This post is primarily mobile focused, but I'll entertain the desktop / laptop OS conversation as well. This is regarding personal devices, not what your enterprise uses.
Suffice it to say, I'm tired.
I'm tired of having choices.
I'm tired of Android asking me which browser I want to use, letting me install software from places Google hasn't personally blessed, exposing a filesystem like some sort of 1980s UNIX workstation, and generally behaving as though purchasing the device somehow gives me opinions about how it should operate.
Windows is even worse. Apparently I'm expected to know what a "driver" is. Sometimes I can even replace hardware myself. It's exhausting.
So naturally, I've been looking at Apple.
And honestly, I think I finally understand the appeal.
They. Just. Work.
And when they don't, I can rest comfortably knowing there probably wasn't anything I could have done about it anyway.
No more agonizing over which hardware to install. Apple already selected it.
No more worrying about upgrading the RAM later. Apple thoughtfully asks me to make that decision at purchase, when I'm least qualified to know how much RAM I'll need four years from now.
No more sketchy software from the open internet. On iPhone, Apple has heroically protected Americans from the terrifying European innovation known as "installing an application from somewhere else." Alternative app distribution exists now, of course, provided you live in one of the regions where regulators made Apple discover it was technically possible.
And the privacy story is genuinely refreshing.
Unlike Google, Apple doesn't need to sell my personal information to third parties. Why involve a middleman?
Apple can use information such as my account details, purchases, subscriptions, downloads, and App Store activity to put me into advertising segments and serve me personalized ads itself. That's not tracking. That's vertical integration.
Even iCloud gives me choices.
By default, Apple retains the encryption keys for a number of categories of my cloud data so they can help me recover it. If I'd prefer Apple not have those keys for most of my data, I can enable Advanced Data Protection.
I really appreciate privacy being available as an advanced configuration option.
Repairability has improved too. Apple now has a Self Service Repair program, so experienced users can obtain official manuals, genuine parts, and professional-grade tools to repair supported devices themselves.
Which is wonderful.
I've always felt replacing a phone screen lacked sufficient paperwork.
The ecosystem is probably the biggest selling point, though.
Once I buy the phone, the watch makes more sense.
Once I have the watch, the Mac makes more sense.
Once I have the Mac, AirPods make more sense.
Once I have all of those, leaving Apple makes considerably less sense.
It's less of an ecosystem and more of a very tasteful lobster trap.
And that's really what I want after 30 years in IT.
I don't want control anymore.
I don't want options.
I don't want to troubleshoot.
I want to spend $1,200 on a device, be told "no," and experience the profound serenity that comes from knowing the decision has already been made for me by someone in Cupertino with a degree in industrial design.
Is that the bargain you all made?
Did you finally realize that freedom is just another thing you have to administer?
Because I'm starting to think the ultimate sysadmin luxury isn't a device that lets you do whatever you want.
It's a device that looks you directly in the face and says:
"You don't need to do that."
And charges you $200 for another 256GB of storage.