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What MBA/MBP/iMac/Mac Studio/Mac Mini combination do you use?

  • Single MBA/MBP exclusively

    Votes: 72 51.1%
  • Two or more MBA/MBP for mixed work

    Votes: 14 9.9%
  • MBA/MBP for portability, desktop Mac for "heavy lifting"

    Votes: 38 27.0%
  • Something else

    Votes: 17 12.1%

  • Total voters
    141
Apple: M1 Mac mini, M2 MacBook Air.
PC: Dell i5 Windows 11, LG Gram i5 Windows 10, Asus ROG i7 Windows 10.
When I need to access my Windows machines I use one of my Macs to do so (Jump Desktop).
 
I have a 16" M1 MBP which I use as a portable desktop. Loving this machine in every way. The speed and size of this display obviates the need (or desire) for actual desktop...at least for me.
 
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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.
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?
 
Currently a 2017 MBA - was my home and work travel computer, but now well out of AppleCare (and a few near misses in travel that might have cost dearly), I'm currently using it as my home 'desktop' and picked up a cheap and cheerful ASUS Win11 notebook for travel. Not a great computing experience OS-wise, but does a majority of my work and without the fear of seeing my bank account flash before my eyes shold it tip off a table.
 
I 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.
 
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 have a pretty fast Fios connection, and generally find it pretty quick to download a file.

When using Optimize Storage, I do find iCloud can be a little random about what local files it chooses to purge local copies of. You can always right-click on a file or a folder and tell it to download immediately -- but there's no way to "pin" anything. As bloated as Dropbox has become, it does give you much more granular control for this.
 
I 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.
Sure, but that's it's skewed that way for any question or opinion on this forum :)
 
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My primary use Mac is my 5,1 Mac Pro despite the fact I have many Macs ranging from a base Studio Ultra all the way down to a PowerMac G5. I've given a lot of thought to buying the M2 MBA but I am trying to cut back on buying yet another computer.
 
14-inch MBP exclusively. These new Macs are basically $6,000+ Mac Pros to go, at least for my workflow (video editing + web dev.)
 
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).
 
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).

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.
 
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.
amazing too, to be able to copy files between 2 devices with universal control (a huge improvement over airdrop).
 
Honestly I've been all over the place lately. I've got a 2012 21" iMac which is old, tired and slow but I absolutely love the simplicity and 'always plugged in, always charged' nature of a desktop. I got a new M1 24" iMac to replace it but returned it.

I also have a base model M1 MBA for working in coffee shops, taking to work, conferences etc. I really don't know where I'll go next. If Apple release an M2 iMac I may get that.
 
The majority of the time I'm on my iPad Air with an attached keyboard, to be honest. Given the amount, I actually even need my M2 it may be the last Mac I buy. However, so far as Macs go it's my only one, I sold my 2019 iMac when I got it.
 
I can't afford two Mac's!! I do have two laptops. A lower cost but decent Windows laptop and the M2 air. Unless I can see why some people have a Mac Studio or MBP 16" for heavy lifting and an air for everything else. I like iPad for media consumption and in a pinch but for normal workloads I need a laptop.

I don't need a Pro and can get away with everything I need to do on the two lower middle end laptops I own.

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.
 
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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.
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.
 
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