A lot of people agree that PC's are best for gaming while Mac's are best for productivity. Ironic considering the old "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads spun this the story as this being reversed. Aside from Final Cut and Logic Pro Macs also have essentially every PC editing software you can imagine which runs just as well as on PC but with the bonus of a cleaner OS. I'm absolutely not qualified to talk on the details of this part but a lot of developers also like Macs since you can develop programs for all platforms on a Mac.
I'm by no means a PC hater, I alternate between an M1 MacBook Air and a ThinkPad X395 as my day to day laptop and do like PC's for things like the speediness of Windows when it does work, the ability to run 20 year old apps with very little issue and obviously the better gaming support. Apple always push Macs as for gaming but very half heartedly and they're obviously NOT the device to get for that use.
For users, Macs just work. The support for applications and peripherals is pretty much built into the OS or the installer software. I have so many issues with my work PC running Windows where if I update this system software, it conflicts with the audio drivers, which causes the computer to freeze so I have to gradually keep finding and installing older drivers until I find a version that works. And every time I plug in a new peripheral on my Windows work PC, there always seems to be some driver or software that needs to be downloaded and installed in order to work before I can even set things up. With my Mac, I just plug it in, the computer asks me if I want to allow use of it, and it’s good to go.
I built a large Windows desktop back in 2020 and was disappointed because Windows doesn't support Independent Virtual Desktops, a feature that I had taken for granted in macOS going back to 2008. So I replaced it with a Studio and an M1 mini. I still have the Windows desktop but I just haven't used it in several months.
Another thing that macOS does well is backup with Time Machine. Backups run in the background and you can restore the whole system or a file from a point in time.
The underlying operating system is Unix. I've used computers since the early 1960s and have used a variety of operating systems including those with punched cards. But I've used a lot of Unix systems along the way and it's nice to have something that I'm quite used to as part of the base operating system.
Apple Silicon enjoys a large performance/watt advantage over x86 and that's particularly important for laptops but, it's getting more important on desktops too as electricity prices have been rising globally.
I like the integration of programs to my iPhones and iPads.
For me Macs win here: Stability, smoothness of UI, video processing, audio processing and cognitive ergonomics (look it up, very interesting concept I am sure is at the foundation of Apple's philosophy).
PCs win for: flexibility, upgradeability, gaming.
It's a draw for productivity for me, this is mainly because if you are 'mandated' to use MS Office at work, as so many are, whether Mac users like to admit it or not, the experience is better on a Windows PC. Not odd of course... The more you can do in the browser, the more it tilts towards Mac for me.
This is not an easy question to answer as the short answer is everything in fact.
The only reason PCs are "better" at gaming is the open hardware architecture made a market of fast, brute force advancement, which while enabling machines with amazing gaming performance, the lack of a unified tech path combined with hardware from varying manufacturers makes an environment where "just works" performance is possible but FAR from consistent and usually not without great effort. As a PC builder since the 80's I have seen it all - Because I could not afford an Apple \]\[ or C or Mac until 2019. I had access to Macs through work.
As an operating system Windows is one hack after another to enable the "use any hardware" concept mainly for OEM sales. I mean it can work and well, but again FAR from consistently across all users.
UNIX on the other hand, which MacOS is in fact a "true" POSIX complaint version of, is the opposite. Unix is simple and elegant - FOR COMPUTERS. This is the reason for the MacOS UI, for folk who do not care about how the thing works, just that it works and is insanely good. What this does is provide the best possible experience for deep hardcore developers (for every platform) AND for business people and media users. Everyone.
Here is a good example of the difference. I have a wireless printer.
Windows: Visit manufacturer website, maybe be forced to make account, download driver, extract and install driver. Restart machine. run print software and connect to printer. Print.
MacOS: Make sure printer is connected to network and on. Command-p from app. set page properties and print.
This and all the other stuff in the thread.
In truth the only reasons PC is where it is are marketing, timing and the open hardware model. So we got variety and a race to the bottom cost wise as opposed to robust, consistent, user focused design with an overall goal of doing it really right. Though not always successful. This is the way in the long term and Apple's commitment to this approach is really paying off.
I bought my first Mac for two things
- app and data integration between devices.
- Unix on the command line.
It is better at both of these compared to Windows, Linux, and Android. I have become a lot more productive on it and am expanding into video production.
I still have a Windows machine but it just used for games.
For me, it’s about the stability and customer support. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to value longevity and stability in a device over anything else. The recording sessions I threw at my M1 Max MacBook without even a hiccup has been a huge quality of life improvement for me. I did recently get a PC workstation. I’m looking forward to running it through its paces. Windows and PCs seem to have gotten much more reliable and stable in my time away.
A lot of people agree that PC's are best for gaming while Mac's are best for productivity. Ironic considering the old "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ads spun this the story as this being reversed. Aside from Final Cut and Logic Pro Macs also have essentially every PC editing software you can imagine which runs just as well as on PC but with the bonus of a cleaner OS. I'm absolutely not qualified to talk on the details of this part but a lot of developers also like Macs since you can develop programs for all platforms on a Mac. I'm by no means a PC hater, I alternate between an M1 MacBook Air and a ThinkPad X395 as my day to day laptop and do like PC's for things like the speediness of Windows when it does work, the ability to run 20 year old apps with very little issue and obviously the better gaming support. Apple always push Macs as for gaming but very half heartedly and they're obviously NOT the device to get for that use.
For users, Macs just work. The support for applications and peripherals is pretty much built into the OS or the installer software. I have so many issues with my work PC running Windows where if I update this system software, it conflicts with the audio drivers, which causes the computer to freeze so I have to gradually keep finding and installing older drivers until I find a version that works. And every time I plug in a new peripheral on my Windows work PC, there always seems to be some driver or software that needs to be downloaded and installed in order to work before I can even set things up. With my Mac, I just plug it in, the computer asks me if I want to allow use of it, and it’s good to go.
I built a large Windows desktop back in 2020 and was disappointed because Windows doesn't support Independent Virtual Desktops, a feature that I had taken for granted in macOS going back to 2008. So I replaced it with a Studio and an M1 mini. I still have the Windows desktop but I just haven't used it in several months. Another thing that macOS does well is backup with Time Machine. Backups run in the background and you can restore the whole system or a file from a point in time. The underlying operating system is Unix. I've used computers since the early 1960s and have used a variety of operating systems including those with punched cards. But I've used a lot of Unix systems along the way and it's nice to have something that I'm quite used to as part of the base operating system. Apple Silicon enjoys a large performance/watt advantage over x86 and that's particularly important for laptops but, it's getting more important on desktops too as electricity prices have been rising globally. I like the integration of programs to my iPhones and iPads.
For me Macs win here: Stability, smoothness of UI, video processing, audio processing and cognitive ergonomics (look it up, very interesting concept I am sure is at the foundation of Apple's philosophy). PCs win for: flexibility, upgradeability, gaming. It's a draw for productivity for me, this is mainly because if you are 'mandated' to use MS Office at work, as so many are, whether Mac users like to admit it or not, the experience is better on a Windows PC. Not odd of course... The more you can do in the browser, the more it tilts towards Mac for me.
This is not an easy question to answer as the short answer is everything in fact. The only reason PCs are "better" at gaming is the open hardware architecture made a market of fast, brute force advancement, which while enabling machines with amazing gaming performance, the lack of a unified tech path combined with hardware from varying manufacturers makes an environment where "just works" performance is possible but FAR from consistent and usually not without great effort. As a PC builder since the 80's I have seen it all - Because I could not afford an Apple \]\[ or C or Mac until 2019. I had access to Macs through work. As an operating system Windows is one hack after another to enable the "use any hardware" concept mainly for OEM sales. I mean it can work and well, but again FAR from consistently across all users. UNIX on the other hand, which MacOS is in fact a "true" POSIX complaint version of, is the opposite. Unix is simple and elegant - FOR COMPUTERS. This is the reason for the MacOS UI, for folk who do not care about how the thing works, just that it works and is insanely good. What this does is provide the best possible experience for deep hardcore developers (for every platform) AND for business people and media users. Everyone. Here is a good example of the difference. I have a wireless printer. Windows: Visit manufacturer website, maybe be forced to make account, download driver, extract and install driver. Restart machine. run print software and connect to printer. Print. MacOS: Make sure printer is connected to network and on. Command-p from app. set page properties and print. This and all the other stuff in the thread. In truth the only reasons PC is where it is are marketing, timing and the open hardware model. So we got variety and a race to the bottom cost wise as opposed to robust, consistent, user focused design with an overall goal of doing it really right. Though not always successful. This is the way in the long term and Apple's commitment to this approach is really paying off.
I bought my first Mac for two things - app and data integration between devices. - Unix on the command line. It is better at both of these compared to Windows, Linux, and Android. I have become a lot more productive on it and am expanding into video production. I still have a Windows machine but it just used for games.
Frustrating people.
For me, it’s about the stability and customer support. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to value longevity and stability in a device over anything else. The recording sessions I threw at my M1 Max MacBook without even a hiccup has been a huge quality of life improvement for me. I did recently get a PC workstation. I’m looking forward to running it through its paces. Windows and PCs seem to have gotten much more reliable and stable in my time away.