In my last newsletter I alluded to the folly of buying Apple products. This week, without reservation, I’m going to cite my reasoning behind this inflammatory statement.
To be clear, my experience with Apple products is limited. I’ve been using PCs for well over two decades now, and I’ve only taken the time to get to know the Apple line over the past 10 years or so.
It all started for me like so many others – with an iPod. I didn’t actually go out and buy one, rather I was given one at a tech tradeshow. It was one of those tiny little microscopic ones and I’ll admit; it was pretty cool.
But to use it I had to use iTunes. So I reluctantly installed iTunes on my high-end PC. It was a total disaster. Problem after problem after problem. Like serious mess-up-your-entire-music-collection-then-stop-working-after-an-update kind of problems. I’ve since had the displeasure of using iTunes quite a few times over the years, mostly on behalf of clients, and my experience has never changed – it’s absolutely terrible. And I’ve actually heard it’s specifically designed to run poorly on PCs. Seeing a trend here? Get the iPod, > forced to use iTunes > which only runs well (although still a horrible program) on an Apple computer. And so the story goes with Apple. In fact, that’s basically their business model; Suck in the customer so they’re FORCED to buy our other products.
Eventually I found a way around using iTunes so I could actually use my iPod without that annoying headache. Winamp was my savior. But over the years, Apple has built-in new and updated “protection“ with their products to eliminate possible workarounds and force you to use iTunes with your iDevice. Apple has always been a closed-choice company and they’ve definitely mastered the art, while on the other hand, companies like Google and Microsoft do their best to be as open and compatible as possible – giving CONSUMERS the choice of how to live their technical lives, and developers the freedom to create better options.
I’ve since learned that, had I actually gone out and paid for that original iPod, I would have paid at least twice the price of an equivalent non-Apple MP3 player. Every MP3 player I’ve bought since the iPod up-and-died has been non-Apple. So it goes with Apple – ALL of their products are overpriced.
I had the opportunity to run an Apple dealership for a few years. We had been selling PCs in our store for a decade and the market seemed to justify creating some space for an “Apple department”. Day after day I watched people come in to our store and demand Apple products with no real reasoning behind their decision other than it was an Apple. When I pointed out that an equivalent PC was almost always a good 30% (or more) less expensive, it went in one ear and out the other. They wanted Apple even if it cost them ridiculously more money. “I just want an Apple”. Okey dokey.
So I guess part of the thinking is that the Apple products are simply superior. But in my experience, that’s just not the case. Apple products fail just as often as good alternatives (I say “good” because no, Apple products DON’T fail as often as crummy alternatives.) And when they do fail, they’re generally twice as difficult and twice as expensive to fix. No technical advantage whatsoever. Can you even replace the battery in the newest iPhone without tools? I mean, seriously.
Speaking of technical advantage – here’s another area where Apple lags. While they do occasionally come out with a good idea – which is rare in technical-innovation terms – and almost always immediately emulated for a lower price by a competitor – they’re quite often BEHIND with their technology – and in really important ways. The iPhone, for example, didn’t support WiFi calling until version 5 – YEARS after countless Android phones started shipping with this very-useful feature. Nor did the iPhone support HDMI output until version 4 – and even the NEW phones that do support video output to a screen require an overpriced Apple adapter.
And the adapters – don’t even get me started on those adapters. It seems as though any time you want to hook up a non-Apple product to an Apple it requires one (or more) of their overpriced adapters. DisplayPort is a perfect example of this. It’s basically Apple saying, “either buy our screens or buy our grossly overpriced adapter.“
Usability. I hear that a lot – “it’s just easier to use – it works better.” While I can’t argue that Apple simplifies everything down (to the point of depriving the user of free choice and limiting their options), I can’t agree that they work better. In my experience of using software on all the major platforms (Android, Microsoft and Apple) – they DO NOT just work better, nor, in many cases, are they easier to use. In fact, when something goes wrong with an Apple, it can often be a nightmare to fix as compared to Android or Microsoft.
But nothing does go wrong on Apples…right? Wrong. As I previously stated, Apple products fail as often as good alternatives – it’s really that simple. And to make matters worse, Apple is now being accused of intentionally sabotagingtheir older phone models with “updates” to essentially force people into buying the newest iPhone model. This is really unconscionable – talk about blatant corporate greed. Check out this petition on the subject: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/planned-obsolescence-is-why-apple-isn-t-a-green-company/?akid=20500.3631447.Izvbmz&rd=1&source=fwd&t=1
That’s no joke. And don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying Apple is uncharacteristically greedy for a corporation – on the contrary they’recharacteristically greedy LIKE most other large corporations.
The fact is; Apple is quite possibly the best marketing company on the planet. How can I say this? Because nowhere else have I seen such as large gap in the perceived value vs. the actual value of a product. I’m just coming right out and saying it: Apple has successfully gotten the world to drink the Kool-Aid.
What I have noticed recently is that people are beginning to realize this and put their cups down. I hear more and more stories of people jumping the Apple ship because they’ve had enough. Between the overpricing, the removal of choice, the intentional proprietary nature of the products, the planned obsolescence, and the realization after something goes wrong with their Apple that maybe it’s not infallible after all – they realize that Apple is just another profit-hungry corporation making pretty-looking tech devices that are silver instead of black.
Over the years of working with a huge array of products and discussing this very subject with many technicians as well as Apple users, one thing is clear to me; Apple does not make a product I’m interested in owning.
But that’s just my opinion…
…and that’s my Apple rant.