New to Mac, need help choosing.

[Cdwhit]

I am a long time PC/Android user. I got tired of the short lifespans and glitches in Android phones, so Finally went iPhone. Since my Tablet was at end of life, I went to iPad. Now my 4 year old PC is dying, so I’m thinking Apple, but I have so many questions!

My primary use if surfing the internet, BUT I take a lot of photos, so I’m sometimes editing hundreds of photos at a stretch, and sometimes a few videos. I also tend to use spreadsheets a lot and listen to a lot of music and even record and edit music on occasion.

I am thinking Apple will give me a longer usable life that PC. Is this true in your experience? I can get a new PC at a MUCH lower price than a new MacBook. Will I get a longer life from the Mac?

Looking at the M1 Air and Pro models, the specs look VERY similar. I do like the better mic and speakers of the Pro, but after market accessories can probably beat what is built in anyway. The one factor pushing me to the pro is the fan. I’m assuming the fan will keep it cooler, and extend the life of the machine. Is this a valid assumption? Is it worth spending the extra for the pro?

Memory. The person at BestBuy (I know, not always a good information source, but that’s why I’m asking here) suggested with the music, photos, and video I’d probably be happier with the 16 GB version (it cost them a sale since they didn’t have any 16 GB models). Are they right? It’s already an expensive computer so I hate adding $200+ if I don’t need it.

Storage. With photos and music, I store a LOT! My PC has a 1TB drive, that is a little over half full after I dumped a lot of unused stuff. I’m thinking the 1TB drive on the MacBook, but I know that Apple stores stuff different than PC. Like the memory, if I need it, I need it, but I’f I don’t, I think it’s about $200+ to go from 512GB to 1TB, so do I need it?

 

[Slydude]

Given what you want to do, 16 GB of memory is probably a good recommendation. Some users have moved to 32 GB, but that's a significant investment. One thing to keep in mind is that memory isn't upgradeable, so you kinda have to get what you think you will need.

The Mac is somewhat more efficient about some aspects of file storage, but IMHO actual file sizes do not seem to be significantly different across platforms in most cases. If your current 1 TB drive is about half full, I will look for similar amounts of storage on the Mac if you can afford it. The alternative is to store music and videos on an external drive. That's easy to do.

How much of your current drive is devoted to data storage vs. the applications themselves?

 

[Cdwhit]

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How much of your current drive is devoted to data storage vs. the applications themselves?

Honestly, I’m not sure. I suspect about 1/3 apps, and 2/3 music/photo/video storage. Because of the way PC stores data, some in the Music folder, some in the iTunes or other apps folders, it can be hard to tell.

 

[Horsa]

Regardless of what kind of machine you end up going for, if you store a lot of photos and music files, I would advise you to keep all that stuff on a separate external drive rather than clog up the main system drive with it.

BTW, when it comes to iTunes and its music files, you don't have to store them in the default location. You can tell iTunes to store them on another drive.

 

[ferrarr]

Do you have to get a portable Mac?

The New 24" iMac may fit your needs better? Just don't get the base model. Then you could store all your data, on external drives.

 

[toMACsh]

To take a shot at your most important question...
I've had my "late 2014" Mac Mini (with components similar to a laptop) since mid 2015. I'm still running macOS 10.14.6 known as "Mojave", while three more recent "major" upgrades are available. I stuck with the older OS to avoid buying new versions of a couple of apps. Anyway, the hardware still works just fine 6 years on.

I am now able to abandon the apps I didn't want to replace back in 2015, but I have no reason to buy a new Mac right now. It just works. It will show signs of its age before much longer, primarily in that it won't run a future new OS, or, more likely, when my version of Safari or that of any other web browser will no longer run well or offer much security.

So, if you are accustomed to trading in your Windows laptops every four or five years, whether out of necessity or not, then you might find that a Mac will last a bit longer than that.