Key Takeaways
- Switching to Mac meant relearning many basics, but the intuitive MacOS made the transition smoother and less time-consuming.
- Macs tend to last longer than PCs, with MacBooks lasting over five years compared to the shorter lifespan of PCs.
- The MacBook keyboard and touchpad are unbeatable, providing a better typing experience and smoother gestures compared to PCs.
Growing up, the “dark side” didn’t refer to Star Wars, the side of the moon, or rooting for the wrong sports team. The dark side was simply anything emblazoned with the Apple logo. I grew up playing Oregon Trail on MS-DOS followed by Windows 95. My biggest act of rebellion wasn’t underage drinking or sneaking out to parties: I bought a MacBook.
Switching from the PCs that I grew up on to Mac wasn’t a decision I made lightly. As a college student working part-time when I bought my first Mac, the decision to buy a pricier laptop was almost physically painful. But after using both PCs at home and Macs at school and work, I had to finally admit it to myself — I’m a Mac kind of girl.
I now own a MacBook, an iPhone, an iPad, and an Apple Watch. But, I hate Apple’s in-ear headphones and need something more ergonomic than the Magic Mouse. Alexa’s price won me over for smart home displays and, similarly, I use a Roku for streaming. While I don’t own a HomePod, AirPods, or an AppleTV, my next computer won’t be a question of which laptop to buy but rather which MacBook to buy.
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As a tech journalist, I’ve tested different PCs since making the switch to Mac, and my experience with each one only solidified my decision: I’m never going back to Windows. Here’s why.
Switching teams means relearning many basics
Moving to an entirely different operating system comes with a steep learning curve. Now that I’ve spent more than a decade using macOS, I would need to relearn many different processes if I went back to Windows. The muscle memory keyboard shortcuts and trackpad gestures would be a pain to relearn. Basic settings that I can now adjust in a few seconds would require a Google tutorial.
The intuitive macOS doesn’t disappoint
Even if I’ve never tackled a certain task with my MacBook, I rarely need to look up a tutorial. Using macOS feels more intuitive to me than Windows. Sure, this is probably a personal preference and many people could say the same thing about Windows. But, I know where to look in System Preferences, or when to click that Apple icon in the corner.
After converting to macOS, my first iPhone didn’t come with the staggering learning curve that’s typical of a new device. Many of the apps, from Photos to Pages, are the same with only a few minor differences to accommodate the smaller screen. Even the Settings app on iOS houses many of the same options as System Settings on macOS. The similarities mean I spend less time fumbling with an unfamiliar process, whether I’m using my Mac, iPad, iPhone or even Apple Watch. If I know how to tackle a certain task with my iPhone, I probably already know how to do the same with my Mac and vice versa.
My MacBooks tend to last longer
I’ve owned both Macs and PCs. All of my MacBooks have lasted more than five years, and my PCs seem antiquated after three or four. My last MacBook lasted six years of near daily use before I replaced it. Even then, I could have repaired the broken membrane under the A key, replaced the battery, and kept using it. Granted, I also outgrew the 500GB hard drive.
Of course, such a statement over the long-debated question of which computer lasts longer needs to come with a disclaimer. And mine is this: I’ve always spent more on my Macs than PCs. Would a high-end, similarly priced PC last just as long? When you divide the cost by the number of years I got out of each device, the gap would likely shrink.
The MacBook keyboard and touchpad are unbeatable
Since switching to a MacBook, every time I get my hands (temporarily) on a PC, the keys feel like dairy-free ice cream: quintessentially wrong. Comparing a Windows keyboard to the Mac’s, there are a few differences, such as individual keys — like the Command key rather than the Windows key — but I also love the low profile, low noise yet tactile feel of my MacBook keys.
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The touchpad experience also differs quite a bit between platforms. Both platforms support gestures to do things like view the desktop, scroll or hide apps, but I’ve found the gestures on the MacBook’s trackpad to be smoother, more reliable and consistent. Whenever I’m working with a PC, I’ve found that I’ve had to consciously thing about triggering each gesture due to the differences in touchpads on various laptops.
Must-have software is bundled for free
I can still remember the sticker shock the last time I had to buy Microsoft Word to outfit my husband’s PC, and even now, you have to sign up for a yearly subscription to get the suite of Office apps.
On Mac, Pages, Keynote, and Numbers, Apple’s must-have productivity software is already downloaded at no cost. I don’t need to buy anything extra to start writing an article, create a spreadsheet, build a slideshow presentation, or even edit a video thanks to iMovie.
Of course, macOS isn’t the only one with a free word processor. Google Docs is free too, but I prefer not to work on a web-based app. And every time I forget to change the file type and email a less universally compatible Pages document, I cringe a little. I don’t just prefer the cost of Pages over Word — I find the user experience more seamless as well.
Software feels more straightforward on macOS
One of my first experiences with Mac was learning Adobe Photoshop during the many hours I spent working on the yearbook and school paper in high school. After learning the photo editing software on a Mac, using it on a PC just felt, well, wrong.
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The differences have arguably lessened over the years and I can now look at Photoshop on Windows without triggering my gag reflex. There are still many nuances between using the same app across both operating systems — and the latest MacBook Pro is at the top of our list of the best laptops for photographers and videographers.
Many macOS apps have a cleaner, minimalist user interface to them. Pages, for example, doesn’t have the mess of tabs that Word does. I can find settings with fewer clicks because there’s not an intricate tab system housing all the options. I can see what I need right on one screen.
PCs come with choice overload
When it comes to buying a new computer, Windows users have more choices. I know many Windows fans will say that this is a good thing, but I would rather have a handful of great options than several dozen choices, some of them just mediocre, to agonize over. When I shop for a new laptop as a Mac user, I have just a few decisions to make. MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? What size? How big of a hard drive?
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Of course, this could very well backfire in the future. I briefly glanced at PCs when Apple stopped including SD card ports on MacBook Pros, a feature that, as a photographer, I use almost as much as the built-in keyboard. Thankfully, the card slot returned. One downside of having fewer choices to agonize over is that there’s greater potential that I may need to compromise on my list of priorities in the future, but so far that hasn’t had to happen.
The ecosystem: MacBook, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch
Now that I’ve gone fully into the dark side with a Mac on my desk, in my pocket, and on my wrist, reverting to a PC becomes more expensive than simply replacing one laptop. One of the reasons I love my Apple devices is that they play so well together. I can start an article on my MacBook, save it to my iCloud Drive, and resume working on it from my iPad. Another useful example is the fact that I can AirDrop a photo I took on my iPhone right to my MacBook with just a few taps.
Indeed, you can complete those same tasks on Windows and Android with Nearby Share and Google Drive. If I wanted to go that route, I would need to replace both my phone and my laptop, because the iPhone doesn’t play as well with Windows as it does with macOS. And that’s an expensive, if not frustrating, change.
The bottom line: I’m sticking with Apple
A Windows user would probably include half the things on my list as their reason for not switching to Mac, plus a few others like more options from different brands and more budget-friendly choices. Yes, pitchfork-wielding internet commentators, this list is primarily personal opinion, but the bottom line is that macOS feels cleaner and more intuitive, while my aluminum-encased MacBooks feel better under my fingers.
Sorry, Dad. I’m not going back to Windows — but at least I won’t be getting an Apple tattoo.
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