Can we just talk about how Finder is so much better than File Explorer on Windows? I’m not trying to be controversial or start a fight that’d last a million years, but here are my reasons!
- View options: I love how easy it is to set a default view and how different views actually work for different situations. Personally, I’m a big fan of list view, but the others have their advantages too. I know windows file explorer also has different view options but they never felt as easy to work with other than the default view. Unlike File Explorer where you have to tab and tab through tons of clutter, macOS’s Finder is way simpler and less clunky.
- Speed: Have you noticed how Finder just works way faster on macOS? Opening folders and files happens at lightning speed. Meanwhile, the laptop I used to own, HP Spectre with an Intel Core i7 Ultra (14th gen) felt kinda slow, mostly thanks to all the Windows 11 bloatware. I had to fix that sluggishness with ExplorerPatcher (I’m not sure about the patch’s name) to simplify the interface or make it look like Windows 10/7. If you're a Windows user, definitely check that out — it also gives you customization for the taskbar and start menu. You can find it on GitHub.
- Quick Look: I love love love this feature. You can preview literally anything — webpages, audio, video, text files — just by hitting the space bar. It’s super fast. You can even stay in Finder, use arrow keys to browse files, and preview everything without opening anything fully.
- Renaming files while in use: So many times I’ve tried to rename a file on Windows while it’s open, and boom — “the file is in use” error. On macOS, I had 20 audio files with random names. I previewed them with the space bar, navigated with arrow keys, hit Return to rename, and repeated. macOS just pauses the file, renames it, and plays it from the start. No annoying errors. Way smarter than Windows’s “nah fam, you can’t do that” vibe.
- Shortcuts for stuff: Shortcuts on macOS are just better. You can create custom ones without needing third-party apps. Yeah, you can make shortcut files on Windows and assign keyboard combos, but when I tried it, it made launching super slow. On Finder, shortcuts to Downloads, Documents, Home, etc., are clutch — especially when saving files and choosing paths. Plus, the path bar is just more intuitive. Sorting and reordering files feels way easier on the Mac UI too.
Final thoughts:
Yeah, VoiceOver still has its bugs, but I’m loving macOS. Windows virtual machines even run great on battery, which is wild. As long as Apple doesn’t drop another accessibility mess like Ventura, I don’t see myself going back to a Windows PC anytime soon. Never say never, though — maybe I’ll fall in love with ARM Windows if Microsoft ever pulls it together and ditches the cloud/ads/Copilot chaos.
Thanks for reading — drop your suggestions/opinions in the comments!
Comments
My thoughts on finder and it's use with VoiceOver
Hi, first off, excellent review on using finder with VoiceOver. yes, I completely agree, renaming files quickly just by pressing enter is much faster compared to windows. and yes, I love how you can play an audio file quickly from within finder, whereas on windows, pressing enter loads the file, and it takes forever to load sometimes. Not so on macos. you just press space and it just plays. overall, Finder is awesome to use with voiceover. Yes, it still has some bugs, but as long as they don't break it in future, I'm sticking with macOS as well. and one more thing, I agree that running a virtual machine on battery is cool as well, however, it is a bit slow sometimes, especially when you use UTM. it's not that bad, in my opinion. still, I will be on macos, since it's faster with VoiceOver. that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
Yes please
A big yes to this; all excellent points.
I also love how the keyboard shortcuts apply in the Save and Upload dialogs. So easy to select a location.
Dave
@JC
Have you tried running Windows on Vmware or Parallels? I haven't been able to figure out Parallels and really didn't deal with it much, but Windows runs great on Vmware. Utm has been way slower compared to Vmware for me.
Not really
Not really, but would love to give it a go. what version of windows are you running in vmware fusion? and is it faster compared to running it in utm?
windows version...
I use whatever the most recent Windows 11 build is, since I regularly update through Windows Update. I found UTM way slower than VMware at detecting my keyboard presses and commands, which is why VMware works much more smoothly for me. The main issue during setup is that it’s hard to get audio from the Mac’s internal speakers when running Windows for the first time. Use an external audio device, like an audio interface or a USB mic with a built-in audio interface, to get initial sound. Once connected to Windows Update during the first setup, the audio drivers will install.
oh ok
Oh OK. and it's the arm version, correct?
I struggle with Finder but I…
I struggle with Finder but I chalk it up to about 30 years of windows use being the main issue. Very often I find myself trying to make MacOS do something in a Windows way.
Navigating Open/Save dialogs still feels strange and wrong but I'll eventually get the hang of it. I just need to unplug my Windows desktop and go full immersion to make this stuff stick.
Yes, Finder is the best part…
Yes, Finder is the best part of macos honestly. Way faster than any windows machine (with and without tweaks) I've ever seen, and all this at first launch and it always stays that fast and reliable. And sorry but spotlite is just a dream, a joy of every instant to use.
Hinder
have to agree. Finder is something else. And yeah spotlight is miles ahead of its equivalent in windows that beeing the start menu... Man that thing is just, clunky as heck. The system preferences is another part where the mac beats windows by a long shot. Its well organised, easier to navigate and... You don't have to deal with the, is x setting in settings or in control panel? That you have to do in windows. I don't get why have settings and control panel in windows as it makes things very... confusing, but whatever, I guess. The only files that cant be previewed seem to be .ogg audio files which is kind of odd, although might be missing something there, but yeah quicklook is great.
You make some good points, allow me to do the same
Here's how I would achieve something similar on Windows, just in case someone was wondering.
Half of issues would be solved by installing PowerToys, a free utility by Microsoft.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/
Powertoys peak feature would allow you to do what quicklook does.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/peek
If not that, then we have a quicklook app as well.
https://www.xda-developers.com/i-tried-quicklook-for-windows-and-now-i-cant-live-without-it/
Powertoys also allows creating keyboard shortcuts, but I prefer Auto Hotkey program for that. Again, totally free.
Powertoys run offers a better search experience as well.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/run
I've never used tabbing in file explorer, f6 may be, but arrow keys and enter all the time.
The renaming file issue while file is opened is a valid issue, there's no way around that. But I've never found it a major annoyance. Rather it's comfirting at times to know that system won't allow me to modify or delete an actively used file, or, accidentally delete something I was working on.
Hope above helps.
I am not looking for wild discussions or debates, just offering perspective from the other side. Hope it will be received in the manner it was intended.
if you are going to switch to Mac go all in
If you are going to switch to Mac you need to go all in. You can't do it part of the time and then use windows the rest. In my opinion you won't get concepts to stick as well if you are doing that.
@Dennis Long
Depends on the task the user want to do, but 99% agree with that.