Do you use your 12" MacBook as your primary computer or as a secondary, and if so what do you use it for?

[Hieveryone]

Right now my current setup is a 2019 15" MacBook Pro base model docked beside my 24" LG monitor I bought from the Apple store.

I also have a 12" MacBook which I will likely keep to my other side, and kept on to feed me data or just for TV.

I haven't used my 12" for awhile, but would like to start using it again.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

My '16 Macbook is my secondary machine. It is perfectly fine for writing, acceptable for web surfing and light gaming. Anything that taxes the machine just a little bit, and I switch to my 2011 iMac (!) which is much faster in everything.

 

[4sallypat]

My 12" Macbook Retina is my travel and bedside laptop - super thin and light makes it easy to use.

My 16" MBP is my desktop computer connected to my 27" Thunderbolt display.

 

[ericwn]

OP I cannot find a use case for you but I think the 12” is pretty portable and would be great if you travel a lot or plan a longer journey.

Or maybe be secondary machine that lives in an office or in your weekend getaway cottage?

 

[Hieveryone]

OP I cannot find a use case for you but I think the 12” is pretty portable and would be great if you travel a lot or plan a longer journey.

Or maybe be secondary machine that lives in an office or in your weekend getaway cottage?

I consider it my “ipad”

i don’t have an iPad so I consider my 12” MacBook basically my iPad (with a keyboard and more functionality.)

I sit at my desk all day though until I sleep and then in bed (which is where I can keep my 12” Macbook) I usually fall asleep pretty quick so I’m usually just on iPhone for the 10-30 minutes before dozing off
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I also only paid like $800 for it which is a lot of money but a nice discount none the less. iPads can cost that much these days

 

[ericwn]

I consider it my “ipad”

i don’t have an iPad so I consider my 12” MacBook basically my iPad (with a keyboard and more functionality.)

I sit at my desk all day though until I sleep and then in bed (which is where I can keep my 12” Macbook) I usually fall asleep pretty quick so I’m usually just on iPhone for the 10-30 minutes before dozing off
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I also only paid like $800 for it which is a lot of money but a nice discount none the less. iPads can cost that much these days

It sounds to me - and correct me if I’m wrong- that phone and one computer are all you need in your lifestyle. Why burden yourself with more if it’s not required.

Sure some might suggest to have a backup computer but I’ll leave it to you to decide how quickly you could get the main Mac repaired if required.

 

[Hieveryone]

It sounds to me - and correct me if I’m wrong- that phone and one computer are all you need in your lifestyle. Why burden yourself with more if it’s not required.

Sure some might suggest to have a backup computer but I’ll leave it to you to decide how quickly you could get the main Mac repaired if required.

Yea my iPhone 11 Pro Max, my 2019 15” MacBook Pro, and my 24” LG monitor is probably enough.

But hey I already have a 2017 12” MacBook so oh well lol. I got it from Best Buy for like 800 bucks so not a bad deal tho

 

[4sallypat]

...
But hey I already have a 2017 12” MacBook so oh well lol. I got it from Best Buy for like 800 bucks so not a bad deal tho

Wow, what a deal - do you know if they still sell the 2017 rMB for that price ?
It's still $1500 for a discontinued i5 Mac....

I'd love to get the newest model since mine was a first gen 2015 rMB that has been problem free (except for the battery that went and had to be replaced post AC)....

 

[Hieveryone]

Wow, what a deal - do you know if they still sell the 2017 rMB for that price ?
It's still $1500 for a discontinued i5 Mac....

I'd love to get the newest model since mine was a first gen 2015 rMB that has been problem free (except for the battery that went and had to be replaced post AC)....

Wow I did not know that! I'm tempted to sell mine, it's in mint condition. Not a single scratch or dent anywhere mainly bc it's not used much at all.

 

[Clix Pix]

Sitting here participating on MR on my 12" MacBook while my 2018 15" MBP is busy with transferring files from one external drive to another.....

The 12" MacBook is also my travel companion and serves to handle all the functions of a laptop with a proper OS even as I also have an iPad with me on most trips as well. Although most of the time I take my 12.9 iPad Pro out on the deck with me in warm weather, from time to time the 12" MB goes there instead.

I find that my 2018 15" MBP and my 12" MB complement one another quite nicely......

 

[Hieveryone]

Sitting here participating on MR on my 12" MacBook while my 2018 15" MBP is busy with transferring files from one external drive to another.....

The 12" MacBook is also my travel companion and serves to handle all the functions of a laptop with a proper OS even as I also have an iPad with me on most trips as well. Although most of the time I take my 12.9 iPad Pro out on the deck with me in warm weather, from time to time the 12" MB goes there instead.

I find that my 2018 15" MBP and my 12" MB complement one another quite nicely......

Sweet setup. What do you find the iPad Pro most useful for? I've never really done iPad and was wondering if it could add value to my life.

I suppose I could buy it and try it for 14 days but I hate doing that. Would rather do my research first so I don't need to return.

 

[Clix Pix]

I have been using iPads since the very first ones back in 2010 and I have always found plenty of uses for then..... I have the aforementioned 12.9" iPad Pro and use that when I'm outdoors on my deck in good weather, catching up on forums and such; in wintertime I use it in bed a lot, either in the mornings when I am awake but not ready to get up yet, or at times in the evenings when I'm tucking myself into the warm bed...... I have the smaller iPad mini 5 which goes on trips with me, or around town in my purse, along with my iPhone, and each of these complements my 12" MacBook and my 2018 15" MacBook Pro. I like being able to quickly grab an iPad and look up something really fast regardless of time or place, without needing to turn on a computer, and I much prefer reading forum posts on the iPad as opposed to checking them while on my iPhone.

 

[FlyingTexan]

My '16 Macbook is my secondary machine. It is perfectly fine for writing, acceptable for web surfing and light gaming. Anything that taxes the machine just a little bit, and I switch to my 2011 iMac (!) which is much faster in everything.

Really an 9yr old machine is faster than the new 16' MacBook Pro?
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I current have a 2017 Macbook with 8GB and the i5 with 512GB. It's the only Mac that I own. I have another laptop that's meant to game. It's a ASUS ROG STRIX II with RTX 2070 desktop, 32GB, 512GB nvme, and a 17" 144hz screen.

I'm a pilot and when I'm on the move I'm on the move. I have two iPads for the aircraft I fly (flight charts and manuals) so I really like it's portability. having said that I'm still finding myself always looking for something new. I don't mind the performance. It's not bad by any means. Surfing the net and whatnot I don't really notice. I think the audio is great, I have ATTtv on it and use popcorn time as well. It's a great setup. The only thing I'd give this up for would be the Huawei Matebook X Pro Green.

Another thing I wanted to add. The MacBook I can use on an airlines in-plane outlet adapter. I'm not sure what the other MacBook Pros pull but if you exceed 70 watts or so on a lot of aircraft you'll kick the adapter off. So having a small power drain means I can always keep using my MacBook. Just did a flight from France to Houston and it's a blessing getting to watch all my movies.

 

[EugW]

I don't use my 2017 12" Core m3 with 16 GB / 256 GB much at all now. It's been 95% replaced by my iPad Pro 10.5" with Apple Smart Keyboard.

I guess the 16 GB RAM is wasted. I only truly benefitted from the 16 GB a few times on international trips when I didn't have access to my iMac, but otherwise for most of my usage, 8 GB would be sufficient. (Actually 8 GB was manageable, but having the 16 GB was helpful since I was running MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint with a large several hundred MB presentations, email, PDF reading, and a ton of Safari tabs. The fact that PowerPoint had/has a memory leak made the extra memory even more helpful.)

But now, for most of what I do, my 4 GB iPad Pro is mostly OK. MS Office kinda sucks on the iPad Pro since there is no trackpad, but that new Magic Keyboard coming out in May for the 3rd and 4th gen iPad Pro should help lots. But it's moot for me though now since I've changed jobs and don't need MS Office much now anyway.

So, I consider my MacBook a tertiary machine, far behind my dual 27" screen iMac and my 10.5" iPad Pro. My next upgrade will be to a 6 GB iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard with trackpad. The MacBook will not get updated any time soon. Certainly not in the next several years. I won't be upgrading my iMac either for a good while. Assuming it doesn't break, its quad-core i5 performance with 24 GB RAM should last me at least until 2025.

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

Really an 9yr old machine is faster than the new 16' MacBook Pro?

I don't have a MBP.

 

[playtech1]

For me it's a secondary computer. I use it when travelling and in bed, for which it is perfect. If I'm at a desk then there are more powerful computers available.

 

[FlyingTexan]

Sorry I read that wrong as you saying a 16” MacBook

 

[Charadis]

I consider mine as my primary. Had a 2015 12" and sold it to subsidize the cost of a 2015 13" MBP. That has been a great computer, but I missed the portability of the 12" so much. So I picked up a 2017 model earlier this year with max specs, and the MBP has been in its case for the majority of the time. I love everything about this computer; the sound quality, picture quality, size, and honestly, the keyboard is not half bad.