[charanreddy]

On the Apple ecosystem for a few years now including the iPhone 13 Pro Max, watch series 6, iPad 10, Old MacBook, a couple of AirPods etc. The one thing that I do is religiously take Apple care. I have got my phone and watch replaced due to accidental damage with out charge in India. I will most likely continue in the Apple ecosystem as it reduces complexity in my life interms of dealing with non functioning tech.

[madhukarmohan]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Very surprised to note this. Why is this so? I've read accounts online of folks running numerous browser tabs, streaming music, running FCP and gaming on MacBook with 8GB RAM.

I just bought a MacBook with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD. I was hoping this could serve me for 5 years at least.

I never had an issue with RAM. The 16 GB I'm referring to is the storage space (ROM), which is quite limited for today's applications and software sizes. I frequently encountered storage space issues. Ten years ago, this wasn't a significant problem, but in 2024, it certainly is. May be that is the reason Apple has discontinued 16 GB versions for most of their products, possibly except for the watch.

Originally Posted by somersault

Thank you for sharing your experience. However it may not be correct to generalize based on one such incident you mentioned. Primarily it seems that you are not happy with your device failing so early (1). Secondly you are not happy with the service center response, initially denying you the warranty or goodwill (2).

Apple products are excellent. Since 2008, I've used at least 20 Apple devices, all of which were durable, high-performing, and superior to the competition. However, their newer products don't seem to age as well as the older ones. This trend isn't unique to Apple; it applies to all gadgets and automobiles, likely due to the increasing number of features and gizmos. Additionally, many good products are often compromised by service centers, whether it's a car or an electronic device.

[dragonfire]

Modern phones and tablets (even laptops) are harder to repair compared to several generations earlier. This is true for Android devices too. I had read somewhere that Apple do not do repairs (except battery replacements) in India. Instead they just replace the device with a refurbished one.

It is a good idea to buy AppleCare for peace of mind.

[NomadSK]

First time I joined the Apple bandwagon was in 2012 with iPhone 5 series and over the years did buy other products from Mac to AirPods.

With purchase of iPhone 6, I realized taking the 32GB storage space is useless.

With the purchase of Mac, I realised that it’s confusing to operate (as compared to other window OS laptops) so gave it away to my daughter. I’m not an IT guy so the use of laptop has become almost zero over a period of time. Only at work, I use laptop which I don’t carry home in any case.

With Apple Watches, realised that’s all I want to wear and since 2016 (I guess the launch of first watch), I haven’t worn anything on my wrist except Apple watch. Whether it is for running or swimming. All my analogues/digital watches are gathering dust somewhere in the drawers.

With the purchase of iPad Pro, realised that it is as good as mobile phone with bigger screen, has indeed helped me during flights/train journey when I just download some Netflix and while away with my free time. Same goes with AirPods, I use them only during travels. Infact lost one at Mumbai airport.

When my iPhone X got dead, I realised it’s worth to pay for the iCloud services of Apple. Although it was 256Gb, I lost a lot of data. Even Apple raised their hands and couldn’t retrieve the data. Culprit a drop of sweat in the female charging area.

Recently I lost my iPhone 12 Pro and realised I can track it on my other devices even when it’s not with the sim and is just switched on. Can remotely lock the phone and erase content. Currently I’m in a village and in touch with the SHO at local police station at Delhi and giving him the locations where the phone is moving, even they are surprised about how I can locate the phone movements. Happy that I had taken iCloud subscription, haven’t lost much of the data/images.

2 times Apple products have given up on me, one was Apple Watch Series 4, when due to sweating on my arms the screen gave of and came loose and a keyboard for my iPad Pro, which stopped to connect to the iPad, both were out of warranty and Apple replaced both of them without any question being asked.

I’m not an impulsive buyer anymore, since I lost my phone now, I’m forced to buy another when I would be back, so it would be an upgrade from 12 pro to 16 pro, I never liked the max series, because it was too big for my small hands.

All in all I’m a convert for Apple and would never go back to anything else. The only downs I see is that their products are a tad expensive, but they are worth it in the long run.

Here’s a pic I sent to the SHO Delhi showing him where the lost phone location is and the poor guy is unable to comprehend how

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by am1m

Curious to know what people are using Tablets for these days?

I use my tabs for reading. It has much better screen size compared to a phone. While Kindle is usually the first choice for that, I find it to be a tad smaller. 8 inches is perfect size for epubs (larger Kindles like Oasis are nothing but tablets), and 10-11 inches for pdfs or comics. Further, Kindle did not support epub format natively for a long time (I think it now supports).

My 2014 Lenovo Yoga 2 (8") still runs fine, I use it as epub/ mobi reader and as a Shield TV Remote (with NVIDIA App).
Recently I got another one - Xiaomi Pad 6, and pdf or browser reading experience there is much better than 8".

Both tabs have blue light filtering and locked 60 fps with low brightness levels, so I never get eye strain.

[itspatra]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Very surprised to note this. Why is this so? I've read accounts online of folks running numerous browser tabs, streaming music, running FCP and gaming on MacBook with 8GB RAM.

I just bought a MacBook with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD. I was hoping this could serve me for 5 years at least.

I think you are mistaking Storage with RAM. The old ipad had only 16GB internal storage which I assume was insufficient for photos, apps and other stuff. Your 16GB RAM Macbook should serve you well for many years.

[SanSabh]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

I shifted to the Apple ecosystem with the iPhone 6s way way back and from then onwards there has been no looking back on mobiles. It has been iPhone all the way. iPhone 6s to iPhone 11 and now on 13 which is still chugging along happily after 3 years. The AI bug is biting me to get the latest. Having worked with AI/Gen AI, I would love to experience it, but damn the Phone 13, does not give up for me to move to the next version

My burning question is Overheads - how expensive is it to be in the Apple ecosystem? How does one reconcile with the profit freely given to one of the highest profit margin and market value companies? As opposed to, well, an open source and largely free experience on Android

[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by SanSabh

My burning question is Overheads - how expensive is it to be in the Apple ecosystem? How does one reconcile with the profit freely given to one of the highest profit margin and market value companies? As opposed to, well, an open source and largely free experience on Android

I believe one has to do a cost benefit analysis which includes both hardware and software. I don't want to do the math now, having done CBA for projects for life, I have had enough of it.

I do believe that most Android phones have a lifecycle of about 3 years. iPhone probably has another at least double of it. So if you are happy with let us say the latest model of iPhone in 2024, you will change it by 2030, but with Android you would have spent double by 2030. The same goes for the iPads and the Macs as well.

My iPhone is probably on its 3rd year and going strong as ever. The battery capacity is at about 89%. The Mac I have is 9 years old and is faster than the Dell which my firm provided 2.5 years ago. Battery on Mac lasts about 14 hours of usage compared to 5 hours in my Dell. To me these 2 points outweigh the overall spend compared to similar non Apple products

The question of Apple being more expensive than others is moot in the longer run I feel

Lastly on software, for most part the softwares and add ons that come with both these devices are more than sufficient for daily use. Therefore open os vs a closed system does not matter currently. The ability to seamlessly handover interactions from one device to another if you are in the Apple system is brilliant. Simple thing, if I am sitting in front of my TV and open up my AirPods, the Apple TV asks me if I want to connect it to TV and its non obtrusive

Lastly, making a company profitable or super rich. Why should I be bothered as a consumer as long as I get value for money. As missus says, if you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys

[thomahawk]

Originally Posted by madhukarmohan

Non-Modular Design: Newer Apple devices (excluding iPhones and MacBooks) are often glued or welded, making repairs nearly impossible. Once the warranty expires, a malfunction could mean it's time to say goodbye.

There are lot of 3rd party service centers, even premium ones who can repair an apple device. A perfect repair job is highly unlikely given how hard it is to do it (only EU is making them work on this aspect). My iPad is in coma after a repair gone bad after few months (replaced battery first, then display failed, then touch failed) and I plan to get it repaired one last time to give it away to some kid.

[Eco_boost]

The Good -

I recently lost my Airpods Pro’s case. Searched my home/ office and car. But couldn’t locate it. Then a friend suggested me to use The ‘Find My’ app. And it worked! It helped me track it down. It was in my car, neatly hidden under the seat in a corner. If it weren’t for the app, i wouldn’t have looked for it again there.

On another occasion, I left both my AirPods buds in my pant pocket. And it went into the washing machine the next day.
And guess what ? They still work


The Bad

Expensive Repairs

My 2019 Macbook Pro has a touch bar and It went kaput earlier this year. Got a quote of 60,000 for it. So I’m just managing without it. Will probably get a new laptop later next year.

[Ak24rapid]

I currently do not own any iphone but used to have an iphone se 1st gen given to me by my father ever since he bought back in 2017 it is still being used today by his friend as a spare phone until his phone is fixed I got software updates till 2022 that's a phone launched in 2016 so that is almost 5-6 years of software updates iam using an android phone right now but hoping to go back to iphone very soon as the life and reliability of an apple product personally to me is still unmatched. But it is still not perfect though for instance the battery life is weaker than most android phones and some features are still not available in the iphone

[kat83]

Originally Posted by madhukarmohan

If you plan to buy an Apple product, this post might help you make an informed decision.

My son broke the display of my ipad, I visited the service centre and they told only full replacement of ipad is possible, with additional amount almost 90 % of the cost of same model, when I enquired about other options they told they will check for some buyers and put it in their whatsapp group, and somebody offered 1k, I refused and visited the local service centre near to the service centre the guy replaced the glass alone for 4k.

[Flyingdutchman]

Leaving the obvious cost to features debate aside, I firmly believe (atleast at the moment) that Apple is numero uno in terms of Software support to its devices. My first apple purchase was of iPhone 4S in 2013 and subsequent year the iPad air 2. I still use my iPad for casual reading and browsing. It still works like a charm. Even after 10 years, Apple supported it via Software updates (last update being iPadOS 15.8).

What works in Apple's favor is the control they have over the software as well as hardware. Limited portfolio hence it's easier for Apple engineers to tweak and optimise software for their products unlike Samsung who has hundreds of smartphones in their portfolio to support.

Apple have invested both time and money into developing what one can describe as the best digital ecosystem currently available. iWatch simply works the best with iPhone, synching data is much easier with Mac than with Windows. Airpods gives the best output when paired with an iPhone. Apple music is on different level and Spotify still cannot match the quality it offers. FaceTime is so much convenient than skype. And there's that biggest elephant in the room. Data Privacy and Security. Android has very bad reputation in that regard.

Even if wants to, I still cannot leave the ecosystem due to these ancillary products which has become a part of life now.

[manincar]

From being an ardent supporter of Androids, I took the Apple plunge couple of years back with an iPhone 14 Plus. Then coupled it with AirPods Pro. Never before I have experienced two devices working so much in sync. For a guy who doesn’t constantly have the AirPods on person, the little alerts to remind me that I am away from AirPods is a boon. The intuitive suggestions like airplane mode just before departure, navigation time to office just before I start for office, curated memories etc add a nice touch to user experience. Yet to add an Apple Watch as I prefer a circular watch face.

Though I don’t have Apple care for my iPhone, have it for my kid’s iPad. Knowing the use/ abuse case scenario of my kids, it turned out to be a wise decision. Got a replacement iPad within 3 days of handing over the damaged device in service centre.

Once used to Apple ecosystem, it is hard to imagine going back to Android.

[Sensible_Speed]

I'm sorry you went through this ordeal. Apple's most reliable devices by most polls, after their iphones are the ipads. The most unreliable ones are the airpods and Macs. Apple's problem with sealing everything using adhesive is a very annoying design choice. It makes more economic sense for them to just replace the device at the slightest inconvenience.

The service technicians in India lack any form of veritable skill to work on these devices. It requires some dexterity to pry them open and change the components without cracking the screen. These poorly trained, ham-fisted idiots bungle the most basic of jobs. I had my 2013 Macbook Pro screen destroyed by their incompetence and then charged a comically large amount to fix the same. A threat of legal action is what got them to return my computer, which I proceeded to fix on my own at a fraction of the cost. There are very helpful guides on how to fix your device the DIY way, on ifixit. Today, Apple themselves publish all the repair manuals online. Sourcing parts is slightly easier too, albeit expensive, with the whole custom SoC design that they run.

Lesson here - do not go to Apple's authorised service centres that are attached to a retail store. They're the biggest rip-off known to man. A certified independent workshop will do a better job at a fraction of the price. Apple's ecosystem is best described by the last verse of Hotel California by the Eagles: "You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave"