Is Intel Macbook Air for $749 ($250 Off) Worth It if I am only writing?

I keep a deprecation spreadsheet for all my apple devices. If you figure that the M1 is going to last one more year assuming about an eight year lifespan a year is worth about $125. That plus battery life would be what I would consider. My wife is a writer, I’m an engineer and we don’t base our purchases on who is the bigger power user. It’s more about the ecosystem.
 
MtLoin2020 said:
i was just wondering how do you back up all those ipads, iPhones then, through the icloud?
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Regular backups via iCloud (basically whenever I charge overnight at home).

Encrypted backup via iTunes for PC right before firmware updates or device upgrades. iTunes backup for the PC has been available ever since the OG iPhone.

Bonus, primary storage is cheap. The Samsung 970 EVO 1TB on my current laptop only cost me $150. I believe I can get a 4TB NVMe TLC SSD for the cost of the 256GB to 1TB SSD upgrade on Macs.
 
Be on the lookout for the open-box M1 MBAs from Best Buy. Their pricing is strange, but the silver base model can be had for as low as $650 (fair condition).

There was an open-box, fair condition available at a store 70 miles away. I went ahead and purchased it, only for them to cancel my order the following night. I managed to find another one in 'satisfactory' condition at a closer store for $675 and received the pickup notification the following morning. The M1 MBA was brand spanking new, sealed, and still in the brown box that Apple uses to ship their laptops.

I only opted for the open box because I've always had good experiences with Best Buy's open box electronics, but definitely did not expect a brand new in box MBA for 35% off! I definitely lucked out, but the open-box silver M1 MBAs are still heavily discounted as of now and might be worth looking into.
 
Mxbzz said:
Be on the lookout for the open-box M1 MBAs from Best Buy. Their pricing is strange, but the silver base model can be had for as low as $650 (fair condition).

There was an open-box, fair condition available at a store 70 miles away. I went ahead and purchased it, only for them to cancel my order the following night. I managed to find another one in 'satisfactory' condition at a closer store for $675 and received the pickup notification the following morning. The M1 MBA was brand spanking new, sealed, and still in the brown box that Apple uses to ship their laptops.

I only opted for the open box because I've always had good experiences with Best Buy's open box electronics, but definitely did not expect a brand new in box MBA for 35% off! I definitely lucked out, but the open-box silver M1 MBAs are still heavily discounted as of now and might be worth looking into.
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I always go for the Best Buy Open Box items. I got a 2020 Air at spring launch when everyone was returning them for a great price.
 
rule of thumb when buying computers is never go to Best Buys, Walmart Staples target etc due to installed bloatware, is this the same for Macbooks?
 
MtLoin2020 said:
Good, i still wont set foot in their stores. Maybe this Mac/best buys clause was written in Steve Jobs will and testament.
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I normally don't buy my Apple products at Best Buy, either. I decided to yesterday with my M1. I opted for curbside express and my M1 was brought out to me in 5 minutes and I was on my way. I would have ordered from Apple if the wait time hadn't been 2+ weeks for space gray.
 
Good for you, many people love the M1 macbooks. What is the first thing you did on that?
i would get one as well, but want a kawasaki vulcan 900 classic LT instead, and my 2010 macbook air does everything i need to do.
 
MtLoin2020 said:
Good for you, many people love the M1 macbooks. What is the first thing you did on that?
i would get one as well, but want a kawasaki vulcan 900 classic LT instead, and my 2010 macbook air does everything i need to do.
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The first thing I did after turning it on was install 1Blocker and change default search to DuckDuckGo.
 
im still quite torn whether to trade in my i5/512 for $670 and pay $229+(tax on $899 list price) out of pocket for M1/8/256

Would be halfing my SSD, but did just get a 1TB USB-C NVMe SSD external for extra cold storage without using a mechanical as a gift...

hmmm

and my uses are pretty casual and for now happy to still be using Catalina bc of the choppy graphics on BS.

Battery life, fan-less, compute gains are certainly there and P3 screen from sRGB but... man I just dont want to spend any more money this year.

it is a 'rip' of a trade in, but I got my i5/512 for only about $100 more earlier this year in the spring
 
thadoggfather said:
im still quite torn whether to trade in my i5/512 for $670 and pay $229+(tax on $899 list price) out of pocket for M1/8/256

Would be halfing my SSD, but did just get a 1TB USB-C NVMe SSD external for extra cold storage without using a mechanical as a gift...

hmmm

and my uses are pretty casual and for now happy to still be using Catalina bc of the choppy graphics on BS.

Battery life, fan-less, compute gains are certainly there and P3 screen from sRGB but... man I just dont want to spend any more money this year.

it is a 'rip' of a trade in, but I got my i5/512 for only about $100 more earlier this year in the spring
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What kind of Christmas spirit talk is that? :p You want the M1. I got mine yesterday. I didn't really need it but, I find it easier to use instead of getting out the full size Apple keyboard for the Mac mini etc., which is only used as a server.
 
Apple_Robert said:
What kind of Christmas spirit talk is that? :p You want the M1. I got mine yesterday. I didn't really need it but, I find it easier to use instead of getting out the full size Apple keyboard for the Mac mini etc., which is only used as a server.
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Oh getting an Apple silicon laptop seems inevitable, for sure.

I dont hate the space grey my i5 is, I had it on the 12" MB also but... I have a silver 2016 NTB and I kinda really like the silver the rare times I use that machine still.

so I'd probably do a color swap if I were to upgrade to M1. Just to feel like a different machine, again.

Also would be sweet to wait a couple years and get an M2 or M3 and see how crazy things have gotten, compared to already crazy 1st gen M1.



Wish I could find an open box M1 from Best Buy AND get decent trade in. That would be a no brainer to narrow the gap.
 
thadoggfather said:
Oh getting an Apple silicon laptop seems inevitable, for sure.

I dont hate the space grey my i5 is, I had it on the 12" MB also but... I have a silver 2016 NTB and I kinda really like the silver the rare times I use that machine still.

so I'd probably do a color swap if I were to upgrade to M1. Just to feel like a different machine, again.

Also would be sweet to wait a couple years and get an M2 or M3 and see how crazy things have gotten, compared to already crazy 1st gen M1.



Wish I could find an open box M1 from Best Buy AND get decent trade in. That would be a no brainer to narrow the gap.
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I have seen a couple of open box but, I am not brave enough to do that with Apple products.
 
Apple_Robert said:
I have seen a couple of open box but, I am not brave enough to do that with Apple products.
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I have bought many One Box items from Best Buy, significant discounts on mint condition products is a no brainer for me. You can always inspect it before you buy it and it has the same return policy if needed.
 
Jack Neill said:
I have bought many One Box items from Best Buy, significant discounts on mint condition products is a no brainer for me. You can always inspect it before you buy it and it has the same return policy if needed.
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That is good to know you can inspect before purchase. Does the include being able to turn on the unit?
 
Apple_Robert said:
That is good to know you can inspect before purchase. Does the include being able to turn on the unit?
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Yeah when I bought my Air 3 I turned it on and looked the screen for scratches, Same with the S4 44 I bought too. I bought my 2020 Air Open Box unseen at launch and with was also perfect. I bought a G14 ROG unseen as well and also perfect condition.
 
Jack Neill said:
Yeah when I bought my Air 3 I turned it on and looked the screen for scratches, Same with the S4 44 I bought too. I bought my 2020 Air Open Box unseen at launch and with was also perfect. I bought a G14 ROG unseen as well and also perfect condition.
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I will definitely keep that in mind the next time I am looking to purchase. Thanks for the follow up.
 
alright got suckered in... lol

getting $670 for my i5/512 space grey and getting M1/256 silver

Without the cold data that I dont need to always access, and without dual boot (Catalina and BS on my i5) and without making it a windows machine my 2016 NTB is for, it will do fine


I missed silver, space grey isn't bad but its not as dark as I would like, so I want classic look again.

$229 total on Apple Card, financing and paying tax on that amount upfront vs $899 if I paid outright and traded later. That's a difference of like $60.

$19/mo for 12 months aint bad, which I'll probably pay off at an random month I feel like it

its got a delivery window of today (trying that for +$9, what the heck, dont want to wait until tomorrow or go to an Apple store since they dont accept trade ins, anyways) we shall see

and if this is a bad plan, I'll just return it. But worth a shot!

I think P3, fan less, immense battery improvement and thermals, and compute of course all make for a nice package
 
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thadoggfather said:
alright got suckered in... lol

getting $670 for my i5/512 space grey and getting M1/256 silver

Without the cold data that I dont need to always access, and without dual boot (Catalina and BS on my i5) and without making it a windows machine my 2016 NTB is for, it will do fine


I missed silver, space grey isn't bad but its not as dark as I would like, so I want classic look again.

$229 total on Apple Card, financing and paying tax on that amount upfront vs $899 if I paid outright and traded later. That's a difference of like $60.

$19/mo for 12 months aint bad, which I'll probably pay off at an random month I feel like it

its got a delivery window of today (trying that for +$9, what the heck, dont want to wait until tomorrow or go to an Apple store since they dont accept trade ins, anyways) we shall see

and if this is a bad plan, I'll just return it. But worth a shot!

I think P3, fan less, immense battery improvement and thermals, and compute of course all make for a nice package
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I should have wagered money on you changing your mind about getting the M1. I knew you would cave. :D
 
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