Learning to love Mac

I Became a Mac User

I’ve become a Mac user. It took quite a while.

After years of building PCs, running multiple Linux distros, and using devices like my iPhone, Android phone, AirPods Max, and iPad Pro, I somehow never onboarded to macOS. Perhaps it was the rebel in me that wanted a system where I could swap parts in and out whenever I wanted. Recently, though, I decided to start my journey into the Mac world.

Honestly, this may be one of the best devices I’ve ever used.

For context, I’ve been using a MacBook Air M4 with 16 GB of memory and a 256 GB SSD. Nothing extreme. But the benchmarks for this device have genuinely surprised me. It can comfortably run games like Civilization and Baldur’s Gate that have native macOS ports.

Another interesting aspect of the system is shared memory, where the GPU and CPU both use the same pool of memory. It is a simple architectural idea, but it works very well in practice.

From a security perspective, the operating system is also excellent. Nothing can access my camera without my explicit approval. Applications are sandboxed before they are allowed to interact with the rest of the system. Tools like KnockKnock, BlockBlock, and LuLu from Objective-See provide a strong suite of free security utilities that work out of the box with minimal configuration.

As a security enthusiast, I am impressed by the hardline architectural choices Apple has made to protect users, even when those choices introduce some inconvenience. Blocking camera access until the user explicitly grants permission might seem annoying, but it is an important safeguard for maintaining a secure ecosystem.

As a lifelong Windows user, I was reluctant to adopt macOS. But after nearly a year of using a Mac, I think many people would benefit from it. Its ease of use, security model, and ability to enable productivity are excellent, especially considering that my configuration is one of the more affordable models.

That said, I will not stop using the powerful Windows systems I have been building and using for nearly a decade. I still rely on them to run software across different architectures, use specialized drivers that do not exist on macOS, and play many games. However, Apple is innovating quickly.

If Apple ever manages to bring large scale gaming support to macOS, the computing landscape could look very different.

As of March 7, 2026, many people are predicting a major market disruption due to the upcoming MacBook Neo, which is expected to launch at $599. That is an extremely compelling price point, especially for students.

So there you have it. I am learning to love macOS. I did not expect to say that, but it really is a great system.

Geekbench Benchmarks

Below are some benchmarks from my device!