Guide · 10 minutes
Your Apple Account is the key to almost everything Apple does. Here’s an explanation for anyone who’s never had one.
Your Apple Account is what you sign in with on your Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Think of it like a Microsoft or Google account: one free account that works across all your devices.
With an Apple Account you download apps from the App Store, buy music and movies, use iCloud to sync photos, documents and backups between devices, call and text through FaceTime and iMessage, and use Find My to track down a lost device.
You can use a Mac without an Apple Account, but then you miss out on the App Store, iCloud backups, Find My Mac, and the ability to safely store your FileVault recovery key. For the features that actually make a Mac worthwhile, you really do need one.
Already have an iPhone, iPad, or a previous Mac? Then you probably already have an Apple Account, just use that one. Starting fresh? You can create one for free while setting up your Mac, or ahead of time at account.apple.com.
A few concepts that work differently than what you’re used to.
The Mac doesn’t use drive letters. Your main drive is called “Macintosh HD” and sits on the left in the Finder sidebar, along with shortcuts to Desktop, Documents and iCloud Drive.
Same function as the Windows recycle bin. Drag files into it or use ⌘⌫. Empty it by right-clicking the Trash icon in the Dock.
iCloud Drive is Apple’s native cloud system (files, photos, backups). You can keep using OneDrive or Google Drive just fine, both have a Mac app.
Windows installer files (.exe/.msi) don’t run on a Mac. Look for the Mac version of the app, an alternative from the table above, or use Parallels Desktop.
The fastest way to share files between Apple devices. No cable, no cloud needed, just being nearby.
Here’s how to move your old PC over to your new Mac.
Many people switching to Mac also still have an Android device (often a Samsung) in their pocket. Good news: you can move that over to iPhone easily and officially too.
Contacts, text and call history, camera photos and videos, photo albums, files and folders, calendars, mail accounts, accessibility and display settings, web bookmarks, WhatsApp messages and media, and voice memos.
If an app is on both Google Play and the App Store and the developer supports transfers, it shows up automatically on your new iPhone. Anything else you just download again later from the App Store.
Move to iOS doesn’t automatically transfer music, e-books or PDFs, you’ll move those manually. Your phone number and eSIM also get moved in a separate step, sometimes through your provider’s website.
The most common frustration for new Mac users: a USB stick that works fine on the PC but won’t let the Mac write to it (or the other way around). This takes just a couple of minutes to fix.
Windows’ default format. The Mac can read NTFS drives fine but can’t write to them without extra software. Not a good choice if you want to share a drive between PC and Mac.
Works on both systems too, but files larger than 4GB won’t fit. Only useful for small files or older devices.
Recommendation: format the drive as exFAT. Note: formatting erases everything on the drive, so back up first.
Software like Paragon NTFS or Tuxera NTFS lets the Mac write to NTFS drives too. Handy if you don’t want to reformat, but it’s a paid tool.
Disconnect external drives on the Mac using the eject icon in Finder before pulling the cable. Otherwise you risk corrupted files, especially with exFAT.
Look up your Windows app and find the best Mac alternative.
| Windows | Mac alternative | Category | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explorer (File Explorer) | → | Finder built in | System |
| Control Panel | → | System Settings built in | System |
| Task Manager | → | Activity Monitor built in | System |
| Command Prompt / PowerShell | → | Terminal (zsh) built in | System |
| Disk Cleanup | → | OnyX or CleanMyMac | System |
| Snipping Tool | → | ⌘⇧5 screenshot built in | System |
| Notepad | → | TextEdit / Notes built in | System |
| Alt+Tab per window | → | AltTab (free app) | System |
| Snap Layouts / PowerToys | → | Rectangle or Magnet | System |
| Remote Desktop | → | Screen Sharing built in or Microsoft Remote Desktop | System |
| Registry Editor | → | No direct equivalent, macOS doesn’t use a registry | System |
| Running Windows programs (.exe) | → | Parallels Desktop (virtual Windows environment) | System |
| Microsoft Office | → | Office for Mac (native) or Pages/Numbers/Keynote free | Office |
| Outlook | → | Mail + Calendar built in or Outlook for Mac | Office |
| Teams / Skype | → | FaceTime built in or just Teams (also on Mac) | Office |
| Sticky Notes | → | Stickies or Notes built in | Office |
| Adobe Reader | → | Preview built in | Office |
| Paint | → | Preview (basic) or Pixelmator Pro | Media & creative |
| Windows Media Player / VLC | → | IINA (native) or just VLC | Media & creative |
| Photos app | → | Photos built in | Media & creative |
| Premiere Pro / video editing | → | DaVinci Resolve free or Final Cut Pro | Media & creative |
| OneDrive / Google Drive | → | iCloud Drive built in (or just keep using OneDrive/Drive) | Storage & files |
| 7-Zip / WinRAR | → | Archive Utility built in or Keka | Storage & files |
| Sharing files via Bluetooth | → | AirDrop built in, much faster | Storage & files |
| Windows Defender | → | XProtect + Gatekeeper built in | Security |
| BitLocker | → | FileVault built in | Security |
| Extra virus scanner | → | Malwarebytes (free version is enough) | Security |
| VPN | → | ProtonVPN or another Mac VPN | Security |
The key shortcuts to relearn: Ctrl usually becomes ⌘ (Command), Alt becomes ⌥ (Option).
Once your Mac, iPhone and (if you have one) iPad are signed in with the same Apple Account, they work together seamlessly.
Start an email, Safari tab or document on your iPhone and finish it on your Mac (and the other way around). The Handoff icon shows up automatically in the Dock or on the lock screen.
Copy text, an image or a video on one device and paste it within a few minutes on another Apple device. No extra step needed.
Photos, Contacts, Calendar, Notes, Passwords and iCloud Drive all stay in sync automatically everywhere, with no manual backing up.
Use your iPad as an extra screen next to your Mac (wired or wireless), including drawing with Apple Pencil directly in Mac apps.
Control up to two other Macs or iPads with the same keyboard and mouse or trackpad, and just drag files from one screen to the other.
View and control your iPhone apps and notifications right from your Mac, while your iPhone stays locked in your pocket.
Share photos, documents and links instantly between nearby devices. No cable or cloud needed.
Take calls and send texts from your Mac or iPad whenever your iPhone is nearby and on the same wifi network.
macOS handles security differently from Windows, usually in your favor.
macOS automatically scans for malware (XProtect) and blocks apps that aren’t digitally signed (Gatekeeper). Both are built in and always active, no setup needed.
The Mac’s version of BitLocker: it encrypts your entire disk so nobody can get to your files without the password, even if the disk is removed from your Mac. It’s usually already on since setup. Check it under System Settings → Privacy & Security → FileVault. Keep the recovery key you’re given safe, or link it to your Apple Account. Without it there’s no way back if you forget your password.
Off by default. Turn it on via System Settings → Network → Firewall if you’re working on unfamiliar networks.
For most people the built-in protection is enough. For extra peace of mind, Malwarebytes (free version) is a solid addition, see the Tools page.
Apps from the Mac App Store are reviewed and sandboxed. Only install software from outside the App Store from sources you trust.
The Mac is targeted less often than Windows, but phishing and scams work on any platform. Stay alert to suspicious links and attachments.