Love them or hate them, there's no denying Apple create amazing products that perform well and look great on your desk or in your hand. In this blog we take a closer look at ten great reasons for using the Mac.
1. Hardware and Software Integration
Apple software only runs on Apple products. This allows Apple to optimise the code for each model that it makes because they know exactly which hardware is to be found in the system. It also means that they can implement features for your Mac that would be much harder for other platforms to achieve. In fact, Apple is now able to take this even further with their new Apple Silicon which is a whole system on a chip (SoC) that is able to optimise certain things such as video compression and decompression and add features such as Touch ID for biometric authentication to your Mac and machine learning. It also means that the system can be very robust as the hardware that has to be accounted for is a limited known entity — there is no hunting for drivers or strange issues occurring due to lack of hardware support.
2. Longevity
Apple products last. This is due to several factors, chief amongst them being the quality of components used is high. If you follow the old adage of 'buy cheap, buy twice' then you can be happy knowing that Apple does all that it can to support the longevity of its products, with repair programs that last longer than the PC market and support with security and maintenance updates to OSs many years old. In fact you can still get the original Macintosh computers to power on and operate as designed. Many of my customers are still on older machines for their everyday use, and there is often plenty we can do in order to help these machines to run as best as they can (often retro-fitting an SSD will dramatically improve the performance - ask us if we can fit one to your Mac). I myself use an iMac from 2010 as my main machine and run my entire business from it - that’s a twelve year old machine and it’s still capable of video editing, audio production, web design and administration. The processors hit the point at which they were fast enough for our everyday lives many years ago. Improvements since then have mostly been about better power consumption and whole system performance (general compute on the GPU and moving to more integrated systems that have hardware dedicated to specific tasks such as the new Apple Silicon).
3. Exclusive Software
Apple develop several applications for both professionals and enthusiasts that are only available on the Mac platform and are usually quite innovative in their approach to their respective use cases. These range from Final Cut Pro, Motion and Compressor (professional video and motion graphics production), Logic Pro and Main Stage (professional audio production and performance) to Pages, Keynote, and Numbers (office suite) and iMovie and Garageband (consumer video and audio production). Many of these come free with the Mac and the others are very good value offering advanced feature sets in powerful, optimised applications for professional use. Also many of the built in apps on Mac (and iOS) are Apple only such as Photos, Mail, Messages and Siri shortcuts, all of which make our day-to-day use of the mac a more pleasent experience due to their deep integration with each other and the legendary Apple ease of use.
4. No Anti-Virus Needed
The underpinning of MacOS is Unix, a longstanding and robust platform on which to build an OS. Apple also has implemented several features in the OS to handle unwanted applications such as Gatekeeper that warns when applications have not come from the App Store or a known developer. It will also tell you if it thinks you are about to go to a suspicious website or if an Application will damage your machine. Each application is only able to access its own data (sandboxing) and in the later OSs the OS installation is separate from the user data and is loaded in a read only state. So thanks to all of these features and more it’s not necessary to use Anti-Virus software. This saves us from having to continuously run an anti-virus application in real time which takes up valuable system resources and slows the machine down. It's also worth noting that the Mac platform only has about 8.5% of the market share when it comes to personal computers. This means it's still not a very lucrative target for those that might want to author a virus. Typically they are after a larger slice of the pie as that way the odds are much more in their favour.
A Note About Malware
Many people mis-categorise malware as a virus. It isn't. A virus is a self propagating software whereas malware is a standalone software with malicious intent. In most cases its objective is to advertise something or subvert you into using its service. Most malware can be classed as a nuisance and can cause operability issues or slow down the computer.
Malware has to be explicitly installed by the user - you have to put in your machine password to allow it to install and run. Most people are fooled into installing it because they are trying to run software that boasts the ability to speed up or clean your Mac. All of this software is not needed - MacOS actually deals with most of these issues on its own. The features that MacOS doesn't support natively are usually catastrophic for your system or your data (duplication removal for example).
The rest of the time, the malware is installed when the user is trying to do something with pirated material (watch or listen to media without paying or cracking software). People who do this should know better.
In order to steer clear of any malware, only install software that has come from the App Store or a trusted developer such as Microsoft or Adobe, and don't try to install programs that report to speed up, fix or clean your Mac. If you feel that your machine isn't running as it's supposed to, is slow or you suspect you may have malware installed then get in touch with us as there is usually a reason for these symptoms that our services can remedy.
5. Synchronicity
In times past we may have had one computer for the entire household’s use, these days it’s a very different story. Many of us have multiple devices including a laptop, a phone in our pockets, an iPad and maybe even more. The ability to keep your data available on all of these machines without having to manually move it about is vital to keeping sane when interacting with our devices. Apple’s iCloud makes this super simple and is integrated into every area of the OS. iCloud Drive allows us to store and access our documents; iCloud Photo library keeps optimised versions of our pictures; iCloud Keychain keeps our saved usernames and passwords secure and accessible; all of our contacts, calendars, notes and reminders are all where we expect them to be, and when we need more storage, it’s available at a very fair price. For instance, going from the free 5Gb to 50GB costs just 79p per month - well under the cost of a coffee! If you would like to know more about how to use iCloud then read our blog article on Demistifying iCloud to find out more.
6. Innovation
Apple are always pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with their products. This forward thinking has led to many companies copying Apple's designs into future products. Take for instance the iPhone; before it debuted in 2007 phone design used small displays with physical keys. Nowadays it’s hard to find a phone that fits this model; nearly all have switched to a large touchscreen based system that Apple innovated with the iPhone. This is just one example of innovation that Apple has brought to the industry, and they have numerous others in both hardware and software design such as Face ID, all-in-one desktop design and the App Store. Their latest innovation is in releasing Macs with the new M1 Apple designed processor which is a complete system on a chip, offering speed and battery life that are trailblazing new levels of performance for personal computers.
7. Standards Compliant
When it comes to working with computers there are potentially so many ways to do the same thing. In order to make sure that everything works the way we expect it to, standards are created and maintained by authoritative bodies. There are many, many standards that are available, however many developers choose to use their own implementation in order to add features or skirt a perceived limitation of the standard. This method causes problems with cross compatibility of software platforms and hardware. Apple strives to use the industry standard wherever it can meaning that we can be sure that it is operating above board and correctly with all of the services it interacts with. This ensures services like sharing files, connecting to networks and receiving our email is all done safely and in an expected manner. Apple is also active in helping develop standards to ensure that functionality is accessible to all in the ever changing landscape of computing.
8. Crafted Products
I think everyone can agree that Apple spend the time to truly craft their products, taking into account a dizzying array of factors to ensure high quality finishes, ergonomics and durability. An Apple product is a handsome product and often the envy of its peers, so much so that competing products often follow Apple's trend setting in the next generation of their design. I enjoy the fact that we are no longer in the realm of beige boxes and instead have access to products that don’t look out of place in our homes or indeed in exhibitions as works of art. This crafted nature also extends to the interior. Over the years I've been repairing Macs, I've noticed a change to the way the internals of the machines are laid out. Gone is the more chaotic criss cross of cables and boards still prevalent in PC design to a streamlined functional space with elegant cable routing and component placement all helping to make it easier to replace parts without damaging delicate connections. A quality product engenders a sense of pride and confidence in its abilities. No wonder then that Apple has a strong fan base.
9. Repairability
Many people complain when Apple classes the product they own as Obsolete (generally five years after production cessation for that model), however many PC manufactures wouldn’t maintain repair parts inventory for anywhere near as long. I find their complaint to be unfounded. There is also a great market in second hand parts available for the Mac which allows us to continue repairing them long after Apple stops official support. Contact us to see if we can breath new life into your older machine. Macs are designed in a very modular way such that it is easy to swap out failed components. Apple also have a comprehensive training program for technicians so that they know exactly how to repair the entire range of Apple products. I have completed this training for both the Mac and iOS which ensures that your device is being looked after by someone who knows what they are doing as well as the confidence that I care about the work that I perform and want to make sure it is of a high standard.
10. Privacy
Apple is a very privacy focused company, especially to the consternation of certain large scale social media companies who make money selling data about you. Apple is on the forefront of pushing the envelope of what is and isn’t acceptable in the realm of your data, and data about you. What’s more it puts this decision into the hands of the user so that they can make the choice about how much they would like to share. Knowing that Apple isn’t using my data without my knowledge, helps make me feel safer and in control of how I interact with the digital world. I certainly wouldn’t want to be choosing systems that have a more cavalier attitude towards my privacy.
This list is by no means exhaustive; there are many more awesome features which all add up to making using a Mac a really enjoyable experience. Many would agree with us that Apple products enhance our work, our play, indeed our lives; allowing us to truly express ourselves with ease and confidence.