I Hate MacOS
This post serves as a non-hostile bitching about MacOS and why I hate it.
Disclaimer:
Yes I know I could fix half of these problems by buying a new computer or switching operating systems. A bitch is poor ok? I dont wanna hear it.
Yes I know I could fix half of these problems by buying a new computer or switching operating systems. A bitch is poor ok? I dont wanna hear it.
TLDR:
After five years on a MacBook Pro, the author is fed up with macOS—calling it overpriced, underpowered, and hostile to developers. From thermal throttling and Xcode bloat to poor virtualization and locked-down customization, the experience is more frustrating than functional. It looks good, but falls apart when you actually try to do anything with it.
After five years on a MacBook Pro, the author is fed up with macOS—calling it overpriced, underpowered, and hostile to developers. From thermal throttling and Xcode bloat to poor virtualization and locked-down customization, the experience is more frustrating than functional. It looks good, but falls apart when you actually try to do anything with it.
Death by MacBook: A Five-Year Case Study in Mild Suffering
I've been using macOS on a MacBook Pro for about five years now, and I can say with confidence (and a
little rage) that I strongly dislike the experience. To be fair, it's not all bad. But much like eating
plain kale or watching paint dry, the benefits are wildly overstated.
Price, My Mac, and the Core i5 Catastrophe
Let's rewind to 2020. I paid $1,400 for a MacBook Pro. This was pre-M1, meaning I got an
Intel model with a Core i5—a processor that's basically the Ford Fiesta of CPUs. It looks fine on paper,
but try opening Blender or climbing a metaphorical hill, and it starts begging for mercy.
Crashes? Constant. Overheating? Absolutely. Fan noise when opening Figma and Spotify at the same time?
Deafening. I paid pandemic pricing for a laptop that needs emotional support to run Photoshop.
Why haven't I replaced it? Because I like paying rent. And because upgrading to an M3 or M4 model costs
about the same as a kidney on the black market. Sure, tech gets outdated, but Apple seems to charge for
the privilege of being disappointed.
The "Mac Ecosystem" Is Just Stockholm Syndrome with Better Marketing
If your computing needs stop at email or Instagram reel edits, macOS works fine. But if you're a
developer, you'll feel like you're working in an ankle monitor.
.NET? Barely limping along. Half the libraries don't work, tutorials need translation, and you start
questioning your life choices. Gaming? I don't even bother, but I'm sure my Mac would make a great
paperweight.
Homebrew works—until it doesn't. It's the duct tape of macOS dev life: useful, but one broken dependency
away from disaster. Also, emojis in the terminal? Why. Want wget? Not included. Bash? A 2007 fossil.
Joy? Unavailable.
Then there's Xcode, Apple's oddly minimal IDE for iOS development. It doesn't come preinstalled (why
would the mandatory development tool ship with the OS?), and you'll need a $99/year developer account to
even start. Delightful.
Trapped by Design
The real scam? Once you're in the Mac world, it's hard to leave. Years of files, synced data, and muscle
memory keep you tethered. Trying to switch is like trying to leave a cult—messy, painful, and
emotionally exhausting.
I tried. I bought a Microsoft Surface. Loved the idea. But like a toxic ex, macOS pulled me back in with
all my unresolved digital baggage. Rebuilding my workflow muscle memory would take a decade. I gave up.
The iPad That Just Vibes
In 2024, I bought an iPad. No idea which model. That alone tells you how irrelevant it is. I'm not a
student. I don't draw. I'm a developer and designer—and for people like me, the iPad is a tech treadmill
used exclusively for hanging clothes.
I told myself I'd use it for Sidecar (bad idea), for Netflix (also bad idea), or maybe to try digital
art (never happened). Now it sits on my nightstand as an expensive coaster. Sidecar had terrible
latency, bad resolution, and janky animations. Excitement: none.
AirPods & Audio Woes
My first-gen AirPods lasted four years. Respect. Then I upgraded to AirPods Pro. Big mistake. They died
in six months. No drops. No spills. Just dead.
I switched to Samsung Buds 2 Pro. Still not perfect. I just want to listen to music without Bluetooth
gaslighting me. Is that so much to ask?
Nerd Emoji Complain Parade
Virtualization Is a Tragedy
Intel Macs run VMs like they're stuck in mud. Apple Silicon can't even handle x86 properly. I got into virtualization to escape macOS—only to find more walls.
Intel Macs run VMs like they're stuck in mud. Apple Silicon can't even handle x86 properly. I got into virtualization to escape macOS—only to find more walls.
GPU? No.
Can't upgrade your GPU. Can't plug in an external one (not on M1+). Apple soldered in their decisions and told you to deal with it. If you do 3D work, good luck.
Can't upgrade your GPU. Can't plug in an external one (not on M1+). Apple soldered in their decisions and told you to deal with it. If you do 3D work, good luck.
File System Confusion
APFS is okay for SSDs. Everything else? Chaos. NTFS is read-only, exFAT sometimes works—if you don't breathe too hard.
APFS is okay for SSDs. Everything else? Chaos. NTFS is read-only, exFAT sometimes works—if you don't breathe too hard.
Terminal Setup is a Surgical Procedure
Zsh by default. No wget. Ancient Bash. No GNU coreutils. Years of customization, and I still hate it.
Zsh by default. No wget. Ancient Bash. No GNU coreutils. Years of customization, and I still hate it.
RAM Is Managed by Vibes
8GB of unified memory. You better not multitask. Upgrades? Not possible. Just pray and close Chrome.
8GB of unified memory. You better not multitask. Upgrades? Not possible. Just pray and close Chrome.
External Monitor Woes
Non-Retina displays scale like trash. Fonts blurry. UI janky. You'll need third-party software just to make it tolerable.
Non-Retina displays scale like trash. Fonts blurry. UI janky. You'll need third-party software just to make it tolerable.
Cloud Services Are Hostile
Non-iCloud services like Dropbox and OneDrive are treated like viruses. I've lost entire high school photo albums to iCloud's void.
Non-iCloud services like Dropbox and OneDrive are treated like viruses. I've lost entire high school photo albums to iCloud's void.
Overheating is a Lifestyle
My MacBook sounds like a jet engine when I open Google Docs in Vivaldi. No fan control unless you install third-party tools. This thing cost $1,400.
My MacBook sounds like a jet engine when I open Google Docs in Vivaldi. No fan control unless you install third-party tools. This thing cost $1,400.
Bluetooth is Still Bad
Laggy, unreliable, and disappointing. Just like macOS's promises.
Laggy, unreliable, and disappointing. Just like macOS's promises.
Xcode Is Ugly
As a VSCode enjoyer, using Xcode feels like punishment. Huge, buggy, and somehow worse with each update.
As a VSCode enjoyer, using Xcode feels like punishment. Huge, buggy, and somehow worse with each update.
Native Package Variety
Want something niche? Good luck. Homebrew is your only option. Also, why does it use emojis?
Want something niche? Good luck. Homebrew is your only option. Also, why does it use emojis?
Customization? Not Here
You get what Apple gives you. The UI is polished but locked down. Want to change how the dock behaves? Too bad. Want more flexibility? Too Unix for Apple, apparently.
You get what Apple gives you. The UI is polished but locked down. Want to change how the dock behaves? Too bad. Want more flexibility? Too Unix for Apple, apparently.
Failed Mac Experiments I've Actually Tried
Here's a sampling of things I've attempted, only to end in rage or failure:
Spinning up a Linux VM in VirtualBox. It crashed. UTM ran like a toaster on a treadmill.
Tried Blender. Immediate thermal panic.
Ran a long text file brute-force script. Mac choked and broke everything.
Tried OpenCV with GPU. No CUDA support. Cue tears.
Tried GPU benchmarking. The fan noise hit DEFCON 1.
Attempted to host a Git server. SIP blocked key daemons.
Tried educational brute-forcing. Locked out by Keychain popups.
Packet sniffing. Raw sockets blocked.
Used JEnv to manage Java. Broke every version.
Set up a Python virtual environment. Zsh blocked permissions.
Node.js project. Silent CPU throttling during npm install.
MongoDB and Node.js. Firewall chaos. Two-day meltdown.
JavaScript project with Webpack. Throttled into oblivion.
Python web scraping. Security blocks on every request.
Flask API. Reserved ports nonsense.
Chrome DevTools. Random crashes.
Global npm installs. Constant permission errors.
File automation with Python. Security treated it like a virus.
React hooks. npm start made the system crawl.
So What Is Good?
Honestly? Not much—unless your peak productivity is browsing YouTube, tweaking a Notion
dashboard, or crying to lo-fi beats with a dozen tabs open.
I used to like macOS, back when "productivity" meant Googling pasta recipes. But once I
got into design and programming, the illusion shattered. Macs are great—as long as you don't actually do
anything with them.
This isn't a tech review. It's a cry for help disguised as a rant, wrapped in sarcasm and
terminal logs. Take it with a grain of salt—or an entire salt lamp.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am. But hey, at least I'm self-aware.
And really, isn't that the most Apple thing of all?