If I gave these requirements to my parents they'd go to a random computer shop and come back with probably a random 13 or 15 inch DELL. And that's what millions of people get at work as a standard supplied computer.
I am not saying the mac isn't good at filling that niche, just that people who really don't care about computers also don't care if it's a mac, and will probably be fine with any recent default configuration machine from a major maker.
PS:
> bring your Mac to the next Apple Store
You need an Apple Store. In my experience people have come to terms with shipping devices and waiting for repairs. Cloud sync helps a lot in that respect, as keeping another computer around has become decently manageable.
> If I gave these requirements to my parents they'd go to a random computer shop and come back with probably a random 13 or 15 inch DELL.
And if I did that, they'd also come back with that DELL - and then I'd be stuck doing tech support for them for however long the thing lasts. I cannot begin to count the number of times they've gone and bought some junk computer that they got upsold on.
This is not an experience unique to me, either. The non-Apple laptop segment is (mostly) a broken experience in comparison.
> And if I did that, they'd also come back with that DELL - and then I'd be stuck doing tech support for them for however long the thing lasts.
I stopped doing tech support for family members using Windows. THAT was the main reason they changed to Mac. And now, hardly do any support for them at all.
The key is to treat Windows users like children and lock it down with an administrator password. You’d be amazed how well Windows holds up over the years if you just prevent them from installing whatever random bullshit they find.
I am not saying the mac isn't good at filling that niche, just that people who really don't care about computers also don't care if it's a mac, and will probably be fine with any recent default configuration machine from a major maker.
PS: > bring your Mac to the next Apple Store
You need an Apple Store. In my experience people have come to terms with shipping devices and waiting for repairs. Cloud sync helps a lot in that respect, as keeping another computer around has become decently manageable.