In 2019, StackOverflow did a survey to find out what is the most popular operating system for software engineers. The answers to the survey was that the MacBook Pro and macOS was the go-to platform that software engineers use. I've also been asked questions by you guys—why I use a MacBook Pro as an engineer.
So today we're going to find out the answers to those questions and why I use a MacBook Pro as a software engineer.
A Shift in Developer Preferences
In today's world, fewer than 50% of developers use a Windows machine as their main operating system. But what is it that makes the MacBook Pro and macOS so popular among software developers? Why every software engineer uses MacBook is a question worth exploring.
Why I Use a MacBook Pro as a Software Engineer
Everything that I'm saying in this video is purely from my experience and my opinion—so yeah, take that as you will.
Why Windows is Not a Good Option for Coders
So let's start with why Windows is not a good option for coders:
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The Windows user interface isn't really designed to accommodate the command line interface.
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Now, the command line is something developers use all the time.
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You can obviously use the command line within IDEs, like Visual Studio Code has a built-in command line.
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The built-in command line on the Windows operating system is a bit annoying to use and can cause a bit of frustration.
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The fonts are poorly rendered and simple things like copy and pasting text feels a little bit clunky.
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In my view, the Windows operating system and the actual interface is quite simple—this can't have been designed for non-technical users in mind.
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But then again, I am maybe a little bit biased because I'm such a big Apple fan.
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You know, Windows never released any bug fixes for severe parsing, rendering, and standard issues in their old web browsers.
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Also, Windows adds additional costs and barriers compared to OS like:
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Costs for additional software licenses.
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Extra hardware.
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macOS generally already has everything built in already.
Why Every Software Engineer Uses MacBook and macOS
So why do software engineers love macOS and especially the command line?
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Firstly, 71% of the world's websites and server builds use Unix.
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Now what is Unix? Unix is an operating system that supports multitasking and multi-user functionality.
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Unix is most widely used in all forms of computing systems like desktops, laptops, and servers.
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Apple's operating system macOS has been built on top of Unix since 2007.
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So therefore, generally speaking, macOS is more developer friendly.
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The command line OS powers most of the world's file systems and servers.
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OS X is a fully featured Unix operating system certified by the open standard groups.
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Unix offers a lot of stability, flexibility, and security.
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macOS tends to be a lot safer against tools that hackers use like Trojan horses and viruses.
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And of course, no developer wants their machine attacked by a malicious hacker and have their work interfered with.
Developer-Friendly Features of MacBook
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Text and fonts get rendered beautifully and can be resized and moved around naturally without getting cut off.
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It also has very good integration with the GUI and the command line tools.
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You can drag and drop anything into the command line, and you can guarantee that something useful will be displayed there.
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macOS X has a much better cross-platform compatibility.
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If you want, you can quickly run all the main operating systems within the machine—which is a big advantage for software developers.
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Running programs on other platforms or other operating systems can be done using virtual machines or Linux virtual environment.
Apple Builds Quality Hardware
Another reason why every software engineer uses MacBook:
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Apple always builds quality hardware.
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There are three times more Windows PCs that break compared to a Mac device.
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It could be the hardware failure, device bricking, wear and tear.
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It could be the universal plug and play, the Wi-Fi, the Thunderbolt, the USB-C.
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Either way, MacBooks are always reliable and durable, and you can always rely on Apple to deliver on quality.
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Any software issues is much easier to diagnose with the inbuilt system diagnostics compared to the Windows machines or any other operating system that doesn't really offer anything similar to Mac.
Battery Life and Portability
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You know, as a software engineer myself, sometimes I like to take my MacBook away from my desk and go and sit on the couch or go sit on my bed and then not worry about the battery life.
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Now the battery life on the MacBook Pros are always consistently good.
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Whereas the Windows machine—you don't really know what you're gonna get in terms of battery performance.
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So generally speaking, a Mac is a much more durable device than a Windows machine.
Quality Over Quantity
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With all of that said, there still is more tools and programs for developers to use on Windows.
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But the tools that you can use on a Mac machine are defined by quality and not quantity.
My Experience Using MacBook vs. Windows
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You know, for work, I've got a MacBook and a Windows machine.
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Since I got my MacBook about two years ago, I haven't actually turned on my Windows laptop even once.
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And that pretty much explains my experiences with Windows laptops—they're really slow, they tend to be quite clunky.
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But of course, I'm not saying that all Windows machines are slow because obviously the top end and top of the range models can perform really well.
MacBooks Are Built for Developers
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But generally speaking, the MacBooks are just built so well together—with the processors to the different components that make up the Mac.
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Everything works so well together.
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It's really crisp, it's really smooth, and you can't really complain about the MacBook when you're using it as a software engineer and your main coding machine.
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It does everything that you need it to do:
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It's compatible with different operating systems.
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It's smooth, it's sleek, it's fast.
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It's amazing to type on and use on a day-to-day basis as a software engineer to build awesome code that's going to delight millions of customers worldwide.
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Final Thoughts
So hopefully that explains some of the reasons why I use a MacBook as a software engineer.
Let me know in the comments below—what do you use as your main developing machine?
Of course, there's no right or wrong machine—it's all about the developer's choice and what you're most comfortable with.
Because actually, when you think about it, machines are basically a way of allowing us to express ourselves by building code, and as long as you can write code, run it, test it—any machine will be good enough for that.
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