Help needed

[Pez555]

hi all,

I am a teacher and therefore am eligible for education discount. I am in a dilemma about which MacBook to purchase.

2017 MacBook refurbished (£1059)
Or
2018 MacBook Air brand new (£1078)

Might seem like an obvious answer but I find the MacBook line very convoluted so therefore need the pro’s and cons!

 

[adamfozzy]

I'm also a teacher and bought the 2017 MacBook 12 months ago. Absolutely love it - I had used an iPad before that but also run an education resources website, which I couldn't edit with an iPad. I use it everywhere and the sub 1kg weight helps with that. I also bought the LG UltraFine 4k monitor for my desk at home.
In terms of Air v Macbook, my personal view is that I would rather get the MacBook Pro than the Air and pay the extra as the weight of MacBook Air and Pro is about 10 grams while the Macbook is 300-400 grams lighter. So my decision would be Macbook 12 inch v MacBook Pro 13 inch.
The only thing I wish I had done was upgrade to 16gb because I edit video on mine but it has worked really well. Thought about upgrading now but the MacBook 12 inch is overdue an update so may wait to see what Apple do with Macbook this year. If they don't update this year I may be forced to get MacBook Pro.
I went to Apple store last week to look at all the Macs and iPads and came away thinking I have the right device for me.

 

[mj_]

I advise everyone to stay away as far as possible from Apple's 2018 notebook line-up because of the keyboard issue. The 2016 & 2017 models are covered by Apple's service program, however the 2018 models are not. Thus, if your keyboard starts acting up once you're out of warranty (which it will for sure given that this keyboard is defective by design) you are looking at an $800 repair bill.

In addition, the 2018 MacBook Air also seems to suffer from the same faulty display cable design as every single MacBook Pro since 2016. Guess what? That's another $600 repair bill for replacing the display because of a stupid and braindead design decision. See https://ifixit.org/blog/12903/flexgate/ for details.

Thus, if you are looking for an Apple laptop there are really only two models without serious design flaws that will sooner or later render your expensive fancy piece of art utterly useless: the 2017 MacBook, because it is covered under Apple's keyboard replacement program for at least 4 years and does not seem to affected by the keyboard problem as often as the MacBook Pro, and the previous model MacBook Air.

 

[Pez555]

Thanks for the replies!

I am now considering the MacBook Pro 13 inch as it is...£1099, thoughts?!

 

[MacPoulet]

Will this be your main machine or a secondary? If it’s a main, I’d probably go with the Pro.