New computer time, which laptop?

Rebar

The time has come for you to buy a new laptop. Currently using Windows 10 etc. The other day when I attempted to launch Maschine, my computer took half an hour to load everything after installing a couple new plug-ins. It has been slow and glitchy for sometime, and frankly I have had enough of Windows updates tying up my computer. I am seriously considering making the switch over to Mac and I’m currently considering a 16 inch M2 Pro with 32 Gb ram, 1 Tb SSD. What are everybody’s thoughts? What new challenges should I expect? Portability is important and that’s why I will be going with another laptop. I haven’t used anything in Mac in a very, very long time. Thanks in advance.

JesterMgee

Without knowing what you intend to load or do, it should be fine I guess.

Mac can be a much better option for portability (imo), their hardware is well designed and capable and standardized which is the key thing and the audio device works much better than almost any windows based laptop so usually no need for an audio interface/drivers, however I would seriously suggest you do some research on macOS and some of the pitfalls when it comes to things like updates, compatibility and longevity... You thought Windows updates were bad, at least 99% of the time after an update most software doesn't skip a beat. Also, I would suggest trying to spring for a 2TB drive since 1TB these days for a music system is pitiful and since macs lack the ability to upgrade anything, just sell a kidney now because you will kick yourself down the track that you decided to save $300 on a $2500 purchase.

macOS has this habit of basically causing all your software to break between every update. Not quite that drastic but caution is always needed to first research if other issues are reported and if ALL your software supports the new OS. If something does not say specifically it supports a new OS version, assume it doesn't and leave updates for a while.

macOS also does not like to run old hardware or software... at all... If you are going to invest into a mac, you will need to ensure your purse strings are also slack enough to fork out for constant software updates since once software becomes about 3 years old it may need to be updated and companies know this and will usually have major versions you have to purchase upgrades for so it is a constant chase. The only way to not be forced into this loop is not update your OS but then you run the risk of software installers disappearing for your OS version

For most, none of that is an issue because they like to stay up to date and dont mind basically renting software for a 3 year period, but if you do value using old plugins or software you need to research if it can be used on a newer system first. Windows is kind of the opposite and that can be what makes it a little more unstable, you can run software and hardware that is 20+ years old if you like and it's designed with compatibility in mind but when it comes to mobile use, laptop hardware can really vary in performance even for the exact same specs.

Then of course there is the fact almost everything on mac is done different than PC and that could take some time to adjust, just minimising a window seems like a painful process at first every time you look up to the right for the window buttons but you adapt to that side. What can be painful is installing something only to be greeted with "this software is not compatible with this version of macOS" and having no option to install, just something you never hit on Windows as it doesn't care.