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30+ year Windows user here planning a move to Mac. I'm not waiting for the M6 MacBooks, I'm too excited about making the move to wait until then. My first Apple PC is going to be a 14" M5 Pro MacBook. I definitely need a 1TB internal drive (I don't want to travel with an external enclosure) and while 16GB of RAM would be OK the extra headroom of 24GB would be nice.

If pricing follows the pattern established by the M4 based MacBooks then, since the 14C/20C Pro chip variant has 24GB/1TB as its baseline configuration that is a model that tends to be available at about a 10% discount from 3rd party resellers so it only ends up being about $200/£200 more expensive that a non-Pro M-Series version once you upgrade that non-Pro variant to a 24GB/1TB configuration. If things work out the same way a few months after the M5 Pro MacBook is announced then £200 more on a £2,000 device to get the dual fan cooling, TB5 instead of TB4 and what will almost certainly be a whole load of extra performance as well seems like the sweet spot to me.

With rumours of M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBooks "early next year" (by the end of March if not earlier?) and rumours that the new OLED models might even come out by the end of that same year (2026) I'm hopeful that within a couple of months of the M5 Pro MacBook coming out we will start seeing the same sort of ~10% discounts on that model as we currently see on the baseline 14C/20C M4 Pro MacBook configuration.

If you don’t want to fork over crazy amounts of money for a storage upgrade, you can buy an SD that sits flat and flush in the SD card slot of the MacBook that you can leave in there as ‘permanent’ storage. I used to used them on my MacBook Air when those still had an SD card reader. It’s a great option to save money
 
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If you don’t want to fork over crazy amounts of money for a storage upgrade, you can buy an SD that sits flat and flush in the SD card slot of the MacBook that you can leave in there as ‘permanent’ storage. I used to used them on my MacBook Air when those still had an SD card reader. It’s a great option to save money
I have that. My only worry is whether it will come out when I try to remove it in case the microSD dies – the adapter sits VERY flush. The speed difference is massive, of course, but it’s fast enough to host my iTunes and video library.
 
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If you don’t want to fork over crazy amounts of money for a storage upgrade, you can buy an SD that sits flat and flush in the SD card slot of the MacBook that you can leave in there as ‘permanent’ storage. I used to used them on my MacBook Air when those still had an SD card reader. It’s a great option to save money

I have that. My only worry is whether it will come out when I try to remove it in case the microSD dies – the adapter sits VERY flush. The speed difference is massive, of course, but it’s fast enough to host my iTunes and video library.

Thanks both of you. I'm not hugely price sensitive so the incremental cost to to get 1TB rather than 512GB isn't really going to bother me much but your posts are super-helpful because I was hoping to use the SD card slot for a slightly different reason but had rejected the idea because every video I had found showed the card sticking out rather than flush and I really didn't want that. It looks as if my planned use case might be back on the table. The lack of an SD (or microSD) card slot on an Air was actually one thing pushing me towards the Pro.

Do either of you, or anyone else, have any links to a flush-fitting card/adapter* so that I can get a manufacturer's name to know I'm buying the right thing (i.e. it is really a flush-fitting one that I'm getting)?

(*) I'm guessing from navaira's reply that the sticky-out ones that I saw in all of the videos that I watched were all native full sized SD cards whereas these flush ones are probably all adapters that allow you to insert a microSD card into a full-sized SD card slot or are there also reduced-depth SD cards that sit flush? Either solution is good for me although since I already have a 1.5TB microSD card that I use with my Windows PC an adapter for that would be slightly more convenient (cost effective).
 
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Thanks both of you. I'm not hugely price sensitive so the incremental cost to to get 1TB rather than 512GB isn't really going to bother me much but your posts are super-helpful because I was hoping to use the SD card slot for a slightly different reason but had rejected the idea because every video I had found showed the card sticking out rather than flush and I really didn't want that. It looks as if my planned use case might be back on the table. The lack of an SD (or microSD) card slot on an Air was actually one thing pushing me towards the Pro.

Do either of you, or anyone else, have any links to a flush-fitting card/adapter* so that I can get a manufacturer's name to know I'm buying the right thing (i.e. it is really a flush-fitting one that I'm getting)?

(*) I'm guessing from navaira's reply that the sticky-out ones that I saw in all of the videos that I watched were all native full sized SD cards whereas these flush ones are probably all adapters that allow you to insert a microSD card into a full-sized SD card slot or are there also reduced-depth SD cards that sit flush? Either solution is good for me although since I already have a 1.5TB microSD card that I use with my Windows PC an adapter for that would be slightly more convenient (cost effective).


I’ll try to find a link for you. The cards I used did NOT have adapters for them. They were just one solid SD card but looked shorter, to sit flush with the computer body. Zero chance of anything getting stuck or not being able to come out if you need to remove it. I’ll
Try to see if I can find my old card too and take a picture of it for you so you can see it
 
Thanks both of you. I'm not hugely price sensitive so the incremental cost to to get 1TB rather than 512GB isn't really going to bother me much but your posts are super-helpful because I was hoping to use the SD card slot for a slightly different reason but had rejected the idea because every video I had found showed the card sticking out rather than flush and I really didn't want that. It looks as if my planned use case might be back on the table. The lack of an SD (or microSD) card slot on an Air was actually one thing pushing me towards the Pro.

Do either of you, or anyone else, have any links to a flush-fitting card/adapter* so that I can get a manufacturer's name to know I'm buying the right thing (i.e. it is really a flush-fitting one that I'm getting)?

(*) I'm guessing from navaira's reply that the sticky-out ones that I saw in all of the videos that I watched were all native full sized SD cards whereas these flush ones are probably all adapters that allow you to insert a microSD card into a full-sized SD card slot or are there also reduced-depth SD cards that sit flush? Either solution is good for me although since I already have a 1.5TB microSD card that I use with my Windows PC an adapter for that would be slightly more convenient (cost effective).
 

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Why would you want to use a less accurate method of doing such?
Good point. It made me think, if such a screen were implemented, that could drive better user interface controls to select a finer point, like snapping, smart selection. You saw this on phones, at first trying to highlight a letter or word was difficult, then they added little drag handles to text selection. Touch selection of audio/video waveforms could undergo input improvements. I think it would get better.
 
I care more about the real m5 pro models and if they think they’ll eventually release a new ultra chip.

The M3 Ultra is less than a year old, and so far has gotten updates after 5 quarters, then 7 quarters. So I'd say the earliest we should expect an M4 Ultra or M5 Ultra is next summer at WWDC, perhaps with a new Mac Pro (or the announcement that it's dead).
 
Good point. It made me think, if such a screen were implemented, that could drive better user interface controls to select a finer point, like snapping, smart selection. You saw this on phones, at first trying to highlight a letter or word was difficult, then they added little drag handles to text selection. Touch selection of audio/video waveforms could undergo input improvements. I think it would get better.
We already have a much better solution: a keyboard and mouse. Even a trackpad is more accurate.
 
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We already have a much better solution: a keyboard and mouse. Even a trackpad is more accurate.
Right....but I was responding to using the device without a mouse and keyboard. Like a touchscreen tablet. Point being the touch-based selection/action could be improved....perhaps just waiting on the right want/need. I saw a guitarist playing over the weekend with a laptop on his stand....there was no mouse for that!
 
Right....but I was responding to using the device without a mouse and keyboard. Like a touchscreen tablet. Point being the touch-based selection/action could be improved....perhaps just waiting on the right want/need. I saw a guitarist playing over the weekend with a laptop on his stand....there was no mouse for that!
So...like an iPad, you mean?
 
So...like an iPad, you mean?
I'm not sure what you mean. Has the thread of this conversation been lost?... I am responding to the usability of whoever said touchscreen controls on some software are not as good as they could be, as good as existing inputs. IIRC: A point was made about a macbook with a touchscreen, a comment said such a touchscreen UI is not/may not be good for timeline editing, I supposed improvements may develop if more people that have macbooks would use the touchscreen in this manner, next comment was why not use a mouse, then I saw someone on stage with their laptop and no place for a mouse.

So no, not using like an iPad. In fact, using like a laptop...with a touchscreen. Unless you are saying "an iPad is just like a laptop with a touchscreen" which I doubt you are.

I will have to ask him which software he was running. It may or may not be relevant if an iPad can run all the the software applications he had loaded up for performance, or have some dock accessory to be connected as his laptop was to the venue sound system. But he was using a laptop. And from his chosen setup, he may have benefited from a touch input on any number of apps, which all window/manage far different from IOS.
 
I'm not sure what you mean. Has the thread of this conversation been lost?... I am responding to the usability of whoever said touchscreen controls on some software are not as good as they could be, as good as existing inputs. IIRC: A point was made about a macbook with a touchscreen, a comment said such a touchscreen UI is not/may not be good for timeline editing, I supposed improvements may develop if more people that have macbooks would use the touchscreen in this manner, next comment was why not use a mouse, then I saw someone on stage with their laptop and no place for a mouse.

So no, not using like an iPad. In fact, using like a laptop...with a touchscreen. Unless you are saying "an iPad is just like a laptop with a touchscreen" which I doubt you are.

I will have to ask him which software he was running. It may or may not be relevant if an iPad can run all the the software applications he had loaded up for performance, or have some dock accessory to be connected as his laptop was to the venue sound system. But he was using a laptop. And from his chosen setup, he may have benefited from a touch input on any number of apps, which all window/manage far different from IOS.

The point is your "guitarist with laptop on stand" scenario will never work as well with a laptop as it will with a tablet.
 
The point is your "guitarist with laptop on stand" scenario will never work as well with a laptop as it will with a tablet.
Never work as well? The tablet may not work AT ALL. It depends on the applications he was running and the connections with the venue. Like all "tablet vs laptop" discussions, it is hugely depended on workflow.

But my original comment was to say, that if non-tablet using people have a touch screen become available on their laptops, and start finding the little cases where they use the touchscreen, then the other person's comment that the "touch UI for timeline editing is bad" (my paraphrase) may be mitigated or negated, if said touchscreen/app/UI advances and improvements are made. That fact this is possible is easily seen since tablet UIs have undergone just such improvements over the years.
 
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