A Hypothetical: Would you prefer Apple abandon computers or mobile devices, if forced to choose?

[Tozovac]

This is a poll. If forced, would you pick Apple to abandon computers or mobile devices, under a hypothetical situation?

A recent thread questioning what seems like more hype over the upcoming MacBook event than the recent iPhone event made me curious about something.

I have my own reasons why the October Mac event might be more hyped up than the iPhone event (LINK), but if aliens descended to earth and were going to decide if Apple was to remain only a computer company or mobile device company, which would I choose?

Restated, if forced, would I prefer still having iPhone/iPads but have to eventually go back to Windows/PCs, or would I prefer having MacBooks/Mac Minis/iMacs/Mac Pros and be required to eventually step over to an Android or flip phone or other device.

Let’s assume that either way, they still offer Apple TV, headphones/AirPods, etc.

I’m curious how others feel.

I realize the poll question and answers could be interpreted in two ways, which would you pick to keep or which would you pick to be abandoned. ugh.

The poll is: Which would you pick to be abandoned?

 

[Feyl]

I'd pick mobile devices because there's plenty of pretty good alternatives. But computers? There's no way I'm gonna use Windows as a daily driver ever again.

 

[Madhatter32]

Apple is mostly a mobile device company (i.e., the iPhone) these days. Personally, though, I would rather use an Android phone than a Windows computer -- although either would not be the end of the world. The reason is that I use my computer for important work stuff and my phone for mostly talking to people and checking messages.

 

[Juicy Box]

if Apple was to remain only a computer company or mobile device company, which would I choose?

I would want Apple to stick with their Macs, and abandon the iPhones.

When it comes to iPhones, I like them at best, but I love my Macs.

I said this in another thread recently, that there are trade offs when choosing to use a particular Apple device for a particular scenario.

For me, I have the best productivity (work, games, entertainment, paying bills, etc.) with my Macs, but my iPhone is best for convenience and portability.

For productivity:
Desktop Macs>Mac Laptops>iPad>iPhone>Apple Watch

For convenience and portability:
Desktop Macs<Mac Laptops<iPad<iPhone<Apple Watch

The poll is: Which would you pick to be abandoned?

You should put this up at the top, as I am sure some people will miss this.

 

[Tozovac]

You should put this up at the top, as I am sure some people will miss this.

Good call, I revised the title.

You and I think alike, regarding thoughts on priorities for productivity vs. portability (or taking in content vs. productivity). Macs and iphones/iPads shine in completely different ways, which is why it irks me so to see Apple trying to make the operating systems more and more alike. It may sound good on paper (and like a great design challenge for bored designers or Apple Marketing folk who need the satisfaction of something to tweak) but some things are best left optimized to be different. Working with a keyboard, mouse, and large monitor is a totally different workflow than working with a tablet/phone and your fingers.

I realize thinking things like “it’s ok for men to be different than women, macs to be different than mobile devices, and chocolate to be different than peanut butter” can get me banished to the cornfield, but that’s how I feel, and no amount of dumbing-down of the Mac OS interface will ever get me to change that thought.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Neither. They're all computers, and I love that they all interrelate (eg. ecosystem). iPhone and iPad are an extension of Mac, Mac is an extension of iPhone and iPad. It's a far superior situation than the relationship between Android and either Windows, Mac, or Linux.

I don't see why Apple would ever be forced to make this particular choice.

 

[Tozovac]

Neither. They're all computers, and I love that they all interrelate (eg. ecosystem). iPhone and iPad are an extension of Mac, Mac is an extension of iPhone and iPad. It's a far superior situation than the relationship between Android and either Windows, Mac, or Linux.

I don't see why Apple would ever be forced to make this particular choice.

You’re missing the hypothetical point/aspect of this thread.



You’re also permitted to abstain.

 

[Juicy Box]

I don't see why Apple would ever be forced to make this particular choice.

I am pretty sure that no one ever thinks that they ever would, as it was just a hypothetical question from the OP.

My guess based off of the OP's post is that the OP wanted to see what type of devices are more important to the MR community and wondered what is up with all the Mac event hype.

 

[Tozovac]

I am pretty sure that no one ever thinks that they ever would, as it was just a hypothetical question from the OP.

My guess based off of the OP's post is that the OP wanted to see what type of devices are more important to the MR community and wondered what is up with all the Mac event hype.

That’s pretty much it. I feel the ”hype” for upcoming MacBooks is real, and deserved. MacBooks have been rather gimped for years, per my post here, so many like myself have put off upgrading for a looooong time, whether we feel like we need to, or want to, or a combination of both. And secondly, I think computers are more valued, generally, than mobile devices. If I were forced to choose whether the world could have desk/laptops or mobile smart phones/tablets, it’d be computers all the way. I can be productive and be entertained on a MacBook or desktop computer. I can be only so producive on a mobile device, despite its advantages as an entertainment and info-consuming device.

Conflicts certainly arise (to me) from Apple’s apparent fascination with dumbing down the computer OS more iOS-like.

 

[Jessica Lares]

I think the Mac hype is mainly because we're in the middle of an architecture switch and everyone has been waiting on the second iteration.

I say mobile because the iPhone and iPad can be pushed out of popularity at anytime by a cultural shift anyway.

 

[ruka.snow]

I can quite easily go without a phone of any kind or even a iPad. I wouldn't want to give up macOS on the other hand so if something has to go, I would hope it is the Mac peripherals.

 

[benwiggy]

Personally, I'd prefer Apple to concentrate on Macs, but the money says iPhones.

The current iPad Pro has the same CPU as the latest Macs. So if you're including iPads in 'mobile devices', then I'll keep the iPad.

iPadOS is likely to add more features from MacOS over time, so an iPad with an M1X, keyboard, is going to be pretty close to an MBA.

 

[Abazigal]

I would rather Apple drop the Mac line.

I have said it before that I feel that PCs are largely a dead-end product category. Conversely, there is so much potential with wearables, and its success is contingent on Apple having a strong smartphone user base.

If Apple were to focus only on selling Macs, this is really as far as they go. But with mobile and wearables, the sky’s the limit.

 

[Thirio2]

Since the business world runs on windows and that is what I grew up with, I can easily give up a Mac computer (I really prefer windows anyway, and when my MBP dies I probably won’t replace it). since the rest of the family is into iOS I would keep iPhone, iPad, and air pods.

 

[EdwardC]

I would have to say the Mac line as well. I use a HP workstation for work with AutoCAD and I just find the Mac platform clunky for this type of work. I have a M1 Mini sitting on top of the HP though and is what I am using right now. Obviously I would want both

 

[SRQrws]

Interesting hypothetical... My initial reaction was ditch the iPhones/iPads, but after giving it more thought, I voted to ditch the Macs. I use a Windows machine at my office and, aside from a few Microsoft annoyances with updates and notifications, it works fine for me. I use an iMac and MBA for home/travel. Recently I picked up a new Dell XPS 15 with Windows 11 to play around with, and the hardware and software are fine. Windows 11 will need a few iterations to smooth out some issues, but overall they're okay. I would miss the integration of my iOS devices (iPads, AW, ATVs, iPhone) with the vast array of apps, Apple Music, and iCloud more than I'd miss the Macs.

 

[Falhófnir]

It'd be quite painful but overall I think I could make Windows PC > iPad > iPhone work better than MacBook > ? > Android phone (especially given Macs don't play all that nicely with Android ).

I already have a version of the former (just with a Mac as well) and it works perfectly. In the latter case, I guess I'd have a Nokia with vanilla Android for a phone but really don't know for the tablet. Android tablets do nothing for me so it would probably be a smaller 13" laptop/convertible (like the XPS 13 or maybe the Surface Pro X).

I guess overall the iPad wins it for iOS devices as the alternatives are the ones I'd struggle the most with.

 

[Pakaku]

I like my Macs, but I don't really like where OSX is heading (even going as far as to still call it OSX). I would miss Apple less there when options like Linux already exist, and Apple was never a serious choice when it comes to PC gaming or building PCs either (besides Hackintosh)

Apple is the less evil option in the smartphone market (well, up to the point where CSAM stuff starts happening), so losing them there would be the bigger loss IMO if it meant only Google remains

 

[usagora]

Horrible choice to have to make, but without hesitation I'd rather they axe mobile devices than Macs.

 

[I7guy]

Axe the macs.