What made you choose this over a windows laptop?

[trailmonkey]

I tried getting into OSX Snow Leopard back in the day but couldn't get my head around new ways of working, having spent years in the world of Windows.

Made a far more concerted effort 18 months ago with a MBA running Mojave. Suddenly it all clicked and I could see what all fuss was about.

The way I explain it will make most sense to people in the UK; working in Windows is like wandering around Tesco - it's got everything you need but you're bored and uninspired; working in Mac OS is like hanging out in Waitrose - everything looks better, brighter, smarter, prettier, glossier and you're more inspired.

Specifically re the M1, I don't need one but I've allowed myself to be seduced by the performance and VFM. I'm selling my 2015 MBA and waiting for the M1 to drop in the next week hopefully.

 

[4sallypat]

I sold my 16" i9 8 core for the M1 Macbook Air. Couldn't be happier. Finally back to having an actual LAPtop and not a lapburner

Ah, so correct!

My 16" MBP is too hot to use on a lap - I keep mine on a cooling pad with dual fans to keep her cool, the battery sucks and not have it die an early death....

Can't believe the M1 MBA/MBP runs circles around Intel Macs and has battery life & cool temps to boot!

 

[TrueBlou]

Right on the money. As we speak I've got another Windows drama queen on the table that just decided to give me a spinning wheel instead of booting up. I can do without this as soon as I drop the hammer.

And yeah, Macs do last. My 2012 iMac, for which standard Apple haters would laugh at me because it's "so expensive", is still chugging along just fine. In the meantime, I've also had half a dozen PCs for half the money each, but WAY more altogether. I could say I buy Macs, because I can't afford Windows machines. Money doesn't grow on trees.

You buy Macs because you can’t afford Windows machines? But you can get those cheaper.... I know what you mean though

I’ve had the same issues, my 2015 iMac, while only 5 years old (I say only because I don’t think 5 years is particularly old for a Mac, they last) is still doing everything I need it to, working perfectly.

In that same timeframe though, I’m on my second Windows server and third CPU. If and when that bugger goes tits up, I’ll probably replace it with an M1 Mac Mini.

 

[1BadManVan]

I appreciate all the input guys. I was a windows guy for years then left the pc world all together once kids came along because my main use for them was gaming. Now that’s not as high on the priority list as I have an Xbox for the rare moments i have time to

Still a spec geek at heart and never owned any mac before personally. So when I start seeing similar priced ultra books on the windows side with higher end specs and dedicated graphics, I had to investigate more lol

MacBook still top of the list. But now which one? Air or the pro for the brother screen, better speakers and trackpad. Worth the premium?

 

[bb_mac]

I really don't like windows anymore.
In fact, I despise windows. Harsh, but true. Purely my personal opinion.

Microsoft have *always* released Operating systems (apart from NT/Win2k/XP) that are "just about good enough".

I used windows as my primary OS for 20 years, but windows 8 and then windows 10 ... seriously, what a god-awful change that was.

But hey, I still have a windows rig - to game with. It does that nicely, so long as you ensure you boot it up once a week and go through the update pain. I really should just get an XBox.

To me, windows patch Tuesday, is a PITA.
It means if I don't boot my windows gaming rig for a few weeks, I'm faced with a multitude of updates.
The update process is *horrible* - the UI/UX is just rubbish.
I really DON'T CARE what numerous updates microsoft are throwing at me, with multiple little bits of stuff I have to fetch - FFS, just update me, reboot and be done with it. But no, I have to be shown all these little details about what it is doing, fetch multiple updates, watch progress bars and quite often failures to fetch updates ... and it all takes so damn long.

I *just* want to play my game *sob* - I've given up sometimes and just hit the power button to turn the damn piece of crap off. I don't want to game badly enough to wait 30 minutes whilst windows decides what updates it wants to throw at me and then sometimes reboots twice. Screw That.

I now actively seek out Mac games, except for those awesome "must have" games ... so, maybe I should just quit windows gaming altogether and just get a damn console already.

EDIT: As an old geek now, I don't game like I used to. So, there is that. Gone are the days when I'd spend 8 hours a day gaming. More like 8 hours a month now... unless something amazing comes out. Then I'll put up with windows ...

 

[Serban55]

since i never wanted to be locked into 1 operating system.. i always chose for my business the system that is better for the time
When win10 came out i chose that, but after 3-4 years win10 is the same and for every update they crash some of my devices , updates with no real advantages
Now, the macs starting to be in their own league
Performance/battery/heat ratio is on another level vs intel/amd devices
I am patron now for supporting and making linux native for M chips

 

[Jimmy James]

MacOS:
1. Privacy handling approach.
2. Bloatware. When I last purchased a windows computer (over 10 years ago) I couldn’t find one without third party bloat. It reappeared every time I reinstalled (see below) and was too much work to eliminate
3. Performance. I had to reinstall Windows from scratch every 6-12 months to maintain performance. My Mac goes for years without that level of degradation.
4. Killing processes. On “Windows”, stop doesn’t mean stop. I feel violated.
5. Settings. I know this sounds strange. Mac has them conveniently in one place. They do what you want. On Windows they’re all over the place. They don’t always trigger the desired response. It seems a metaphor for the overarching approach.
6. Drive space. MacOS doesn’t take a bunch by formatting.

Those are my basics. Hardware is another conversation.

 

[1BadManVan]

I really don't like windows anymore.
In fact, I despise windows. Harsh, but true. Purely my personal opinion.

Microsoft have *always* released Operating systems (apart from NT/Win2k/XP) that are "just about good enough".

I used windows as my primary OS for 20 years, but windows 8 and then windows 10 ... seriously, what a god-awful change that was.

But hey, I still have a windows rig - to game with. It does that nicely, so long as you ensure you boot it up once a week and go through the update pain. I really should just get an XBox.

To me, windows patch Tuesday, is a PITA.
It means if I don't boot my windows gaming rig for a few weeks, I'm faced with a multitude of updates.
The update process is *horrible* - the UI/UX is just rubbish.
I really DON'T CARE what numerous updates microsoft are throwing at me, with multiple little bits of stuff I have to fetch - FFS, just update me, reboot and be done with it. But no, I have to be shown all these little details about what it is doing, fetch multiple updates, watch progress bars and quite often failures to fetch updates ... and it all takes so damn long.

I *just* want to play my game *sob* - I've given up sometimes and just hit the power button to turn the damn piece of crap off. I don't want to game badly enough to wait 30 minutes whilst windows decides what updates it wants to throw at me and then sometimes reboots twice. Screw That.

I now actively seek out Mac games, except for those awesome "must have" games ... so, maybe I should just quit windows gaming altogether and just get a damn console already.

EDIT: As an old geek now, I don't game like I used to. So, there is that. Gone are the days when I'd spend 8 hours a day gaming. More like 8 hours a month now... unless something amazing comes out. Then I'll put up with windows ...

I would just go Xbox with all that hassle. A lot games also support mouse and keyboard through Xbox as well. I haven’t tried it myself, I adjusted to controller fairly quick. But I appreciate the detailed response, definitely sounds like a headache

 

[1BadManVan]

MacOS:
1. Privacy handling approach.
2. Bloatware. When I last purchased a windows computer (over 10 years ago) I couldn’t find one without third party bloat. It reappeared every time I reinstalled (see below) and was too much work to eliminate
3. Performance. I had to reinstall Windows from scratch every 6-12 months to maintain performance. My Mac goes for years without that level of degradation.
4. Killing processes. On “Windows”, stop doesn’t mean stop. I feel violated.
5. Settings. I know this sounds strange. Mac has them conveniently in one place. They do what you want. On Windows they’re all over the place. They don’t always trigger the desired response. It seems a metaphor for the overarching approach.
6. Drive space. MacOS doesn’t take a bunch by formatting.

Those are my basics. Hardware is another conversation.

Appreciate the feedback. My minds pretty much made up to go over to m1 mac

now the hard Question many struggle with, the pro or the air lol

 

[jeyf]

you know at least you have a choice
but
i got cought up in the 2017 MBP keyboard. That is the last macOS device we will have in this house.

my company interviewed for a new firmware desgin peep. the interview team de selected a person based on the fact he owned an APPLE. The lawyer had the talk with the team lead but they dug their high heels in the dirt and refused to budge.

 

[jerryk]

I prefer the feel and finish of Apple notebooks. My desktop has 2-24" 2K monitors, i9900K, 64 GB ram, 2 TB Nvme, RTX 2070s, and runs Windows and Ubuntu. So I am not lacking for a Windows system.

 

[EEzycade]

The value of good customer service only becomes apparent if there is a problem. From my experience, Apple support is usually very quick in offering satisfactory solutions. Can't say it the same for Dell or Lenovo.

Apple Support has always been great at solving my issues, which crop up only occasionally. It's nice to know I have a resource to turn to if I need help.

 

[1BadManVan]

Is it worth getting Apple care plus with these? $250 premium in Canada for it

 

[Six0Four]

It's that eco system baby. Having iMessage, Notes & Photos is just so nice to have in my dock.

Apple makes great hardware too.

Now that M1 is out i can say they are actually priced pretty decent.

 

[Runs For Fun]

I prefer MacOS to Windows. Simple as that. And with the M1 it’s a no brainer.

 

[Bending Pixels]

Simply put - Windows makes me say naughty things

 

[adderthorn]

Just curious, especially for those of you who aren’t big into photo and video editing. What made you choose this over a windows equivalent? Especially once I bump up the specs a bit, I’m getting into some pretty good windows ultra book and gaming laptops.

One specifically that catches my eye is the asus rog zephyrus g14. A nice portable ultra book on the new AMD 4800hs processor, dedicated graphics and a magnesium alloy build with 11 hour battery life for less then the MacBook Air on the same storage and ram specs.

So what made you make that leap over? Battery life? Screen? Certain apps? Or just the ecosystem? I currently own an iPhone and iPad. Have owned a laptop in years

As someone who primarily uses (and prefers) Windows, I think I can answer this well. If the laptop in question is my primary computing device, I would not get the MacBook Air. My main rig is a Ryzen 9 desktop I built and use it for development, light gaming, and everything else. I'm very proficient and productive using Windows and haven't used a Mac in earnest since around 2010 when my aging PowerBook G4 got daily use.

The laptop the Air replaces is a Dell Inspiron. It's quite old (I bought it around 2014) and was thick and heavy. Using the Air as my secondary machine is wonderful. I wanted the total opposite of my Dell: something svelte and fast. This new Air is amazing in that regard. Especially having no fan.

I don't think I'll ever go back to macOS fulltime (in recent years its tendency to become more closed year over year has been a major turnoff), but say what you want about macOS, Apple sure does knock it out of the park with the hardware on these new ASi macs.

 

[russell_314]

Does anyone ever use that customer service, to be honest?

I've had a:

BlackBook
iMac 20"
iMac 24"
alu unibody MB
macbook air
macbook air
m1 MBA

I usually simply walk into a store and buy a machine and use it. No interaction with Apple required or necessary.

I can't see the advantage of Apple's customer service?

Absolutely I use their customer service and it's a MAJOR reason I buy Apple products. I've had hardware failures and Apple was outstanding with their customer service and took care of the issue. Also if I have a question about something it's nice to be able to speak with someone who can understand what I'm asking over the phone. I bought a Razer Core X that was DOA and it took two months of emailing back and forth to tech support in India to get them to exchange it. After all that they sent me the wrong unit back....

 

[ww1971]

The problem with Windows laptops is they run Windows.

and Windows don’t run very well on windows laptops / desktop computers in the majority of cases

 

[1BadManVan]

As someone who primarily uses (and prefers) Windows, I think I can answer this well. If the laptop in question is my primary computing device, I would not get the MacBook Air. My main rig is a Ryzen 9 desktop I built and use it for development, light gaming, and everything else. I'm very proficient and productive using Windows and haven't used a Mac in earnest since around 2010 when my aging PowerBook G4 got daily use.

The laptop the Air replaces is a Dell Inspiron. It's quite old (I bought it around 2014) and was thick and heavy. Using the Air as my secondary machine is wonderful. I wanted the total opposite of my Dell: something svelte and fast. This new Air is amazing in that regard. Especially having no fan.

I don't think I'll ever go back to macOS fulltime (in recent years its tendency to become more closed year over year has been a major turnoff), but say what you want about macOS, Apple sure does knock it out of the park with the hardware on these new ASi macs.

This will be my main device, but keep in mind that I’ve gotten by on an iphone and iPad combo for the last 5 years now lol. While gaming would be a nice bonus, my main rig for that is my Xbox. Im definitely shooting for a laptop thats easy to use on the couch and be very portable.

So if I’m looking to keep to a 13-14” light weight laptop, what’s a better alternative to these new MacBooks?

 

[1BadManVan]

and Windows don’t run very well on windows laptops / desktop computers in the majority of cases

Yea I’ve pretty much made up my mind to go with a macbook. But being a spec geek, it’s hard to pass up the benefits of a pro, even if I may never use them lol

 

[anubis1980]

My job is a cyber security specialist, I have to deal with pcs everyday. It's almost ruined technology for me, when I get home the last thing I want to do is look at windows. Apple aren't always perfect when it comes to OS issues but its a nice change for me to use Mac compared to a pc. It keeps my interest in tech alive.

 

[adderthorn]

This will be my main device, but keep in mind that I’ve gotten by on an iphone and iPad combo for the last 5 years now lol. While gaming would be a nice bonus, my main rig for that is my Xbox. Im definitely shooting for a laptop thats easy to use on the couch and be very portable.

So if I’m looking to keep to a 13-14” light weight laptop, what’s a better alternative to these new MacBooks?

If you've been getting by with an iPad and iPhone then you should be totally fine with the M1. If I were buying a new Windows laptop in the 13" range, I really like the HP Spectre x360.

The reason why I'd be hesitant to make the M1 machine my main machine is that some of the specific development tools I use are still not fully supported (e.g. .NET Core and DCE Java). Likewise there are some Windows-only tools I need or like to use which I could not do on this Air but could with an Intel model.

It really depends on use case. Plus if you already have an Xbox for gaming then who cares about doing it on a PC? 13" screen is too small anyway

 

[redcaptrickster]

A choice that’s not a choice [for me].

Any “Windows” machine I buy is re-imaged with Linux before use.

 

[1BadManVan]

If you've been getting by with an iPad and iPhone then you should be totally fine with the M1. If I were buying a new Windows laptop in the 13" range, I really like the HP Spectre x360.

The reason why I'd be hesitant to make the M1 machine my main machine is that some of the specific development tools I use are still not fully supported (e.g. .NET Core and DCE Java). Likewise there are some Windows-only tools I need or like to use which I could not do on this Air but could with an Intel model.

It really depends on use case. Plus if you already have an Xbox for gaming then who cares about doing it on a PC? 13" screen is too small anyway

Yea I got my Xbox hooked up to a nice 27” gaming monitor, made a big difference for my gaming experience vs the couch and tv.

Thanks for all the responses. Now back to banging my head against the wall of the pro vs air lol.