Ask Engadget: Is it the time to move to Mac from Windows?

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Q: I am a Gen X Windows user, I have built my own system for decades, and I have been working mainly in 3D design for construction and construction industry. I would like to know if you feel a logical matter with all these unnecessary introductory disorders?

I was trying to jump for years … I feel I need someone to tell me to go to him and not look back. Jim from Pinberridge Island, Washington

A: It is undoubtedly a great time to jump from Windows to MACS. the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro It is among the highest -rated laptops we have reviewed over the past few years, and Mac Mini and imac They are also great solutions for desktop users. Certainly there is some learning curve when jumping, but mostly a problem if you need specialized programs only It works on Windows.

Apple MacBook Pro (2024)

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

There are three large advantages of switching from Windows to Mac.

Currently, the biggest feature is the huge speed of Mac devices. This is thanks to Apple Silicon, the designated company chips that are designed to be very effective and fast. In our standards, even the most important M4 slide blows most of the Intel and AMD devices. The Apple feature only grows as you move to Pro, Max and Ultra.

Silicon Apple speed not only appears in the standards. It is easy to see that modern MACS, even MacBook Air at the entry level, feels ZipPier of Windows devices with similar prices. This applies to everything including web browsing and office productivity applications, as well as more complicated tasks such as video presentation. Apple chips also include some strong graphics nuclei, which allows you to easily play many games from the application store. Although you will definitely not make mistakes in any Mac computer as a real game for games, I am still surprised that the MacBook Air was able to play a new complex game like Lies p In 1080 pixels at 60 frames per second.

Since Apple Silicon depends on the Mobile Arm chip structure, it is also more efficient than the most demanding central processing units of Intel and AMD. This leads to the life of the deadly battery in all areas of Mac laptops. MacBook Air continued 13 inches and 15 inches more than 18 hours in our video standard, while MacBook Pros exceeded 30 hours. In use in the real world, you can expect most Mac devices to continue in two days of full work without the need for fees. MACS devices also tend to withstand their fees in standardizing better than computers, so that you can be more believed that they will be ready to work at the moment you run it.

After MACS review over the past fifteen years, and its support as a decade -long information technology agent, I can also say confidently that Mac devices last longer than computers. The aluminum cases of Apple coincide with bumps and drops much better than the cheap plastic that you will find on some computers. Now this does not mean that they are immune to wear, but from what Macs saw it tends to withstand well. If you need to fix something, it is also easy to get it in the Apple store, instead of charging a Windows computer to its maker.

Apple MacBook Pro 14 inches from the front

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Although I think it is worth jumping to MACS in general, there are some negative aspects:

Looking at the amount of our computer life that revolves around cloud applications such as Gmail and Google documents these days, the transition to Macs includes learning the basics of Apple platforms. Install programs outside the application store slightly differently from Windows – you often have to pull an application to the application folder, instead of clicking through the installer. Apple tracking panels do not support the right -clicking on the right mouse. Instead, you have to either click on the control key and click on the secondary click feature or enable it (System Preferences> Track Panel). There you can set the right -mouse clicks on the tap with the fingers, or click on the bottom corners of the tracking plate.

Dock MacOS can be confusing because it cannot show all open apps like Windows. Next, managing all your open applications can be pain. My suggestion? Prepare hot corners (System settings> desktop and pavement> hot corners) So that your Mac device reveals your applications whenever you pull your index to an angle of your screen.

Since this feature first appeared (it was originally called Expose), I prepared it to detect the current Windows in one angle, all my windows in another, and the desktop in the third. Theater director Apple, which He appeared for the first time in McCos VenturaIt can also help you collect applications, but I usually use it only when I want to focus on a program or two programs.

Historically, Apple was terrible when it came to support games on MacOS, but it is improving. Recent headlines like the above mentioned Lies pBesides The village of evil residing and They cut off deathEasily available in the application store. There are also more titles on Steam Shipping with a custom support, and Cloud Streaming opens to access to services such as Microsoft Xbox Game Pass.

But there is no way Apple will be able to catch Windows when it comes to supporting games in general any time soon. So if you actually care to always get the latest address, you may want to adhere to computers. This is doublely true if you also have any interest in your desire to upgrade video cards, random access memory or internal storage options, all of which are not really accessible to MACS – including desktop models.

While Apple was a leader in using touch screens with iPhone and iPad, it stubbornly refused to provide this feature to MacS. So, if you are used to diversifying the laptop screen to pass, you are just lucky with Mac … A 2023 reports He claimed that we might see MacBook Pro on a touch screen this year, but it is not clear if it would actually happen. Personally, I do not miss a touch screen when I use MacS devices, since Apple glass panels feel liquid.

Apple Imac M1 24 inches

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The battle between Mac and Windows is almost as old as the concept of personal computing itself, and it is likely to never end. In 1983, Lisa from Apple dismantled a new floor as a first consumer computer with a graphical user interface (GUI), and the company continued this with Macintosh most affordable in 1984. Microsoft was received with Windows 1.0 in 1985, but the platform did not really take off until Windows 3.0 reached 1990.

By this point, the philosophical differences between the two companies were clear: Apple was more focused on providing friendly user experiences for its custom devices, while Microsoft built Windows as a platform that could work on a wide range of computers. Consequently, the user’s culture around both systems has become somewhat distinct: Macs became the option that works in creative and academic fields, while Windows was more focused on the work of the offices and direct productivity. There has always been a difference in the main price between basic systems, as allocated devices from Apple are usually much more cost than the main Windows computer.

Over the years, at Apple He went from using PowerPc chips in Motorola to Intel It is a step that made Mac devices much closer to Windows computers. Recently, Apple completely changed things again Completely moving to their Silicone apple chipsAnd built around the same mobile structure used by iPhone and iPad devices.

Although Mac and Windows devices remain very distinct, the differences between them have been slightly settled now after you depend on many cloud services. The use of Gmail or Google documents on the Mac does not differ from the Windows system, after all.

It may seem to be vulgar to say this, but Apple’s Mac family now has something for everyone (unless you are a militant player). We are in the depths of four generations in the Silicone chips, and all the company’s devices have seen some useful useful reviews. The real question is to know what is best for you.

Note about pricing: Although the prices of beginners levels of Apple are more logical than ever, they separate you while adding more random access memory and storage. You cannot also add more memory or storage to Apple Silicon at the bottom of the line, so you should think hard what you need when purchasing a new Mac. I recommend giving priority to more random access memory as possible, where you can always use cloud services or external drives for storage outside SSD. I would also like to suggest filling a new Mac soon if you are interested, as there is an opportunity for Apple to start increasing prices to keep pace with the tariffs. (Only recently, both of them Microsoft and Dji The prices of aging devices increased.)

But if you are finally ready to withdraw the operator on a new Mac, this is your best options at the moment. You can also find some excellent deals if you are looking for M3 and M2 versions that are renewed from the systems below.

MacBook Air is the best super laptop available today. It is fast, incredibly light, has a great battery life and is also completely silent, because it does not have a cooling fan. Now that it started from $ 999 with 16 GB RAM, it’s also amazing a good deal. Unless you need additional ports and improved screen on MacBook Pro, it will be the whole air Computer You need several years.


Up to MacBook Pro gets a high-updated screen, M4 Pro slices faster and a wide range of ports (including more USB-C Etisalat and MicroSD and HDMI card reader). Although it is heavier than air, 14 -inch MacBook Pro is still relatively light and is more suitable for continuous work burdens, such as video coding or 3D presentation. MacBook Pro 16 inch the same device with a larger screen.


Starting at $ 599 (but often often offered for sale much less), Mac Mini is a strong box for a luminant that can outperform Windows desktops of full size. It is the perfect gateway to the Mac world if you already have a screen, keyboard and mouse you love. The primary model is strong enough to deal with any productive task you throw, but if you need more performance, you can also escalate the MIC MINI equipped with M4. In addition to reducing it in this last review, it seems that Apple has heard a complaint and added the USB-C to the Mac Mini introduction. Along with three other USB-C ports in the back, HDMI and Eternet, Mac Mini offers a comprehensive set of ports and is difficult to think of a computer more capable of $ 600.


Although IMAC is not the first one in one office in one, it is circulated to the model factor to the point where most computers have their copy products. Now with the M4 chip, IMAC is now stronger than ever, while also wearing a thin profile, which means that it directly suits the house on the kitchen table. Its 24 -inch screen is perfectly suitable for a little work without controlling a table, and its loudspeakers look amazingly great. IMAC is the perfect family computer, which can be prepared almost anywhere and is useful for children and parents alike.


If you need more energy than Mac Mini, Mac Studio is a power of desktop. Although it is still much smaller than the typical Windows desktop, M4 Max and M4 Ultra can easily take the best devices from Intel and AMD. At this stage, Mac Studio is more than Mac more than the actual Mac Pro, which is much more expensive and more concerned with high -level companies.

As technology reporters, Engadget employees always answer questions from readers, friends and family about electronics, programs, games, large technical policies and more. So we decided to write our answers. This question came from a listener EngadgetAnd it was gently released for clarity and brevity. If you have a technology -related question, you want to answer you, please send an email to [email protected].

This article was originally appeared on Engadget on https://www.engadget.com/computing/ask-engadget-is-et-a-good-time-to-MACS-from-wdows-145159396.html?



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