Other criticisms may be valid, but TextEdit is a terrible comparison. TextEdit is comparable to Windows WordPad (another terrible app - which is why Microsoft dropped it). Both are rich-text , not plaintext editors. They're more like Microsoft Word without the features.
Notepad is a plaintext editor, of which their is no equivalent built into Macs outside of terminal applications.
Notepad is a plaintext editor, of which their is no equivalent built into Macs outside of terminal applications.