Interesting article and like you mentioned in the disclaimer, very much based on the way you experience Apple and Microsoft products. Which in the end it what matters. Like choosing between Canon or Nikon, or Ford and GM. What works for you is what matters.
I must be the only photographer on the planet that does NOT use Apple products. I use Lightoom and Photoshop and they work just fine on Windows 10. Without crashing at all. And the desktop I use, I made myself from industry standard components. Not some fancy expensive Dell or HP workstation. The 4K sceen comes from the same factory as the Apple Cinema displays, as does the Nvidia GPU and the Intel CPU. Under the hood, iMacs and PC's are basically the same.
The price is where the magic happens. Apple's design is top-notch, but you pay top dollar. If you like the way things are designed and look like, fine. I spend my time looking at the 4K screen, not the box under my desk. My money goes to the screen, no the box under my desk.
If I have any issues at all, 90% of the time it's related to the application, not the OS. I see the same at my daytime job. I work in IT, where I manage the infrastructure of a 1000 user company with 11 offices worldwide. The core of this network is Microsoft based and works like a charm. The problems are at the application (3rd party) level, and more importantly, the end user (which is a different story alltogether).
I truely believe we are at a level within the IT industry where the hardware, OS and Apps are generic. They all work equally good or bad, and at the same level of performance. If I were to switch to an Apple tomorrow (for both work and Photography) I would not have any issues. And that's not so much to my merit, but the way devices and apps work these days. I was very different 15 years ago.
In reverse it could also work, but for some reason some Apple users often have a imaginary wall in front off them which they refuse to climb over. I know it's an imaginary wall, because I know many Apple users that did make the jump and now understand that it makes no difference anymore which platform they use. Some of them stayed with Apple. Some didn't and some use it mixed. But what matters is what they use is not right or wrong. It's a feeling. Not an experience. Some feel better driving a Ford, some driving a VW. Both will get you from A to B at the same speed and comfort.
I think innovation no longer happens at the hardware/device level. Apple's touch-bar and Microsofts Surface Dial are perhaps some attempts at innovating, but it's not as huge as the impact the GUI, mouse or touchscreen had. Seems like the whole world is dying for Apple to come up with a revelation. I don't think it's going to happen. And it doesn't matter. We can now focus on apps and using the devices to create other miracles.
Connector trouble (like USB, Firewire, Thunderbolt and whatever comes next) will always be an issue on laptops, where the space is limited so you eventually need a dongle. It's the result of the relentless (pointless) drive in making the thinnest laptop on the planet. Like anyone whould notice the difference between a 4.56mm laptop and a 7.84mm. I think it was pretty much done when we were at 15mm.
What I don't understand is why putting a 2.5mm headphone jack or a USB port in a mobile device (iPhone and iPad) is such a crime. If the iPad would have been 2mm thicker and have a USB3 port, it would still be as great as it is now. We all know why it doesn't have a USB port. How could you explain the 16/32 and 64GB models otherwise ?
Personally, I think Laptops are pointless today. I use a tablet (Surface 3 Pro now but iPad could work just as well) when I want to be mobile. And a fast Desktop when I'm at a desk. The laptop sits somewhere in between, but what position is that ? Being mobile at a desk ? Printing at Starbucks ? Editing on a plane ? Two devices cover 98% of the situations. Three is just overkill. Why do you need a laptop when you have a tablet ?
Smartphones are a different story. They are seen as another form of mobile computing. I use it as a phone, as a messaging device, and as a browser. Thats it. No games. No music (got an iPod + Pono player in car). No 2487 apps I don't use.
Currently I'm on a Lumia 930 Windows Phone. But eventually I will drop it on a concrete floor and need a new one. I simply cannot work with Android (too messy and ADD like). So chances are it's going to be an iPhone because like the Lumia it can do phone/messaging/browsing and I don't have to spend time tweaking and playing with it, since I'd rather spent that time on something worthwhile.
Just my 2 cents.
