There are plenty of great Windows laptops available on the market. And while I have used Windows regularly for nearly two decades now, I won’t give up on my MacBook for a Windows laptop. Here’s why.
1Premium and Reliable Build
All Apple products, including MacBooks, have always been known for their premium build quality. I’ve been using MacBooks since 2012, and they’ve all lasted for years without any loose hinges or other issues. The trackpad is also exceptional, with its large size and glass surface making it effortless to use.
My 2015 Retina MacBook Pro is still going strong, even though I haven’t taken any extra precautions to protect it from drops and scratches. But that doesn’t mean Apple is perfect, though. The 2015-2019 MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar had major reliability concerns, especially with the keyboard. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Apple silicon MacBooks.
Admittedly, high-end Windows laptops have stepped up their game in recent years, with some even shipping with premium carbon fiber chassis. They are much more reliable than before, easily able to withstand the dings and scuffs of daily use.
2International Warranty
One of the advantages of owning a MacBook, or any Apple device, is the international warranty. So, I can buy a MacBook from the US and still get it repaired or even replaced under warranty in India or any other country. This is especially useful if you travel frequently.
Earlier in 2024, I had to get my M1 Pro MacBook Pro’s keyboard replaced as the space bar stopped working. It happened right at the beginning of my month-long Europe trip. Despite purchasing the unit from India, the Apple Store in Spain replaced my MacBook Pro’s faulty keyboard in a day.
Although other laptop manufacturers like Dell and Lenovo offer international warranties for their Windows laptops, they’re limited to specific models and markets. Some brands may even ask for the purchase bill to honor your warranty. This is not the case with Apple, as it can check your system’s warranty status through its serial number.
Apple’s standard one-year warranty on MacBooks applies worldwide. Similarly, AppleCare+ protection covers the device worldwide and is not limited to the country of purchase.
3A Stable macOS Experience
After years of using MacBooks and Windows laptops, I found macOS to provide a more stable experience. Apple’s software team might fumble now and then, with a weird bug slipping from their testing, but the experience is still better than that of Windows.
Microsoft has upped its game in this area, especially with Windows 11. But occasionally, I would run into a weird bug or performance issue on a high-end Dell XPS or Surface laptop. Thankfully, a quick restart fixes the problem in most cases, with some weird bugs requiring an update from Microsoft or the laptop manufacturer to resolve the issue.
None of this takes into account the various driver issues I typically encounter when plugging in a printer or a new device to my Windows laptop. In comparison, I rarely restart or even shut down my MacBook. And yet, it still performs the same without any signs of slowdown or lag.
4All-Day Battery Life
I’ve used several MacBooks and Windows laptops over the last decade, and the former has always stood out for its amazing battery life. Even with Intel CPUs, Apple’s MacBooks lasted notably longer than its Windows competitors. And after switching to Apple silicon chips in late 2020, it is a different story altogether.
Even after two years of regular use, the battery life of my 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip amazes me. It can last all day, even when connected to an external monitor and running several apps simultaneously, including Google Chrome with tens of tabs.
Recent Windows laptops, especially the ones powered by Qualcomm’s ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips, deliver even better battery life than MacBooks. The 16-inch MacBook Pro offers the best battery life of all MacBooks. And regardless of which model you pick, it will easily last all day. That’s not the case currently with Windows laptops.
Another aspect where MacBooks stand out is their charging brick. Even the 16-inch MacBook Pro’s 140W charging brick is relatively compact and light, making it easy to carry around. That’s not the case with most high-end Windows laptops, which ship with big, bulky power adapters.
5Excellent Speakers and Microphones
If there’s one area where MacBooks are unmatched, it’s the speaker setup. Whenever I use my 16-inch MacBook Pro to listen to music or watch movies, I’m blown away by its quality.
Despite the relatively compact form factor, its speakers can fill a room with sound without distortion, rivaling many portable Bluetooth speakers. It’s the same with even the smaller and lighter 13-inch or 15-inch MacBook Air.
Some Windows laptops pack an equally impressive sound system, but unlike MacBooks, they falter in other areas. You might think good speakers don’t matter on a laptop, but once you experience the sound quality of a MacBook’s speakers, there’s no going back.
Similarly, MacBooks feature an excellent microphone array that can capture crystal-clear audio. The Pro models feature three studio-quality mics for even superior audio recording quality.
You might think such a microphone setup on a laptop is overkill, but it can be handy in a pinch. Plus, in this day and age of remote work, having a laptop with a great microphone is almost a necessity. While Windows laptops have made progress in this area, only a few can truly compete with MacBooks.
6Decent Webcam
Virtual meetings and video calls have become a lot more common in today’s post-COVID world, so it’s important for a laptop not to skimp on the webcam. A MacBook’s webcam may not match the quality of your smartphone’s front camera, but the results are still much better than what many Windows laptops offered just a few years ago.
The solid webcam performance of MacBooks isn’t solely due to the 1080p sensor; it’s also thanks to Apple’s dedicated processing pipeline, which further enhances video quality. Although Windows laptops sport a decent webcam these days, they fall short with their processing, as macOS better utilizes the hardware to its full potential.
MacBooks have their own drawbacks, like high price tags and limited customization options. Adding extra storage or RAM while purchasing a new MacBook is also exorbitantly expensive, unlike modern Windows laptops. Yet, I’d prefer using a MacBook as my daily driver, as the pros outweigh the cons.
