Summary of "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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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%).

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.

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.

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.

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.