interestinng ive been thinking of doing that exact setup. the one thing holding me back is i worry the download speeds will sometimes not be fast enough when deciding to edit a video for example from icloud photos library. do you find the download speeds to be fast enough or does it add a lot of aggregation/disrupt your workflow?I like to have a desktop Mac (M1 iMac 24", currently) for a lot of the reasons others do. Big, permanently attached storage drives for media and backup. Big monitor, nice keyboard.
It's also the "home base" for iCloud: the desktop Mac has a larger SSD and is set to keep everything locally downloaded so it can be properly backed up. All this lets my MacBook Air be set to "optimize storage" where things from iCloud are downloaded only on demand as I need them.
HOWEVER, I've recently started taxing my M1 Air as I've had to start using it for graphic design work when I travel. I hadn't foreseen this use case, and the 256 GB SSD I skimped and got is not cutting it anymore.
Even the "satellite" machine needs a bit more storage because Adobe Creative Cloud is a steaming pile of crap and requires you to sync every folder that's shared with you in its entirety. Right now that's 50GB and growing by the day as my colleagues add asset after asset to folders shared with me. Leaving the folders isn't really an option so I've got an external drive dangling off my MBA like a horrible growth.
I have a pretty fast Fios connection, and generally find it pretty quick to download a file.interestinng ive been thinking of doing that exact setup. the one thing holding me back is i worry the download speeds will sometimes not be fast enough when deciding to edit a video for example from icloud photos library. do you find the download speeds to be fast enough or does it add a lot of aggregation/disrupt your workflow?
Sure, but that's it's skewed that way for any question or opinion on this forumI would think that for the vast majority of users, they only own one computer. I think your answers are skewed from asking on an apple-centered message board targeted to enthusiasts.
I have an iMac and plan on switching to an external monitor and either a MBA or MBP as my next computer.
I don’t want to manage more than 1 personal computer and I like the idea of having the external monitor setup but can take my laptop on the go (which I do for work).
amazing too, to be able to copy files between 2 devices with universal control (a huge improvement over airdrop).Not trying to push you into getting another Mac, nor buying more Apple services, but with iCloud storage, I've found syncing a desktop Mac and a mobile Mac quite painless.
I'd had never even considered any MacBooks until M1 came out. The M2 MBA redesign added just that much more incentive what with the magsafe, smaller bezels, and the fanless design. X1 Nano gen 1 met all my needs since it came out in January 2021, except in the realm of battery life. M2 just kills in that regard; everything else is just an outstanding perk.To be fair the M2 MBA is in my eyes a bit of a game changer. I would have NEVER even considered an air before Apple silicon and the redesign. The M series chips even the regular non pro models are very fast with decent integrated GPU so unless you really are a Pro user then they are more than enough. With Intel airs I always felt they were very underpowered and only for basic use. Now that has changed.