I think I wrote briefly about this but this past Christmas my wife gifted me with a 2022 M2 Pro MacBook Pro 14”. This was to replace my 2017 MacBook Pro with a Dual Core i5 processor. I have to say, I didn’t know how slow my 2017 MacBook was until I started using my new computer regularly. Besides the processor, most things are equal I think. I have the same amount of RAM at 16GB, but the hard drive on my new computer is actually half the size of my older one. I did this because I didn’t use up most of the space on my older MacBook so why not save the money? I actually regret this decision since I am using quite a bit of storage but I don’t know how and thats something I’ll need to investigate at some point.
I didn’t do a fresh install which was actually a good thing since it preserved the location of my external backup for my iPhones and iPad’s so I didn’t have to do that part again. It kept a lot of my playlists and transitioned all of my applications but I ended up deleting a lot of the apps on the new MacBook because I don’t use most of the apps on it anymore like I did with the old one. I now use the old MacBook Pro as a test bed for software that I would like to install on my new MacBook Pro. The cool thing about the newer MacBook Pro is that it has more ports. I like having all the USB-C ports, the fact it has a MagSafe charger, and an SD-Card are all welcome things. I have a dongle of sorts for the 2017 MacBook Pro and it works ok most of the time but I haven’t used it in a long time with the dongle hanging off of it though.
In hindsight, I probably bought too much computer but when you look at the economics of it, the M2 Pro was just a tad more expensive than buying a souped up MacBook Air. I think the Pro models offer me more versatility and the ability to do more with my external devices than the Air would. I’m also still a little old school in how I use my computer because I don’t rely on the cloud all that much, I rely on my computer and my personal cloud that I set up so its all owned by me (except for email, thats probably owned by Google). I’m going through this very dilemma with figuring out if I should get a new iPad Pro. I like it because it has the Pro Motion display and the 120Hz display, now do I need it? Probably not but why compromise if I don’t have to?
Upgrading after 6 years has really shown how much slower my older MacBook Pro is compared to the new Apple Silicon versions. While the Core i5 was pretty awesome when it came out, I can now tell the speed difference between the two. Now this will likely be an unpopular opinion, but I actually liked using the Touch Bar. While I never used it for touch typing because it was dynamic, it was nice when it suggested things when filling out forms or switching tabs in a web browser. I’m getting used to not having it anymore and I must say, having dedicated volume keys is really nice to have again. I guess it will be another 6 years until I upgrade the computer again unless Apple continues to support it with OS updates, thats really the only thing that keeps me updating my computer, security and new features brought about by the OEM.
I would recommend anyone on an Intel Mac to upgrade to Apple Silicon, while you lost some things like VMWare Fusion 11, you can always upgrade to 12 or use Parallels so any problems that you’ll encounter, someone has already thought of a solution by now since we’re up to M3.
Wonger's Ramblings 