Tbf, I haven't touched a Mac in ages (and never personally owned one in my life), because the combination of the "luxury(tm)" device tax and Apple's vindictive anti-repair stance (and their walled garden on principle but that's not relevant here) basically put them on my "never buy and never recommend" list.

All good points. So here's what ya do - slide on over to your favorite used gear hub and pick up a 10 year old 8GB model for like $50 or $100. These things sold for thousands back in the day but now they're just beautiful old advanced-for-the-time hardware (that often run linux super easy if you get bored).

A little research will keep you to the ones that can be upgraded easily.

Grok all the rounded edges and backlit island glass-touchpad beautifulness. Wonder at how they got a good sound from tiny speakers in 1847 or whatever. Enjoy kicking around the candy colored icons and see how the configurations are just two clicks to wherever you want to be. It's like a vacation from scrolling through a textfile. Or, get jiggy with the BSD and go nuts. Get a free apple ID and smile guiltily when all your other cheap rescues line up behind it and interact seamlessly.

Just don't use your real name, keep behind your favorite recipe of networking, etc., obvs. And you might decide it's a good thing.