After 35 Years With Apple, I’m Thinking About Switching to Samsung

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Scaling Apple and Windows.

My first job, back in the early 1990s, was as an Apple technician. On my first day, someone handed me a Macintosh—an IIci, I think, with a Motorola 68030—and basically left me alone with it. No manual, no training, no instructions. I spent three days poking around and figuring things out on my own.


Apple IIci
*Macintosh IIci from Wikipedia*

That was the whole point of the Macintosh: a computer intuitive enough that anyone could use it without a manual. And it worked. I was proof of it.
That experience shaped everything that came after. Palm Pilot, then BlackBerry, then the first iPhone in 2007. I never looked back. My whole family went the same way. iPhone, iPads, MacBook Pros—they've been our devices of choice for more than twenty years.

Where the Cracks Started.

But now, in 2026, I'm seriously considering a Samsung phone for the first time. I know switching won't be painless. Moving twenty years of data to a different ecosystem is a pain no matter how you do it. Still, this is the first time I've really felt that Apple isn't quite what it used to be.

Apple's big advantages used to be the interface. It was so intuitive that things just made sense. What you saw was basically what you got.

Windows has caught up. It's much easier to move data between Windows devices now, and honestly, Windows machines are everywhere around me. The old reason for putting up with Apple's closed-off compatibility just isn't as compelling as it used to be.

Ever since Steve Jobs died, there's been a steady stream of talk about Apple losing its edge—slower innovation, worse service, questionable build quality. After hearing the same things for years, you start wondering how much of it is actually true.

I try to be fair about it, though. In 1990, a computer you could figure out in three days without a manual was pretty remarkable. Today, that's just expected. Pretty much every operating system works that way now. So maybe Apple hasn't really fallen behind. Maybe everyone else finally caught up to the standard Apple set decades ago.

Still, some of the problems I've run into as a technician lately feel like more than just competition catching up. Some of it looks like Apple has deliberately changed the way it does business.

What I've Seen as a Technician

I spent about twenty years repairing both Apple and Windows machines, and for most of the time I preferred Apple. Macs were easier to use, and they seemed to break down less often. Windows users, meanwhile, were always complaining about forced updates and crashes. Apple had a real advantage there.

Not anymore

Apple has a habit of cutting older devices off from new versions of its operating systems. Once that happens, software that depends on the newer OS can stop working, and eventually the updates stop coming altogether. I've seen it affect basic things like Safari and Google.

Windows, on the other hand, tends to keep older hardware useful for much longer. It's hard not to wonder whether Apple's approach is partly about getting people to buy new devices.

The performance gap has changed too. Spill water on a MacBook and there's a better chance you can dry it out, repair what's damaged, and keep using it.

Apple also solders memory to the motherboard on many of its machines, which means you can't upgrade it later. There are still plenty of Windows machines where you can.

And Windows hardware has gotten seriously good. If you're running something like SolidWorks or AutoCAD, a Windows machine can absolutely outperform a Mac in some configurations.

What's Left

My next phone will probably be a Samsung, and my wife will likely follow. 

What people actually want isn't brand loyalty. They want their devices to work together without a bunch of friction.

Apple and Samsung are obviously different companies, but Samsung phones and Windows laptops have been working together for years now. Files, notifications, messages—a lot of it moves between devices pretty easily.

Apple's ecosystem is still tightly integrated, of course. But it comes with a big catch: you have to stay inside Apple's walls. The seamless experience Apple used to have almost to itself is no longer unique to Apple. You can get a pretty similar experience with Windows and Android now.

Apple has had an incredible run, and I'll always have a lot of respect for what it accomplished. It was a company that made computing approachable enough that someone could pick up a computer, start clicking around, and actually figure it out.

I was one of those people.

But I think it might be time for another platform to take the lead.

What's your next phone?

*If you liked this story, you can check out How to Overcome Interview Anxiety: Practice with an AI Persona

* The top image was created by Nano Banana.





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