I'm a fullstack developer and I use a lot of VSCode, Docker and browsers with multiple tabs open. My old MacBook Air is really starting to struggle. I'm torn between sticking with Mac or switching to a good Windows/Linux laptop.
If you're used to Mac and you've got the budget, stick with Mac - the new MacBook Pro with M4 chips are really solid for fullstack dev, Docker runs smooth and you'll never have issues with multiple tabs and VSCode open. Now if you want to explore Windows, a ThinkPad or Dell XPS will do the job easily, but you gotta be aware that you might need to tinker a bit more with configs (WSL2 is cool but it's still a compromise). Linux straight on the laptop is great for dev, just make sure to check hardware compatibility before buying. At the end of the day it's mostly about being comfortable with the OS and how much budget you want to put in.
If your old MacBook was already lagging, an M3 or M4 MacBook Pro would be a solid investment for fullstack work - the performance is really there and VSCode + Docker run smoothly. That said, if you're not attached to the Apple ecosystem, a good ThinkPad or Framework on Linux does the job just fine and it's often cheaper, though you gotta keep in mind you'll spend time configuring some stuff. Personally I'd just say check your actual RAM needs (16 GB minimum for you) and SSD storage before deciding, that's what's really gonna make a difference in your day-to-day more than the brand.
If you're working heavily with Docker and VSCode, a MacBook Pro M4 or even M3 would be perfect for you - Apple chips really handle that stuff well 😎 But if you want to stick with the Windows/Linux ecosystem, a ThinkPad or a decent gaming laptop with at least 16GB RAM would work too! The real question is your budget and whether you want to stay on macOS or not, because honestly both work super well for web dev. Oh and personally I really like ThinkPad keyboards, but that's just a detail 🎸
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