I think you have encapsulated the concept of FOMO.
Undoubtedly, for the money Apple devices cost - they better damn well work flawlessly for the next 10-15 years. But they don't. I use a MBP and iMac for work and I hate it.
The price difference between iPhones and high-end, official Android (e.g., Nexus, Pixel) phones is negligible.
It's simply not possible as far as I've seen to purchase a PC laptop with similar construction quality (when they're not plastic garbage they're poor imitations of the metal body and interior layout), but one can pay almost as much for a MacBook Pro to get a PC laptop with similar or somewhat superior performance characteristics. That construction quality is worth a premium price point.
I prefer plastic and other material than aluminum unibody. They are lightweight, solid enough, not become too cool, not edgey, and soft. Don't link aluminum == premium.
It’s inferior in every respect, quite aside from any “cool” factor. It breaks easily and it doesn’t support the non-plastic pieces (e.g. the monitor) well are two of the most important factors.
I guess the point is "citation needed". What you said is "common sense", but the source of that "common sense" is mostly marketing material. At least I don't recollect seeing any hard data, that would support either of those claims.
FWIW, I'm reading this on an early 2013 MBP. I think it would still have years of use in it, but new MacOS versions don't support it any more and I have this gut feeling that Linux maintainers aren't okay with the idea of supporting decade old hardware from the hateful enemy.
Undoubtedly, for the money Apple devices cost - they better damn well work flawlessly for the next 10-15 years. But they don't. I use a MBP and iMac for work and I hate it.