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bad time to buy a MacBook Air?

I

idealcheese

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 18, 2014
157
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Long story short is I got fed up with the truly unusable keyboard on my MBP, so I sold it along with my iPad and bought a cheapish PC 2 in 1. After 6 months I have to admit failure. I hate Windows just too much, and the PC is so slow and buggy I want to throw it out the window.

So here I am needing to buy a Mac laptop ASAP, and preparing to deal with that horrible keyboard again. (I never had any broken keys, I just hate the feel of typing on them and my thumbs constantly graze the trackpad causing erratic cursor jumps while typing.) I see that Apple is introducing an updated scissor mechanism on laptop keyboards for 2020, but I can't wait that long, so I need a sort of stopgap Mac to tide me over. I don't want to spend more than about $1100, and I need the best specs for my money. Should I buy a new 2019 MBA? Or an older model with better specs?
 
idealcheese said:
Long story short is I got fed up with the truly unusable keyboard on my MBP, so I sold it along with my iPad and bought a cheapish PC 2 in 1. After 6 months I have to admit failure. I hate Windows just too much, and the PC is so slow and buggy I want to throw it out the window.

So here I am needing to buy a Mac laptop ASAP, and preparing to deal with that horrible keyboard again. (I never had any broken keys, I just hate the feel of typing on them and my thumbs constantly graze the trackpad causing erratic cursor jumps while typing.) I see that Apple is introducing an updated scissor mechanism on laptop keyboards for 2020, but I can't wait that long, so I need a sort of stopgap Mac to tide me over. I don't want to spend more than about $1100, and I need the best specs for my money. Should I buy a new 2019 MBA? Or an older model with better specs?
Click to expand...

Well, the 2017 MacBook Air has the pre-scissor mechanism keyboard. It has recently been available intermittently on sale through the Apple refurb outlet, for prices as low as $759. They have even had the 2.2 GHz i7 model available occasionally, for $889. The trouble is, there probably isn't any place you can go, like an Apple Store, to try out the keyboard to see if you like it; you could just order one, and then return it within the 14 day return window if you don't like it. Also, they're mostly selling 128GB models, so you might have to be prepared to upgrade the storage yourself (you can get a 960 GB NVMe and an adapter for roughly $150).

A tip for you: if you plug in an external pointing device (mouse or trackpad), there is a setting within System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse and Trackpad that you can check to make it ignore input from the built-in trackpad while the mouse or external trackpad is connected.
 
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flaubert said:
Well, the 2017 MacBook Air has the pre-scissor mechanism keyboard. It has recently been available intermittently on sale through the Apple refurb outlet, for prices as low as $759. They have even had the 2.2 GHz i7 model available occasionally, for $889. The trouble is, there probably isn't any place you can go, like an Apple Store, to try out the keyboard to see if you like it; you could just order one, and then return it within the 14 day return window if you don't like it. Also, they're mostly selling 128GB models, so you might have to be prepared to upgrade the storage yourself (you can get a 960 GB NVMe and an adapter for roughly $150).

A tip for you: if you plug in an external pointing device (mouse or trackpad), there is a setting within System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse and Trackpad that you can check to make it ignore input from the built-in trackpad while the mouse or external trackpad is connected.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips, I'll check out deals on older models, then.
As for ignoring input from the trackpad, that's a good idea, thanks. Kind of a pain to have to deactivate it completely, but better than not being able to properly type!
 
idealcheese said:
Thanks for the tips, I'll check out deals on older models, then.
As for ignoring input from the trackpad, that's a good idea, thanks. Kind of a pain to have to deactivate it completely, but better than not being able to properly type!
Click to expand...
I agree with the recommendation you already received. There are periodically sales on NEW 2017 MBAs from places like Best Buy and Amazon that are just as cheap (if not lower) than Apple's refurbs.
 
flaubert said:
Well, the 2017 MacBook Air has the pre-scissor mechanism keyboard. It has recently been available intermittently on sale through the Apple refurb outlet, for prices as low as $759. They have even had the 2.2 GHz i7 model available occasionally, for $889. The trouble is, there probably isn't any place you can go, like an Apple Store, to try out the keyboard to see if you like it; you could just order one, and then return it within the 14 day return window if you don't like it. Also, they're mostly selling 128GB models, so you might have to be prepared to upgrade the storage yourself (you can get a 960 GB NVMe and an adapter for roughly $150).

A tip for you: if you plug in an external pointing device (mouse or trackpad), there is a setting within System Preferences > Accessibility > Mouse and Trackpad that you can check to make it ignore input from the built-in trackpad while the mouse or external trackpad is connected.
Click to expand...
I bought a brand new (not refurbished) 2017 MB Air at Micro Center in August for $699.00. I think they still have a few.
 
I also second the 2017 Macbook Air (or even 2015 MBP) The 2015 MBP will be somewhere around the same price point (i5,16gb RAM 500 GB SSD) if you're willing to consider the used market. If the keyboard was the reason you dumped the other MBP, you're not going to have a better experience with the new models as they generally feel the same. If you're considering purchasing a new model next year if they introduce a new keyboard mechanism, I would highly recommend getting the 2015 MBP. If they don't introduce something new, at least you will have a decent amount of power to hold you over for a bit.
 
I have a 2018 MacBook Pro machine, and I can't stand the keyboard. It's crap, period. Also the touchbar is awful, because you accidentally hit it while typing. Regular function keys is a much better solution.

So, I almost ended up buying a Huawai laptop, but changed my mind last minute and got a MBA 2019 model. Actually, this one I like a lot. The keyboard feels considerably better. It has a little more travel, and more resistance/stiffer action. Finally a decent keyboard for the first time in 4 years, since the butterfly mechanism was introduced.

Also my 2018 MBP has a faulty spacebar, which sometimes doesn't trigger, sometimes double-triggers. Combine this with too little tactile feedback from a shallow keyboard, you will end up typing a lot of errors (which I otherwise don't do). Also, avoid the touchbar like the plague. Overall, I can recommend the MBA 2019 model, but you should stay away from the MBP line - as it is now.
This is IMO of course.
 
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idealcheese said:
I see that Apple is introducing an updated scissor mechanism on laptop keyboards for 2020, but I can't wait that long, so I need a sort of stopgap Mac to tide me over. I don't want to spend more than about $1100, and I need the best specs for my money. Should I buy a new 2019 MBA? Or an older model with better specs?
Click to expand...

That's what I did (bought the cheapish $1299 MBA, which you can probably get for $1099 if you shop around) with the plan to upgrade soon for better keyboard and graphics.
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Peter_M said:
Also the touchbar is awful, because you accidentally hit it while typing. Regular function keys is a much better solution.
Click to expand...
This was happening to me a lot which is why I returned the MBP and got an MBA. Much happier with the physical function keys. However, I'm worried that the next gen MBA may have a touch bar.
 
ghanwani said:
That's what I did (bought the cheapish $1299 MBA, which you can probably get for $1099 if you shop around) with the plan to upgrade soon for better keyboard and graphics.
[automerge]1571349066[/automerge]

This was happening to me a lot which is why I returned the MBP and got an MBA. Much happier with the physical function keys. However, I'm worried that the next gen MBA may have a touch bar.
Click to expand...
It wont, Touch Bar is a pro feature.
 
I have a 2019 MBA. No problems whatsoever. The 2019 Keyboard plus 4 year warranty is good enough for me. I actually like the feel of the new keyboard, but sounds like OP might not be a fan. To each their own.

You can get a 2019 MBA at BB for $900, if you are willing to wait for a sale. Otherwise, you can go for the older 2017 MBA for about $750. Either way, you can't go wrong.
 
Thanks for all the comments. I decided to just go for a 2019 MBA because I wanted max resale value for whenever the 2020 models come out and I can upgrade. I haven't done a lot of typing yet, but even though the keyboard doesn't feel much different, I haven't had any problems with it yet. So whatever subtle improvements they made over the 2018 MBP seem to actually have made a difference.
I can't tell you what a relief it is to have a Mac laptop again! My 6-month foray into Windows was really unpleasant. My 2-in-1 had decent specs and 16GB of RAM, but everything was slow slow slow. I could never be sure my clicks registered the first time because literally seconds would pass before something would happen. I thought having a detachable screen that doubles as a tablet would be great, but using Windows on a tablet is a terrible experience. It's not designed for touch, and even with a stylus everything felt like a struggle.
Will Mac ever come out with a 2 in 1 that can run both MacOS and iPadOS? That would be my dream machine.
 
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Mainsail said:
I have a 2019 MBA. No problems whatsoever. The 2019 Keyboard plus 4 year warranty is good enough for me. I actually like the feel of the new keyboard, but sounds like OP might not be a fan. To each their own.

You can get a 2019 MBA at BB for $900, if you are willing to wait for a sale. Otherwise, you can go for the older 2017 MBA for about $750. Either way, you can't go wrong.
Click to expand...
That's where I am. I actually do like the keyboard a lot, but I do have a slight concern about the keyboard. Even then, I'm more comfortable knowing my wife's rMB had a keyboard issue at 3.5 years and got it replaced under warranty. It wasn't convenient but it worked. And that keyboard has zero protection against dust Apple added in the later revisions of the keyboard.
 
For what it's worth... I would have gone for the older gen MBA with the scissor type keyboards but get it fully spec'd (2.2GHz i7/8GB) and have gone with this as a "stop gap" laptop. You would spend less money up front for one of these and then if and when Apple released a laptop with a much more reliable keyboard you would be set for the time being. This is what I have done and I have two 2015 i7/8GB MBA, one 13 inch and the other 11 inch that I use even though they do not have the Retina display. If I need to have a laptop using Retina display then I have a 2015 i5/8GB 13inch Retina MBP to use. Either way all my laptops use the much more reliable scissor-type keyboard and I can use Catalina on them so no issues there...

Congrats to OP on your decision to get your laptop and I sincerely hope you won't have any issues while you're using it.
 
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