They've been very good at marketing, but it was often backed by good products. I still remember the feeling of getting my first MacOS X machine and what a breadth of fresh air it was. No drama or window focus stealing and a stable OS with relatively modern software that even had access to a POSIX shell! Wireless networking was simple, but you could still do advanced stuff!

But in those days apple was the underdog and HAD to do good by their users or there was no reason people would switch. Now it feels like their first thought is how they can monetize every step of the way - they're turning into Disney in that sense. There's often little money in fixing bugs anymore.