Recently, as a gift for my 15th Birthday, my dad bought me the Mac I was waiting to get for a prolonged time, as I am an Apple enthusiast. I have spent a week with the awesome MacBook Pro 2017 and thought of comparing it with my previous experience with the HP ENVY X360 2016. I will not compare the two laptops much, however, I will mostly compare my experiences with both the Operating Systems.
Hardware – Mac vs PC
The hardware on any PC is always good, with a few backlit(not all) spongy keyboard, medium sized trackpads, beautiful displays, some versatility with tablets/ convertibles and the numerous ports. However, on a Mac, you’re getting none of that; it’s completely different. With the latest Mac’s, you will be offered a brightly backlit butterfly mechanism(more precise and comfortable) keyboard, gigantic force-touch trackpad, stunning bright and high contrast Retina display, simply the best speakers and USB-C ports.
With my HP ENVY X360, I loved my experience and never had any issues with the acceptable 215 nits display which is not perfect for outdoors. I enjoyed the versatility with the touchscreen and 360° hinges that enabled me to enjoy films in movie mode, create artistic work and play games with the touchscreen. The speakers too were a great experience that never disappointed me.
When this compares with my new MacBook, I must say, I received a much better experience for the money. I got a stunning 500 nits Retina display with the best contrast delivering a vivid colour experience. In addition, the speakers in the Mac just outvote any other speakers with the loud bass and clear sound; I must say I was particularly impressed in this field. Although the Mac isn’t touchscreen or fully bendable, I never needed the features for the purpose the Mac was purchased – education. The significantly remarkable aspects though, were the stunning display and audio.
I was given an enhanced experience with the new technologies I was using with the MacBook – trackpad and keyboard. The first week that I used the Mac, I tried to type as much as I could to understand the keyboard. I have gathered that the keyboard is much more comfortable and precise to type than my previous experience due to the new Butterfly Mechanism.
I must include that with Mac’s, I have never had to use as many shortcuts in Windows; there are so many shortcuts on Macs, and they’re all so useful. With the awesome full size keyboard, I am absolutely obsessive with typing on the Mac now, a week after the purchase.
User Interface
I have used Windows until the age of 15, so I have been accustomed to the features and processes in the operating system. After I moved to the Mac, it took some time to familiarise with all the processes. After some familiarity, I found MacOS so simple and accessible because of the design of the operating system. In MacOS, the handiest shortcuts, gestures, simple organisation and responsiveness makes the design a first-class experience for the users. Not to blame Windows!
With Windows, I found myself taking more time to access and update anything. Both the operating systems have similar customisability. I heard from a lot of my friends, “Windows is more customisable.” MacOS is equally customisable in my opinion; I was personally surprised with the options after using MacOS.
For example, in Windows, if you press the Windows Key and hover to the bottom right of the screen, you can search for files and it usually takes about a second or two to load your search. In MacOS, you hit COMMAND + SPACE and Spotlight search instantly gives your search results.
Windows does take the lead in speed; with Macs there are generally a lot of animations causing some delays in application launches. Contrastingly, with Windows, there is trivial animation and more performance making app-launches quicker. Additionally, in Windows, the range of options are wider. In whatever you take, battery for example, the range of options are more broad in Windows than MacOS.
Security
When it comes to security on Windows, yes there is some security with the Windows 10 Creators update including file encryption and ransomeware protection. Unfortunately, you will still need anti virus though because Windows doesn’t offer a complete built-in security. On the plus side of things, the antivirus is not very expensive nowadays; not a big worry.
On a Mac you are ensured with anti-malware(software security), anti-phishing(online security), file encryption, plug-in update checker(online security) and Apple blocks the software that hasn’t been digitally approved by them. This makes the necessity of an anti-virus minimal making the Mac a generally more secure operating system.
Device Integration
Apple have a wide range of compatible devices for the Mac, enhancing the potential of portability, accessibility and simplicity. When your Mac knows the other Apple devices you own, it’s truly a great experience to be able to stay connected to your documents and data. Unfortunately with Windows, this is poor. Connectivity with other devices is useless and time-consuming too on Windows. I rarely connected any of my devices with Windows; more importantly, I was left with little options to choose from.
With my Mac, I have an iPod, iPad and an iPhone connected making my documents and photos accessible anywhere. The way the different Apple operating systems play together is so intuitive and I am fond of accessing things from other devices. Minor things like copying text from an iPhone and pasting it on a Mac is what makes everything so seamless on the device integration in MacOS.
Voice Assistants
Apple’s update to Sierra was mainly for the initiation of Siri to MacOS. With this additional feature that has helped me quit a bit, I must say Sierra was worth the upgrade. Same goes with Cortana on Windows 10; I had a great experience with both the assistants.
When it comes to the differences, I recognised that Cortana would take longer and predominantly produce internet results for the request compared to Siri which was slightly quicker and got the job done. Other than this, both of them are equally customisable and capable in my opinion, with cool jokes, schedules, music, weather and document searches. We can call this one a tie for the two contenders.
Updates
Both MacOS and Windows feature regular updates however, Mac’s get frequent minor upgrades and major updates once a year, usually in the Autumn. Windows targets for featured updates therefore have some minor updates and regular major updates. In my opinion I think the MacOS has more justified updates with effectiveness in the update; time taken for the update is less on a Mac too. Based on my opinion, I will stick with the Mac as the winner of this feature.
Extras
Although Apple hyped the VR and AR capabilities of Macs in High Sierra with the new Metal 2 that will increase the GPU performance, Windows has an awesome Mixed Reality Lab built-in to Windows 10.
It features a broad range of connectivity with VR headsets and also entertains you without a headset. The new Windows mixed Reality Viewer lets you use any device with AR or VR that has a camera. The range of options here makes Windows the leader in this field.
Price(OS)
MacOS is a free upgrade for any Mac user and it is available for its lifetime. You can install this operating system for free in the App Store under 30 minutes for a more elevated Sierra. It costs nothing, for its entire lifetime.
Windows 10 has multiple versions including Home and Pro which can be purchased at different costs. Until 2016, it was a free upgrade however, now it will cost over $100 for everyone to get the OS.
Ultimately, MacOS takes the lead in this aspect however the price of Macs themselves obviously does pay up, therefore we can call this too, a tie.
Verdict
Windows is an awesome operating system with cool customisability, a snappy user interface, average built-in security, poor device integration, futuristic extra features for flexibility and regular updates with paid major updates.
With a week of experience, Mac’s the way forward for me because of the slick user interface, risk-less security, broad device integration, some useful extra features and free regular updates.
Ultimately, it’s your choice, depending on the platform that you’re currently on, to move or stay with your operating system. This blog is not a deciding factor but only information for your choice. Enjoy your OS and if you’re Linux, well that’s a completely different story…
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