When setting up a new Mac, you can start with a clean slate or transfer everything from an old Mac. What is smarter?
New Mac: Transfer or Start Over?
Apple has released a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, Mac mini and iMac in 2024. Did you get a new Mac? After buying a new MacBook, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio or Mac Pro, you are immediately faced with a difficult choice. You can use Migration Assistant to transfer everything from an older Mac, or you can start with a clean slate.
It is nice to think about this in advance, otherwise you will soon be sitting behind your new device wondering about a selection menu. Both options have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Why choose Mac transfer
If you choose to transfer your Mac, you are actually making a copy of your old Mac. Although you can choose not to copy certain parts, after migrating you can basically use your new Mac as you used the old Mac.
The biggest advantage of this is that you can get started with your new device immediately, without having to do boring things first such as downloading apps. You are even already logged in everywhere, so you don’t have to work with passwords and 2FA codes again.
It may sound exciting, because you don’t want your new Mac to become unnecessarily slow. However, you really don’t have to worry about that. Apple’s migration assistant works very well.
Why choose a fresh start
If you take the old one with you every time you get a new Mac, it’s like moving without throwing things away. Over time, you collect a lot of junk that you no longer need, install apps that you no longer use, and so on. Why would you take that baggage with you to your brand new Mac?
Especially if you have a new MacBook, it doesn’t make sense to transfer all the stuff from your desktop Mac, because you probably use the two devices for completely different things. You can still transfer the files you need via iCloud.
Migrating all your data to a new Mac often takes a very long time. Then you just got a new Mac and you have to wait hours before you can use it. In the meantime, you are also not allowed to use the old device you are migrating from.
Also, when using a computer, all kinds of small leftovers creep into the operating system. Remnants of apps, strange files and hidden settings you once adjusted. Do you really want to take that with you to your new Mac?
Alternative 1: clean up first and then migrate
A nice middle ground is to tidy up your old Mac before the new Mac arrives. Throw away the apps you never use, clean up your desktop and go through your files.
If you only use the migration tool afterwards, you have several advantages: you don’t drag any junk with you to your new Mac, your old Mac is immediately cleaned up and the migration takes less time.
Alternative 2: Try both options
Another option is to first use the new Mac with a completely clean installation to see how fast it is. If you then use the Migration Assistant, you can see if you notice a big difference in speed.
If you don’t notice a difference, then there is nothing wrong. Do you notice that the Mac is a lot slower? Then you start all over again.
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