Bought my first MacBook Pro!

[Flair4TheGold]

After always using Windows based PCs/laptops for work and personal use, I finally bought a MacBook Pro M1 8 GB 512 GB SSD. I’ll be picking it up tomorrow from Best Buy. I will say that I’m not an Apple newbie as I’ve used iPads and iPhones for some time now.

Is there anything that I need to be aware of as a MacOS newbie or is it as straight forward as my use with iPads?

One last question, my use case with the MacBook Pro 8 GB doesn’t involve any video editing. This is why I decided to go with an 8 GB rather than wait for a 16 GB (it was tempting). Basically, I would need to use Microsoft Office 365, any casual use with web browsing and e-mail, and ability to log into my work network. Also, occasionally using Steam to play Civilization 6 or any other games. Does the 8 GB, 512 GB SSD provide enough power and storage? I think so but wanted to compare with others here.

 

[AlexOnBoard]

I believe the basic MBA is enough for you as well.

 

[xoutrageousx]

8GB is more than enough for everything you mentioned and more.

 

[Flair4TheGold]

I believe the basic MBA is enough for you as well.

I looked at that model too. Really loved the thought of a fanless experience but thought if I did push the system, having that fan might help. Again, I’m a newbie so my thought process might not be scientific. I will say that I watched a lot of positive MBA YouTube videos. I’m going into this completely unbiased as I’ve never used as a Mac based laptop ever. I’m genuinely curious.

 

[AVBeatMan]

I'm also looking at the 512GB and wondering if it is enough storage? Can anyone tell me;
A; How many songs would you be able to store? (I have about 10,000)
B; How many photo's would you be able to store? (I have about 20,000)
C; Those with 512GB, do you comfortable mange with this or do you wish you'd gone for the 1TB version?
I do know that everyone is different but I'd just like an average estimate.

 

[dmccloud]

I'm also looking at the 512GB and wondering if it is enough storage? Can anyone tell me;
A; How many songs would you be able to store? (I have about 10,000)
B; How many photo's would you be able to store? (I have about 20,000)
C; Those with 512GB, do you comfortable mange with this or do you wish you'd gone for the 1TB version?
I do know that everyone is different but I'd just like an average estimate.

How many songs and photos you can store depends on a lot of factors. A 5-minute song can be as small as 3MB or as large as 400Mb depending on how it was encoded. Likewise, there is a huge difference in size between a 12MP JPEG photo and a 40MP RAW photo.

Here is a chart showing average file sizes for audio files:

Size Comparison Chart of Various Formats DSD-WAV-FLAC-mp3 | DSD-Guide.com