Want to purchase a MacBook

[Leychee]

Hello!

I'm exploring the Apple ecosystem and want to (sort of) fully commit to form my own opinion.

I'm currently without a laptop and I'd love to treat myself so I can have a nice device wherever I go, and not always rely on my desktop for everything that's not gaming. So I'll be using it to watch all kinds of content (streaming and YouTube), casual browsing, messaging, productivity apps, Office, quite a lot of PhotoShop (nothing excessively complex) and maybe some web dev.

 

I think my current best option is a 2022 MacBook Air, 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD. Thoughts? 1600€ budget, approx.

The idea was to keep it for at least 3/4 years, and I've heard these laptops have a really nice lifespan, plus I really take care of my stuff.

 

Thank you!

[Electronics Wizardy]

I'm oin the mindset its a pretty bad idea to buy a comptuer with 8gb of ram you can't upgrade. So I'd personally get a refurb 14in mbp. Then you get a faster cpu + gpu, 16gb of ram, and a much better screen, and more ports. Its a bit bigger and heavier, but I'd rather have that system.

[Leychee]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I'm oin the mindset its a pretty bad idea to buy a comptuer with 8gb of ram you can't upgrade. So I'd personally get a refurb 14in mbp. Then you get a faster cpu + gpu, 16gb of ram, and a much better screen, and more ports. Its a bit bigger and heavier, but I'd rather have that system.

That sounds like a great idea and I'd love to, but my current options where I live are just abysmal. Amazon has a decent offer for the one I talked about, and the rest is either refurbished or used. Are 8GB that bad even for my use case? 

[johnt]

7 minutes ago, Leyf said:

Are 8GB that bad even for my use case? 

Yes. 8 GB is worse than bad. The OS eats 3 to 5 GB on a good day. Photoshop and Lightroom suck down all available memory on my 16 GB M1 pro. I usually have megabytes left when I am editing in Lightroom. It was an absolute shock to me. I have to close all other apps and processes to have a smooth editing experience.

 

I recommend the M1 or M2 pro models since they start with 16 GB. Anything less than the pro models and you are really going to have a hard time with anything beyond content consumption. Here in the states, at normal pricing, the Air models with similar specs as the entry model pro is $250 USD cheaper. Which is ridiculous when you consider the pro comes with a bigger screen, significantly brighter screen, HDR, better speakers, better battery life, more IO, bigger trackpad, and better cooling (not that I've ever heard my fans turn on, tbh). Are you kidding me? For $250?? lol It was a no brainer for me. It's just my recommendation, but the pro models are a lot more "value" than the air. 

 

I think you're just going to feel a lot of slow downs with 8 GB. I'm constantly over 10 GB just using Safari...

[Leychee]

5 minutes ago, johnt said:

Yes. 8 GB is worse than bad. The OS eats 3 to 5 GB on a good day. Photoshop and Lightroom suck down all available memory on my 16 GB M1 pro. I usually have megabytes left when I am editing in Lightroom. It was an absolute shock to me. I have to close all other apps and processes to have a smooth editing experience.

 

I recommend the M1 or M2 pro models since they start with 16 GB. Anything less than the pro models and you are really going to have a hard time with anything beyond content consumption. Here in the states, at normal pricing, the Air models with similar specs as the entry model pro is $250 USD cheaper. Which is ridiculous when you consider the pro comes with a bigger screen, significantly brighter screen, HDR, better speakers, better battery life, more IO, bigger trackpad, and better cooling (not that I've ever heard my fans turn on, tbh). Are you kidding me? For $250?? lol It was a no brainer for me. It's just my recommendation, but the pro models are a lot more "value" than the air. 

 

I think you're just going to feel a lot of slow downs with 8 GB. I'm constantly over 10 GB just using Safari...

Thank you for such a detailed answer! 

Here in FR the price difference is MUCH bigger though: the model in my original post (2022 Air, 8GB/512GB) is 1600€, 2023 MBP 16/512 is 2200€, and the cheapest 16/512 I can get is 2000€ minimum... unless I go for 256GB but that's just barely enough.

If 8GB are as bad as you say, I should probably just wait for a better sale?

[Swndlr]

Agreed with @johnt on the RAM comment. To add some input - I use a 2018 MacBook Pro 13in w/ 8GB and you would more than likely notice the performance hit when using, say, Lightroom + Chrome at the same time, under the assumption that you keep several tabs open at once (even if not tbh). I don't think there is anything wrong with going the refurbished route. If the option is available and within your price range, try to seek a refurbished Pro. They come with a one year warranty and they can still be covered under AppleCare after the warranty ends if you want to go that route.

 

You are right about the lifespan. Mine has lasted me since then (>5 years now), getting me all the way through college + internships), though it is beginning to show its age. The display is still great and the battery is still in good health, but the hardware itself is becoming dated and you would definitely notice the increase in speed of a newer machine side by side in any real-world comparison.

[johnt]

2 minutes ago, Leyf said:

Thank you for such a detailed answer! 

Here in FR the price difference is MUCH bigger though: the model in my original post (2022 Air, 8GB/512GB) is 1600€, 2023 MBP 16/512 is 2200€, and the cheapest 16/512 I can get is 2000€ minimum... unless I go for 256GB but that's just barely enough.

If 8GB are as bad as you say, I should probably just wait for a better sale?

So the difference is about 200€ for you then for equal specs on paper.

 

I'm not trying to stop you from enjoying your life. Sometimes I fall trap to the "just wait until next year's model for something better" cycle and I just end up buying nothing. I think you will enjoy the MBA. It's a better device in every way compared to any similar Windows based device.

 

Here in the states, the entry level MBP models drop to 1,750 USD often, or about 12% lower than MSRP. It might be worth tracking the prices to see what sales come up. I almost bought the new HomePod 2 for full price on Friday. This morning it was on sale for 50 USD less. Can't hurt!

[johnt]

10 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

Agreed with @johnt on the RAM comment. To add some input - I use a 2018 MacBook Pro 13in w/ 8GB and you would more than likely notice the performance hit when using, say, Lightroom + Chrome at the same time, under the assumption that you keep several tabs open at once (even if not tbh). I don't think there is anything wrong with going the refurbished route. If the option is available and within your price range, try to seek a refurbished Pro. They come with a one year warranty and they can still be covered under AppleCare after the warranty ends if you want to go that route.

 

You are right about the lifespan. Mine has lasted me since then (>5 years now), getting me all the way through college + internships), though it is beginning to show its age. The display is still great and the battery is still in good health, but the hardware itself is becoming dated and you would definitely notice the increase in speed of a newer machine side by side in any real-world comparison.

I think you will be impressed with the M? models whenever you upgrade. They are such impressive laptops. The battery life is crazy... I charge my laptop once a week and use it for 2 to 4 hours a day.

[Leychee]

18 minutes ago, Swndlr said:

Agreed with @johnt on the RAM comment. To add some input - I use a 2018 MacBook Pro 13in w/ 8GB and you would more than likely notice the performance hit when using, say, Lightroom + Chrome at the same time, under the assumption that you keep several tabs open at once (even if not tbh). I don't think there is anything wrong with going the refurbished route. If the option is available and within your price range, try to seek a refurbished Pro. They come with a one year warranty and they can still be covered under AppleCare after the warranty ends if you want to go that route.

 

You are right about the lifespan. Mine has lasted me since then (>5 years now), getting me all the way through college + internships), though it is beginning to show its age. The display is still great and the battery is still in good health, but the hardware itself is becoming dated and you would definitely notice the increase in speed of a newer machine side by side in any real-world comparison.

11 minutes ago, johnt said:

So the difference is about 200€ for you then for equal specs on paper.

 

I'm not trying to stop you from enjoying your life. Sometimes I fall trap to the "just wait until next year's model for something better" cycle and I just end up buying nothing. I think you will enjoy the MBA. It's a better device in every way compared to any similar Windows based device.

 

Pardon my French (lol), I've found this pretty decent offer:

https://www.fnac.com/MacBook-Pro-13-512Go-SSD-16Go-RAM-Puce-M2-CPU-8-coeurs-GPU-10-coeurs-Gris-sideral-Nouveau/a16685037/w-4

1859€ for a M2 MBP, 16GB/512GB. Thoughts?

 

And thank you a lot for your help, as I'm completely clueless about MacBooks I was about to get the 8GB version and call it a day.

It's true that I could wait for the newer models, but as @johnt said, this cycle never ends. There will always be a newer, shinier model, and for my use case I'm pretty sure I don't really need the absolute best and latest. 

Also can't wait to have a proper laptop that doesn't start failing after a year or two.

 

EDIT: Also, how good is 13"? Doesn't sound too big, but maybe it's just right.

[johnt]

10 minutes ago, Leyf said:

 

Pardon my French (lol), I've found this pretty decent offer:

https://www.fnac.com/MacBook-Pro-13-512Go-SSD-16Go-RAM-Puce-M2-CPU-8-coeurs-GPU-10-coeurs-Gris-sideral-Nouveau/a16685037/w-4

1859€ for a M2 MBP, 16GB/512GB. Thoughts?

 

You're welcome! Looks like this website hates Americans even though they don't list it as a reason 

 

I think the 13 inch is a reasonable compromise. I recall the battery life from the M1 reviews was very impressive. You miss out on some IO and you will have to use one of the USB C ports for charging (no dedicated power port). I also don't think it does HDR, if that matters to you. Otherwise I wouldn't hesitate too much. It's not far out of your original budget. At least it comes with a fan if it needs while you're using Photoshop.

[Leychee]

1 minute ago, johnt said:

You're welcome! Looks like this website hates Americans even though they don't list it as a reason 

 

I think the 13 inch is a reasonable compromise. I recall the battery life from the M1 reviews was very impressive. You miss out on some IO and you will have to use one of the USB C ports for charging (no dedicated power port). I also don't think it does HDR, if that matters to you. Otherwise I wouldn't hesitate too much. It's not far out of your original budget. At least it comes with a fan if it needs while you're using Photoshop.

 

 

Here it is! No clue why it's blocked. I don't really mind about HDR and such, I barely use it on my main monitor so I should be good.

It says 20 hours of battery life max? Insane if true.

 

Once again, thank you a lot for your help! Can't wait to try it out  

[johnt]

Have fun with it!

[Swndlr]

1 hour ago, johnt said:

I think you will be impressed with the M? models whenever you upgrade. They are such impressive laptops. The battery life is crazy... I charge my laptop once a week and use it for 2 to 4 hours a day.

I am excited to get my hands on a new one. I think sometime later this year is when I will retire this one. For right now, it is doing totally fine at handling Chrome tab abuse and Excel, which is basically all I need it for right now. I am also very excited that, since purchasing this one years ago, they've introduced the 14" option. Having previously also owned a 14" Razer Blade, I really think it is a perfect size and was a bit bummed when I began using my 13" MBP.

 

Improved battery life will be appreciated, as I currently need to charge this one often when power using.

[Leychee]

1 hour ago, johnt said:

Have fun with it!

Thank you!

Last question (hopefully): I've found some other options, such as MBP 13" 512/24, MBP 13" 1TB/16 or 2023 14" MBP 512/16. The price difference isn't massive, but I've read that the 2023 MBP with the M2 Pro has a worse battery life than the 13"? Due to the screen size no doubt. The HDMI port and 120Hz are very nice additions though. All of those go above my budget but at this point I'd rather get something great that I can use daily for years to come.

[johnt]

2 hours ago, Leyf said:

Thank you!

Last question (hopefully): I've found some other options, such as MBP 13" 512/24, MBP 13" 1TB/16 or 2023 14" MBP 512/16. The price difference isn't massive, but I've read that the 2023 MBP with the M2 Pro has a worse battery life than the 13"? Due to the screen size no doubt. The HDMI port and 120Hz are very nice additions though. All of those go above my budget but at this point I'd rather get something great that I can use daily for years to come.

I think the 2021 and newer MBP models, as long as they come with the M1 or M2 chip, are all okay. I'm struggling to believe the 14 inch models have worse battery life. The difference in battery size is huge, and technically the promotion screen can reduce the VRR down to 1 Hz, whereas the 13 inch models cannot do that. Just to be clear about the battery life, the "endless" life (20+ hours) comes from doing passive things like reading articles or responding in forums or watching videos. If you plan to work on your device on battery, like Photoshop, the battery life will be around 6 to 8 hours. 

 

If you are able to get the 14 inch MBP 512/16 then I think you are in a good position. The screen and speakers alone are enough to impress over the MBA and MBP 13 inch.

 

I know the M2 with 512 GB models have less cache than the previous generation, but I mean you have to transfer huge file after huge file to really saturate it. But I didn't hear anything negative about the battery life.

[johnt]

3 hours ago, Swndlr said:

I am excited to get my hands on a new one. I think sometime later this year is when I will retire this one. For right now, it is doing totally fine at handling Chrome tab abuse and Excel, which is basically all I need it for right now. I am also very excited that, since purchasing this one years ago, they've introduced the 14" option. Having previously also owned a 14" Razer Blade, I really think it is a perfect size and was a bit bummed when I began using my 13" MBP.

 

Improved battery life will be appreciated, as I currently need to charge this one often when power using.

I was a bit taken back when I first used the 14 inch. It's such a perfect size. The trackpad is perfection, the speakers are so much more than you expect, the proportions of the keyboard are just... so good! Even the weight is spot on to keep it stable. I don't understand how anybody uses an iPad after trying the MBP.

 

I hear you though. I feel like it's going to take forever to outgrow this laptop. Which is good because it cost a small fortune!

[Swndlr]

1 hour ago, johnt said:

I was a bit taken back when I first used the 14 inch. It's such a perfect size. The trackpad is perfection, the speakers are so much more than you expect, the proportions of the keyboard are just... so good! Even the weight is spot on to keep it stable. I don't understand how anybody uses an iPad after trying the MBP.

 

I hear you though. I feel like it's going to take forever to outgrow this laptop. Which is good because it cost a small fortune!

Agreed. It is really the perfect size. I avoided the 15" models previously because they were jusssttttt too big. And I've always preached that MacBook trackpads are amazing. I haven't felt one comparable on any other laptop. Price is steep for the latest models, I agree. If I decide to trade mine in to Apple for a credit on a new one, I am sure it will only be a few hundred dollars if I am lucky, but I'd rather them take it off my hands than just have it sitting around, only to dig it up when I eventually move in the future. Though, in fairness, $2,000 now gets you a pretty good 13". When I bought mine in 2018, $2,000 got me a quad-core i5, 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage. That same price now represents a 13" with 8-core M2, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD. Not bad. I wish they stopped offering the touch bar. I have it, and it was a mistake. Seemed cool at the time but ended up just being a huge gimmick. It doesn't even appear that you can get a 13" without it anymore, which kind of sucks.

 

Interesting you mention iPad. My girlfriend uses one with a pencil for most, if not all, of her day-to-day tasks. She also owns a regular MacBook but uses the iPad for notetaking, reading textbooks, searching and browsing, and a few other things. She doesn't need to use programs like Office or anything more typical of a traditional computer, so it works really well for her. She just ends up giving her laptop to her younger sister to use most of the time. I think, for her, the selling point is the ease of taking nursing school notes and the subsequent ability to organize and categorize them all in the notetaking app she uses. Also, most school textbooks are digital now, so she can side-by-side the textbook app and the notetaking app. Personally, I couldn't get away with it, because I have to use Excel, BI, Dynamics, etc. each day, and having a full, non-iOS-based operating system to work with goes a long way in that regard, obviously.

 

Edit: Went to check what Apple would offer me for my current laptop - 

 

[Leychee]

9 hours ago, johnt said:

I think the 2021 and newer MBP models, as long as they come with the M1 or M2 chip, are all okay. I'm struggling to believe the 14 inch models have worse battery life. The difference in battery size is huge, and technically the promotion screen can reduce the VRR down to 1 Hz, whereas the 13 inch models cannot do that. Just to be clear about the battery life, the "endless" life (20+ hours) comes from doing passive things like reading articles or responding in forums or watching videos. If you plan to work on your device on battery, like Photoshop, the battery life will be around 6 to 8 hours. 

 

If you are able to get the 14 inch MBP 512/16 then I think you are in a good position. The screen and speakers alone are enough to impress over the MBA and MBP 13 inch.

 

I know the M2 with 512 GB models have less cache than the previous generation, but I mean you have to transfer huge file after huge file to really saturate it. But I didn't hear anything negative about the battery life.

Just ordered that 14" MBP! Base model (doubt I'll need more than that) with a 8% discount, it's still very pricey and way above my original budget of ~1600€ but given the reviews and what you've said, it just looks like the investment is very worth it.

 

It will be my very first experience (ever) with MacOS, I have absolutely no idea what to expect or what its limitations are. Can't wait!

And once again, thank you all so much for taking the time to help me out!  

[johnt]

6 hours ago, Leyf said:

Just ordered that 14" MBP! Base model (doubt I'll need more than that) with a 8% discount, it's still very pricey and way above my original budget of ~1600€ but given the reviews and what you've said, it just looks like the investment is very worth it.

 

It will be my very first experience (ever) with MacOS, I have absolutely no idea what to expect or what its limitations are. Can't wait!

And once again, thank you all so much for taking the time to help me out!  

 

Sorry about that... (shooting above your budget). Guess that's my fault lol The 8 GB models do not have much life left with the way the internet is going.

 

Here are my favorite things about the experience: integration with my phone (photos, calendar, and iMessage). The screen and speakers are on another level. I got my MBP like 2 weeks before I got COVID last year, and I had to quarantine so my kids don't get sick. Man it was the best ever! What a great machine for content. And probably the trackpad will keep you away from every windows laptop for the rest of your life... it's so good. 

 

But I had difficulty adjusting to the screen for photo editing. It was very different than my normal LCD panel from 2016. The brightness and contrast are so much better on the MBP and it took me a while to get used to it. I would look at my older photos and noticed different issues that are easily fixed (like red spots on a bride's skin), but my old monitor was not as revealing. So I feel like it improved my editing.

 

Congrats!  

[johnt]

13 hours ago, Swndlr said:

Though, in fairness, $2,000 now gets you a pretty good 13". When I bought mine in 2018, $2,000 got me a quad-core i5, 8GB RAM, and 256GB storage. 

 

Interesting you mention iPad.

 

The 13 inch MBP is a relic. For some reason Apple kept the chassis and touch bar but upgraded it to an M-powered device. It should be called the MacBook semi-Pro lol I'm confused about apple's products. They just have too many products in every category: phones, tablets, laptops. Even the apple tv. Shoot, even the apple pencil! Why are there two models? STOP! lol... I understand the pencil, but I don't feel like they need so many products.

 

Those are pretty good reasons to have an iPad. I still have one and the only thing I do with it is use the pencil for short lists and drawing on Procreate. I do one drawing a month following instructions from a youtuber. It always makes me wonder how helpful/cleaner it would have been to go through college with an iPad instead of paper. I never stopped using a real pencil in college. I feel like I would have killed the battery 2 to 3 times per day.

[Leychee]

58 minutes ago, johnt said:

 

Sorry about that... (shooting above your budget). Guess that's my fault lol The 8 GB models do not have much life left with the way the internet is going.

 

Here are my favorite things about the experience: integration with my phone (photos, calendar, and iMessage). The screen and speakers are on another level. I got my MBP like 2 weeks before I got COVID last year, and I had to quarantine so my kids don't get sick. Man it was the best ever! What a great machine for content. And probably the trackpad will keep you away from every windows laptop for the rest of your life... it's so good. 

 

But I had difficulty adjusting to the screen for photo editing. It was very different than my normal LCD panel from 2016. The brightness and contrast are so much better on the MBP and it took me a while to get used to it. I would look at my older photos and noticed different issues that are easily fixed (like red spots on a bride's skin), but my old monitor was not as revealing. So I feel like it improved my editing.

 

Congrats!  

Haha it is true that without this post I would have spent much less, but I would have also ended up with a "relic", as you said 

My budget wasn't strict at all, before writing this post I saw that 1600€ MacBook that I liked so I didn't really think about looking for pricier options that are significantly better. XDR (even though at first I didn't mind not having it), 120Hz and more connectivity, including HDMI, are features that I might actually want to use and would truly enjoy having. Especially the refresh rate!

 

Thanks for sharing your experience! Overall it looks like you've been having a blast with your device, I'm sure I'll love it and never look back  If my own experience with the MBP is half as good as yours, I might even just stay in the ecosystem indefinitely (and so far it's been great)

Good speakers are a huge plus, as I pretty much never watch content with my headphones on (heresy, I know.) 

 

One thing that's been sort of running through my mind is the storage. I don't take a lot of photos and almost never store big files, but I'm still wondering if 512GB are enough. To be fair the only thing that's taking a lot of space on my desktop are games, but obviously my MBP won't serve the same purpose. After all I could just get some iCloud storage or an external SSD, right?

[Darkseth]

@LeyfGood choice for the 14". Is it a M2 Pro or the older m1 Pro with a huge discount? Seen them for 1500-1600 USD on sale a few times.

Really great device, i myself just have the Macbook Pro 13" with M1 Chip from late 2020, still rocking strong. But my next one will be the 14" or maybe 16" even with ProMotion and more connection. Maybe M3 Pro, depends.
Apple Silicon does things so well, i kinda don't want a non-Macbook anymore as a Laptop, even if i'm all Windows on my Desktop.

 

Just a tip: Don't go into MacOS thinking it has to work like Windows. It will do a few things different. Some for the better, some for the worse.

If you don't get how you do something, just google it. There are countless of tips and tricks on MacOS (also, Windows and Linux too) that many people don't know about. Some rarely used features that might be just for you.

 

I highly recommend Rectangle (or Tiles), those are window management tools for snapping, they are free.

 

Also, think about using Homebrew, it's like apt for Ubuntu, dnf for fedora etc.. A Packet-Manager. You can install Applications over Homebrew, and update them all with one command. Not manditory, but if you like the concept of a packetmanager, Homebrew is great. Even Windows has something like that (winget).

 

512gb can be plenty, feel free to plug in any external Drive for more storage. Way cheaper than Apple's prices, but less elegant.

Just make sure to not use NTFS filesystem, go for exFAT. Works for MacOS, Linux and Windows if you only want to store data.

For Gaming: Consider Nvidia geforce Now. Works on MacOS, and maybe your Games are on there too.

iCloud is great if you're in the Ecosystem and maybe use other devices. I use my iCloud with my GF as a family member, we have some shared folders, that's really great and well integrated, just as a shared Photo library.

However, just for using a Cloud storage, you can also use Onedrive, Dropbox, Google Drive. Price per GB/TB is very comparable. It doesn't has to be iCloud, if you feel more comfortable with another service.
Or you go for Nextcloud.

[Swndlr]

1 hour ago, johnt said:

 

The 13 inch MBP is a relic. For some reason Apple kept the chassis and touch bar but upgraded it to an M-powered device. It should be called the MacBook semi-Pro lol I'm confused about apple's products. They just have too many products in every category: phones, tablets, laptops. Even the apple tv. Shoot, even the apple pencil! Why are there two models? STOP! lol... I understand the pencil, but I don't feel like they need so many products.

 

Those are pretty good reasons to have an iPad. I still have one and the only thing I do with it is use the pencil for short lists and drawing on Procreate. I do one drawing a month following instructions from a youtuber. It always makes me wonder how helpful/cleaner it would have been to go through college with an iPad instead of paper. I never stopped using a real pencil in college. I feel like I would have killed the battery 2 to 3 times per day.

Yeah, I would agree, the product stack is rather convoluted at the moment. I feel like it used to be pretty simple. Now, choosing the right one requires more research than I feel like it should, which used to be one of Apple's strong points over a Windows machine. You would just walk in, see the simple lineup of laptops, and know which was the best for you almost just by looking at them (i.e. Air vs Pro). Even as someone who is literate in computers and hardware, how am I really supposed to know if I need a 10-core or 12-core CPU... On the other hand, I appreciate that this sales model allows you to build one to your perfect desired specification based on your needs and desired budget.

 

To me, the ecosystem remains very simple because I only use a MacBook and iPhone (maybe an iPad in future), so I don't have to deal with that many decisions or a wide mix of products. As far as my next MacBook goes, I will probably get a mid-spec 14" (i.e. 12-core, 16GB, 1TB) which will be plenty.

[Leychee]

37 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

@LeyfGood choice for the 14". Is it a M2 Pro or the older m1 Pro with a huge discount? Seen them for 1500-1600 USD on sale a few times.

Really great device, i myself just have the Macbook Pro 13" with M1 Chip from late 2020, still rocking strong. But my next one will be the 14" or maybe 16" even with ProMotion and more connection. Maybe M3 Pro, depends.
Apple Silicon does things so well, i kinda don't want a non-Macbook anymore as a Laptop, even if i'm all Windows on my Desktop.

 

Just a tip: Don't go into MacOS thinking it has to work like Windows. It will do a few things different. Some for the better, some for the worse.

If you don't get how you do something, just google it. There are countless of tips and tricks on MacOS (also, Windows and Linux too) that many people don't know about. Some rarely used features that might be just for you.

 

I highly recommend Rectangle (or Tiles), those are window management tools for snapping, they are free.

 

Also, think about using Homebrew, it's like apt for Ubuntu, dnf for fedora etc.. A Packet-Manager. You can install Applications over Homebrew, and update them all with one command. Not manditory, but if you like the concept of a packetmanager, Homebrew is great. Even Windows has something like that (winget).

 

512gb can be plenty, feel free to plug in any external Drive for more storage. Way cheaper than Apple's prices, but less elegant.

Just make sure to not use NTFS filesystem, go for exFAT. Works for MacOS, Linux and Windows if you only want to store data.

For Gaming: Consider Nvidia geforce Now. Works on MacOS, and maybe your Games are on there too.

iCloud is great if you're in the Ecosystem and maybe use other devices. I use my iCloud with my GF as a family member, we have some shared folders, that's really great and well integrated, just as a shared Photo library.

However, just for using a Cloud storage, you can also use Onedrive, Dropbox, Google Drive. Price per GB/TB is very comparable. It doesn't has to be iCloud, if you feel more comfortable with another service.
Or you go for Nextcloud.

Can't thank you enough for all these tips! I'll make sure to keep all of that in mind and check everything out to make the most out of it. It'll be a very exciting experience for sure.

 

I'm somewhat new to the ecosystem (iPhone, Watch and MBP tomorrow, I went for the 2023 M2 Pro base model) and I really like how iCloud works to be honest. It's affordable, works well even on Windows and of course with the rest of the ecosystem. I keep most of my stuff on several other cloud services, but if 512GB end up not being enough I'll just pick one and commit to it. Are they all as seamless as iCloud on MacOS? 

[Darkseth]

i agree, i also have some random stuff on Dropbox, 2 different Onedrives and gDrive

I even use iCloud to save my Photo library, but also use Google Photos for a second copy of that.

 

They all work very well on MacOS, like OneDrive does index all the files and indicates wether the File is just "online", or actually downloaded ready to be opened.

 

But i guess iCloud is more deeply integrated in the System across all Apple Devices. But it's worth a try.

iCloud at least does have small 50gb Plan for 99 cents that lets you try many things out.