I see a certain opinion in computer nerd circles, especially among gamers. Basically, “Macs are stupid overpriced garbage.”
This is unfair. Macs are reasonably priced, if you value what Apple is selling. Many people don’t, and that’s okay! But I want to lay out all the reasons why it is perfectly rational to drop several thousand dollars on a laptop that seems the same as any Windows computer.
Intangibles
The first thing you, the reader, should do is stop comparing laptops with a spreadsheet. This is not because Macs fare worse when directly compared to other PCs, but because spreadsheets only capture things that fit in a spreadsheet.
Simple spec comparisons often skip things Apple consumers value. With a Mac, for example:
- The laptop lid opens smoothly, in one motion, with little effort, and without the bottom rising off the table
- The case is unibody aluminum, not creaky plastic
- The screens are calibrated to have accurate colors
- The trackpads have smooth inertial scrolling
- All apps resize well on high-resolution displays
Many people do not value these things, and that’s okay! But if you do, Apple is one of the few computer manufacturers that gets the details right.
Battery life
The single biggest reason to get a Mac in 2024 is the battery life. Apple Silicon Macs do not have the greatest graphics performance — for that you’ll need a big NVIDIA desktop GPU — but they have insane power-per-watt.
I can take my 16-inch M1 MacBook Pro to the coffee shop and work on it the whole day without a charger. I can juggle an IDE, multiple web browsers, Slack, Notion and Spotify at max brightness without worrying about my battery. Apple Silicon computers rarely ever turn on the fan or even get hot. They are long-lasting, cool and performant.
macOS
Macs are also the only way to use macOS, which an excellent desktop operating system for productivity. Linux is a phenomenal server OS, Windows is best at gaming and macOS is great for work.
macOS is a Unix-like OS with first-class support for almost every command-line utility (no subsystems required). Unlike Linux, it supports almost all Bluetooth and hardware peripherals out of the box. Unlike Windows, it also is not loaded with intrusive telemetry and attempts to trick you into changing your browser.
I’m also personally invested in the Apple ecosystem. macOS is the only place to run my favorite Markdown editor, iMessage, Apple Photos and Safari, my favorite browser. I like that my clipboard and tabs sync from my iPhone (I know there are ways to do this with Android and Windows).
Support
While Macs are high quality, reliable machines, they are ultimately just computers. Computers break. Apple’s computers break less, but when it happens, it’s nice to have access to a support system that will get me working again quickly.
For example, my work MacBook Pro began randomly shutting down. It was not ideal, especially the time it did it during a video call. I was able to take it to an Apple store close to my house, get it diagnosed (bad motherboard) and shipped out for repair within a day. Compare this to having to negotiate with some AI chatbot support system for a third-party Windows OEM.
Part of the price of a Mac is Apple’s worldwide network of stores and support centers. This may not seem like a significant benefit, until you need it.
Conclusion
I don’t meant to defend all of Apple’s pricing. Their upcharges for RAM and storage upgrades are painful.
Macs are also not “worth it” if you care about gaming. There are much cheaper, better Windows gaming PCs.
But, if you care about certain things, you get what you pay for with Macs.