Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Macbook advice for a new college student as well as a new Mac user

I

idannymac

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 4, 2012
4
0
Hello guys. So I've started college recently and I've been looking at an Apple laptop for school. (And I'm set on getting an Apple laptop) I've been looking at the cheapest Macbook Air with 64 GB for it's portability as well as its price. I do not feel like 64 GB will limit me for a school laptop as my main PC has a terabyte of storage.

I am aware however of the recent rumors of impending new models for the Macbook Pros with sleeker form factors. Whatever laptop I choose will be my first experience with the Mac OS as the only Apple product I own is an iPhone. So I am coming to you guys who are very well versed in the Mac universe to help me with a few questions:

With Apple, when they release their new cycle of laptops, do they typically keep it at the same prices that the previous cycle/generation of laptops were when they were the latest? Also another question I have is will Apple sell the current Macbook Pro's for cheaper once the new generation of Macbooks are released? And finally if this question is possible to answer: What do you believe would be the best bet for me financially? Buying the 950$(Student discount) Air? Waiting for the new generation to be released so I can purchase a cheap Macbook Pro?

Thanks for your time.
 
idannymac said:
Hello guys. So I've started college recently and I've been looking at an Apple laptop for school. (And I'm set on getting an Apple laptop) I've been looking at the cheapest Macbook Air with 64 GB for it's portability as well as its price. I do not feel like 64 GB will limit me for a school laptop as my main PC has a terabyte of storage.

I am aware however of the recent rumors of impending new models for the Macbook Pros with sleeker form factors. Whatever laptop I choose will be my first experience with the Mac OS as the only Apple product I own is an iPhone. So I am coming to you guys who are very well versed in the Mac universe to help me with a few questions:

With Apple, when they release their new cycle of laptops, do they typically keep it at the same prices that the previous cycle/generation of laptops were when they were the latest? Also another question I have is will Apple sell the current Macbook Pro's for cheaper once the new generation of Macbooks are released? And finally if this question is possible to answer: What do you believe would be the best bet for me financially? Buying the 950$(Student discount) Air? Waiting for the new generation to be released so I can purchase a cheap Macbook Pro?

Thanks for your time.
Click to expand...

Hi there, the new generations are usually the same price give or take a little, but nothing substantial. For your second question, Apple will not themselves sell the older generation of MBP's as new products, they will simply list their newest products. However the last generation will be available on the Apple refurb store for a slight reduction in price, I'd say around a 10% to 20% reduction.

For your last question, I would consider waiting for the 2012 generation of the 13" MBP to be released, I say this as the price difference between the two should be little and the difference between the two in terms of value for your money may swing towards the new 13" MBP. Financially though, the cheapest is always the lightest on your bank balance obviously! So the cheapest would most likely be a new MBA, you could always consider a refurbed MBA.
 
well summers coming up, so here's a few things...

If you can wait, wait. The MBP's will most likely refresh first (rumors), it could be the other way around... School would start up in around late aug sept. If you really want the Air, nothing wrong with it other than the small HD wait until then to see if they bump the SSD, they may... Also apple usually does a back to school promo, now in the past this was a free iPod, but last year they changed it to 100$ in app store for software, or printers, ect...

The MBP are rumored to release before the summer is out (some say next week, I think in June/July), but the airs may take a little longer and may not come out until late Aug to Oct. I would go with the new ones with the edu discount. if you're using it for school starting in the fall you don't need to make a decision until mid Aug. save up!

I also agree with the previous poster in that you will most likely get more bang for your buck on the MBP and it only weights 2lbs more than the airs...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back