Like most kids, the first laptop I ever got to call my own was a clunky hand-me-down from my parents. That Dell was the sole reason behind a lot of my breakdowns. For instance, it refused to work unless it was plugged in, took hours to boot up when it did manage to turn on, and even stopped connecting to Wi-Fi at one point. I had to use an Ethernet cable just to be able to work on it, imagine!

I finally saved up and upgraded to an M2 MacBook Air after years of using that Dell that barely functioned, and although getting even a slightly better Windows laptop would’ve made me the happiest person alive back then, I don’t regret choosing the MacBook Air one bit. That doesn't mean I didn't have a hard time switching over, and there are definitely a few things I wish I'd known before making the jump.

4 Don't cheap out on RAM

Macs are long-term investments

Given that I was upgrading from a barely functional Windows laptop, my expectations were, frankly, low. The kind of tasks I needed to do weren't all that demanding either. Since I'm majoring in computer science, I'd naturally be using my MacBook for all my coding-related assignments. The primary reason I got my Mac, though, was for work, and since my job doesn't require me to run any heavy-duty software or do video editing, I figured the most basic Mac would do the job. Besides, Apple continues to insist that 8GB is sufficient for most, so why would I need more RAM anyway, right?

The issue was that I was only thinking about the present. I was a student on a budget and just needed something to fulfill my needs at that time. Since I'm not a fan of upgrading my devices every year, it seemed to have slipped my mind that I'd be using the same Mac for at least a couple of years. Apple products already have a high upfront cost, so I decided to take the path with the least resistance and get the most reasonably priced option, which was the base M2 MacBook Air back then, with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

While I haven't run into any major performance issues and I still praise my Mac for its spectacular performance, there are times when it begins to glitch a lot, even though I don't have a ton of applications open simultaneously. For instance, I currently have five Google Chrome tabs, Spotify's desktop app, Slack, and Notion open, and Activity Monitor says I'm using 6.77GB of physical memory. That means I only have 1.23GB free currently.

And though it's working smoothly right now, the moment the free memory dips any lower (which it'll if I open a couple more Google Chrome tabs), things start to get worse. Basic tasks like switching between tabs feel sluggish, and I suddenly find myself wishing I'd invested in the 16GB RAM variant instead. The worst part is that once you purchase your Mac, you're stuck with the specs you initially chose. So, if you're like me and underestimate your future needs, you'll be forced to either make peace (like I have) or purchase a new machine.

3 Mac Repairs can be a pain

Might as well get a new Mac

Even though I'm extremely careful around my devices, my clumsiness always finds a way to catch up with me. I've dropped my iPhone into a steaming cup of coffee before, and another iPhone of mine has been repaired six times, which tells you everything you need to know about me. Unfortunately, my clumsiness and my love for MacBooks don't go too well together.

Getting your MacBook repaired can be very expensiveunless you have AppleCare. The Get an estimate tool on the Mac Repair and Service page mentions that repairing a cracked screen on an M2 MacBook Pro would cost $99, given that a user has AppleCare+.

While that quote is reasonable, keep in mind that it’s only for AppleCare+ subscribers, and it's just an estimate. A quick Reddit search will show you that Apple rarely charges the "estimate" fee, and the repair amount can nearly always hit a couple of hundred dollars.

For instance, one Reddit user mentioned that Apple quoted them $600 to get their M2 MacBook Pro's screen replaced.

While they’d need to shell out a ton of money to get a new M2 MacBook Pro, chances are they’d be able to secure a slightly older MacBook Air for the same price from Amazon instead of repairing the existing one. Or, they could top up a bit more money and grab themselves a nice new MacBook instead of going through the hassle of repair.

Though I don't live in the US, I’ve noticed that there are hardly any third-party repair stores willing to fix Macs. And the few that are willing to charge insane amounts. Getting your device repaired from places other than Apple itself or an Apple Authorized Repair Center is also always a risk because there’s no guarantee they’ll use genuine parts.

A lot of times, while they’ll manage to fix the issue, they’ll also introduce a ton of new problems down the line. Someone I know got a crack on their M1 MacBook Air, and not only did Apple refuse to fix it, but no third-party vendor agreed either, and it’s been rotting in her drawer for years.

2 Screenshots save to the desktop by default

After all, who doesn't love a desktop as messed up as their sleep schedule?

While this might sound incredibly minor compared to the above, there are certain software quirks that take a lot of time to adjust to (and that’d surprise anyone switching from Windows to a Mac). The fact that you need to adjust to an entirely new UI and learn your way around a slightly different keyboard setup has already been talked about enough. Something that’s not talked about (and no one told me) is that any screenshots you take on your Mac save to the desktop by default.

As someone who takes a lot of screenshots for articles I write and for college, this has been the reason behind my desktop always being cluttered. Fortunately, unlike the issues above, you can find your way around this. You can change where screenshots are saved on your Mac by pressing and holding Command, Shift and 5 simultaneously.

Once the toolbar appears, click Options, and then select one of the options under Save to: Desktop, Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview, or Other Location.

Nonetheless, it was something I found unnecessarily annoying at first, especially because I wasn’t expecting it.

1 Uninstalling an app doesn't always get rid of it entirely

You had one job!

Another quirk that initially got to my nerves was that uninstalling an app from your Mac doesn't necessarily remove the entire app. It leaves behind files associated with the app all over your Mac. So, dragging and dropping an app from the Applications folder to the Trash icon on your Mac's Dock rarely removes an app entirely from your Mac.

Unfortunately, this leaves you with two options: hunt down the residual files and delete them manually or use a third-party app to do it for you. The last thing I'd want to do is the former, so I use a free utility, AppCleaner, to delete all leftover files from an app.

Once you install the application, you can set it up to automatically delete any related Library Files when you uninstall the app the traditional way. This way, every time you drag and drop an app to the Trash, a list of all its associated files appears in an AppCleaner window. All the files that are safe to delete will be selected already, so all you need to do is hit the Remove button, and you're good to go.

Think about tomorrow, not just today

Now, I'm not saying that hearing the tidbits above would have stopped me from switching over to a Mac. But it'd have certainly made my journey a tad bit easier and more future-proof. So, if you're considering making the switch from another operating system to macOS, learn from my experiences and go in with your eyes open.