As a resident member of the "Starbucks Atmosphere Group", Macbook has become more and more popular in recent years, not only the M1 chip has come out, but the price has really come down. Taking the most widely applicable MacBook Air as an example, many channels can start at the beginning of 7,000 yuan, plus many platforms support 24 periods of interest-free installments, and the official original price purchase is only 333 yuan / month, almost no pressure to start.
It is precisely because of this that many friends around are moved, and the reason for the delay in starting is still the concerns of those "misinformed for many years":
The Mac system is very "closed", the software compatibility is not good, I heard that Apple computer does not even have Office, is it true? If you haven't used macOS, will it be difficult to get started? The machine is so thin and light, the performance is not good...
But in fact, the vast majority of users who have used a Mac have said that it is difficult to return to the Windows PC.
Why is this happening? From my years of experience, the Mac is really easy to use, and these questions or concerns are actually just misunderstandings caused by traditional impressions in the past.
Software compatibility? Both 2022 are big brothers
The first thing to answer is the problem of software compatibility, which is because macOS is relatively "closed", and some software in the early days did not adapt, or did not Chinese version, which caused users to have the impression that "Apple computers are not easy to use".
After so many years of development, most of the common software on Windows PCs has been on the shelves on macs for many years. Not only that, Apple also attaches great importance to the Chinese market, and some localization applications have long been supported, which can fully meet the needs of daily work and life.
Office 365 price (Mac system on the top, Windows system on the bottom)
For the Office series software that you use more commonly, there is no problem in macOS, and you can directly purchase the Office 365 suite. Some people may ask, in the Freeware on Windows PC, why does it cost money on macs? In fact, Office software on Windows PCs is also charged, and the price of the two platforms is exactly the same, but some users are accustomed to using pirated software - we do not support such behavior.
In fact, Apple itself has a completely free iWork suite: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, corresponding to Word, Excel and PPT, in most cases can completely replace Office software, and after getting started, you will find that the effect produced by iWork is more beautiful and easy to use than Office software.
As for a series of national software such as PhotoShop, WeChat, DingTalk, Baidu network disk, etc., it can also be used directly. For some software that is not available in the App Store, you only need to visit the corresponding official website and directly download the DMG file to install (that is, the exe installation file on the Windows system), which almost does not require learning costs.
Many windows PCs are hard to replace
After dispelling my concerns, I'll tell you what's so good about the Mac.
Whether it is iMac, Mac mini, the latest Mac Studio, or MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Apple's industrial design is indeed nothing to say, especially the new iMac also has a colorful color scheme, which is very suitable for young users full of personality.
Moreover, Apple has never made cheap products, not only the performance of the M1 series chips is enough to burst, but the entire series of screen parameters can be said to be the industry benchmark, which is very suitable for users in professional fields such as design/video editing.
Another point that even people who have never used a Mac should have heard a little, and that is the security of macOS. Especially for ordinary users who do not understand system maintenance, in this regard, you can rest assured that there are several rogue software every three forks and five forks, and the later use will be very worry-free.
On macOS, there are also many unique features that are difficult to achieve on the Windows platform. For example, a Mac and iPad/iPhone with the same Apple ID can be copied on one device and then pasted directly on another device.
Or use the same mouse or trackpad to directly control multiple devices, all of which are the most subconscious and can be used without any learning.
Apple's multi-device collaboration has completely opened up its own full range of product lines, such as I processed a file on the company's iMac, and I can save it directly on the desktop. After work, on the subway suddenly think of an idea, you can also take out the iPhone to record it, go home and open the MacBook, all the progress will be automatically saved and kept in sync (you need to turn on iCloud synchronization), convenient and fast.
If it is on a Windows PC, it can only be achieved through cloud storage solutions such as network disks, and each device needs to go through the process of downloading to the local, editing, saving, uploading to the cloud, etc. If the document is forgotten to upload in the company, or one of the devices fails to save, it may make the previous efforts abandoned.
Obviously, if you have multiple Apple devices, their linkage in functions, settings and other aspects will be very convenient, not only limited to Mac, iPad and iPhone, but also Apple Watch and AirPods and other products, you can have more ways to play: such as using Apple Watch to unlock iPhone and Mac, and AirPods will sense the device you are using through algorithms, automatically switch to the current application...
There are many similar examples, maybe you already have an iPhone, iPad and other devices, if you make up for the last link of this Apple ecosystem, this complete set of experience will be several more grades higher.
Of course, the problem is not nothing
I have been talking about the benefits of the Mac, it is indeed a great computer in all aspects, can ensure the daily use needs of most users, then it really does not have a little disadvantage?
Of course there are, such as large AAA games, almost no Mac version, if your main need to buy a PC is to play games, maybe the Mac is not very suitable - even if the M1 series of chips in many scenarios are better than the same price point windows PC.
There is also the fact that some professional software is not suitable enough, such as the company's OA system, medical/industrial and other professional equipment, many can only use the Windows system, and even some software must use Windows 7 and other old systems, which is really no way.
Of course, you can also install dual systems or use Windows virtual machines to temporarily save the emergency, but it is not recommended to use for a long time, after all, the purchase of Mac, the value of nature is the ease of use of Apple's ecology, don't be violent.
In addition, the interface of the Mac computer is still not sufficient, such as the pursuit of the ultimate thin and light MacBook Air, there are only two USB Type-C interfaces, the charging cable accounts for one, and the scalability is relatively insufficient. You can consider purchasing a docking station to solve the needs of memory cards, HDMI interfaces and so on.
Finally, the price, the Mac is indeed relatively expensive, of course, this is my problem. However, if the conditions are met, students and teachers can enjoy a certain discount through the education discount, just upload their identity certificate as required and verify it through UNiDAYS. Different models of discounts are different, take the MacBook Air as an example, the original price of 7999 yuan, education discounts can enjoy 800 yuan discount, and also send the second generation of AirPods, very affordable.
As for other peripherals, you can also choose a flat replacement, for example, Apple provides a lot of Logitech peripherals on the official store, the price is lower, and it has made a good adaptation.
The models look a lot, in fact, very good choice
See here, I believe you have a general understanding of Mac computers, the only thing to consider, is which one to choose. At present, there are six official Mac computers on sale, of which Mac Pro is aimed at professional users both in terms of product form and price, and do not participate in the discussion for the time being, this time I mainly introduce several other Mac products upgraded to the M1 series of chips.
The first is the Mac mini and The Mac Studio, the biggest difference between the two is the chip, the former is M1, the latter has M1 Max and M1 Ultra two. In fact, from the price can also see the difference between them, Mac mini starting price of 5299 yuan, and the general high-performance Windows host is not much difference, and is currently the cheapest Mac, very suitable for users who want to experience the Apple ecosystem, and have fixed use scenarios.
As for the Mac Studio, the starting price has come to 14999 yuan, the official call it a dream engine, from the name alone can be seen, its main user group is a professional studio, it also represents the strongest performance of the current Mac, as long as the budget is enough, buy it.
The positioning of these two products is very different, so it is not difficult to choose. It is recommended that ordinary users choose Mac mini, which is enough to meet most daily use needs, picture processing, video editing, creative design is no problem.
As for the iMac (M1 processor), although it is already thin and light enough, it can still only be used in fixed places. The large 24-inch screen is very popular for people who need video editing, large-scale picture processing, financial trade and other industries. And this 4.5K large screen also has P3 wide color gamut, original color display technology, 500 nits high brightness and many other characteristics, whether it is chasing drama or productivity, can achieve an excellent experience, speaking of chasing drama, its six-speaker system, the effect is very stunning.
Coupled with its more interfaces, and several Macbooks are more scalable, whether it is long-term use by students in the dormitory, or office or home, as long as there is no need for frequent migration, it is always right to choose it.
Among several MacBooks, the MacBookAir and MacBook Pro (13 inches) are equipped with M1 chips, while the MacBook Pro (14/16 inches) can be equipped with M1 Pro or M1 Max, and the computing speed can be up to 70% higher than that of M1. The graphics processing speed is even more significantly improved, and compared to M1, M1 Pro has a maximum of 2 times the increase, and M1 Max has reached 4 times.
In practice, the M1Pro-equipped MacBook Pro can play 20 4K ProRes videos at the same time, while the M1 Max-equipped model can play 7 8K ProRes videos at the same time. If you use Final Cut Pro to edit a video, you can edit 7 8K ProRes videos at the same time, or HDR color grading on 8K 4x4 ProRes videos, and the performance improvement is very obvious.
Finally, it is recommended that new entrants choose MacBookAir, even if there is a certain graphics processing or video editing needs, it can also be competent. As for professional and quasi-professional users, the M1 Pro's MacBook can also meet most graphic image and modeling needs, only those who need to process a lot of high-resolution photos, clip 8K video professionals, it is recommended to consider the M1 Max version, of course, if the money is more wayward, don't think about it so much.