Best complete solution to replace Apple products

mrochester

mrochester

mrochester

Soldato
Joined
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Hi all

As an interesting experiment, I want to challenge people to come up with a list of products that would replace all of the following and still be able to offer the same sort of cohesive eco-system user experience. Ideally, the alternative products would be cheaper than the Apple equivalents:

MacBook Pro
iPad Pro
iPhone 7 Plus
Apple Watch Series 2

Best wishes

M.
 
Hikari Kisugi said:
What specifically do you use each of your devices for?
Click to expand...

Mac: gaming, web browsing and watching videos. Love the trackpad, speakers and build quality of the Mac.

iPad: casual gaming, podcasts and web browsing. Love the 4 speakers that are very loud for podcast listening.

iPhone: texts, calls, web browsing, music, podcasts, camera, banking.

Watch: notifications, time (!), Apple Pay and fitness tracking.

The budget for all 4 items would be up to £3500 in this hypothetical scenario.
 
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No comment on the tablet or watch but for laptop and phone I would suggest:

KDE Slimbook (http://kde.slimbook.es)
Google Pixel XL

I prefer KDE Neon to Mac OS, I find it more powerful for my needs as a software developer.
The Pixel XL is great too and does have a superior camera to that of the 7 plus (https://www.dxomark.com and real world usage - I've owned both)
Both can be hooked together with KDE Connect (https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect)
 
uvarvu said:
No comment on the tablet or watch but for laptop and phone I would suggest:

KDE Slimbook (http://kde.slimbook.es)
Google Pixel XL

I prefer KDE Neon to Mac OS, I find it more powerful for my needs as a software developer.
The Pixel XL is great too and does have a superior camera to that of the 7 plus (https://www.dxomark.com and real world usage - I've owned both)
Both can be hooked together with KDE Connect (https://community.kde.org/KDEConnect)
Click to expand...

I’m particularly looking for a full selection of devices from computer down to watch rather than just one or two pieces of it.
 
You won’t find the deep Apple level integration outside of Apple.

Google is trying.

Apple are class leading in many areas eg tablet, watch etc.
 
Surface Pro
Android Phone (S8/+/Note or Pixel)
Fitbit Blaze/Ionic

Can you even get all that Apple kit for £3500?

EDIT:
Either the above or:

Razor Blade
iPad Pro
Android Phone (S8/+/Note or Pixel)
Fitbit Blaze/Ionic
 
Windows Computer
Windows Tablet
Windows Phone.

They all run the same OS. Throw a Microsoft Band in there if you really want.

The question was for the same or better amount of "cohesive eco-system user experience" so the "But Windows Phone has no apps!" argument doesn't apply.
 
Hater said:
Windows Computer
Windows Tablet
Windows Phone.

They all run the same OS. Throw a Microsoft Band in there if you really want.

The question was for the same or better amount of "cohesive eco-system user experience" so the "But Windows Phone has no apps!" argument doesn't apply.
Click to expand...

Sadly a lot of banking apps are missing from Windows Phone, which I need.
 
We're not talking about your wants or needs, the question you used was for the same or better amount of "cohesive eco-system user experience"

You could look into BlackBerry integration, they have many BlackBerry only services even though they use Android these days, which is a pity as BBOS had the PlayBook and all sorts of eco-system friendly stuff way before anyone else did
 
Hater said:
You already know the answer, why'd you even bother with this thread? Waste of time.
Click to expand...

What do you mean I already know the answer? I just want people to suggest the 4 products that will work together in the same way that the 4 Apple products work together so I can assess my options when it comes to renewing my devices (laptop probably next on the list to be updated).
 
Being realistic there is still not much overlap between phones and laptops at the moment. Yes you can use iMessage on your mac but its not exactly a killer feature. You can use 3rd party apps that do all of the sync features cross platform so mixing devices shouldn't be a problem. (Chrome, Google Apps, Office 365 etc etc)

It really just comes down to Windows or Mac, they are both pretty much on par with features. If you game Mac isn't a good choice, if you don't then well flip a coin, there both decent. Decent options on the windows platform are the Surface Pro's, Razor Blade, LG Gram. Apple's traditional design advantage is all but gone and the Windows manufacturers make just as good if not better devices.

Tablets, don't bother with anything that isn't an iPad in my opinion. It is the best in class but has a price tag to match.

As far as phones go you have iPhone vs S8/+/Note or Pixel or LG V30 or the HTC something.

The Apple watch is the 'best' smart watch on the market but lets be realistic, smart watches don't actually do anything and they are really expensive. If you just want a fitness tracker then Fitbit will have you covered and you will only need to charge it every week.

EDIT:

I personally use a Windows PC, a Surface Pro and an iPhone. I have also owned Macbook Pro's and an iPad's.

I don't feel I am missing out on anything, they all do the same thing. OSX and Windows are so similar these days and are both equally as good. Anyone that says otherwise is just a fanboy or is using some niche feature that isn't available on the other platform (Games vs Final Cut Pro).
 
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Amusing you’ve only started this thread to show up any Apple nay sayers.

You could get a similar setup via:

Surface Pro
Galaxy S8
Any of the numerous android watches

The surface is more versatile as sits between the iPad / MacBook fairly successfully and has the advantage of being an all in one solution.

The Galaxy being an android phone is easy to integrate / manage with Windows 10 and the watch would just work much like all the wearables do.

Sure the Apple ecosystem is better in many ways, but it’s by no means difficult to put together a cheaper and completely functional setup outside of Apple devices.
 
pioneer2000 said:
Amusing you’ve only started this thread to show up any Apple nay sayers.

You could get a similar setup via:

Surface Pro
Galaxy S8
Any of the numerous android watches

The surface is more versatile as sits between the iPad / MacBook fairly successfully and has the advantage of being an all in one solution.

The Galaxy being an android phone is easy to integrate / manage with Windows 10 and the watch would just work much like all the wearables do.

Sure the Apple ecosystem is better in many ways, but it’s by no means difficult to put together a cheaper and completely functional setup outside of Apple devices.
Click to expand...

None of the surface pros have discrete graphics do they? My MBP has a GeForce 750M and I want something more powerful than that as a replacement.
 
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