I have never been able to justify the Apple expense to myself. Never tried an iPad, but I get it... Just a bigger screen version of the same OS as the iPhone.
I did, once, get a used iPhone 3S just to see what all the fuss is about. I trialed iOS 5 and 6 on it. It bored me. Sorry, that's the plain truth of it. I can't say it didn't work, but it felt like I was spelling "COW' with those alphabet blocks you give to toddlers. And all those Apps, so what? I mean, really I don't use many Apps at all.
Mind you this was before I ever tried a Windows Phone 8 device...
I've never tried Mac OS. Not even curious if the price of entry is that high. I simply refuse to believe it is somehow that much "better." If it were, they would have the market share to prove it.