Why “It Just Works” Isn’t True Anymore on the Mac

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By Sydney Butler

Published 7 days ago

Sydney Butler is a technology writer with over 20 years of experience as a freelance PC technician and system builder and over a decade as a professional writer. He's worked for more than a decade in user education. On How-To Geek, he writes commerce content, guides, opinions, and specializes in editing hardware and cutting edge technology articles.

Sydney started working as a freelance computer technician around the age of 13, before which he was in charge of running the computer center for his school. (He also ran LAN gaming tournaments when the teachers weren't looking!) His interests include VR, PC, Mac, gaming, 3D printing, consumer electronics, the web, and privacy.

He holds a Master of Arts degree in Research Psychology with a minor in media and technology studies. His masters dissertation examined the potential for social media to spread misinformation.

Outside of How-To Geek, he hosts the Online Tech Tips YouTube Channel, and writes for Online Tech Tips, Switching to Mac, and Helpdesk Geek. Sydney also writes for Expert Reviews UK.

He also has bylines at 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, Tom's Hardware, MakeTechEasier, and Laptop Mag.

Summary

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Using a Mac is generally much less of a headache than using a Windows PC or a Linux system. No driver hunts, being sabotaged by updates, or any of the myriad little problems the more open operating systems have.

In general, when it comes to a Mac, it really feels like "it just works", but that's not the whole truth, and today it might even be the least true it's ever been.

Compatibility Isn’t What It Used to Be

No one can honestly say that the transition to Apple Silicon from Intel CPUs wasn't a masterclass in engineering. Although perhaps it helps that this is the second time Apple's gone through a complete architecture change.

An Apple slide showing Rosetta 2's various features.

While the vast majority of Mac users will never run into issues. some software doesn't work correctly through Rosetta 2, and if it's an important tool in a niche workflow, or the software developer isn't going to be updating their code, that's an issue. It's one of the reasons you can still get good money selling a used Intel Mac—some people really need them. It's also worth pointing out that Rosetta 2 support itself is ending, with Apple announcing macOS 27 will be the last OS version with Rosetta 2 support.

The same goes for hardware that's been supported for ages. Firewire support was recently discarded in macOS 26, and eGPU support for graphics was dumped with the release of the M1 chip. There are workarounds for some of these issues, true, but that's hardly an example of "it just works".

Apple Keeps Changing the Rules

In the walled garden of Apple, macOS is the most open operating system on offer. Unlike iOS, tvOS, and iPadOS, macOS will let you run any software and make changes to your computer that are not possible on these other Apple devices. In that way, it's in line with Windows and Linux, but it seems with each new version of macOS Apple is trying to dissuade us from this practice.

One small but super-annoying example is the authorization to run uncertified apps. The sort of stuff I download from the internet all the time on my Mac. It used to be that you could override the warning just by holding a key on the keyboard and choosing to run the app anyway. Now, you have to schlep into the settings app and look for a toggle to allow the last app you tried to run.

This is obviously designed to make the average user just give up if it's too much effort to look up how to bypass the blockade, but it's also a great way to drown your most loyal users in small annoyances.

Likewise, the decision to dump support for all 32-bit software with no way at all to run them threw a major wrench in the works for many people, myself included. If Apple can write a translation layer that works seamlessly between two completely different hardware artchitectures, surely its software engineers could have found a way to remain compatible with older software without compromising on safety and security?

The iOS-ification of macOS

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Thanks to amazing computers like the MacBook Air and Mac Mini, Macs are probably more mainstream and popular than ever. Still, Mac sales numbers pale in comparison to iPhone and iPad sales. The iPad started outselling the Mac six months after the orignal iPad launched, and it's just been going from strength-to-strength since then.

So it makes sense that some of the work that Apple puts into the iOS family makes its way to macOS. Now, to be fair, iPadOS 26 has brought some of that Mac flavor to iPads, but some of the UI changes and workflows don't suit a non-touch device like the Mac quite as well as an iPhone or iPad. The new System Settings, which replaced the venerable System Preferences is effectively a carbon-copy of the iOS family Settings app. That was a pretty harsh transition, and it's not clear what benefit there was to users.

Apple’s Priorities Have Shifted

Even as a relatively recent macOS convert (I switched in 2019), I can tell that the Mac has been somewhat deprioritized by Apple—and who can blame it? The money comes from iPhone and iPad sales. While the Mac literally built the company, desktop OS platforms as a whole are in decline, though laptops specifically are doing the best within that segment.

Don't get me wrong, when it comes to that "it just works" sentiment, I still think Macs are the best of the bunch, but now it's more like "it almost always works". We shouldn't be in a situation where it's easier to get my iPhone to work with my Wi-Fi printer than my Mac. They both should work equally well in that regard, and yet that's not been my experience.

Hopefully, as Macs gain a larger market share of the laptop market, thanks to products like the MacBook Air and that rumored $599 MacBook we might one day see, it will be more of an equal priority next to Apple phones and tablets—but only time will tell.