MBA 2019 Refurbished

[blaugrana69]

Quick buying advice, please.

In the UK the Apple Refurbished site has the 2019 MBA at £759 (128GB) and £809 (256GB). 256 looks the better value (given I think it was £200 than the 128GB more new ?)
Decent deals ? or should I just go for the i3 2020 which, with the education discount, is £899. Little concerned with all the thermals “chatter” re the 2020 model and also I believe better battery in the 2019 ? Butterfly Keyboard doesn’t bother me unduly as the 2019 has the v3.5, don’t think there has been widely reported issues with that generation ? Plus there’s four years cover anyway.

I wasn’t looking to spend more that £700-800 ish to be honest. I have a iPad Pro 12.9, so it’s really to complement that and for a couple of things I can’t do on the iPad - hence I’m looking to keep outlay at a (realistic) minimum. Thanks.

 

[IngerMan]

It seems like a decent deal for the256GB. The only downfall is the butterfly keyboard. But it will have a 4 year replacement program. I have had 2 BF keyboards, typing on one now. Don't care for them but never had a non working key. Im not doing extensive writing on them either.

 

[blaugrana69]

Yeah think the 256GB was £1299 new ? So hefty discount for sure.

 

[mtneer]

In my opinion a lot is being said about "thermals" on the Air. If one uses the Air for what's its designed to do - as a general computing device, with some occasional heavy lift then it is fine. If you want a work-rig that is intended to run workloads whose efficiency is directly linked to the amount of food you can place on your table, those people should be shopping around for a Pro machine.

 

[spacegreybook]

While the butterfly keyboards did improve towards the end of their run, they still have issues, and there is a greater chance of a 2019 butterfly kb having a problem compared to a 2020 magic kb having a problem.

Ask yourself if you're willing to deal with keyboard issues in the future. Even though there is extra coverage from Apple for the butterfly keyboard, is hassle of going through the repair process (possibly multiple times) worth it for you?