Ask HN: MacBooks seems to be the only viable option these days

I've used ThinkPads all the way from the IBM days and those good old solid Dell computers too.

Recently, I decided it was time for an update. I use Linux on the often so it was important for me to purchase a laptop that was compatible.

I bought 2 laptops, all of which I had to return in the last 2 months.

1. Dell XPS: I spent over 20+ hours with their support going back and forth. I also had a tech come to my house to replace my motherboard before I gave up and demanded a return

2. Lenovo Carbon X1: The laptop came with a faulty keyboard so I just returned it because I didn't want to wait 30 days for a mail-in repair or drive 2 hours to go to a "local" repair shop. They also made me order the laptop 3 times because their system kept cancelling it for whatever reason so it took an insane amount of time to just purchase the laptop (I spent ~6 hours to just purchase the laptop)

Maybe I'm just unlucky but the time I spent and energy I spent to just purchase these laptops shows you why people buy from Apple instead. I strongly dislike MacOS because they force the "apple way" of doing things. But it seems to be the only option these days to buy a computer with ease and get a computer "that just works". My Macbook was more expensive but the time I saved outweighs the price imo.

I've bought hundreds of Dell desktops, laptops, servers, etc., over the last 15 years. Rarely have I had any issues.

I recently was in the market for a laptop for personal use, and wanted to spend around $1200-1400 USD for a Windows based machine. All I wanted was a decently powerful CPU, higher resolution screen, and a thin and light body. I simply couldn't get past the fact that most laptops in that price range are gaming focused, and have non-user replaceable components. They also tend to have plastic bodies and most I saw were running Windows 11. I got turned off by the PC market pretty quick.

I ultimately decided to get a new Macbook Pro 14in (on sale for $1750) and have 0 regrets so far.

I bought 30 Lenovo and Dell laptops for new starters at our business and have definitely found that, over the last two years, both present more issues than I would have expected from either. We've stopped buying Lenovo because of the problems our users were having, sticking with Dell and trying to weather the issues.

XPS is prosumer grade at best. You need a Precision or Latitude product (preferably a Latitude 7xxx) to get a quality product.