First time Apple buyer

[annirooni]

I am fed up of Microsoft since the Win10 update so have decided I'd like to change to Apple (have iPad Air2 but too small for typing). I'm not the least bit techy. Haven't decided between iMac or Macbook Pro.

A quick question: Buying today is there still a problem with the retina screens disintegrating?

I want something that is super quick - my 5yo Samsung laptop (on it's way out and dreadfully slow) is i5. Is it worth having i7 if I don't do gaming but would like to do more with photography. I'd like at least 8GB and SSD or Apple equivalent (have no idea of difference between fusion and flash). I do a lot of writing and a fair bit of web browsing.

Some advice would be great. Thanks in advance.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I am fed up of Microsoft since the Win10 update so have decided I'd like to change to Apple (have iPad Air2 but too small for typing). I'm not the least bit techy. Haven't decided between iMac or Macbook Pro.

A quick question: Buying today is there still a problem with the retina screens disintegrating?

I want something that is super quick - my 5yo Samsung laptop (on it's way out and dreadfully slow) is i5. Is it worth having i7 if I don't do gaming but would like to do more with photography. I'd like at least 8GB and SSD or Apple equivalent (have no idea of difference between fusion and flash). I do a lot of writing and a fair bit of web browsing.

Some advice would be great. Thanks in advance.

Well if you need any portability then you want a laptop if you don't need any portability and your iPad is good enough for on the road then a desktop will give you more for your money.

Web browsing and writing aren't very CPU intensive so any of apples computers will be fine for that use, all the "speed" in your use case will be down to the SSD and Apple uses samsungs fastest. 8gb of RAM. Will be fine unless you run VM's or have all your apps running at the same time and 50+ browser tabs open.

Fusion is only available on the iMac and Mac mini and is a small SSD with a normal HDD the 1 TB fusion has only 24gb SSD in the 2015 version and is considered not great for any sort of intensive use but may be fine for you. The 2TB fusion has a 128gb SSD and is pretty good.

 

[dingster1]

Agree. If you are fairly stationary, iMac ( best specs you can afford) + tablet works well with an accessory keyboard.

 

[Moakesy]

I tend to agree with the iMac route if you don't want to move around with your machine. You will get more for your money, for sure.

You mention photography, so I'd argue having a bit more than 8Gb would help. The larger screen size of the iMac compared to the MBP will also help here.

I do lots of photography on my 15 inch Macbook Pro, which is a couple of years old now. It was high spec at the time, but I'm glad I went for the extra horsepower (esp. bumping up to 16Gb RAM). Photoshop / LightRoom runs along fine, but I'm just about to buy a good quality monitor as I find the screen frustratingly small.

Despite the laptop never going beyond the front door, I do like it for working on in front of the TV and for me a desktop machine would not have been the right choice. It's simply that now I'm pushing my photography up to the next level, I want the bigger screen to see what I'm doing with my images and will therefore be tucked away from the family and in the study.

If you know your location will be fixed, then go for the iMac with decent RAM and a SSD and enjoy life the Apple environment.

 

[Strider64]

A quick question: Buying today is there still a problem with the retina screens disintegrating?

I been visiting Apple boards and websites, this one question pops up every now and then has my heading shaking, for where did it come from? One article that I have read stated the earlier Retina displays were a tad trickier in dialing in, but no mention of it disintegrating. I seen a person post on here, buy the later iMac 5K for it will have better graphics and won't disintegrate. Yes I agree buying the latest iMac 5K is the best thing to do, but stating that it won't disintegrate is misinformation in my opinion.By that I mean earlier iMac 5K don't "disintegrate".

 

[tillsbury]

I been visiting Apple boards and websites, this one question pops up every now and then has my heading shaking, for where did it come from? One article that I have read stated the earlier Retina displays were a tad trickier in dialing in, but no mention of it disintegrating. I seen a person post on here, buy the later iMac 5K for it will have better graphics and won't disintegrate. Yes I agree buying the latest iMac 5K is the best thing to do, but stating that it won't disintegrate is misinformation in my opinion.By that I mean earlier iMac 5K don't "disintegrate".

Yes, I don't get where this came from either. There is a whole lot of nonsense on this and other boards, and usually one specific incidence of a fault becomes an endemic problem assumed to exist in every Mac. But I've never seen anyone actually complain about a retina iMac "disintegrating". I'm not sure what that would look like anyway. No, the 5k iMac is an amazing piece of kit, always has been.

My only advice to OP would be to upgrade as far as they possibly can, avoiding the base models (particularly if they choose the 4k iMac). The more you upgrade the better your experience will be, particularly with SSD.

 

[Santabean2000]

I been visiting Apple boards and websites, this one question pops up every now and then has my heading shaking, for where did it come from? One article that I have read stated the earlier Retina displays were a tad trickier in dialing in, but no mention of it disintegrating. I seen a person post on here, buy the later iMac 5K for it will have better graphics and won't disintegrate. Yes I agree buying the latest iMac 5K is the best thing to do, but stating that it won't disintegrate is misinformation in my opinion.By that I mean earlier iMac 5K don't "disintegrate".

Yes, I don't get where this came from either. There is a whole lot of nonsense on this and other boards, and usually one specific incidence of a fault becomes an endemic problem assumed to exist in every Mac. But I've never seen anyone actually complain about a retina iMac "disintegrating". I'm not sure what that would look like anyway. No, the 5k iMac is an amazing piece of kit, always has been.

My only advice to OP would be to upgrade as far as they possibly can, avoiding the base models (particularly if they choose the 4k iMac). The more you upgrade the better your experience will be, particularly with SSD.

The reference is related to the anti-reflective coating.
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/10/17/apple-mbp-ar-coating-quality-program-staingate/

 

[CooperBox]

Firstly, I've never, ever heard of retina screens disintegrating.
I quite understand your reasoning about Win 10, as I recently picked up a pretty cheap HP Probook 6560b which had W10 installed, and dropped it like a hot-brick days later. Boots up like greased lightning, but apart from that.........%%*!!
For your use, although nice, I feel a current MBP might be overkill. I have a 2013 MBPR purchased in US, with a significant saving compared to if I'd bought it here.
If I were you, I'd look around on LBC for a late 2011 17" i7 MBP, and then (if desired) upgrade it to your hearts-content with SSD and up to 16Gb RAM. I'm currently looking around for one, and may eventually sell the MBPR.
Limousin - lovely part of France! As you say you're "not the least bit techy" if you're ever down near me (about 3.5 hrs drive away) I'd install an SSD and RAM for you willingly FOC if the parts were supplied.

 

[Starfia]

I've had six Apple devices with Retina screens without noticing any dead pixels or any degradation of pixels over time.

I've also used a Fusion Drive on my current iMac for two years, and in my opinion it delivers on Phil Schiller's introductory description. (Note, subsequent Fusion Drives have varied in the capacity of the Flash component – I don't imagine that makes a huge difference, but it might help enable you to speculate intuitively.)

 

[annirooni]

Thank you very much guys - your input helps.

 

[maflynn]

Note, subsequent Fusion Drives have varied in the capacity of the Flash component – I don't imagine that makes a huge difference,

Apple reduced the flash portion of the fusion drive to 24GB from 128GB on the 1TB Fusion drives. I'd avoid that model and go straight to the 2TB Fusion drive, if the SSD is not satisfactory.

OP, it sounds like you have some mobility needs, I'd look at the 15" MBP, its quite fast, and it may be updated next month. If you want a stationary computer, I think the 5k iMac is a great buy.