> I honestly do not understand why people get weirdly defensive about stuff like this

It is usually because people inside the Mac ecosystem just assume that everything else is trash, and anyone not using a Mac is just banging rocks together.

They buy totally into the marketing about it being "the first ever", the "fastest ever", "for the first time" or "most <whatever superlative> ever" etc marketing, and many have not used e.g. and Android phone or e.g. a Chromebook or whatever, in many many years (if at all) and are basing their opinions on half-remembered Windows XP experiences Vs modern iPhone or whatever, assuming the current non-mac experience is still like "the old days" and that macs are somehow bringing something new or innovative that isn't available elsehwere. There is the term "reality distortion field" relating to apple products that I did not invent but I think sums it up.

I am forced to use a Mac for work everyday (alongside gnome Linux, and my personal choice is windows and Chromebook) and really dislike the user experience of Macs in comparison. The recent UX failures and inconsistencies are already well-documented but even before that there are systemic design things that make macs painful to use... especially if you know there are better ways. The hardware is nice though!