How Apple Caught My Attention…and Kept It for 20 Years

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If there’s one thing I’m called more than anything else within the YouTube comments section, it’s an ‘Apple Sheeple’.

Sometimes, this is extended to ‘Apple Sheeplz’, which I think is actually the collective term, but such is the basement IQ level of the YouTube troll fraternity, I’m willing to let that one go.

I don’t really know what an ‘Apple Sheeple’ is, but if I’m deemed to be one, I can only assume it has something to do with the fact that I really like Apple’s products and that I’m quite forthcoming about it. Indeed, if you watch any of my YouTube videos, you’ll spot that I’m sitting in front of what is essentially a shrine for Apple products past and present.

Despite this, I’m never backwards in coming forward about Apple’s failings. They still do stuff that frustrates me, and I’ve been very vocal about their missteps. This comes from a place of love – I deeply want Apple to make the best products on the market; it keeps other brands on their toes and helps push the industry forward.

This got me thinking: how has Apple successfully kept my attention for over 20 years? It’s been a bumpy but exciting journey, and one I’m more than happy to share briefly with you today.

Once a Windows user… never again

Whenever I review a Windows laptop, I feel I must highlight that I was once a Windows user. This lays a foundation of, once again, love, for a platform which, in this case, I no longer admire or use.

I hope that makes sense.

I was one of those kids in the 1990s who built PCs. I bought individual components and put them together either for my own needs or those of friends and family. Some of those hand-built PCs worked. Many of them didn’t. There were so many failed attempts at creating my own gaming powerhouse that I’m certain I started my hair loss journey in my late teens.

Thinking back, there were only fleeting moments when I got to enjoy the Windows-based PCs I built myself. All too often, blue screens of death halted progress or even prevented me from getting into Windows at all. This was, of course, totally my fault, but I experienced plenty of other instances of Windows-related problems that weren’t due to my inept PC building skills.

As I made my way through school, I was given tantalising glimpses of life on the other side of the fence, thanks mainly to a Media Studies A-Level that provided access to a translucent G3 Mac for video editing purposes. I fell in love, immediately, but knew that I could neither afford nor justify to my parents the need for such a mesmerising but ultimately needless computer.

As it turns out, I had to wait nearly ten years to get my hands on my own Mac. But, boy, was it worth the wait.

How the Mac changed everything for me

I recently published a YouTube video about the impending end of support for Windows 10 and why anyone concerned about it should consider switching to the Mac.

It has, predictably, caused a right old two-and-eight in the comments section (job: done), but that video has also prompted lots of people to raise their hand and say, “yep, I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner, either”. This was in response to my claim that most people I know who have made the switch from Windows to Mac have encountered a much better computing experience.

I’m one of those people. When I bought my first Mac – a still-beautiful (even if it’s no longer in my possession) G5 tower – in 2005, I fired up GarageBand and realised that I could do everything, and more, than what I’d been struggling to achieve on my self-built music production PC. It was one of the most sobering lightbulb moments I’ve ever had.

Everything just worked. Everything was fast, smooth, and uncomplicated. Nothing crashed, froze, or restarted itself without warning.

It just worked.

What’s more, GarageBand was a ‘free’ app that came with Mac OS X (as it was back then). I was consequently only skimming the surface of what was possible. Ahead of me lay Logic Pro – a music production powerhouse that had been acquired by Apple in 2002 (and, yes, I was a user of the Windows version before that). I couldn’t have been more excited, and what followed was one of the most enjoyable periods of home music production I’ve ever experienced.

Since that fateful day in 2005, the Mac has become my main computing platform. I tried – and largely failed – to get the business for which I worked to adopt Macs. When I left that job, nothing could stop me from making the Mac the central hub of everything I did – and still do, today.

The Mac remains my favourite ever Apple product, and the only one I can never see myself abandoning.

Heading deep into the ecosystem

If Apple knows how to do one thing very well, it’s tie people into its ecosystem. It’s both frustrating (for reasons I’ll explain later) and entirely understandable; we’d all do the same in Apple’s position.

I’ve tested other ecosystems, and none of them come close to the ease with which you can flow between your laptop, smartphone, smartwatch, and even your TV.

I didn’t own the first iPhone. I longed for it, big time, but it was too expensive for my small smartphone budget back then. It took until the launch of the iPhone 3GS for me to finally justify the carrier upgrade. That was in 2009. A year later, I was one of the people who bought the first iPad, much to the amusement – and bemusement – of my friends and family.

“It’s just a big iPhone, Mark! And it cost how much?”

Five years later, I bought the first Apple Watch. And then the Apple TV. And, during that time, I continued to upgrade both my iPhone and iPad almost on a yearly basis.

Then, in 2020, I started the Mark Ellis Reviews content brand, and the rest, as they say, is history. As is my bank balance.

The problem child

As I alluded to earlier, living primarily with Apple devices and following them so closely isn’t all canapes and champagne in the rose garden. The iPhone is the perfect example of this, and it’s why I consider it to be Apple’s problem child.

Out of all the Apple devices on the market, the iPhone endures the most scrutiny and has the most riding on its shoulders, thanks to the pivotal role it still plays in Apple’s annual revenue and shareholder return. The iPhone also has, in my opinion, the strongest competition, thanks to the wealth of incredibly brilliant and cheaper Android smartphones that have flooded the market over the last few years.

I get to try most of those competing devices, and they all offer something the iPhone can’t, at every single price point. Whether it’s performance, the camera system, or display specs, it’s hard to argue that you can’t get more for less if you choose Android over iOS.

The iPhone is the one Apple device from which I wish I could switch full-time. Three things are stopping me from doing so: Continuity, the Apple Watch, and time. The latter is entirely my problem (and it’s a contentious one), but Continuity and the Apple Watch demonstrate how tight the Apple ecosystem’s grasp can be.

Continuity enables me to move stuff between my iPhone 16e (no, really – that’s my iPhone of choice) in the most hassle-free way possible. The Apple Watch is the smartwatch to which I always return after reviewing an alternative (it’s just the best wearable on the market – no arguments).

The problem is that the iPhone desperately needs an injection of innovation. Sales are slowing. People take forever to change smartphones. The Android-based competition continues to push the envelope of what’s possible.

Things need to change.

Final thought

So, in summary, I am an Apple Sheeple. But I won’t always be found amongst the flock.

That’s enough with the farmyard analogies for now, but I hope I’ve been able to give you a tiny insight into why Apple means so much to me, and why I will never remove my critical sensibilities when it comes to reviewing their stuff.

You might be the same. Whatever side of the fence you’re on, and whichever opinion you hold, please get involved in the comments below!