Data Migration To A New MacBook

Setup Assistant will happily pick up your old data from a connected time machine backup, as easily as from another Mac. When it asks whether to Create a new User, you just tell it where your backup is, and it gets all the "stuff" from there.

If you already created your first new User, you can use Migration Assistant instead. it will put your User data in an additional User account.

Move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

.

I used an HDD from a late 2013 to a M1Pro. My procedure was:

1. Either buy a new drive(I did) or reformat a current drive
2. Format it to APFS filing system without encryption(no point making it harder)
3. Make one new time machine backup to your old computer
4. Attach the HDD to the new computer
5. Boot the new computer, when it asks: check on time machine
6. Let it transfer
7. When you are done, reformat the drive in APFS(since the new machine will refuse to use an old backup)
8. Make a new time machine backup The new machine will reformat it again to APFS since it won’t trust you.
9. Everything on the new mac should look just about exactly the same as the old mac except for system differences.

This is what I did.

Probably. Since I was planning on using the time machine, I wanted it ready to go. Migration will ask what you want to do.

I basically just followed the instructions and had the time machine backup attached. I wanted to make sure there was no confusion so I only had one brand new backup on it, and I wanted to make sure Monterey was ready for it, so the back up was already in APFS. I only do this once every 5 or 6 years, since I keep my machines for a long time. I will be over 80 years old before I trade this new M1Pro in again.

Its one of the ways to do migration. Do you want to use a time machine backup to do it? In my experience there are ways to make it more seamless.