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Comment by koakuma-chan | Hacker News Reader

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koakuma-chan

Apple has customer service you can call and speak to a person.

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Apple offers tech support via FaceTime for people who require a sign language interpreter.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/101572

They are the polar opposite of Microsoft and Google when it comes to providing customer support.

I had the iPhone 3G back in 2008 and only had Android phones after that. Until 2020. But when trying to log into my old Apple account, it was asking for answers to security questions I’ve never setup because they weren’t a thing in 2008. After calling Apple support, my problem went up the ladder until someone called me and told me the way to do it. Try that with Google.

Your Apple tax dollars at work.

No, really. They're not perfect, and as time goes on I keep agonizing more and more about whether they're worth the money. But also, I've had some amazing customer support from Apple employees over the years, and I at least have to concede that the money for those people's salaries has to come from somewhere.

We're constantly reminded that "if it is free/cheap, then you're the product", which is more or less a restatement of "you get what you pay for".

Apple charges more, and people lose their absolute shit over that, but then you don't get abused anywhere near as much as Microsoft/Google do to you.

I don't think Apple charges all that much. I can afford latest Apple products, but, for example, not a one bedroom apartment.

You should qualify that with “in your chosen location.” And there is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing to live where housing happens to be expensive.

Also, divide the cost of the product by the replacement interval.

I have some landfill android tablets that are too slow to run the moral equivalent of flash games. The iPad’s I have (all low end models) are older than the androids (in one case, 2x older) and still work much better.

Retail price / years supported is pretty comparable for Apple and Android. On top of that, you can get deals on “discontinued” newly manufactured apple devices, and used ones as well.

I have many complaints about Apple, but value for money isn’t one of them.

Meanwhile, in computer land, it's not even at all. I use both a PC and a Mac at home. In the time since I bought the MacBook, I've had to replace the PC three times.

I did pay for some out of warranty repairs on the Mac about 5 years ago. (Keyboard and battery replacement.) So that evens the total cost of ownership situation a little bit. Having a PC has only cost me about twice as much as having a Mac over the past 10 years.

It was a long time ago but more than once I had troubles with a Windows license and it was known that if you talked to somebody at Microsoft on the phone long enough they'd take pity on you and give you a new license key.

They're not really afraid that individuals are going to rip off Windows, they are afraid that system builders are going to rip off 20 copies of Windows for machines that they build. In fact, given that they are so into Azure and GAME PASS and all sorts of thing you've never heard of, Windows might just be a loss leader.

They also high-street stores as well for that human experience.

Every time I call Apple customer service, they tell me to box up my device and send it in to be replaced. The human element is nice but it's hardly a panacea - you need trained customer support.

That is a bit inconvenient but replacing a faulty device is an example of excellent customer service

that's minimal, not excellent

In a land of below-minimal customer support, minimal customer support becomes excellent.

Also, calling them is an exception path. If you take it into the store, they’re more likely to try fixing it first (often same day).

When you ship them a computer, that also gets repaired. They may replace enough components that it’s essentially new, but it’s a repair.

Apple computers are more expensive, too.

It's not the computer that Microsoft is selling, it's Windows. It's apples and oranges (no pun intended). Apple doesn't charge for its software and Microsoft has many other products. It's just about how you distribute your costs.

FWIW, Microsoft has a much higher profit margin than Apple.

Id argue that at this point, Microsoft isn't selling Windows. They're selling everything/anything touching their platform. Copilot, Office, Azure, gamepass. Almost all of these have a yearly subscription price that exceeds or is close to that of a Windows license. Windows just happens to be the platform they use to get you in.

When your computer comes with Windows installed, you're paying for it.

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