I do think Apple has a vision for its choices beyond trolling or simply making money.

I agree. I truly believe that Apple has always had a mission to try to build the best device they can and try to do whatever device it is better than anyone else. That dedication to their idea of perfection has resulted in some really amazing stuff. Meanwhile most other tech companies most of the time, just wait to see what Apple does for inspiration and/or phone it in. Still, I have to admit I like the results sometimes when a PC company makes an imitation of something Apple did, but dials the crazy perfectionism back about 15% and includes some extra ports or upgradability. The end result is usually a more practical product than what Apple made. Unfortunately it rarely has equal build quality and it's still saddled with an inferior OS and crapware etc. So, there's that.

I don't always agree with Apple's choices as well so no, I'm not in any kind of lockstep.

That's good. No one should be. It's OK to love Apple's stuff and appreciate much of what they do but no one should shy away from criticism. I would say anyone who finds that they think everything Apple makes is close to perfect and they almost never disagree with anything Apple does and the spend a lot of time defending just about everything Apple does, they need to check themselves because they have an objectivity deficit. I used to be one of those guys who thought Apple was faultless. Now I can't stand people like that, they give the rest of us a bad name by crapping all over the internet and claiming shit like "Apple invented USB".

However, I'm often wrong, which has made me trust Apple's R&D more than my gut.

Eh, I trust my gut. Just because Apple does something and they sell tons of product doesn't mean that they made the most sensible or best product. Apple has this crazy magical hold over a lot of it's customers. There are literally millions of people who won't question anything Apple does for a minute and will buy just about any Apple product they can and have complete and total confidence that whatever it is, is the best of it's kind. They decide this before they even know the specs or give it any thought. I can't tell you how many Facebook updates I saw raving about the new MacBook and 99% of those people had no idea the thing has a single port that's compatible with almost nothing and it performs worse than their 2 year old MacBook Air. Doesn't matter because Apple.

For instance I thought the iPad was dumb and niche when I first saw it. I was wrong both in how successful a product it became and in that I ended owning one (well two actually, got another one for free).

The iPad is a big iPod Touch or a big iPhone without the phone. The iPhone was popular as hell and had a substantial app library. So I had little doubt the iPad would sell well. As for whether or not it was the best tablet Apple could have built, I think it's nowhere near that. In fact, I didn't buy one until the most iteration. I owned a bunch of other tablets because I found the iPad (and iOS's) limitations infuriating. I finally relented because at the end of the day, as annoying as Apple is when they omit features, they are the only ones who make products I can depend on 99% of the time. Other devices are a lot more capable, but have their own quality issues with hardware and software which become annoying in their own right. The iPad is expensive and exceedingly dumbed down, but it's nice hardware and it always works flawlessly and the huge library of high quality apps are really it's salvation.

I don't really want an apple watch right now either but who knows, maybe they'll win me over.

I don't either, but I am confident the watch is going to be a massive hit and Apple will create a whole new product category. Smartwatches already exist, much like MP3 players already existed before the iPad, but Apple will make them relevant and bring them into the mainstream. I'm in no hurry to buy an Apple Watch, but I think Apple is way ahead of the curve on this. I think smartwatches will be nearly as ubiquitous as smartphones within 6 or 7 years.

I get that they want to make their devices more consumer and less techie. It's not that they don't want you to change the battery or add memory it's that their vision is those days of computer maintenance should be put into the past.

That doesn't make sense to me. Until they make a battery that can hold 100% of it's charge capacity for as long as anyone would ever keep a device, say 7 years or more, then battery replacement isn't "in the past", Apple is simply ensuring a shorter shelf life for their products. The same goes for memory. Apple charges about double what it would cost for you to get the equivalent amount of RAM or SSD space to upgrade their devices. As long as they do that and as long as they are shipping expensive premium, high end laptops with less RAM than the cheapest PC at Best Buy, then RAM upgrades are not "in the past". Apple is being greedy. If they want RAM and HD upgrades to be in the past, then charge a reasonable amount for more memory and ship devices with more competitve specs.

You see this in their software development as well. Users shouldn't have to hand manage backing up their systems, the OS should take care of that (as long as you buy a time machine). Users shouldn't have to manage iPhone memory, closing down apps, etc. The OS should take care of that for you.

I agree with you here, but what I said stands. Most people don't upgrade, in fact, I probably wouldn't want to if Apple didn't try to rip me off. As for the batteries go, it's nice to be able to rejuvenate a tired old MacBook Air without having to perform major surgery on it.

So I get their philosophy of a "Walled Garden" as it applies to both hardware and software.

I do too, but they managed to sell computers that you could at least upgrade and repair yourself for almost the companies entire existence and they've always had that "walled garden" approach. This nonsense of sealing everything up is a very recent phenomenon and it doesn't benefit the consumer at all. If you are really able to spin that as a good thing for the end user, then I'm sorry, you are caught in the Reality Distortion Field.

The whole reason I went back to console gaming 10 years ago when the xbox came out was I didn't want to have to keep endlessly dick with drivers, updates, incompatibilities, etc. Yes I could get a better visual experience if I hand built my own gaming PC but I get a more consistant experience by compromising a bit.

I understand where you are coming from here. I like Apple's consistency too, that's why I use their stuff. My argument isn't that they should turn it loose, simply that they should loosen the reigns a little. I'm not asking for any more freedom than Apple ALREADY gave me in the past. Again, the freedom I am asking for would do nothing to compromise the quality or integrity and the good stuff that comes from the "walled garden". Letting me swap in a fresh battery or upgrade my SSD for a bigger, faster one does not mean "endlessly dicking with drivers, updates, incompatibilities". It never need before and it wouldn't now.

I simply disagree with you that Apple is purposely shitting on users with its decisions. There are reasons beyond extracting money and no, I don't always agree with them.

Apple is sealing their computers shut tight because they are perfectionists and, yes, they want to move the computer and these devices into the category of disposable appliances rather than something a thriftier, more practical user can upgrade and maintain to get more out of their $2000 investment. I understand part of the reason Apple wants to do this is they want their computers to be pretty, perfect, sealed, superthin little things that "just work" and you never need to think about. That's cool, but it has the fringe benefit of also fucking the end user over and the lack of repairability and upgradability lowers the value of the product for anyone who isn't too scared to open a little door and pop a RAM module or battery in the slot. Like I said, if Apple insists on going this route and they are going to charge the prices they charge, then they need to be a little more generous with the RAM and GB and make the upgrades more closely reflect the price I'd pay to buy an upgrade and do it myself. Sorry, but I do see that not doing this is a big fuck you to lifelong, loyal Mac users like me who stuck with this company from the 1980s through their darkest days in the 1990s through to today. And the whooooole time I was able to put RAM, a HD or a battery in.