Macs are the go-to computer choice for many creatives and artists, especially when it comes to photo editing and graphic design. However, this trend may be changing over time, especially with Apple’s recent transition toward HEIC file types, a more efficient and impressive file format that nonetheless comes with some compatibility issues. Let’s break down this recent trend for more information.
Why People Use Macs for Photo Editing
There’s a good reason that Macs are seen as excellent computers for photo editing and graphic design. Originally, Macs were created with certain proprietary hardware – including graphics cards and processors – that were tailored for use with some of the best visual creative applications and software of the time.
Back in the 80s, Apple Mac computers were the tools to use if you wanted to be a digital artist, heavily edit photos, or really make excellent web pages due to these benefits. PCs didn’t really start taking off until the 90s.
Even today, Mac computers are still heavily marketed toward young people and have a huge incentive to stay “cool” compared to PCs. While the marketing gap is certainly shrinking, it’s still true that most people think of Mac computers as the ideal computer type for creatives and entrepreneurs. But some people can’t afford to buy Mac and then you can choose budget laptop for photo editing.
Macs vs PCs Today for Photo Editing
This isn’t to say that Macs are necessarily better than PCs for photo editing or other visual art in today’s world. In truth, most of the excellent editing software, such as Photoshop, can be enjoyed on both Macs and PCs in equal measure. Regardless of if you’re a Mac or PC user, the experts at ShootProof recommend that you calibrate your monitor before editing to ensure the colors you’re seeing are accurate.
Furthermore, Apple has somewhat shot themselves in the foot since 2017 by heavily adopting the HEIC (which is a type of high-efficiency image file) format. Many people still don’t fully know how to convert HEIC to JPG with any real consistency.
However, virtually all Apple products, ranging from Macs to iPhones, use HEIC files by default. As a result, photographers and video editors that spend most of their time using Mac computers for their graphics endeavors have now found significant compatibility issues with their favorite software. Apple transitioning heavily to HEIC file formats meant that lots of commonly used editing and photo focused software suddenly became less useful for graphic designers.
With that being said, Mac computers still bring a lot of benefits to the table, including:
- Special discounts for colleges and schools if they purchase multiple computers for graphics-related classes
- Special deals with Photoshop and other software
- Experienced communities of artists and graphic designers who are used to using Mac computers, offering special tricks and software that PC users might not get to take advantage of
Are Macs Still a Good Choice?
Absolutely. Even with the recent trend toward HEIC file types, video and photo editing is still best done on Mac computers, particularly if you’re a professional. There are simply too many Mac-exclusive tools and communities around to make PCs the go-to choices for photo editing, at least for now.
However, this may change sometime in the near future, particularly as PCs catch up to Macs in terms of hardware and certain graphics processors. Time will tell whether Macs remain the ideal choice of computer for artistic and creative types or if PCs eventually take the throne.
