgradeable components.

The latest base model 13" MBP is a step in the right direction, and the 2019 MBPs that rolled out earlier this summer are nice machines. In some sense these were the ones apple should have had in 2016 in terms of keyboard quality and lack of throttling.

Edit:
Let me add that there are aspects of owning a Mac that makes life easier, the whole ecosystem and Im not down on Apple just to complain. I'm disappointed that Apple priced me out of the Mac market but I do like my iDevices

The rumored 16" MBP appears enticing but I fear it will be priced outside of what I'm willing to pay

 

[Euroamerican]

In my case, I simply can no longer afford any new Apple gear, other than perhaps an iPad (non pro) or a mid tier iPHone (which would be an 8 or 8 Plus currently) that continues on my current phone plan.

I would buy a refurb Mac as my next desktop/laptop "full OS" box, but it would have to be the right price or one that I can still swap memory and storage (hard/SSD) drives in.

On the flip side, I've gotten used to my Macs "just working" over the last 15 years, which actually has hurt my troubleshooting skills in the Windows world (at work) because I'm not constantly fixing issues, keeping up with the latest Windows third party utilities that I'd otherwise have to use just to keep my home machines running.

Now, Windows has made a lot of progress over the years, and the corporate world support model makes it pretty easy to get a new machine imaged to replace a wonky single machine; but the latest wonderful Office 365 in the cloud shenanigans (pushing Teams software install prompt on each an every login) for corporate customers moves my meter over to the "hate" side in the eternal love/hate relations with Microsoft/Windows.

 

[TheRealDGD]

I find it hard to say, my mid-2012 Mac Pro still works like a charm for what I need it to do and I could care less about upgrading to features that I don't need but am told I do. My mid 2015 MBP is the best laptop I have ever owned and it is still going strong. I know one thing for sure, I am slowly being priced out of the APPLE ECOSYSTEM.

 

[wellander1]

ios devices will never replace computers.

 

[Beachguy]

My last Macbook, 2015 air, was probably my las Macboom!

Ok... I know it was just a typo, but "Macboom!" made me chuckle. Best typo I have seen in ages. +1
[doublepost=1563232014][/doublepost]

You got that half right, you pay for the logo. There is no such thing as apple quality anymore.

I sympathize with your comments- one reason I haven't updated to a new Air or Pro is that f$*&ing keyboard. Honestly, though, I would no longer be traveling with my Macs and would continue using my older (Jobs-era) Apple keyboards, one wired, one wireless. It should not be overlooked that ALL of my Macs are from the Jobs era, although I would love one of the new Mac Minis. My Mini is an old one but gets a lot of use since I added an SSD to it.

 

[Nugget]

Ok... I know it was just a typo, but "Macboom!" made me chuckle. Best typo I have seen in ages. +1

Boom!

 

[hajime]

I will buy if new machine's keyboard is as good as the pre-butterfly ones, can run linux, has nvidia gpu and quiet, has components that can be replaced easily to cut potentially expensive repairing cost, etc. Obviously TC is not going to make this happens.

 

[fourthtunz]

As of today, I have moved off the mac platform I still have an old 2012 MBP and a 2015 iMac. Those machines are only used by my kids and so I feel I can effectively say I'm out of the mac ecosystem.

There are things that I miss by leaving macOS, but I've also gained other efficiencies and advantages. I chose to move on from the 2018 MBP and I'm generally happy with the move. The thinkpad that I bought is superior in nearly every way to the 2018 MBP (comparing similar model years), and less expensive by a significant amount The keyboard failure of the 2018 MBPs was the final straw that broke the camel's back for me.

Seeing the direction Apple is moving in, I felt it was time to find another compute. They're pricing the Macs insanely high and for my needs, budget and wants, it makes little sense to spend 4,600 for a laptop when I can buy a similarly configured Thinkpad for 2200. Apple charging 1,000 for a monitor stand is emblematic of the situation and direction Apple is going. Apple has virtually priced me out of the market and while I don't think they're doomed, they've probably lost a customer - at least for macs.

I'm not willing to close the door completely, the recent rumors of a 16" laptop and dropping the butterfly keyboard has generated within me a level of temptation but given the issues with the 2016 model year and the new designed embraced, I'd be gun shy at getting the first gen 16" model - even if I was willing to pay what I can only imagine is an insanely high price tag.

Different strokes! I just got a new mac mini today and I think finally Apple is starting to see the light
as far as their insane pricing. This is my first Mac bought from Apple since 2002. I can see myself getting the
new MacBook that just came out..looks like a great deal.

 

[GalileoSeven]

When my 11" MBA gives up the ghost, yeah, I'm definitely moving back to the Windows camp. For my usage case anymore, I can't justify the added expense - esp. when Apple's current crop of portables haven't exactly gotten rave reviews compares to past iterations.

When my 27" iMac goes though?? The outlook there is a little more hazy. I'm not nearly as active in photography as I was when I bought this, so there's little incentive for me to plunk down the extra cash over a PC. On the flipside, my gaming rig (built in 2009, upgraded GPU/SSD/OS 3 yrs ago) will most likely be pretty long in the tooth by the time my iMac dies and since I don't game near as much anymore, I don't quite feel up to rolling up my sleeves and swapping out more parts (the mobo/CPU are original - eVGA X58 and i7-920).

The wildcard there is the fact I'm an iOS loyalist (among many other features, iCloud Keychain definitely has me hooked), so whether or not I'll end up with another Mac on my desk at home is somewhat of a loaded question.

 

[Stephen.R]

Yes. And you DO realize that even though I don't need and wouldn't buy a Mac Pro and all of that, that in combination with $1,000 to $1,500 iPhones and the general pricing of Apple products continually going up, that it is indicative of becoming cost prohibitive for the general user such as myself?

You seem to really want to complain about Apple prices going up, given that you complained about (a) a VESA mount for a display that's generally considered to be cheaper than it's competitors in the market, and (b) the price of the 'flagship' phone in their range, while ignoring the one that's literally half the ****ing price.

If you don't need the pro display, why does the cost of the stand affect you?
If you don't need the iPhone XS (Max) why does the cost affect you?

Buy a regular display. Buy an iPhone XR.


The lengths people will go to, to find reasons to complain about Apple is astounding.

[doublepost=1563357387][/doublepost]As for the actual poll: no, unless you expect Apple to go out of business. My work itself is pretty much all related to stuff on Linux servers, but having a reliable workstation(s) I (generally) don't need to worry about 'just working' is literally a financial win. My clients pay me to make their stuff work when it doesn't, not to make my own stuff work when it doesn't.

For my wife, however, her last Mac may have been her last, as an iPad Pro is looking more appealing now. She's currently just using a 2019 iPad mini (last MBA battery swelled and damaged the mainboard) and the pencil input is definitely a big factor when deciding about a new machine (literally had this conversation with her about an hour ago).

 

[S.B.G]

You seem to really want to complain about Apple prices going up, given that you complained about (a) a VESA mount for a display that's generally considered to be cheaper than it's competitors in the market, and (b) the price of the 'flagship' phone in their range, while ignoring the one that's literally half the ****ing price.

Did you read and understand the last part of the last sentence of what you quoted of me? That sums up my own reasoning for what my "complaint" is.

The lengths people will go to, to find reasons to complain about Apple is astounding.

What I find equally astounding is the length's that some will go to to point out what they don't like about my opinion of what the company is doing. So, relax a little. It's just my opinion - an opinion. Opinions are like armpits; they stink and we all have them. Mine is no different.

 

[Stephen.R]

Did you read and understand the last part of the last sentence of what you quoted of me? That sums up my own reasoning for what my "complaint" is.

The price is only “up” if you compare the high end product, and that’s my point. The iPhone XR is priced the same or similar to the regular iPhone price for many years.

They added a new high end model, and you’re complaining the price increased.
[doublepost=1563364838][/doublepost]

What I find equally astounding is the length's that some will go to to point out what they don't like about my opinion of what the company is doing.

You state it as if your statements about apples actions is a fact and it’s your opinion that price increases are bad that’s being questioned.

Not at all. I’m saying your entire point of view is based on a fallacy because you’re treating a new high end option as being the minimum price.

 

[BigBoy2018]

Not a chance. Macs are vastly superior to anything else on the market.

I'll take it you mean macOS, not mac hardware. Because some of the recent mac hardware releases have been pretty sketchy, both in terms of value and reliability.