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Am I a hater?
Am I a hater?
I'm serious. Do I no longer love Apple products?
Benjamin MacLeod • Benjamin's Notebook
CUPERTINO: New versions of Apple’s software platforms are available today. September 15, 2025. PHOTO BY APPLE
I have been an Apple user since I was seven years old. Over the last 12 years, I have spent countless hours experimenting, creating, working, and learning using Apple’s wide selection of products. My first experience creating was with Apple, where I put together my first video using iMovie (I still have this on file to this day). Since then, almost every project I have worked on has involved an Apple device at some point in the process. I have found that Apple products have or at least had a strong connection between the software and the hardware powering it. This was one of the reasons I have continued to purchase their products. In recent years, however, I have noticed that Apple has seemed to drop the ball on the software side. What used to be refined releases have turned into bug ridden disasters. For the first time in many years, I did not rush to update macOS on my primary device (my MacBook Air). This is coming from me, someone who has installed a Developer Beta on just about every device I have ever had. I also recently switched to Google for my default browser and contacts. Does this mean I have become a hater?
macOS Tahoe
My decision to stick with macOS Sequoia has been shared by many in the macOS community. Putting aside my mixed feelings of Liquid Glass, the user experience seems to be increasingly degraded for those who choose to upgrade. A good example of this is the new corner radius, which varies depending on whether the App developer chose to upgrade their app.
TWITTER: do the border radii across MacOS bug you too? 😬. October 23, 2025. PHOTO BY @richard_tabor
This can somewhat be forgiven, as Apple probably wants to avoid overriding third party code as much as possible. What’s worse, however, is Apple’s decision to force uniform app icons on macOS. This decision completely killed the creativity that made the macOS feel like a Mac. Starting on macOS Tahoe, any app icon which does not conform to the default shape will be forced into a grey “squircle jail”. There are ways to revert the change, however it must be done manually and may be patched in a later release of macOS.
TWITTER: Stupid things I hate about macOS 26 #3,101: Squircle jail. If your icon doesn't conform to 26's exact curve requirements, it'll get shrunk & put onto a squircle of the mandated dimensions. Even first-party apps aren't immune. September 17, 2025. PHOTO BY @HHackenbecker
That’s not to say we didn’t see this coming. Squircles have existed on macOS since Big Sur in 2020. However, the first iteration was optional. Many apps, including ones created by Apple, pushed through the box to define their own unique personality. Some of my favourites were Apple’s professional Apps, such as Final Cut Pro, which had an opened clapperboard, or MainStage, which turned the squircle into an ID badge and added a clip at the top.
I know that being upset over the shape of my app icons is quite petty, but this isn’t my only gripe. My least favourite change is the decimation of Launchpad. I know that I sound quite dramatic, but I despise the fact that Apple replaced Launchpad with an AI driven screen that can only be described as a perfect blend of the worst parts of Spotlight search and the Windows 11 Start menu.
MACRUMORS: macOS Tahoe Transforms Launchpad Into App Library. June 9, 2025. PHOTO BY JULI CLOVER
I know this complaint sounds rich, considering that Apple is the company who told customers they were “holding it wrong”, but Launchpad did not deserve to be killed. Had Apple added the App Library style screen to Spotlight search and kept Launchpad for legacy use, I would likely have updated to Tahoe already. But between the buggy behaviour, ugly UI, and destruction of features I love, it is hard to justify upgrading the device I rely on for hours each day.
Default Browser
Over the last week, I made the decision to switch my default browser on all my devices to Google Chrome. I will admit, this was a decision that I made kicking and screaming. I have noticed that Safari currently has a bug which affects search, occasionally just cancelling the query. I was quite surprised that this was affecting all my devices, considering that I have only upgraded my iPad and iPhone. Then I remembered that Apple updates Safari independently of macOS, meaning that I am running the latest, bug-ridden version of Safari on my MacBook. This was extremely sad for me, as I enjoyed using Safari and appreciated the performance enhancements of a non-Chromium platform. I also missed the apparently uniquely Safari feature of setting a custom new tab page. To fix this, I ended up making my own Chrome Extension (ew).
Contacts
A few months ago, I migrated my contacts from iCloud to Google Contacts. One of my greatest gripes with Apple is the poor user experience of iCloud. Every single update, without fail, my contact icons either disappear, become blurry, or change resolution. If you haven’t seen my contacts app before, I use a very sophisticated system of colour coding between family, work, school, and friends. This system also allows me to categorize contacts using folders, reducing the time it takes to find people in the stack. Before switching to Google Contacts, I remember having to fix contacts almost monthly. Since making the switch, contacts have “just worked”.
Apple Intelligence
I think the downfall of Apple’s software is related to them trying to catch up in the AI space. In my opinion, this was a sector that Apple should never have entered in the first place. The main selling point of Apple for me was the platform, specifically how their operating systems seamlessly flowed into the devices they ran on. Many of the Apple Intelligence features that Apple released are gimmicky and seem like bloatware. Since the launch of Apple Intelligence, I can say that the only time I have touched it was to test it and show it off to others. If I hadn’t watched WWDC, I probably would not have even known it was there.
Should I Switch?
This has led to some thinking about how open I would be to switch platforms and give up the Apple ecosystem. Unfortunately for me, I am currently quite tied to Apple. I would have to repurchase multiple devices to fully convert, as I use continuity features between my devices almost daily. Almost all my friends and family have an iPhone, so my texting experience would be worse if I switched. That said, there is a nonzero chance my next device may not come from Apple. I know for a fact I will not be purchasing another iPad after I finish university, and my requirements for a laptop/desktop will change. I plan on holding onto my MacBook Air for as long as it lasts, but after it dies, I can see myself replacing it with a midrange Windows laptop. I do plan on having a Mac of some sorts, but the best value Mac has continuously proven to be Mac mini. As for iPhone, I don’t see myself switching anytime soon. I would like to experiment with a Samsung at some point, but the downsides of leaving Apple are bigger than my desires to switch.
I think it is good to be critical of the products we buy and whether they are worth it. Although my brand affiliation is with Apple, it would be unhealthy to stay purely because I like the logo on the back. Even with Apple making a slew of questionable decisions, I don’t think it is time to jump ship yet. Given the possibility of a massive leadership shuffle in the next few years, I think it is time to be cautiously excited for what might be coming next.
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