How Apple is #!@$ing Web Developers
I ‘m sure you’ve noticed at all the conferences, talks and coffee shops that the Apple logo prominently reigns supreme among us Web Developers. Heck I’m even sure that most of you reading this probably have one of those logos on the back of your laptop. When I started out in this field I always wondered why, but now having worked in Web Development for over four years I am starting to understand.
Why is Apple so dominant?
Controlling both the hardware and software Apple has the ability to create an extremely fine tuned ecosystem for its users. Not only do their devices work well together but the software that is written for Mac/iOS is usually better optimized than it’s Windows/Android counterparts. Specifically for developers it can offer an interesting hybrid experience with a very well refined GUI and an extremely powerful CLI, since it’s based on Linux. I can personally see these advantages when using my MacBook.
The more nuanced and honestly…shady techniques Apple uses to gain dominance is the reason I’m writing this article. As someone that has used Windows all his life and vowed to not buy a MacBook, I quickly ate my words when I started working in Web Development. As soon as we (Digital Dynasty Design) got a contract that involving creating a multi-platform application from a HTML5 codebase, there was no choice. Even if we don’t have to write any Swift code, just too compile an iOS app you need Xcode, which is the MacOS code editor for creating iOS and MacOS apps. So what do I do? Say no to a lucrative project just because I don’t like Macs? Of course not. Instead we purchased an old 2011 13" MacBook pro and had it setup to just compile iOS apps with Xcode and Apache Cordova. The problem was that when I traveled for business I’d have to carry two laptops with me. This is the crux of the matter, at this point I felt like I had no choice. I can do almost 90% of my work in Windows but for that last 10%, compiling, I had to have a Mac. I think this is why when we look around we see the majority of us web developers coding on MacBooks, because when choosing one device, the smart option is to not close any doors. Everything that I could do in Windows, can be done on a Mac as well, but not the other way around.
Heres a list of what I couldn’t do on my Windows 10 machine:
- Test Safari browsers for compatibility issues
- Debug in Safari
- Debug iOS device mobile browsers
- Compile/Debug a HTML5 Web App to iOS
The list isn’t extensive but without those capabilities I wouldn’t have had 50% of the billable work I’ve done. My wish is that Apple not lock us out from using different operating systems, let people code for your platform on Linux and Windows, it would open up a larger ecosystem of apps for your users. Not everyone can afford a Mac and Apple is blocking lots of talented developers from their ecosystem just with their pricing model. I don’t know about you but I don’t like being locked into any ecosystem.
Whats so wrong about switching to a MacBook?
As of writing this, in the middle of 2019, what’s so wrong about just saying screw it and buying a MacBook? If any of you have gone through this process recently I’m sure you’ve experienced something similar to me. There are no good choices…
Yes that’s right, even if money was no issue (which it obviously is) there just isn’t a single good MacBook that Apple sells. They all have problems, and mostly the same ones.
- Displays can randomly stop working due to a faulty cable (source)
- Keyboards can get multiple key malfunctions. Either keystrokes not registering or registering multiple types per stroke (source)
- Touch bars can freeze up (source)
Imagine traveling for work and having your keyboard stop working, or your display just shut off. These are serious issues that can effect your company’s/your own bottom lines. Even if we consider Apple’s great customer service, you’d have to give up your computer for a couple of days with each of these issues for the Genius bar to fix it. In my opinion this makes MacBooks a deal breaker. Constantly worrying about an issue popping up that just seems inevitable at this point.
With this being the state of MacBooks in 2019, how is everyone else dealing with this? Let me know in the comments if you have a solution.
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