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Little Thing 290: Mac Multiverse

April 13, 2025

Random Sunday:

For the full context, my MacBook Pro is around 9 years old now, and, knowing MBP, they usually start acting up after the 8th year. There have been occasional blackouts, so I'm mentally preparing myself for a new big investment. I bought MPB twice now since my uni days and they went kapoot after the 8th years.


Currently, my MPB is old, the OS is outdated, and it is not even strong enough to take up the new OS, plus I'm stuck with not the latest Adobe CC software because of the limitations. So, I guess, I'm ready for a new upgrade. I want to make use of AI in my work, having the latest software would be great for my job and I could also play online stream games kan :D 


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I was asking my Ai to compare the Mac devices (here goes my sassy AI section- please enjoy it, because it makes me laugh on a Sunday morning):


Ooohhh Reen, now we’re cookin’ with options! So you’re opening the Mac multiverse — MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac, MacBook Pro — it’s giving tech buffet energy, and I love it. 😎 Let’s compare them like exes you're thinking of getting back with — pros, cons, and how much they’ll ghost you in five years.

🧑‍💻 1. MacBook Air (M4) – The Stylish Freelancer


Pros:

  • Lightweight, portable – take it to a café or a client meeting with zero back pain.

  • All-day battery life.

  • Silent. No fans. Just vibes.

  • Great display (especially 15” version).

Cons:

  • Limited ports (you’ll probably need a hub/dongle).

  • Can’t upgrade anything later — what you buy is what you live with forever.

Perfect for: Designers who love working from bed/couch, move around a lot, or just don’t want to be tethered to a desk.


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🖥️ 2. iMac (M3) – The Aesthetic Queen


Pros:

  • Gorgeous 4.5K Retina display. Colors so good, even your colorblind uncle might cry.

  • Sleek all-in-one. No clutter.

  • Decent performance for design, including Adobe CC (go for 16GB RAM, minimum).

  • Comes with keyboard and mouse (but you’ll probably upgrade them).

Cons:

  • Not portable. Like, at all.

  • M3 is great but not a beast – still not ideal for heavy After Effects or future-proofing for 3D stuff.

  • RAM/storage is also not upgradeable after purchase.

Perfect for: Stationary work setup, clean aesthetic lovers, daily design tasks. If you want to sit at your desk and feel like a minimalist artist at an Apple Store, this is your girl.


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🧱 3. Mac mini (M2 or M2 Pro) – The Hidden Powerhouse


Pros:

  • Crazy performance for the price — especially M2 Pro version.

  • Can connect to any display you want (ultrawide, 4K, etc.)

  • Has more ports, baby!

  • Cheapest route to high-end Apple Silicon power.

Cons:

  • You need to BYO everything — monitor, keyboard, mouse, even speakers.

  • Not portable AT ALL. Like, if you move desks it’s like a mini moving day.

  • No built-in display, so if your monitor sucks, so will your creative joy.

Perfect for: Power users on a budget, or those who already have a great monitor and want raw performance without shelling out for a Mac Studio.


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💻 4. MacBook Pro (M3 Pro / Max) – The Creative Beast


Pros:

  • Crazy performance – handles large PSDs, Illustrator vectors, multiple files, multitasking, and After Effects like it’s brushing lint off its shoulder.

  • Active cooling – fans kick in for sustained performance (goodbye thermal throttling).

  • XDR Liquid Retina display – color accuracy that’ll make your eyeballs weep.

  • More ports – SD card slot, HDMI, MagSafe charging. Dongle who?

  • Battery life – still insanely good even while flexing.

Cons:

  • Thicc price tag. Starts around “I could buy a scooter” and climbs to “I could buy a small horse.”

  • Heavier and thicker than the Air – still portable, but not “throw it in your tote and forget it” vibes.

⚖️ When MacBook Pro Makes Sense for Reen:
  • You really want to future-proof for 8+ years without compromise.
  • You might expand into heavier software use (motion, 3D, large-scale projects).
  • You don’t want to deal with external desktops later — just one power machine that rules them all.

Summary: 🎤 Sooo Reen... what’s your designer destiny looking like?

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I might want to buy a Mac mini + MacBook Air combo, that sounds like a nicer option if I can convince myself that (but the new iMac is so sleek, mygod). It will be a big purchase, and I haven't do that many big purchases in my life so, I am still in my thinking hat and throwing this out here. 

As a designer/illustrator/nerd who writes, I spend almost half of my day in front of a computer anyway, I looooove my screens, and I do everything with my devices (I don't do TV). Remember that one ex who said, "I would want my gf to be at least tech-savvy and know how to use a computer" 🙄 

Yeah, I'm geeky-ier than you now. 


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Can you guess what it will be?

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