I am in a thick soup! The Mac Mini that I am using at home is a Late 2012 model that I purchased in 2014. It is not slow at all. Thanks to 10GB ofRAM and Samsung EVO850 SSD, the Mac Mini is faster than any brand new iMacs and Mac Minis available in stores. The problem at hand is that I need a portable computer, a notebook or a 2-in-1 device. I have never owned a laptop and I have only changed my desktop twice in 16 years (from Intel Pentium III assembled computer to AMD Athlon X2 powered computer to the Apple Mac Mini) and I hate upgrading the hardware or changing the whole computer.
Tablets strictly prohibited
I cannot buy a tablet for at least another 3 years. With newborn son at home, last thing I want is to get him addicted to YouTube and Angry Birds. I have seen how addicted kids will not eat anything until they are shown some videos on YouTube. I have seen how many kids are so addicted to games that when they say ‘Dad, I am going out to play’, they actually mean ‘Dad, as you do not let me use the tablet, I am going to friend’s place to play on his tablet’.
Even if I get a tablet, I still need to upgrade my desktop in near future. There is nothing that a tablet can do that a smartphone cannot do! However optimized those tablet apps are, they are still ‘mobile apps’.
Apple ecosystem – not so easy on the purse
When my friends said that the service that Apple provides and the reliability of Apple products is unmatched, I thought they were exaggerating. But when I experienced the service first hand, I did realize that they were telling the truth. While OS X El Capitan is not a match for Windows 10 (speed, functionality, features etc), the service was simply excellent. In two years of usage, there were no issues with the Mac Mini, except the slowness due to a 5400rpm drive (upgrade to SSD did fix it).The computer says absolutely silent, does not heat up and it can easily go on for another 3-4 years (Apple supports OS X El Capitan on 2009 Mac Mini).
One rather painful issue with the Apple ecosystem is the upgrade costs. If I was using my old desktop and wanted to upgrade to new laptop, I can get 5th generation Core i3 powered notebooks for as low as 30k. But with Apple, the minimum I have to pay for a notebook is 58,000/- INR. And even this gives me the MacBook Air that is two generations old, have very slow CPU and an average quality display. So, to get the hardware that suites my needs, I have to shell out 1,29,000/- INR. If I have to buy a Windows notebook that suits my needs, I only need to shell out some 45,000/- INR and that is a massive difference.
Similar issue arises in a year or two when I decide to upgrade the iPhone 6 at home. I have to shell out 60,000/- INR (64GB variant) for the phone and if I want to get a smartwatch that is fully compatible with the phone, it will cost another 40,000/- INR (minimum). This would mean that I have to shell out 2,00,000/- to 3,00,000/- once every three years if I want to be truly in Apple ecosystem. All this is possible only if I am fortunate enough to have no issues with phone or watch or MacBook. This absolute lack of flexibility over upgrade costs is what is giving me the goosebumps. The other option is to keep on getting two generations old hardware and do some upgrades (SSD, RAM etc) and I rather not go this way.
PC+Android ecosystem – great but unreliable
Compare this to Windows+Android ecosystem where I can get a very good Nexus phone for 25,000/- to 30,000/- INR, a smart watch for 15,000/- to 20,000/- INR and a powerful notebook for 40,000/- INR. But, service and support for these is average at best and these are no match to the reliability of Apple products. The Windows product that I fell head over heels is the Surface Pro 4 and it is only available on Amazon. I can buy a MacBook at a local Apple Store and have a face to face argument with the personnel if I get issues early on (something that will not happen if I get it on Amazon).
What to do?
Was moving to Apple ecosystem a big mistake? Why did I not foresee that upgrades in this ecosystem would break the wallet? Did I pick the wrong computer? What would’ve happened if I went with MacBook Pro instead of Mac Mini two years ago? Do I really need a premium computer when most of the work can be done on a midrange normal PC? Given how good the new 2-in-1s are, should I move back to Windows? What about the warranty and service? Is there any brand that can match Apple? Should I instead get the iPad Pro given that I already have an iPhone and a Mac Mini at home? Should I sell off my Mac Mini, display etc and get the MacBook Pro when 2016 models are announced?
There are the questions that are running in my mind. In the end, I may stick to Apple ecosystem for peace of mind. What do you say? Are you (Apple users) facing similar questions? Is there a ‘perfect’ solution for this problem? Are there any PC brands that offer exceptional service and reliable hardware?
There are some Windows’ based laptops that offer great support. Asus, Dell & Alienware come to my mind. Alienware is under Dell, so you can check them out in the physical Dell stores I guess. Moreover, Nexus 6P is a damn awesome phone. Going by the recent rave reviews of HTC One 10, I think that the next Nexus will be manufactured by HTC. And, if they do so, it will be around 5-inches which is great. You can buy both the laptop (Dell/Asus) and the mobile (HTC) at physical stores. You don’t need to sell your Mac Mini, that’s… Read more »
Tarun : Yeah. Not going to give up the desktop setup any time soon. Will wait it out for 2-in-1s to be mainstream and then take a decision whether to stick with apple ecosystem or to move away. I am not really impressed with Nexus 6 and Android needs regular optimization.