this is an arm based processor.... how compatible is that with most the stuff that macbooks run?
Any Mac application will be built for ARM at this point, and anything made for Intel Macs will run seamlessly under Rosetta. And that stuff is mostly limited to developers making Intel Docker images, musicians using some VSTs that haven't upgraded, and games.
This is at least the third major architecture migration for Macs, and they always rip the band aid off and applications have to upgrade or not run. (Motorola to PowerPC, PowerPC to Intel, Intel to ARM.)