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Do I need an apple account / ID to use a Mac?

slitherjef

slitherjef

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 8, 2012
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Been curious about the M1 mac's for a while, never gone through with a purchase and it's been a long time since I've used an apple product. If I where to grab a baseline M1 is it possible to use the thing without signing up for an apple ID or account? I really don't have an interest in their app store.

The few apps I'm looking at I believe are direct download from say chrome (if it runs) or affinity photo or something.
 
Just to be fair - an AppleID is not just the App Store.
Your Apple ID is the account you use to access Apple services like the App Store, AppleMusic, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and more. It includes the email address and password you use to sign in as well as all the contact, payment, and security details you use across Apple services.
Click to expand...

Yes - you don't have to set up an AppleID account on your new Mac. You can skip that step. Your Mac will probably bug you occasionally about signing in to your AppleID account, but you can choose to cancel or "I'll set this up later"
It's an easy process to set up an AppleID account when you realize that certain Apple services will require an account.
 
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Probably a bit irksome for some to hear, but most of Apple services I'm not really interested in. There are just a couple programs I'd want to use and want a operating system that's not intrusive. I know for a lot, Apple services are a huge reason to buy into an Apple device. I've tried Linux but things just are not there for me and there is a lot that is just over my head.
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but you need an Apple ID if you ever need to send in your device for repair and for tracking the repair progress.
 
AAPLGeek said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but you need an Apple ID if you ever need to send in your device for repair and for tracking the repair progress.
Click to expand...
No your receipt and details are enough.
 
What do I use my Apple ID for?

Basically to sync multiple Apple devices I own, such as iPhone, iPad, Intel and M1 Macs, and their services, such as iCloud backup and sharing of images and messages, security enhancements via 2-step verifications and pass codes, mutually supporting each other, OS system updates and recovery, and also the Appstore. Seamless integration of the various Apple components to me are the big attraction aside from the macOS itself that is based on Berkeley Unix.
 
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You don’t need an Apple ID, but there is a ton of useful functionality tied to it. Device location, cross-device copy, password resets, cloud storage, clod password backup etc.

So yeah, I’d say that whatever reservations you have against having an Apple ID, they are probably misplaced, and will lead you to a diminished user experience. But it’s your choice of course.

P.S. I would avoid Chrome on Mac. It’s rather slow and eats system resources like crazy.
 
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I have a Mac mini that I use without Apple ID. It acts as a media server connected to a TV. I use only Roon and qBitorrent on it so depending on your use-case it is possible.
 
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There’s nothing intrusive about iCloud anyway. Some people are infected with bad information and conspiracies. That’s the real intrusion and the only way to clear that kind of malware is experience instead of ignorance and avoidance.
 
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slitherjef said:
Been curious about the M1 mac's for a while, never gone through with a purchase and it's been a long time since I've used an apple product. If I where to grab a baseline M1 is it possible to use the thing without signing up for an apple ID or account? I really don't have an interest in their app store.

The few apps I'm looking at I believe are direct download from say chrome (if it runs) or affinity photo or something.
Click to expand...
Yeah you can use it without Apple ID. I just use my old 2011 MBA this way (just to access files on ext HDDs so doesn't need all of Apple ID function.
 
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slitherjef said:
I believe affinity should through rosetta. Not sure about DPP. Never been able to confirm it.
Click to expand...

I used DPP back in the day, when I had carried a DSLR, but because I'm not in the photography business I find I have more fun just using my phone.

I did a quick search. You're right, no confirmation and no update for Big Sur even. Last update was almost 2 years ago.
 
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leman said:
P.S. I would avoid Chrome on Mac. It’s rather slow and eats system resources like crazy.
Click to expand...

Chrome (and any Chromium based browser) on M1 runs on par if not better than Safari - with equal battery consumption..
If Safari saves RAM versus Chrome/Chromium - its optimizing something, and there are reports of users saying that with Safari some pages stutter.

Safari has beautiful UI and is a great browser.
Lets be real. Safari hasnt invented internet and most of webpages are not written specifically for Safari.
You can get speedy test results with Safari on some tests/webpages - but you cant win in versatility of webpages on internet over Chromium-based browsers.

I share the hatred towards Chrome for - GoogleSoftwareUpdates and Keystone processes working in Chrome for Mac without my consent- but these can be eliminated...
Or you can switch to Edge or Brave as other Chromium browsers.

Tracking? Well - the moment you use Google as a search engine in any browser - tracking is already there.
 
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