I was so sick of Windows 11, I panic-bought an M4 Mac mini ahead of the RAM crisis — and I'm totally converted

It says a lot about the times we live in when an Apple Mac is a good deal in computing

28 Feb 2026 · TechRadar

Features By Nico Arboleda published 28 February 2026

(Image credit: Future | Nico Arboleda)

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I’ve been a long-time Windows user, going back to when Windows 95 was the operating system of the times. I’ve been through every iteration of Microsoft’s OS since, with Windows XP and Windows 7 being my favorite editions. Moving to Windows 10 was a natural progression when I purchased a Lenovo ThinkPad Carbon X1 in 2018 and used it with no complaints until I upgraded to Windows 11 in 2021 on the same machine.

Windows 11 increasingly became frustrating to use, with the ads on the start menu and the constant push to make me use Edge and OneDrive. AI functionality and Copilot were being suggested just as aggressively, with even the most basic programs like Notepad and File Explorer getting AI buttons.

The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, exacerbated by Microsoft’s planned Windows 10 obsolescence in October 2025, which basically rendered several older and still-functioning PCs obsolete. In my case, the Lenovo hardware still holds up — Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM — and is enough for most of my needs but, alas, Microsoft forced my hand and thus began my hunt for a replacement.

macOS: On the outside looking in

With the ongoing RAM shortage and other components like storage getting expensive, I was worried that I had made this decision at the wrong time. Thankfully, most laptops and computers with fixed components were still unaffected by these shortages, so prices haven’t gotten out of control just yet. Interestingly, the best deal to me was switching OS and going down the Apple route.

I’d played around with Linux a bit, trying Ubuntu in the 2010s and, while it was fine, I kept retreating to the familiarity of Windows. macOS, on the other hand, felt more user-friendly and suitable as a full-time replacement for Windows.

(Image credit: Future)

The only reason I never switched earlier is because I felt Macs were overpriced before Apple’s own silicon made them compelling options — and since my Lenovo was still going strong, I erred on the side of monetary caution these last few years.

Gradually, Apple started to bump the RAM of its base-model Macs from 8GB to 16GB while retaining the same price. And that’s when the M4 Mac mini became a standout with its starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$999, making it hard for most PCs to beat in terms of the same computing power.

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