71% of College Students Prefer Macs Over PCs According to Jamf Survey

Students pursuing higher education prefer to use Macs over PCs, according to new data shared today by Apple device management company Jamf.

71 percent of students surveyed said they would either use a Mac or prefer to use a Mac if cost were not a consideration. At the current time, of those students, 40 percent use a Mac and 60 percent use a PC. 51 percent of current PC users would rather be using a Mac.

studentsmacvspcpreference
70 percent of students surveyed said they would choose or stay with an organization that offered a choice between Mac and PC. 78 percent of students said that it's important for employers to offer their employees a choice between PC and Mac.

Students who said they preferred Mac over PCs offered up several different reasons. 59 percent cited ease of use, 57 percent cited durability, and 49 cited synchronization over other devices. 64 percent said they "like the brand," while 60 percent preferred the style and design of the Mac.

Among those who said they preferred PCs, the only dominant factor in the decision was price.

studentsmacvspcreasons
43 percent of students using a PC said that the Mac provides the greatest value despite its higher price point, while 80 percent of Mac users said that the Mac offers a better value. 83 percent of students currently using a Mac said they want to continue using Macs in their workplaces.

"Employers are looking for top talent in a competitive job market. Providing workers with the tools they know and love is a key way to attract, retain and empower them to be their most productive," said Dean Hager, CEO, Jamf. "The next generation of job seekers wants their tech to just work so that they can focus on their job. They see Mac as more modern, intuitive and reliable - and would like to continue to use it as they launch their careers."

Jamf's survey, conducted by Vanson Bourne, is based on responses from 2,244 current college and university students across five countries.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
Apple TV 4K hero 221018 feature

Here is Everything New for the Apple TV in the tvOS 18.3 Update So Far

Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered. Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far. Robot Vacuum Support in Home App First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

BarredOwl Avatar
73 months ago
If only Apple loved the Mac as much as their long-time customers...
Score: 74 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TwoBytes Avatar
73 months ago
A survey conducted by a company that makes mac only software. I'm sure there is no bias in this at all...
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
satchmo Avatar
73 months ago
A large number of those 71% will be greatly disappointed when they enter the real world.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Moonjumper Avatar
73 months ago
Where is the option for "Use Mac but prefer PC"? It should be there for accuracy. There are people that crazy!
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otternonsense Avatar
73 months ago
Users have loved the Mac for decades. I came to Apple because of the Mac, and I hope I won't have to leave because of the Mac. It's Apple that's turned it into a shadow of its former self, and still the Mac brand is persevering.

I hope there will be a reversal. But after years of fruitlessly waiting for Tim to deliver his fantastical "pipeline", the hope is gone dry. The only thing that keeps OSX alive in the minds of users is that despite their great strides, Windows is still a worse experience in comparison.

As it is, I cannot recommend in good conscience a Mac to anyone.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeoStructural Avatar
73 months ago
Rightfully so.

MacOS is the superior OS. :)

However, it is as I suspected: Brand cachet is no. 1
I don’t see how MacOS is superior, maybe in usability but that’s about it.

I am in Engineering and in my field Windows and Linux distros are the best options. I don’t know what the people in this survey study but I can’t use MacOS for all my professional needs.

If gaming is within your likes, you also need Windows.

It is the same when I read that “iPad” replaced their computer... what the F?... I love my iPad but it is miles away from replacing a computer, not even for web browsing.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)