iOS and macOS

Long-term owners

iOS/Mac has made this seamless, secure, and in 15-20 years it has not gone wrong for me.

Jan 2026 · comment

What hackers pick instead

• WindowsRecommended for running the software and games people depend on, day-to-day stability and solid underlying engineering, but critics widely object to Windows 11's ads, telemetry, forced accounts and UI regressions.1287recommend
• macOSRecommended for consistent keyboard shortcuts, strong security, tight Apple ecosystem integration and getting work done without fiddling, though critics cite recent bugs, CPU spikes, clunky window management and UI regressions.1041recommend
• LinuxA free, open-source OS praised for total control, stability and wide hardware and software support, especially on servers; desktop use can still take extra effort and debugging.745recommend
• HaikuA free BeOS-inspired desktop OS praised for being extremely fast and responsive with a clean, consistent UI, though many say it's not yet practical as a daily driver.115recommend
• NetBSDRecommended for running on almost any hardware, including old machines, with a clean, well-documented design, though support for modern hardware and drivers is weak.100recommend

Every quote

The 19 most detailed of 19 comments. Each links to the original.

1. the others are so far off that even Apple has regressed 10 - 20% they will still be so far ahead of others

   Mixed · Jul 2026 · in “If you're a button, you have one job”

2. iOS/Mac has made this seamless, secure, and in 15-20 years it has not gone wrong for me.

   Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “2026 will be my year of the Linux desktop”

3. you would see an uptick trend on stability and consistency, instead of new

   Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Cognitive Decline or Sanity Incline?”

4. The key thing with Apple is that Stuff Just Works.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “Landmark L.A. jury verdict finds Instagram, YouTube were designed to addict kids”

5. the integration of the two is where it's at

   Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Run full iOS 16.5 firmware on Android Devices”

6. iOS/macOS does exactly what they need.

   Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Apple reports second quarter results”

7. one company deciding a feature freeze is not disapproving anything, in fact, it means things have gotten so bad

   Criticizes · Jul 2026 · in “Nothing works and everyone is euphoric”

8. This is exactly why the hardware + software vertical integration philosophy is fundamentally retarded.

   Criticizes · Apr 2026 · in “Tim Cook to become Apple Executive Chairman”

9. it's all so sloppy, too many grievances to even begin enumerating.

   Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Apple, fix my keyboard before the timer ends or I'm leaving iPhone”

10. basic features are barely functional and the UI is not very usable

    Criticizes · Oct 2026 · in “Apple routed a graphite pipe through the iPhone Duo's hinge to dissipate heat”

11. The process-people entrench themselves, and ruin everything

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “Make macOS consistently bad (unironically)”

12. everything is proprietary, so you get locked in

    Criticizes · Feb 2026 · in “Apple, fix my keyboard before the timer ends or I'm leaving iPhone”

13. In cases where iOS/macOS misbehave

    Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “Show HN: I built a universal clipboard that syncs realtime on multiple devices”

14. I believe iOS and macOS make good use for NPUs, actually, with automatic OCRing on any photo displayed

    Recommends · Jan 2026 · in “Dell's CES 2026 chat was the most pleasingly un-AI briefing I've had in 5 years”

15. macOS and by extention iOS are, by comprarison to Android, actually pretty well architected

    Recommends · Aug 2026 · in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux”

16. iOS / macOS has by far the best controller experience from all devices pairing wise

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “The console wars have been lost”

17. their accessibility on their OS's is astounding

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “Radiant Computer”

18. I do like their straightforwardness actually.

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Programmers and software developers lost the plot on naming their tools”

19. There are so many that come on by default when you install macOS/iOS.

    Criticizes · Dec 2025 · in “Are Apple gift cards safe to redeem?”