Going full Apple?

[SDMFer]

After being let down with Microsoft's shift away from Groove, coupled with the slow decline from a not-so-heady height of my Lumia 640, I decided to try out an iPhone SE as my mobile of choice. Which has been a breath of fresh air, appearing more competent than my previous dabble with Android (albeit Gingerbread I believe) and actually having useful apps for a change!

Which has led me to thinking it may be time to update my 6-7 year old PC and replacing it with a Mac of some kind, mainly as the integration between the Apple products is excellent, such as Keychain.

Currently I have a desktop PC attached to my living room TV and speakers via a USB audio interface, which is used for all browsing/email/work/programme & film watching/Spotify (now after Groove...) with a separate laptop upstairs for my music recording.

I was considering a more compact and portable option of either an iPad Pro 10.5" or Macbook Pro 13", which I could use wherever, have better text visibility without messing around with zooming like the TV yet also send the image to the TV for watching films/programmes (either HDMI connector or Apple TV via Airplay) and use a wireless connector for the audio/speakers. I believe either of these options would have enough power for my needs, however my question is this: is the above option feasible and/or sensible and which is preferable - my concern is mainly with iOS vs MacOS and whether iOS 11 is powerful/flexible enough for daily usage without a PC/Mac around.

Any opinions are welcome! Many thanks.

 

[mistersprinkles]

Do you game? No? Do you mind being ripped off? No? Get a Mac!!!

I just got an iMac and it is freakin awesome. I can get my texts and phone calls (and call and text out) from my Mac. It knew my wifi password because my phone told it. Just so dope.

I have the latest iPad and iMac and the iMac is just so much more powerful (because OSX is a more robust OS than iOS). Pick up a MacBook Pro of some sort and you'll be set. It can do a lot more than the iPad can. Though if you got both it would be even better. Everything apple works seamlessly with everything else apple and its quite delightful. Everything in OSX/iOS is so easy. It's great.

 

[Thaifood]

the newer MacBook pro if you don't mind have dongles every where by all means get 1, they are all usb-c ports..
don't get me wrong i do like their products as they seem to last a long time.. i am still using a MacBook pro retina late 2013 version as it does everything i need it to do flawlessly. i think i have had the laptop crash once in all the time i have been using it

 

[ChrisD.]

Are streaming to a home AV receiver over HDMI? Be aware that AFAIK Apple devices only pass through PCM.

 

[mistersprinkles]

Are streaming to a home AV receiver over HDMI? Be aware that AFAIK Apple devices only pass through PCM.

That only matters to the one in a million audiophile that uses DSD and other hella-high-bitrate digital formats

 

[p28nay]

Long time Mac user here. I use a 27" iMac at work and a Macbook Pro along side it for when I am out and about. I also have a iPhone 6 and the best thing is how everything just works seamlessly across all three devices.

Last month I tried to move away from iPhone and got the Samsung S8 which I tried for a month and just could not get on. I reverted back to iPhone and have not looked back since.

 

[SDMFer]

Thanks for the opinions, my thoughts are to get an Apple TV at the same time to allow wireless connection with my TV via Airplay. I would also use a HDMI splitter to connect my active speakers, allowing me to wirelessly play music as well via Spotify from the Macbook Pro or my iPhone. As I said, going full Apple!

I like the idea of it all running seamlessly, something that did not always occur with my Microsoft setup. My only stumbling block is stumping up the Apple price - I don't think I've ever paid over £1k for a computer and I'd hate to go this route and find I don't like it.

 

[Captain]

In the past 6 weeks I have sold my Samsung phone and gone back to an iPhone, switched from a Samsung tab to an iPad Pro and swapped my i7 system for an iMac and I’m really impressed with it.

Had all of the previous iPhones before and had MacBooks but never an iMac.

 

[p28nay]

Thanks for the opinions, my thoughts are to get an Apple TV at the same time to allow wireless connection with my TV via Airplay. I would also use a HDMI splitter to connect my active speakers, allowing me to wirelessly play music as well via Spotify from the Macbook Pro or my iPhone. As I said, going full Apple!

I like the idea of it all running seamlessly, something that did not always occur with my Microsoft setup. My only stumbling block is stumping up the Apple price - I don't think I've ever paid over £1k for a computer and I'd hate to go this route and find I don't like it.

Good thing about their computers is that they just last for ages. I use to have a 2012 Macbook Pro which I have just upgraded the ram and replaced HDD with a SSD and it's still really quick.

One thing I will say when buying a new Mac these days is try and spec them up as high as you can afford. The mac's these days are not as upgradable as they use to be. For example the the memory is now soldered onto the main motherboard.

 

[SDMFer]

My current PC has 8Gb RAM and a 128Gb SSD that is just over half full, the vast majority of my data being old recorded music (.wav) files that should probably be archived on an external hard drive. I can get a good price on a 13" Macbook Pro with the same specs as the above, and seeing as the only thing I do that requires any semblance of power is recording music, which I am managing more than adequately on my current setup, I reckon this should stand me in good stead for the near future.

I liked using Windows 10 and my Lumia 640, apart from the inevitable decline of the phone like any Windows device - since I got an iPhone and am discovering its capacity to sync across devices well I thought why not recreate the same idea of a (mostly) single ecosystem with Apple, especially as this is how they are designed to work. Looks like a fair number of people are enjoying this already and I think I shall be enjoying this soon. I'll let you know if/when I take the plunge and update on how I find it!

 

[JamesM]

The whole apple eco system is lovely.

I've had an iPad for years and recently got a Macbook Pro for work use. Switched to the iPhone 8 and managed to grab a series 3 watch through a deal with my health insurance.

I can now unlock my Macbook just by sitting infront of it with my watch. I can access all photos on any device I want through iCloud and share photos and calendars with family members. I can locate the kids by their phones at the blink of an eye. Texting and calling though any device I want, etc.

Love it

If I could I'd switch the office machines to Mac's as well just because the OS seems a lot more polished than Win 10.

 

[MacRS4]

I spend most of my life making my income out of the Microsoft & cloud world, and yet pretty much everything I own tech wise is Apple.

Bizarrely, it just runs Windows stuff really well. My iMacs and laptops all have Parallels and Fusion on them, making it really quick and easy to stand up environments similar to the particular client I'm working on at the time.

The weird thing is there's of course nothing I do with the MacOS stuff that I couldn't do with a Windows setup. I've just ended up with everything Mac as I find it's just an easier working environment.

The only things I really miss when running MacOS without a Windows virtualised shell in there is probably Outlook, and of course Visio.

 

[MacRS4]

My working environment is a couple of high-spec iMacs (2015 and 2017), 2017 high spec 15" touchbar thingy, 13" for meeting/non demanding stuff. The an iPad/iPhone, and AppleTVs everywhere.

Think I've just worked out why I'm poor.

 

[p28nay]

I spend most of my life making my income out of the Microsoft & cloud world, and yet pretty much everything I own tech wise is Apple.

Bizarrely, it just runs Windows stuff really. My iMacs and laptops all have Parallels and Fusion on them, making it really quick and easy to stand up environments similar to the particular client I'm working on at the time.

The weird thing is there's of course nothing I do with the MacOS stuff that I couldn't do with a Windows setup. I've just ended up with everything Mac as I find it's just an easier working environment.

The only things I really miss when running MacOS without a Windows virtualised shell in there is probably Outlook, and of course Visio.

You can get Outlook for Mac. That's what I use at work.

 

[MacRS4]

I'm very aware of that, and I use it a lot. It's just not anything like as good as the Windows version.

 

[Daaaavvveee]

Today my MacBook Pro is 3 years old, I don't think it has crashed once, and has only been shutdown about 10 times.
I think every Windows machine I have ever had, has been lucky to last more than a week without crashing!

 

[mistersprinkles]

Today my MacBook Pro is 3 years old, I don't think it has crashed once, and has only been shutdown about 10 times.
I think every Windows machine I have ever had, has been lucky to last more than a week without crashing!

Then you're doing something wrong. I haven't had a Windows crash in so long I can't remember. I had a display driver crash a couple of weeks ago (first time in like 2 years. Pretty sure it was due to a shifty GPU OC that I did without thinking much) but that's not a full system crash.
Windows 10 is extremely stable and a highly respectable, robust, and granular OS. Is OSX better? In many ways yes. One can't argue with the integration you get between all your devices with Apple, but Microsoft is no longer Microsuck and they actually make good stuff now IMHO.

 

[russell664]

In the past 6 weeks I have sold my Samsung phone and gone back to an iPhone, switched from a Samsung tab to an iPad Pro and swapped my i7 system for an iMac and I’m really impressed with it.

Had all of the previous iPhones before and had MacBooks but never an iMac.

Funny you should say that....

This year I sold my Nexus 6p, got an iPhone 7 PLus.
Just got a Macbook Pro 15 inch TB
Waiting to break down my current Windows PC, as the Macbook Pro has parallels and everything is flawless.

Yes it cost over £2,300 including the iPhone that is nearly £3,000. But... Everything just works, no crashes, build quality is lovely, hand-off is great, the cost not so much. You do however, get what you pay for.

 

[Hades]

Can't remember the last time my windows PC or laptop crashed.

 

[dowie]

I'd go with a MacBook Pro, I got my latest one just under a year ago and frankly nothing else out there really compares to it (IMHO). I've kind of locked myself into iphones too, though am quite happy with the 7 and not planning to upgrade anytime soon to the 8 or the X. I remember when I was younger I always bought Nokia phones and the one time I tried something else I instantly regretted it, I kind of have the same opinion now of iPhones, while the specs of some other brands might offer better value on paper they just don't feel as good in the flesh.

On the other hand, when it comes to tablets, I've used the iPads - my mum seems to love hers to the point where it has basically replaced her laptop, but I don't use tablets much aside from on train/plane journeys so I went for a kindle fire, it was awesome value and absolutely fine for watching a movie, reading a book, quickly browsing for something/checking e-mails etc.. (also got a kindle paper white for more serious reading) - also use it for amazon music etc.. but I still need a proper laptop and wouldn't look to replace one with a tablet even if it is some top of the range iPad.