I Tried Apple as a Windows Person for a Year

Background

• Creator is a long-time Windows user (Windows 98 → 11) with experience installing/repairing Windows, coding, and UI work. Had minimal prior macOS or iOS exposure.
• Decided to use Apple hardware and software for a year to broaden UI design perspective and learn Apple platforms, Swift, Sketch, etc.

Purchase decision & hardware

• Confusion over Apple’s chip/SKU naming (M3, M3 Pro, A18) and RAM/storage tiers. The tiered options caused more choice anxiety than typical Windows spec decisions.
• Purchased a MacBook Pro with the M3 chip and 8 GB RAM to keep the experiment low-cost and low-risk.
• Regretted choosing the base 8 GB RAM after Apple later increased their base RAM to 16 GB.

Setup, onboarding & first impressions

• Started on macOS Ventura and later upgraded to Sonoma.
• Installed familiar cross-platform apps (Discord, Figma, Spotify) and explored Safari (eventually preferred it over Chrome after customization) plus several Mac-only browsers.
• Experienced “OS shock” — notable UI differences from Windows:
  • Window controls (close/minimize/maximize) on the left.
  • Drag-to-Applications install behavior.
  • Launchpad app grid feels tablet-like.
  • Dock behavior includes recent/suggested apps and differences between quitting an app and closing its window.
• Finder differs from Windows File Explorer: macOS uses a unified Macintosh volume with system/user/apps folders rather than separate drive letters. The creator pinned frequently used folders to the Finder sidebar.

macOS features & ecosystem integration

• Spotlight: extremely fast and effective at searching file contents.
• Continuity features:
  • Universal Clipboard (copy on iPhone, paste on Mac).
  • iCloud Drive syncing.
  • Phone mirroring (macOS Sonoma).
  • Seamless sign-in across Apple devices.
• Switched from Android to iPhone to leverage tighter integration; also experimented with iPad, Apple TV, and older iPhones to study product evolution.

Performance, resource management & gaming

• 8 GB RAM caused frequent SSD swap; the author monitored Activity Monitor obsessively and restarted when swap usage grew — worried about long-term SSD wear.

• Friend’s advice eased anxiety:

  Treat the Mac like a normal computer — stop over-monitoring and use it freely. This relaxed approach improved the experience.

• Gaming:

  • Some Steam titles ran, but many were laggy and caused CPU/fan stress.
  • Less demanding games (Stardew Valley, Balatro) ran fine.
  • Conclusion: Mac is not ideal as a gaming platform compared to Windows.

Customization, workflows & tooling

• Personalized dock icons and used Launchpad for app launching.
• Grew comfortable with Terminal and package management via Homebrew; increased tolerance for Linux/terminal workflows.
• Continued cross-platform experimentation (for example, using a Nothing Phone as a secondary device).

Design & product critique

• Apple’s ecosystem influenced the creator’s design thinking — felt constrained by Apple’s design language and deliberately avoided becoming captive to those aesthetics.
• Criticized annual OS churn: frequent UI changes break muscle memory (menus moved, tabs removed/returned, native apps rearranged).
• Argued Apple should prioritize finishing features to a higher polish (fewer features completed at 100% rather than many at 80%).

Beta testing and UI changes

• Installed iOS 18 and macOS developer betas. Observations included:
  • iOS 18 developer beta: buggy. Examples — incomplete customizable Control Center (missing Wi‑Fi icon) and initially awkward customizable app icon tinting.
  • New “liquid glass” design in later betas: beautiful micro-interactions (gyroscope-based lighting, glass edges) but practical issues — low contrast/readability in some places and inconsistent visuals when components are combined.
  • Launchpad/app icon changes: icon content now restricted to an inner frame (less freeform icon shape).
  • Spotlight additions: gained actions, moving it closer to tools like Raycast or Alfred.
• Overall sentiment: excited for improvements, but concerned about readability and visual consistency in some beta design choices.

Lessons, recommendations & next steps

• Key lessons:
  • Be intentional when choosing specs (RAM is especially important).
  • Expect a learning period for macOS paradigms.
  • Don’t over-monitor system resources; use practical maintenance (keep free SSD space, clear Trash, remove large files).
• Productivity wins: Spotlight, continuity features, and Homebrew/terminal workflows are major advantages.
• Suggested next experiments: try more Linux distributions (possibly Arch) and explore more cross-platform toolchains.
• Final take: Apple’s ecosystem is compelling, but annual UI reimaginings can be disruptive. The creator prefers iterative polish over frequent large redesigns.

Related / mentioned content

• Planned browser comparison video focused on macOS browsers.
• Gaming benchmark: ran Rise of the Tomb Raider as a stress test (result: poor performance).
• Tutorials and tips mentioned or implied: customizing Safari, using Launchpad, installing apps with Homebrew, and monitoring Activity Monitor.

Main speakers / sources

• Primary: video creator / narrator (first-person account).
• Briefly referenced: an unnamed friend (gave advice to stop over-monitoring).
• Implicitly referenced sources/tools: Apple (macOS/iOS, M3 family, Sonoma, iOS 18 dev beta), Steam (games), Homebrew (package manager), and utility ideas like Raycast/Alfred.