The Infinity War: Windows vs macOS

Since the dawn of Operating Systems on computers, we've witnessed the battle between two major OS giants: Windows and macOS. We explore both today and hopefully try and settle this battle once and for all. There are people out there who mostly support one OS because they've been using it their whole life, not wanting to know or even hear out what the other OS has to offer. Just so you know, I've been using Windows until this point of my life.

Since 2004 or '05, I have been using Windows XP, switched to Windows 7, and now, finally, Windows 10. On a personal note, I have fiddled with macOS a few times and I don't like the way it works, especially the user interface and the actual usability itself. To make this comparison fair, let's look at actual features and what each has to offer that the other doesn't. We will compare Windows 10 with the macOS Mojave.

Setup:

Let's begin right from the start.

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The very start. The first that you do when you buy a new Windows or Mac machine - setting it up. Both offer a clean setup process with no hassles. You can skip to sign in with a Microsoft or Apple account, but more features can be unlocked by signing in, such as asking your digital voice assistants when you feel the need to hear a joke, syncing other PCs or sharing messages between your phone and PC.

Both offer the ability to offer updates while setting up and install basic drivers you're your mice and keyboards.

But Windows has a pretty trick up its sleeve here - it offers the ability to progress through the setup process using Cortana and your voice, which is fun to do. We are giving it to the Windows 10.

Logging in to your PC:

Both operating systems offer various methods of signing in apart from the traditional typing in passwords and hitting Enter. On a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, you can log in with your fingerprint, or sign in with your iPhone or Apple Watch if they are close enough to your PC.

Windows offers a plethora of ways to sign in to your PC. With Windows Hello, you can use face lock, add fingerprint sign-in, set up picture password or even use a PIN that can be as long as you want and set to contain letters too. However, for the first two options, you need your PC to come with the hardware to support it. Still, the point goes to Windows.

Hardware Choices:

Although Apple offer some great machines for the price that they ask, they limit their OS only to their range of machines. This means it is illegal to install macOS on a different PC. But Windows allows many other manufacturers to incorporate their OS into their machines, which increases the availability of Windows machines by a vast margin. What's better is that you can even build your own PC and still install Windows 10 for free today, although you might need to purchase your own license later to unlock all features.

And when I mean machines, it means almost everything - from Microsoft's own tablets to VR Headsets and mini computers such as Raspberry Pi.

Included Apps:

Both operating systems offer a variety of built-in apps, including calculators, camera, calendars, photo and video viewers and editors, voice recorders, screenshot tools, web browsers and so much more. Microsoft provides Sticky Notes, Skype, Translator and Xbox gaming apps.

But the macOS offers a more powerful video editor, a full productivity suite, the great GarageBand music composer app and even a music streaming service. macOS steals the spotlight here.

Third-Party Software Compatibility:

Both OSs offer a huge variety of programs for both businesses and creative fields. But Windows's strength lies in business applications and macOS offers better options in creativity. Even so, you can find great applications for creativity on Windows too (The Adobe suite for both platforms) and good business-oriented apps for macOS. Thus, it's a win-win situation here.

Interface Customization:

There are only limited ways to customize your desktop appearance on both platforms, including changing desktop wallpapers, setting desktop shortcuts, screen savers and the new vogue - dark mode. However, to improve the customization abilities, Windows offers the Rainmeter, and macOS has the GeekTool. Again, it's a tie.

Touch and Pen Input:

While Apple only recently introduced some touch features in macOS, it's only present on the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Right from the start, Windows 10 has complete touch and pen support, and it offers Tablet mode for your touch screen laptops for when you need to switch. Windows offers incredible handwriting-to-text conversion for pen input.

Winner: Windows 10

Digital Assistants: Cortana vs. Siri:

Cortana was introduced a year before Siri was born, and both can do similar stuff. Both can open apps and web pages, tell you the traffic, weather and petty jokes, sing songs, change system settings, control smart home devices, set reminders and send emails. Both can start by recognizing your voice. Unlike Siri, Cortana can log out your computer or shut it down on command, a cool feature. Also, Cortana can send requests to Amazon's Alexa.

Gaming:

This is a section where you can blindly choose the winner. Macintosh machines don't allow for the upgradation of the system for decent gaming, while Windows does it better. Windows offers a massive library of games to choose from, has PlayStation games available through the PlayStation Now service, and stream games from your Xbox through the Xbox app. Using Play Anywhere, you can buy games from the Windows Store and load it to your PC or Xbox.

The Game Bar in Windows 10, opened using Windows key + G, enables you to record, take screenshots or stream your game to the Microsoft Mixer community. Easy win for Windows 10.

Security and Stability:

In general, Windows has a poorer record in this field than macOS. This doesn't mean that the macOS is immune, but much safer than Windows. However, Microsoft has been pushing tough updates for the Windows Defender and Firewall, to improve the security against threats and attacks.

macOS is strong on stability too, mostly because Apple limits their OS to their own devices, and so, have integrated their OS into their hardware much better. Windows devices succumb to instability mainly from third-party drivers. macOS takes it home hard here.

The final showdown:

So far Windows and macOS has been doing pretty good on the market, though almost 80% of the market is captured by the Windows. Windows on general has won many rounds here and takes the home run to victory. (Yay!)

In short, it all boils down to personal preference and taste. If you are working in creative fields, go for the macOS. If you are in business and require maximum productivity or a hardcore gamer, go for the Windows 10.