What is it that makes people hate Apple so much?

[Skyboat]

I think the basic single-processor Mac Pros seem somewhat limited value now, considering that they no longer ship with an empty processor slot if you didn't opt extra for it. I certainly wouldn't consider one. This is the only system in Apple's product range that a self-built system owner has any validity against.

The dual-processor MPs on the other hand are an entirely different kettle of fish, and you'll struggle to find that sort of capability in a self-build without spending similar amounts of money. There's a reason why the Xserve was discontinued and replaced with a Server edition of this. This is bordering on enterprise-grade hardware, something you'd have to compare to the Dell business website and the type of servers they provide and their prices.

The iMacs can only be compared to other all-in-one systems, due to everything being integrated into a single chassis housing the screen and primarily laptop components. Closest rival product would be the Sony VAIO all-in-ones, which isn't that much cheaper.

The Mac minis selling point is obviously its size, which again is hard to beat on performance relative to it, and comes supplied with everything you need to either use it as a HTPC or to replace your desktop base unit. Closest alternatives would be something like the Dell Zino or ASRock Vision 3D, which either are bigger, noisier, pricier or a mix of the three.

Then we get onto the laptops. Personally the larger you get, the less advantages or value you get over other brands. It's no secret that the 13" is the most popular size for various reasons, and I have yet to find a trackpad that is anywhere near as intuitive or well-designed as the one on the MacBook range. Not even the Sony VAIO laptops come close. Then there's the new SandyBridge-equipped 11" and 13" MacBook Airs...

So once again, something really is only worth whatever someone is prepared to pay. Do you regularly see people slagging off Audis or their owners because you could buy a similarly-performing, similarly-specced Kia for much less? I also think much of this hate didn't exist 10 years ago, when the very first iPod wasn't even released and OS X was still in its infancy, ergo there being two groups of Apple haters that have merged over the years - those that have always considered Apple computers overpriced and uncompetitive, and those who simply don't like the amount of market share and widespread popularity the company now has.

 

[Skyboat]

I think the first few replies summed a large part of it up tbh...

It's in part the whole "hate large companies" thing. Plenty of others have it and it does go through phases, seems it's Apples turn at the moment, although MS still gets a large bashing as well.

The other major part is:

"That wouldn't happen on a mac"
"My Mac just works"
The crowds and cheering when a new product is released or when a new store opens
"They're jealous because they can't afford it..."

Yady yada...

For most it isn't the company as such but a certain subsection of users that wind them up with their "superiority", even when most of the time there is nothing to be superior about.

It's certainly not unique to just Apple though, as already mentioned a certain subsection of Android users are going that way as well.

Some people need to realise that one single device will suit everyone... Personally I dislike OSX and prefer the current versions of Windows and find iOS to be plain and boring compared to other alternatives, so I don't buy their devices. On the other hand the more recent Apple hardware is very nice, the 27" iMac and 13" macbook Pro/air, which means next time I look for a desktop or laptop I will seriously consider them even if I then put Windows on them (hated the white poly macbooks which is why my current laptop is a Dell, was the best laptop for me at the time).

Unfortunately on the other end of the scale if you do suggest you don't like an Apple product a certain section of society will try and shoot you down for "hating" Apple... Oh and those adverts really do rile me up, however they do their trick, one of the reasons Apple sell so much and one of the reasons for a certain section of Apple users acting like religious zealots!

But that happens with plenty of companies, including Sony, Nokia etc. I just don't get it personally, get the best product for you, not the best product made by a specific company, and certainly not every product made by that company!

Couldn't have summed up my thoughts better to be honest.

 

[Amp34]

Most of them haven't extensively used anything Microsoft since Windows XP, they're hopeless.

That really riles me up!

"windows is carp because it can't do *this*" or "*this*" etc.. being some inane thing that windows has done for years, only they don't realise because they haven't used windows since 2002.... Way to go dude... Yeah, I bet your laptop, sorry, macbook couldn't do some of those things in 2002 either...

Then there's the hardware side of things (such as multitouch trackpads) etc...

I believe it's just simply down to the success that they have had, and the expensiveness of their products.

Some people have become so fixed and so used to companies like Microsoft they do not want to change. Apple's profits are huge and their market share seems to always be increasing, so this does show that more and more people are 'converting'.

The other thing I think its down to is definitely the cost. People see the cost of an iPhone for example and think thats ridiculous, its not worth it. But when comparing it to other phones on the market, thats why it is priced the way it is.

Because all high end smartphones cost around that much yep, unfortunately so many people don't realise this. It gets worse when people start comparing the £150 handset to a £500 iPhone4. Obviously the iPhone is better... Same with laptops, a cheap laptop (and lets face it most laptops sold are probably in the £500 or less bracket) shouldn't be as good as a £1000 laptop, whether it be made by Apple or Sony or Dell etc.

That is in fact one of the major downsides of software like Windows and Android, it has to appeal to the lowest common denominator, meaning its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness.

though he is a banker/******, I do agree with Risty (only partially). I see no point whatsoever in a macbook as they are ridiculously overpriced for what they are.

Why would you buy a mac over a pc?

I admit, i am a little bit ignorant about macs so please don't flame me

No they aren't...

Seen the price of a VAIO Z recently? Makes the macbook pro look like a kids toy... A decent 13" laptop will set you back around £1000-£1200 ish, which is pretty much slap bang on where Apple have priced their 13" offerings. Also See the reply to the previous comment about weaknesses.

Personally I lust after a VAIO Z but £4k for a 13" laptop is a bit frightning!

 

[Raikiri]

I think the basic single-processor Mac Pros seem somewhat limited value now, considering that they no longer ship with an empty processor slot if you didn't opt extra for it. I certainly wouldn't consider one. This is the only system in Apple's product range that a self-built system owner has any validity against.

The dual-processor MPs on the other hand are an entirely different kettle of fish, and you'll struggle to find that sort of capability in a self-build without spending similar amounts of money. There's a reason why the Xserve was discontinued and replaced with a Server edition of this. This is bordering on enterprise-grade hardware, something you'd have to compare to the Dell business website and the type of servers they provide and their prices.

The iMacs can only be compared to other all-in-one systems, due to everything being integrated into a single chassis housing the screen and primarily laptop components. Closest rival product would be the Sony VAIO all-in-ones, which isn't that much cheaper.

The Mac minis selling point is obviously its size, which again is hard to beat on performance relative to it, and comes supplied with everything you need to either use it as a HTPC or to replace your desktop base unit. Closest alternatives would be something like the Dell Zino or ASRock Vision 3D, which either are bigger, noisier, pricier or a mix of the three.

Then we get onto the laptops. Personally the larger you get, the less advantages or value you get over other brands. It's no secret that the 13" is the most popular size for various reasons, and I have yet to find a trackpad that is anywhere near as intuitive or well-designed as the one on the MacBook range. Not even the Sony VAIO laptops come close. Then there's the new SandyBridge-equipped 11" and 13" MacBook Airs...

This is the point I make nearly every time someone tries to compare their self built machine, although some people (ahem, Nexus) seem to completely ignore it

 

[bloodiedathame]

As a pro-sumer (I use high end mac products for animation, design etc) I am starting to get peeved at Apple. FCPX is terrible. The rift with Adobe is appalling, many accelerated features in CS5.5 aren't happening on Apple, and considering I use Adobe products daily, I'm sick of Apple ignoring my needs.

Apple are gearing heavily towards a totally different market than they used to target (creatives > general users). Functionality in Lion is (as I am to believe) geared toward gimmicky finger swipes, which has no relevance to anything I do as I work with a tablet 99% of the time.

I don't think my next computer purchase will be Apple. But by God I hate the look and feel of Windows 7. CBA with Linux. So I have no choice.

 

[Vonhelmet]

There's a lot of moaning about Final Cut Pro X.

And the gimmicky finger swipes are great... They're just not for you.

 

[Cursed]

I used to be on the side of PCs at one point before I'd ever used an Apple product, throwing up arguments about them being overpriced, easily outspecced. Nowadays I'm happy to use either a Mac or PC because they both have their own advantages and disadvantages. I think if half these Apple haters actually owned a product they would change their mind.

 

[Nemesis379]

I personally love the look of apple gear. Just could never afford.

 

[bhavv]

Dunno. I'm not sure they do. Perhaps it's because apple only make a comparitively small number of products, and there are so many other competing companies producing so many products that you only ever notice when people say that about apple.

Also it may be the case that *insert apple prodcut here* is better than everything else.

Every person I've come across that bought an Apple product IRL only did so because they thought it was the best for no reason other than 'It's made b apple'.

You also admitted in point 1 that an Apple Mac is not better than a self built PC.

apple can code the OS for exactly the components in their computers.

But as I said, if I was going to use Windows 7 on a PC or a Mac, why would that make any difference other than the mac having older, already out of date hardware at a higher price?

I also dont think that any mac has a better build quality than the PCs I can build myself - do they come prefitted with gaming / overclocking grade motherboards, components and custom coolers? Why pay the same amount, if not more money for an Apple mac fitted with a bog standard motherboard, cheapest possible ram, and a standard boxed CPU cooler when I can build a PC with Asus RoG motherboards, MSI twinfrozer graphics cards, Crucial or OCZ SSDs, Samsung Hard Drives in Raid 0, and the latest and fastest Intel CPU with a nice custom cooler overclocked to over 4 Ghz?

 

[Robbo]

Every person I've come across that bought an Apple product IRL only did so because they thought it was the best for no reason other than 'It's made b apple'.

In fairness, while EVERYTHING may not be directly better, most stuff is as good if not better so it's not like they are losing out.

I also doubt such a person would be interested in some of the more advanced features of Android for example, they would value things like higher quality apps far more.

People buying things they have little knowledge of based purely on reputation is not a new concept. Not at all.

You also admitted in point 1 that an Apple Mac is not better than a self built PC.

It's totally situational and comes down to the individual that's buying it.

 

[Vonhelmet]

bhavv - if you were buying a Mac with the sole intention of putting Windows on it and not using OS X, then you'd be an idiot, unless you were really die hard about having a good looking computer.

 

[MagicBoy]

People buying things they have little knowledge of based purely on reputation is not a new concept. Not at all.

Exactly. It's the same with things as diverse as kitchen appliances and cars. In those cases everyone flocks to the premium european brands...

 

[bhavv]

In fairness, while EVERYTHING may not be directly better, most stuff is as good if not better so it's not like they are losing out.

I also doubt such a person would be interested in some of the more advanced features of Android for example, they would value things like higher quality apps far more.

Apple products are ok for what they do, and the people who buy them probably wouldnt be interested in a competing product or its fatures. But the vast majority of these people have absolutely 0 understanding of hardware or the actual things that they are buying, and they still like coming up to me and other PC / non Apple phone or MP3 player users constantly banging on about how much better their Apple product is than anything that I or someone else owns, and that we should have bought an Apple whatever as well because it is simply better.

People who actually know their stuff about the hardware and still pick an Apple product are mostly a forum minority, and even when the original Iphone first came out, most such people that bought it claiming it was the best thing ever since sliced bread were still having to carry a blackberry in their other pocket because the first Iphone hardly did anything better than the current smartphones on the market, it simply looked nicer.

The latest Iphone 4 is definitely a lot more up to date, but there is still far better that you can get from HTC or Samsung, both of which Apple obviously sued because they are trying to simply get rid of any better competition.

This also leads to the average Apple fan srongly believing that Apple invented everything they make, and that everyone else is copying them and deserve to be sued and have their products removed from sale so that apple is the only option left on the market. I find the approach that Apple use and their typical adoring fans to have a very monopolistic and 'We are simply the best, and everything else is a cheap copy' attitude, and these are people that probably dont even know what CPU stands for, let alone being able to sign up to and use a tech forum.

bhavv - if you were buying a Mac with the sole intention of putting Windows on it and not using OS X, then you'd be an idiot, unless you were really die hard about having a good looking computer.

I wouldnt be, I was trying to find out why people think that Macs are 'built better / have better quality components' with a hypothetical question.

Why would I want to use OSX over windows 7 on a home desktop / gaming computer?

Also, what is it that actually makes the average Apple fan hate PCs and non apple smartphones and products so much? With people who hate Apple, they would still typically buy things from lots of different other companies, but with the normal joe that buys Apple products, they will simply only buy Apple and not even consider anything else automatically assuming that anything not made by Apple is worse.

 

[Robbo]

The latest Iphone 4 is definitely a lot more up to date, but there is still far better that you can get from HTC or Samsung, both of which Apple obviously sued because they are trying to simply get rid of any better competition.

Wrong. What device did HTC or Samsung have out this time last year that was 'far better' than the iPhone 4?

The only phone with any better features than the iPhone 4 currently really is the Galaxy S II, and that still isn't as nice to use, and as it's Android, its power goes to waste in many ways.

 

[ps3ud0]

Also, what is it that actually makes the average Apple fan hate PCs and non apple smartphones and products so much? With people who hate Apple, they would still typically buy things from lots of different other companies, but with the normal joe that buys Apple products, they will simply only buy Apple and not even consider anything else automatically assuming that anything not made by Apple is worse.

They dont, but people like you assume they do - love to meet more of these 'average Apple fans' though, they sound a hoot. The average serial killer kills more than 1 person you know ...

ps3ud0

 

[Amp34]

bhavv - if you were buying a Mac with the sole intention of putting Windows on it and not using OS X, then you'd be an idiot, unless you were really die hard about having a good looking computer.

Really? There are plenty of people that do because some of the hardware is fantastic.

As I said in a previous post I like the current hardware, it's pretty much up there with the best windows machines, however I dislike the software (I don't want to be a "grey"...Inject some colour in your life!)

On the 15 and 17" side of things, it's a bit easier but for 13" laptops and 27" all in ones Apple competes nicely with the best of them (since the latest updates).

13" laptops in the windows sphere are hard to find anyway, because people normally want cheap, which is where 15" hits the spot, get rid of the heavy, thick plastic clunk and you have a lot less choice. Want a decent 13" laptop with a decent profile and there are about 6 or7 options currently, two of them are Apple...

Unfortunately too many companies prefer to sell as many as possible rather than have a few good products.
Sony are one of the few that seem to be able to do a mix of both, but then they go stupid on price....
Dell used to do some nice 13" machines, the Adamo and the XPS M1330 which competed in the same space (size, battery and price) as Apples 13" laptops, unfortunately they stopped producing both and replaced them with nasty heavy things... (although a few of their business oriented ones are pretty nice, unfortunately AFAIK they are more expensive again).
etc. etc.

So there are plenty of legitimate reasons for using a macbook with windows, afterall they are just laptops with different software. Bit like buying a laptop with windows on and installing Linux or linux and installing windows. Tools to get a job done rather than lifestyle choices...

 

[Oblivion]

I hate them because i spent £3k on product with them, and they were all sub standard with things like backlight bleed, yellow screens etc, so sent them back, got a refund and spent my money elsewhere. Their Qaulity Control has gone downhill big time. The staff in their stores are arrogant to boot and also people who own their stuff generally (notice how i said "generally" there before you flame) know jack about computers and think because it has an Apple logo on it its the best thing since sliced bread. I also don't like how they claim to have invented everything themselves, when its been around on PC for years... Plus their stupid product cycle geared towards getting you to rebuy everything after a year or two and also when you buy one of thier PC's hardly anything is user serviceable... There are probably more reasons why i hate them, but i can already feel my blood pressure rising so will stop now...

 

[bhavv]

Wrong. What device did HTC or Samsung have out this time last year that was 'far better' than the iPhone 4?

I cant remember exactly what phones were out at the time by model name, but I think it was either the HTC Evo or Desire HD that I wanted over an I Phone 4, but they were all too expensive on my contract so I didnt get any.

Also none of the I Phones were ever available for me to upgrade to without having to change my tariff to something incredibly more expensive with no more 10 Gb download limit and tethering, so I couldnt do that.

I would also have needed to jailbreak an I Phone when it was first released to use it with my simcard as my network was not supported by it. That isnt the case anymore, but I still couldnt ever get one on my tariff.

They dont, but people like you assume they do - love to meet more of these 'average Apple fans' though, they sound a hoot. The average serial killer kills more than 1 person you know ...

No one hates Apple so much, but people like you assume they do. The average rapist rapes more than one person you know ...

 

[Robbo]

I cant remember exactly what phones were out at the time by model name, but I think it was either the HTC Evo or Desire HD that I wanted over an I Phone 4, but they were all too expensive on my contract so I didnt get any.

I'll answer the question for you then, roughly speaking, there weren't any. The EVO was US only anyway.

Also none of the I Phones were ever available for me to upgrade to without having to change my tariff to something incredibly more expensive with no more 10 Gb download limit and tethering, so I couldnt do that.

10GB? I think you mean 1GB

I would also have needed to jailbreak an I Phone when it was first released to use it with my simcard as my network was not supported by it. That isnt the case anymore, but I still couldnt ever get one on my tariff.

Are you sure? Surely an unlocked one supports all networks? I've never heard of that.

 

[bhavv]

10GB? I think you mean 1GB

I have 10 Gb download limit with unlimited tethering and skype use. My contract is absoultely not allowed to be upgraded to an I Phone 4 unless I change it to a 'stupid derp' contract.

When it ends in February, I will be canceling it for 3's 'All you can eat data' sim free plans. I could buy a sim free I Phone 4, but I want a phone mainly for mobile broadband and tethering as it is consistently better than my normal broadband where I live.

Are you sure? Surely an unlocked one supports all networks? I've never heard of that.

You can do that now, but I meant when the I Phone first came out, it couldnt be bought unlocked or used with my T Mobile sim.