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I tried to make Linux my daily driver for a year now. Hell i love the customization a open source operating system like linux offers. But i need something i can use and play with without to worry if the next update breakes something - AND i want to use lastest software releases. So i can't use a point-release distribution like normal Debian Bullseye or Ubuntu (LTS) for example. I also tried Arch - and i still use it on my Steam Deck ^^ - but i have been "Mac OS X" user since 2001 and it worked great for me... so i switched back this summer with a new Macbook Pro.
I hate it to say, but i found nothing with the build quality (in europe) and the solid software stack - windows is never an option for me ^^" - besides a Apple Machine. A mobile device was a must, because i want to work on it no matter in which room or on the go.
For Linux; if there is a company behind the hard- and software like Valve with the Steam Deck or Jolla with Sailfish OS, it could work. But it is build as gaming console - damn this is a good handheld! - or for a smartphone, not as work horse. The folks at Tuxedo for example do a really good job on their comupters here in europe. The barebones from "Schenker" they use are just not as good as a Macbook - nothing for a guy like me with me who likes a good audio system for example. And the problem with "hey, i'm creating a very nice little program and use the latest and cutting edge libraries so you can't use it on your LTS linux"-problem still remains. Maybe a Purism Laptop would be a option, but they aren't present in "the old world" and getting a Librem 5 was a hassle.
On the dark side (Apple) there is a company controlled environment with strong and nice frameworks to build applications around. They just work 99% of the time.
Most applications i use - and used before my one-year-linux-daily-driver-challenge - are either open source and/or work on both operating systems, linux and macOS. But there is some 3rd party software i really missed on the light side (Open Source / Linux):
Panic Nova (Coda successor; Geany comes close, but isn't as good as)
Panic Transmit (WHY the hell isn't there a easy to use modern (s)ftp client on linux O.o)
Affinity Photo/Designer (i'm just a Photoshop guy; Gimp and Inkscape aren't that intitive for me)
Textual (i could live with Hexchat... but Textual makes me just more happy)
From a security standpoint i use Little Snitch as i use OpenSnitch on linux. macOS doesn't mean you have to use iCloud or an Apple Account. You can still work without the Apple stuff and block all network connections to Apple besides the update stuff if you want; no online activation, no forced Apple account.
The ideas are (mostly) great and there is a lot of stuff out there i really support on linux or open source in general - sometimes with money, sometimes just sharing links or commiting some source code.
But the benefit that you have - such a great amount of choices - also means that there are many (really many) applications that do the same. Some months later a new application is started doing again the same like 20 before. And even worse, each "generation" reinvents the wheel. I had nearly the same (!) problems - besides lesser options to theme my desktop, peeping on gnome - on my machine like 20 years ago i used linux (and BeOS) before i switched to the mac. Just because most of the the old software of these days are abandoned now and/or were recreated from scratch instead of evolved. Thats really sad - but also the core of FLOSS: you can do what ever you want and there is no "company" or "steady team lead" that points "a direction". Diversity at the cost of maturity, imho. Jolla/SailfishOS, Purism and Valve/Steam Deck are two of the examples that breaks out of the mess. Hopefully more will follow!
Maybe in another couple of years i find something that could replace macOS for me. Till then i will watch, try out (ClockworkPi DevTerm, MNT Reform, Purism Librem 5,...) and be just happy using my Macbook.
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