I’m a user, not a techie. My MBPs have outlasted any off-the-shelf Windows laptops my friends have had and my MBPs tend to run regular photo-like operations faster. They have also travelled in a backpack and on-board with me all over the world. Off-the-shelf, screens seem brighter, with truer colour, bodies and hinges last longer (no plastic!); and yes the innards seem to last longer. I recognize and live with the dongle problem, but Apple also tends to be an early adopter of new (thinner, lighter, faster) technologies like USB (back in the day, but now USB-C) and SSDs as well as ditching optical drives - remember the kerfuffle over that?
So, there is a price to pay, but it also just seems to work without some damn MacAfee or other app getting in the way. Again, I’m not a techie, I’m a user. I almost jumped to PC with my latest upgrade due perceived cost savings, but in the end a I stayed with a MBP, bought the plug-in hub and know that Time Machine will continue to be my friend and, hopefully, I’ll get 5, 6, 7, maybe 8 years out of this machine.
I’m not looking to nit-pick about this. I’m just offering my observations of being one of a few Mac users in a sea of PC users. I know I pay more upfront (part of which is, no doubt a brand premium, like those who drive Mercs and Beemers and Jags – all of which are too rich for my blood) but, in comparison, I seem to have a more pleasant and longer ride.