Mac or PC. Which MacBook?

[NorwichMom]

I need a new computer as my 9yo hp can’t upgrade to windows 11 and I need some software which needs either windows 11 or a recent OS.

i have an iphone and an ipad so am contemplating a mac. Obviously they’re more expensive than a windows laptop but people say they last longer. Though my HP still works fine so who knows.

what can a mac do which a windows can’t apart from transferring photos from my iPhone easier? I admit I like the look of a mac home screen with all the widgets, etc on it. But is any of this useful or just looks cool?

if I do get a mac do I get a 13” or 15” air? I’m worried the 13” would be too small. But it’s cheaper. The majority of the time (9 months a year) the laptop would be in my garden office plugged into a big screen. But in the depths of winter or if I need to be in the house for some random reason I’ll be on the dining room table with no bigger screen. I will never take it out the house.

Another option is have a Mac mini in my garden office plugged into the screen which is about £500 cheaper than an air. And then have a cheaper windows laptop for if I need to be in the house.

Another consideration is that I’m so used to windows on a laptop, will I get used to OS? I was playing on one in the shop the other day and couldn’t even work out how to minimise an app/screen and had to ask the assistant!

I switched to Mac 10 years ago and while it took a few days to make sense of the iOs, I wouldn't work on anything else now.
Mac is super responsive. My 15 y/o Mac is as quick as it was fresh out of the box. While my old work windows laptop still works, it is slow to load, makes terrible noise, glitches constantly and basically begs for retirement. And it's younger than my Mac by nearly a decade.
Unless you are running heavy software, you probably won't need Mac per se. But it is a nice reliable machine and well worth the money. If I had to choose, I'd probably get air so you can use it in your house and office. There is no point getting a mini and spending another £300-500 on a laptop unless you want to use specific programmes which are not available on iOs (like vintage computer games, or something).

Love Mac the problem people have is when they try to use it like windows
doesn’t take long to get the hang of

I’m a Mac and Google suite girl. No issues. I hate having to use my husband’s Windows laptop

I have a 15" macair as well as a Mac desktop. I did have a 13" but I needed a bigger screen and the 15 is perfect, though quite a bit heavier. It took me a couple of weeks to make the change from Windows to Mac but there is no way I would ever go back to Windows.

Thanks all, does sound like Mac OS would be worth getting used to, people don’t seem to regret making the switch. Think I’ll probably get a 13” as it’s just for emails, websites and PowerPoints and most of the time will be plugged into a bigger screen.