Is the 2017 still worth it?

[VirtuallyInsane]

I have always liked the lightness of the old design MBA models. And their portability and I want to keep my MBP M1 as good as I can. I'd prefer not to carry it around with me, incase something happens to it when I am out.

Is it worth it to get a 2017 Macbook Air 13-inch as a backup for my Macbook Pro 2020 M1 to put in my bag and bring around for planning stories, light web surfing, and using modern apps on Monterrey? Or is there something better that I can use for light work? I don't care if this one gets scuffed, or whatever. I'm just looking for something light and notebook sized (even lighter than that model of Pro) to take notes when I am out and about at a coffee shop/public transport or something.

I don't want to upgrade my M1 MBP from Big Sur to Ventura because at the moment, Ventura doesn't seem stable and everything is running perfectly on Big Sur. I don't want to take the risk, either. I don't care what happens with the potential MBA. I can throw whatever onto it, and also use it for experimenting.

Or do you have other suggestions I can use?

 

[DarkPremiumCho]

If you plan on using it as a backup with a light workload, I see no reason why you shouldn't consider getting this one.

 

[Tagbert]

I have always liked the lightness of the old design MBA models. And their portability and I want to keep my MBP M1 as good as I can. I'd prefer not to carry it around with me, incase something happens to it when I am out.

Is it worth it to get a 2017 Macbook Air 13-inch as a backup for my Macbook Pro 2020 M1 to put in my bag and bring around for planning stories, light web surfing, and using modern apps on Monterrey? Or is there something better that I can use for light work? I don't care if this one gets scuffed, or whatever. I'm just looking for something light and notebook sized (even lighter than that model of Pro) to take notes when I am out and about at a coffee shop/public transport or something.

I don't want to upgrade my M1 MBP from Big Sur to Ventura because at the moment, Ventura doesn't seem stable and everything is running perfectly on Big Sur. I don't want to take the risk, either. I don't care what happens with the potential MBA. I can throw whatever onto it, and also use it for experimenting.

Or do you have other suggestions I can use?

My only concern would be the keyboard. AFAIK the 2017 still had the problematic butterfly keyboard. If it begins to fail and you use it at a desk, you can always just get an external keyboard but that’s tough if you are using it as a true portable device.

 

[MultiFinder17]

My only concern would be the keyboard. AFAIK the 2017 still had the problematic butterfly keyboard. If it begins to fail and you use it at a desk, you can always just get an external keyboard but that’s tough if you are using it as a true portable device.

Nope, the butterfly came to the Air with the 2018. The 2017 was a slight speed bump of the 2015 in the same form factor.

 

[xboxbml]

Nope, the butterfly came to the Air with the 2018. The 2017 was a slight speed bump of the 2015 in the same form factor.

Right... I was gonna get a 2017 after I dumped liquid in my 2015 but I couldn't find one local right away at the time.. You can also replaced the SSD in that one. After that model everything soldered on the board..

 

[Bazza1]

I have a M2 Mini at home and use my 'old' 2017 Air (Monterey) as my mobile / work computer. It's still a very capable machine and runs a significant number of the apps I now have on my M2, using Ventura. The 2017 has the advantage over later Airs in that it also has a significant number of ports still on it - useful when travelling when Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi-enabled peripherals (like printers and cameras) may not always be available. And I use the SD slot for its own Time Machine storage.

Its also an Air with a standalone battery, so replacing it (eventually) can be less of a chore, too. Keyboard is great.

I use it for the basics (word processing, cruising the net - with lots of tabs open, streaming vids, some basic photo and video manipulation) and while not as fast as the M2, it does the job.

Just don't pay a crazy price for it. While private sales are always going to be more, Apple's own trade-in on them is probably under $100.

 

[MultiFinder17]

As to the original question, yes, the 2017 Airs are fantastic machines so long as you keep your demands in line with what they can provide. I use a 2015 11" Air (1.6GHz i5, 8GB/128GB, Monterey) regularly as a machine to toss in my bag and not notice or worry about, and it's a great little computer. I mostly use it for productivity tasks, writing, and some light little games while out and about. Given that the internals of the 2015 and 2017 are virtually identical (both 5th Gen CPUs, same GPU, same RAM, same SSDs, etc.) you should be quite happy with a cheap little 2017 as a secondary, backup, or toss around machine.