I tried using a Mac for 2 years. Here’s my review
Summary
TLDRIn this review, the long-term user shares their experience with a MacBook over two years, highlighting the pros and cons of Mac OS compared to Windows. They praise Mac OS for its consistent design, smooth font rendering, and efficient memory management, which results in fewer crashes and bugs. The user also appreciates the MacBook's high-quality display, impressive speakers, and quiet operation. However, they criticize the operating system's issues with external mice, full-screen app management, and the lack of a USB-A port. The hardware is lauded for its build quality and trackpad, but the keyboard's wear and the lack of gaming capabilities are noted downsides. The video concludes that the MacBook is worth the investment for those who value a smooth OS experience, don't game heavily, and are part of the Apple ecosystem.
Takeaways
- 💻 The reviewer uses laptops for extended periods, often 2 years or more, providing a long-term perspective on the MacBook's performance and durability.
- 🖥️ The MacBook's hardware and macOS are praised for their consistency and design, with the operating system offering a user-friendly experience for those willing to learn its nuances.
- 🔧 macOS is appreciated for its stability, with fewer bugs and crashes compared to Windows, especially when running resource-intensive applications like Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Pro.
- 🖥️ The MacBook's display, including its OLED screen, high refresh rate, and resolution, is highly regarded for its quality, making it ideal for tasks like video editing and screen recording.
- 🎵 The laptop's built-in speakers and microphone are noted for their good sound quality, suitable for both entertainment and content creation.
- 🔇 The MacBook is lauded for its quiet operation, a significant advantage over the noise levels experienced with the reviewer's Windows laptop.
- 🔋 Battery life is satisfactory, with the MacBook maintaining a 90% capacity after two years of use, and the convenience of not needing to shut down is highlighted.
- 🖱️ The trackpad is commended for its functionality and haptic feedback, though the reviewer prefers a mouse for certain tasks due to comfort and efficiency.
- 💾 The MacBook's build quality is solid, but the keyboard shows wear over time, and the lack of a USB-A port is a drawback for those with legacy devices.
- 🎮 Gaming is not a strong suit for the MacBook, and the reviewer is content using a separate Windows PC for gaming, acknowledging the MacBook's limitations in this area.
- 🛠️ Repairability and upgradeability are limited with the MacBook, which could be a concern for users facing hardware issues or wishing to customize their storage and RAM.
Q & A
How long does the user typically use their laptops?
-The user typically uses their laptops for at least 2 years, with the last one serving for 5 years.
What is the user's perspective on the MacBook review?
-The user's perspective on the MacBook review is from that of a long-term user, having owned the MacBook for 2 years.
What does the user like about Mac OS?
-The user likes the consistent design, the way Mac OS renders fonts, the integration of Pages and Keynote, the lack of random updates, and the fewer bugs compared to Windows.
What issues did the user encounter with Windows that they did not have with Mac OS?
-The user encountered issues like random updates that force restarts, more bugs, and poor memory management with Windows compared to Mac OS.
What is the user's opinion on the MacBook's screen quality?
-The user is very satisfied with the MacBook's screen quality, praising the deep blacks, high refresh rate, and sharp resolution.
How does the user feel about the MacBook's speakers and microphone?
-The user enjoys the sound quality of the MacBook's speakers, describing them as nice and Bassy. They also found the built-in microphone to be satisfactory for voiceovers.
What is the user's experience with the MacBook's battery life and charging options?
-The user has a positive experience with the MacBook's battery life, finding it sufficient for their needs, and appreciates the ability to charge with either MagSafe or USB-C.
What are the user's thoughts on the MacBook's trackpad?
-The user finds the MacBook's trackpad to be amazing, providing a satisfying haptic feedback and being customizable to their preferences.
What hardware aspects of the MacBook does the user dislike?
-The user dislikes the MacBook's keyboard wear, the lack of a USB-A port, and the difficulty in repairability and upgradeability.
Why does the user believe the MacBook is worth the investment?
-The user believes the MacBook is worth the investment for those who are willing to learn a new operating system, do not need it for hardcore gaming, already own an iPhone, and have the budget for it.
Outlines
💻 Long-Term MacBook User Experience
The speaker, a long-term user of laptops, shares their perspective on using a MacBook for an extended period, contrasting it with the short-term reviews often seen on YouTube. They emphasize the importance of software and operating system experience over physical features like speakers or screen. The user discusses their experience with macOS, highlighting the ease of customization, consistent design across the OS, and the quality of text rendering. They also mention the benefits of Apple's suite of apps like Pages and Keynote, the lack of random updates, and the overall fewer bugs compared to Windows. However, they note a specific bug related to memory management and app performance after heavy workloads.
🖱️ Mouse Compatibility and Software Issues on Mac
The speaker discusses their experiences with using external mice on macOS, noting the initial difficulty in customizing mouse settings without third-party software. They recommend an app called 'Linear Mouse' for better control over mouse settings. The user praises the Kyron M3 mouse for its performance with MacBooks. They also express frustration with fullscreen app behavior, particularly how it disrupts the order of virtual desktops. Additionally, they mention a specific animation bug when switching virtual desktops that is affected by the monitor's refresh rate. The user concludes with a note on the convenience of having multiple instances of the same app open and the visibility of these instances in the dock.
🖥️ MacBook Pro Hardware Review
The user reviews the hardware of their MacBook Pro, starting with the screen's quality, particularly the deep blacks and high refresh rate, which enhances the user experience. They also appreciate the screen's resolution and Apple's display scaling. The speakers are described as sounding 'nice and Bassy,' and the built-in microphone is noted for its decent sound quality for a laptop. The quiet operation of the MacBook is highlighted, along with the good battery life and the convenience of not having to shut down the laptop. The trackpad is praised for its functionality and haptic feedback. However, the user points out the keyboard's susceptibility to wear and tear, the lack of gaming capabilities, and the absence of a USB-A port as drawbacks. They also mention issues with the charging cable causing noise when using certain earbuds and the general lack of repairability and upgradeability of Apple laptops.
💸 MacBook Pro Value and Final Thoughts
In the final paragraph, the user reflects on whether the investment in a MacBook Pro was worth it, concluding that it was, especially for those who are willing to adapt to a new operating system, do not require gaming capabilities, already own an iPhone, and have the budget for it. The user suggests that owning both a MacBook and a Windows PC allows for the best of both worlds. They also hint at a forgotten point, adding an element of intrigue to their closing thoughts.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mac OS
💡Dark Mode
💡High DPI Resolutions
💡Pro Motion
💡Adobe Premiere Pro
💡AirDrop
💡Mouse Acceleration
💡Finder
💡Trackpad
💡Battery Life
💡Repairability
Highlights
Long-term user perspective on MacBook review
MacBook intended for use over 2 years unlike short-term reviews
Importance of software and operating system in laptop experience
Mac OS's consistent design and dark mode implementation
Preference for Mac OS's font rendering and text appearance
Mac OS's stability and fewer bugs compared to Windows
MacBook's efficient memory management despite less RAM
Fewer crashes with Adobe software on Mac compared to Windows
Finder's speed and reliability over File Explorer on Windows
Convenience of Apple ecosystem features like Airdrop and Notes syncing
Challenges with external monitor resolutions and mouse compatibility on Mac OS
Use of third-party apps to improve mouse settings and functionality on Mac
Annoyance with fullscreen app behavior and virtual desktop management on Mac OS
Praise for MacBook's OLED screen quality and high refresh rate
Excellence of MacBook's built-in speakers and microphone quality
Silent operation and quiet fan noise on MacBook
Durability and battery life of MacBook after 2 years of use
Trackpad's superior performance and haptic feedback
Lack of gaming capabilities on MacBook
Desire for a regular USB-A port on MacBook Pro
Issues with electric noise when using certain earbuds with MacBook
Notch on MacBook's design and its lack of noticeable impact
Challenges with repairability and upgradeability of MacBook
Value for money spent on MacBook and its suitability for non-gamers with an iPhone
Transcripts
most people use their laptops for way
longer than 4 or 6 months unlike most
YouTubers that review them I'm one of
those people when I buy a computer I
intend to use it for at least 2 years
the last laptop I bought served me for 5
years until I built this Beast so this
MacBook review will be from the
perspective of an actual long-term user
now I bought this Mac 2 years ago and
for me the laptop experience isn't just
about what's on the outside like the
speakers or the screen which I'll talk
about later what's sometimes more
important is the software the operating
system so let's talk about Mac OS first
now I'm the type of person who likes
tinkering with their operating system
and toggling every single setting to see
what it does if I don't like something
instead of learning to live with it I
look for ways to fix it so learning to
use Mac OS initially instead of Windows
wasn't a big deal for me it was actually
a fun experience and after using it for
2 years there are a lot of things that I
like about it and a lot of things I hate
or that I hated and then found a way to
fix later let's start with the things I
like the design consistent if you turn
on dark mode on Windows most things
become dark but not this panel or this
or this top bar also these are Mouse
settings but so are these why are they
separate and why is one 10 years older
than the other one this is a lot rarer
on Mac OS if you turn on dark mode you
won't get randomly flashbanged browsing
through settings even most third party
apps support it the way that Mac OS
renders fonts it's a personal preference
but I like how text looks on Mac OS
obviously the resolution of the display
and its scaling play a massive role but
here's the same text on the same Monitor
and similar display scaling numbers
pages and keynote those are a nice touch
it's essentially Microsoft Word Excel
and PowerPoint but applified of course
you can still use Microsoft Word or
Excel on Mac Apple's and Google's
alternatives are just free no random
updates forcefully restarting your PC I
didn't realize how annoying this was
until I built my first PC and tried
editing video on Windows I left my PC to
get some food for 5 minutes and when I
came back I saw this great way less bugs
compared to Windows I was also brutally
reminded of what a buggy mess Windows
actually is for example here's a random
white square on my desktop that stays
above all the apps the only way to get
rid of it was to log out and back in
which of course closed all the apps that
I had opened or your device is running
low on memory my PC has twice as much
memory as my MacBook yet I'm always
surprised at how good my Mac is at
managing it no 16 GB of RAM on Mac isn't
the same as 32 on Windows as Apple would
like you to think but no matter how many
apps I have open it always blows my mind
that the app I'm using doesn't slow down
or crash because I'm exporting a video
in the background there is this weird
bug that happens after a heavy workload
where dragging apps around becomes
weirdly delayed strangely it also
happens when using the screen sharing
app and controlling someone else's
MacBook you can see how the mouse cursor
is not on the apps window but I can
count on my fingers the number of times
something crashed because it was using
too much memory it happened though
speaking of crashing Adobe Photoshop and
Adobe Premier Pro they just crash
continuously when I'm using them on
Windows it's probably not only windows's
fault but it just happens a lot less on
Mac actually I don't remember when was
the last time Premiere quit unexpectedly
on my Mac I had so many bugs with OBS as
well on Windows it's a screen recording
software like it getting stuck on
stopping recording or whatever this is
then there's the taskbar sometimes apps
randomly decide jumping on each other
what's this gap on the taskar why is it
not in the Cent
Oh very interesting and sometimes all
icons go blank just for fun I'm not
saying that there aren't bugs on Mac OS
but over the 2 years of using it I had
to deal with a lot fewer of them finder
is much faster and crashes less than
File Explorer for some reason File
Explorer gets insanely slow when there
are a lot of big files in a folder this
is on an SSD by the way it also keeps
crashing if I go back and go back in it
takes the same amount of time this
doesn't make any sense and I don't think
I've had finder crash once also
searching for something on Windows
without third party apps is annoyingly
slow airdrop is very convenient and the
other Apple ecosystem features like
being able to message someone from your
Mac or copy things on your iPhone and
paste them on your Mac the notes app
syncing everywhere if you have an iPhone
and a Mac they synergize so well and the
final thing I'm going to mention is the
mouse cursor I like it on to the things
I dislike about the operating system
everything on an external monitor will
look garbage if you're using Macos
especially if you have a 1440p monitor
this is because Mac OS only likes very
specific screen resolutions that it
scales nicely with they're called high
DPI resolutions and I have a 1440p
external monitor but thankfully a while
back I discovered this free app called
better display essentially what it does
is it adds a bunch of these high DPI
resolutions to your Mac that you can
then choose from on your external
Monitor and every goes from looking like
this to this very nice Mac OS hates
external mice I made an entire video
talking about mice and Mac OS you will
find it in the description right under
the like button not long ago you
couldn't even disable Mouse acceleration
on Mac without third party software then
they added it here under Advanced but
getting your mouse to work as you want
isn't that hard by using an app called
linear Mouse it's free and it lets you
do things like change your scrolling
speed per application this is very
useful for me it lets you enable the
back and forward buttons If your mouse
has them and even enable the middle
click which for those of you that don't
know is when you press down the scroll
wheel it will let you close tabs without
clicking on the little X and open links
in new tabs now your life is changed
also I've tried using many mice with my
Mac including the infamous MX Master 3s
and the even more Infamous Magic Mouse
but this was the only mouse that worked
the best for me it's called the Kyron M3
I'll leave a link in the description it
connects via USBC unlike other mice and
there's also a Bluetooth mode that has
the least amount of Bluetooth latency
out of all the Bluetooth mice I've
tested back to software issues the next
thing I absolutely hate is related to
fullcreen apps on Mac just like on
Windows you have virtual desktops you
can create them for different tasks like
one for planning a trip and another for
work however if you full screen an app
like when watching a YouTube video that
app always gets sent to the end of all
your desktops this is horrible because
if you now decide to go back and do
other stuff while it's in full screen
you will have to scroll all the way to
the end when you finally want to pause
the video or get to the app animations
they're nice for the most part Mac OS is
full of cool smooth animations just like
iOS however there's one animation that
annoys me every time that I see it it's
this one when switching virtual desktops
why you ask because its duration
increases with the refresh rate of my
monitor if I set my displays refresh
rate to 60 HZ this animation is very
nice and fast but if I do 144 Herz it
becomes much slower not only that I
can't start clicking something on the
space that I'm switching to until it
fully finishes the animation it only
starts registering The Click once it's
fully finished this is probably a thing
that 99% of people would never notice
but it's been annoying me for so long
also I love that on Linux you can just
slide a slider and increase or decrease
the speed of all animations I would love
for this slider to be in Mac OS having
two instances of the same app open I've
gotten used to this now but on Mac OS
when you have multiple instances of the
same app open like here to Chrome
Windows you can't really see that in the
dock unless you right click on Windows
you just hover over an app and you see
what you have open and this is just
inconvenient at first I kept losing all
my windows because they just wouldn't
show up in the dock by the way if you
like the wallpapers I'm using they're
from one of my wallpaper packs I'll
leave a link in the description I also
had an issue where the battery would
drain insanely fast when my Mac was
closed sometimes faster than when I was
using it but this Reddit post helped me
solve it it had to do with changing some
sleep settings through the terminal okay
so far I've talked about Mac OS which is
the same across every Apple laptop but
now let's talk about this laptop in
particular starting things off is the
screen it's so good much better than the
MacBook Air Model or anything else that
I've seen first the blacks are insane
once I started using it I realized that
on every other monitor I have the blacks
are gray but on this screen they're
really black obviously you won't see how
black through this video if your monitor
isn't OLED it's not perfect though
because if I set my screen brightness to
very high there's a slight halo around
bright colors on a dark background like
the mouse cursor or subtitles when
watching a movie but there are two more
things about this screen that I love the
first is the refresh rate all MacBook
Air models come with a 60 HZ screen
meaning that your display updates the
image that you're seeing 60 times per
second but the MacBook Pro Models come
with a pro motion screen 120 HZ variable
refresh rate now if you've never gamed
on a high refresh rate monitor or you've
never used one before this probably
won't matter to you but to me a high
refresh rate makes the experience so
much nicer all the animations the
scrolling and the cursor movement look
so much smoother by the way if you're on
Windows go to display settings then
Advanced display and make sure that this
is set to the highest amount because
it's not by default you might have
bought a high refresh rate monitor and
you might still be using it at 60 HZ
double check and the next thing I love
about this screen is the resolution
paired with Apple's display scaling it
makes everything look super sharp on the
screen screen recordings look so good on
it as well when I do long tutorials for
things like lessons for my YouTube
course I usually choose to do it on a
Mac just because the screen recordings
turn out very nice it's also super easy
to record the screen you hit command
shift 5 enter and there it is it's
recording the speakers watching movies
or listening to music on this thing is
great the speakers sound nice and Bassy
even when you turn up the volume and all
other laptop speakers that I've listen
to or just so far behind MacBook
[Music]
speakers the microphone up until I got
this microphone a few months ago I've
done most of my voiceovers for videos
and courses on the builtin MacBooks
microphone it's not the most comfortable
experience talking so close to the
screen but it sounds not bad for a
built-in laptop microphone mhone oh look
there's a spider on the wall oh look
there's a spider on the wall oh look
there's a spider on the wall the
macbook's microphone sounds a bit more
muffled than the dedicated one obviously
it's not as good but it managed to carry
me through most of my YouTube videos
this is the quietest computer I've ever
owned I never appreciated the silence
until I tried using a Mac and then came
back to my Windows laptop it's night and
day difference in terms of noise levels
because everyone's asleep at night the
battery life it's great although I have
to say that I mostly use my Mac with a
cable plugged in or a cable nearby that
I can use to juice back up I haven't
benchmarked the battery but it lasts
enough for my needs even when I'm
editing videos after 2 years of use
mostly with a cable my battery is at 90%
of its original capacity I also use an
app called Old Dente that lets me limit
how much my battery can charge up to
just FYI they've been a channel sponsor
in the past but I genuinely use this app
and I would definitely recommend it I'll
leave a link in the description I also
love that I never have to shut the
MacBook down and I can trust that when I
close it and open it back up again
everything will be exactly the same as I
left it all the apps still open and I
can resume doing whatever I was doing
before using Windows always gives me
anxiety when I try waking it up from
sleep the trackpad is simply amazing I
haven't used the newest Windows laptops
with apparently good trackpads to
compare them but I can say that even for
me who's a heavy Mouse enjoyer this
trackpad is great but stuff sorry but
stuff like video editing in Premiere or
very long work session sessions are just
better suited for a mouse because your
finger gets tired and it's faster doing
it with a mouse however if I need to
make a quick thumbnail or if I'm too
lazy to get up from the bed and move to
the table I might not even bother
connecting a mouse and use a trackpad it
doesn't have any buttons and you can
click on it anywhere to get this
satisfying haptic feedback when it
registers a
click you can customize the strength of
it in the settings as well the charging
it's really nice that this MacBook can
charge with Mac safe or USBC my Mac safe
connector seems to be a little broken
because it needs to be at the right
angle to work so instead of having to
buy a new one I can just use either of
the three USBC ports to charge it very
nice build quality it feels very solid
except for the bottom cover which is
plastic so it feels cheaper and also the
keyboard which nicely brings me over to
the things I don't like about the
hardware over time the keys that you use
most will start looking shiny or oily
because the coating will wear off you
can clearly see that I only press the
space bar with my left thumb I've been
typing on this keyboard almost daily for
2 years and this is how all the keys
look not new this makes the laptop seem
cheap and used after it's been used also
the keyboard background being black on
the MacBook Pro Models makes the dirt
more visible compared to when it's white
and only the keys are black although it
looks cool when it's clean there is no
chant at gaming I mean there is but not
really if you're a heavy gamer
especially if you play FPS games games
getting a Macbook is not going to make
you super happy I'm so happy that I
recently built a Windows PC that I can
use for gaming using both a Macbook and
the Windows PC means that I can get the
best of both worlds it's the ultimate
setup I dreamed about for so long and I
finally have it I would love a regular
usba a port it's nice that things are
moving towards USBC but there are so
many things that still use USB like my
hard drive connectors or Mouse dongles I
hate that there's not even one usba a
port on this Pro computer speaking of
ports when I plug in my IMS by the way
these are the best quality to price
ratio earbuds I've ever owned there's a
slight hissing or electric noise that's
always there unless I pull the charging
cable out of my MacBook and this is
really annoying but I also have a pair
of wireless earbuds that I started using
instead of the IMs to avoid dealing with
this issue the notch I don't get why
it's there but I pretty much never
notice it almost forgot to mention it
it's there though repairability and
upgradeability it's just not a thing
with Apple laptops thankfully I didn't
yet run into any issues that would force
me to open up the laptop or have it
repaired but I know that when that
happens it's going to be a huge pain I
probably won't be able to do it myself
like with my Windows laptop which means
that it will make more sense to just buy
a new Macbook instead of having this one
repaired because of how much repairing
costs also I hate that you can't upgrade
the RAM or storage what you buy is what
you're stuck with this is how much
storage actually cost costs by the way
and this is how much apple is charging
for it just FYI also things like
removing the keyboard Keys it's
strangely complicated and I managed to
break one pin on the F key trying to
remove it because there was something
stuck inside preventing it from being
clicked so was it worth spending over
$2,000 on this laptop 2 years
ago yes I think if you're someone who
isn't scared of spending time learning
and adjusting to how a different
operating system works if you don't want
to do hardcore gaming on your laptop if
you already have an iPhone and your
budget allows it then I think you'll
enjoy your MacBook experience oh and
there's one more thing I forgot to
mention Psych
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