Everyone says Linux is the natural replacement for Windows, but between software headaches and endless tweaking, Linux always felt like work. This OS, though, just lets me use my computer without fighting it. It wasn’t the switch I planned, but it’s the one that finally stuck. Yes, I’m talking about macOS.
4
App Support Is Miles Better on macOS
Before you start comparing features, it’s worth asking whether the apps you rely on will even run on your operating system. That’s where Linux stumbles, since a lot of everyday workflows break down due to limited app support.
For example, Microsoft Office and Adobe’s Creative Suite aren’t available, and while alternatives like LibreOffice or DaVinci Resolve exist, they’re not true replacements. For people like me who have been using the same apps for years, relearning software just to get work done is a dealbreaker.
The reality is that most industry-standard apps are available on macOS or Windows, and since I’m trying to move away from the latter, a Mac is my only real option. With macOS, I don’t need to worry about whether the tools I use will run or not, because the answer is almost always yes.
To Linux’s credit, it is actually miles better than macOS at gaming. I remember trying to game on Ubuntu years ago, and it was a complete disaster, but these days I run SteamOS on my Asus ROG Ally, and it suprisingly performs better than Windows in most games. I just wish the same effort that went into making games work flawlessly also went into broader app compatibility, because that’s still where Linux falls short.
3
Linux Still Has a Huge Learning Curve
There are tons of distros Windows users can try out to get started, but I’ve had to open the terminal every single time to get something working. I don’t mind it personally, since I’m a developer, and I’m comfortable typing out commands, but I can’t imagine telling an average user to do the same.
Like it or not, the terminal is still a necessity in pretty much every Linux distro, and that alone makes the learning curve steeper than most people would be willing to deal with. With so many distributions, package managers, and desktop environments, it’s often difficult to even find the right solution to a problem. A quick Google search might point you to instructions that are completely irrelevant to your setup, leaving you stuck and wasting time.
Apple, on the other hand, is the complete opposite. Because it controls both the hardware and the software, macOS doesn’t suffer from the same fragmentation issues. You do give up the freedom Linux offers, but in exchange you get a system where things usually just work.
In fact, I’d say that out of the three major operating system families, macOS offers the best out-of-the-box experience. If someone asked me to recommend a laptop today, my default choice would be the MacBook Air for most people.
2
Hardware Support Can Be Very Hit or Miss
I’ve installed Linux on countless devices at this point and I have run into hardware issues almost every single time. As I mentioned earlier, I usually end up opening the terminal just to get basic functionality working.
A great example of this would be my secondary laptop which would refuse to boot Linux on a fairly standard Western Digital M.2 SSD. It took me hours of searching around on Google to figure out a solution, which was to add a specific boot argument in the bootloader. Even though I was able to fix this, I would never expect an average user to be able to figure it out.
Even secondary things like fingerprint readers or printers can be very hit-or-miss, and you might have to settle for living without hardware that you have already paid for.
That’s exactly why Macs stand out. macOS is built for Apple’s hardware, and the second I boot it up for the first time, everything just works. There is no need to go through forums and typing out weird commands just to get basic stuff working.
Unless more devices like the Steam Deck start showing up, where Linux comes preinstalled and already tuned for the hardware, this is always going to be a massive headache.
1
Most People Don’t Want to Install Another OS
The truth is most people don’t want to bother with installing another operating system. Creating a bootable USB, wiping their drive, and digging into the BIOS might sound simple enough to someone who has been using Linux for a while, but for the average person, even getting into the BIOS feels uncomfortable.
Even the creator of Linux has admitted this is one of the main reasons Linux has struggled to gain market share on desktops. It rarely comes preinstalled on devices, and that alone puts it out of reach for most people.
Most users are not looking to tinker with their computers. They just want something that turns on and works right away. And as long as Linux continues to rely on people installing it themselves, it is always going to feel like a niche option.
Even though I use a Mac as my daily driver, I have ditched Windows on all my other devices in favor of Linux and I still believe it is a much better choice than staying on Windows.
Linux still has plenty of flaws for most average users, but if your workflow works well on it, I would definitely encourage you to stick with it because you also get the benefits of the freedom that Linux provides that isn’t there on macOS.
