I'm a huge apple fan. I love my iPad Air and iPhone 5s. I've used windows all my life. I'm tired of the constant battle against spyware and viruses and have always been interested in Apple's Mac products. I found last years non retina 11 inch screen MacBook Air refurbished on Apple's website for $729. Is this a good deal? How does it compare to this years air?' Coming from an iPad and iPhone will the non retina be hard to get used to? What are some things I could do with it since I already own and iPad and iPhone? And generally how long do MacBooks last? Thanks in advance.
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Looking to get my first MacBook. Need advice.
- Thread starter Jacoblee23
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The 729 is a very solid deal. The 2013 and 2014 Air's are virtually the same. They bumped the processor speed from 1.3 to 1.4 and that's it. No reason to spend more on a 2014 model. Apple's refurbs are generally as good as a brand new machine. Still come with full warranty and such so no worries there.
I am not going to lie, the non retina may be difficult and it may not. While the display in the Air isn't bad, it's definitely lacking the sharpness and clarity that retina provides especially on text and while reading. Some users have no issues going back and fourth between retina and non. If I were you I would spend some time with a demo model either at an Apple Store or Best Buy and see if it looks good to you.
MacBooks last a long time providing you take good care of them. Some of the older models with dedicated GPU's suffered from unfortunate problems that shortened their lifespan but overall, Mac's are well built and can last as long as you need them to.
My mom just got a new windows 8.1 toshiba. It's pretty good, but it's starting to slow down and have already had problems with spyware despite being protected.
I was in the same position as yourself two years ago. I had an iphone 5, ipad 2 and a windows computer.
I bought myself a MacBook Pro (non-retina).
Firstly, despite having retina display on my iphone, i have no issue switching between retina and non retina. It was initially a concern of mine before purchasing but didn't bother me at all afterwards.
I now have iphone, ipad and Mac. I use all three, every day. Phone when I'm out and about. iPad for browsing, social media etc (using it now), mac for productivity usually.
I bought myself a MacBook Pro (non-retina).
Firstly, despite having retina display on my iphone, i have no issue switching between retina and non retina. It was initially a concern of mine before purchasing but didn't bother me at all afterwards.
I now have iphone, ipad and Mac. I use all three, every day. Phone when I'm out and about. iPad for browsing, social media etc (using it now), mac for productivity usually.
Note that there has never been a retina MacBook Air - all MacBook Airs are "non retina".
But I would agree this is a good deal on the 2013 MBA. The 2014 machine is really the same thing with a very slight processor speed bump that nobody is likely to notice. If you are worried about performance, you could get the refurb i7 version for only $10 more ($729). AFAIK, Apple only updated the i5 MBA for 2013, not the i7.
Similarly to dgrog, i have a retina iPhone and Non retina ipad 2 and don't find any difficulties in adjustment to my new MBA..with all the "handoff" features coming with the YOSEMITE in a couple months, all your apple devices are going to work seamlessly together..
Can't comment too much on the price though, here in South Africa we pay literally 15x the price than u guys over in the states
I would say get the MacBook Air. Actually now if you get the MacBook Air in the refurb section it should be around $600 or $700... depending on where you look. Also if you're a student you could get a discount at Best Buy, plus a mover's discount for less than $700.
Three years ago I was in the same predicament. I owned numerous PC laptops, and just got tired of them getting slower by the week, as well as being prone to viruses and spyware. I saw the MacBook Air 2010 and went for it, and have never looked back. It's the best decision you'll ever make, trust me. I've owned a 2010, 2012, and 2013, and my wife and two kids each also have an MBA, so we have all drank the kool-aid and became hooked. 