MBA M1 or M2 for College?

[jav6454]

While there are valid concerns about 8GB being enough going forward, I do want to point out that when the MacRumors front page made that post about the 10-year anniversary of the original Retina MBP I decided to look up contemporary threads on it and found several people complaining back in 2012 that a base 8GB of soldered RAM was ridiculous and would be completely unusable in 5 years. Didn't quite shake out that way.

RAM capacities and demands have definitely plateaued in the past decade, it's not the 90's or 2000's anymore when capacities doubled every 2-3 years. Here's a logarithmic plot of the base RAM capacities for each individual Mac SKU since the 80's to illustrate what I mean:

Also I finished my Master's in 2020 with a 2011 Thinkpad X220 hackintosh w/ 8 GB RAM. I always keep a ton of tabs open and do a fair bit of programming and data analysis with heavy software and I managed just fine. I only upgraded to a 14" MBP last year because it could only run up to High Sierra and my PhD involves heavier data crunching, unless you're running specific heavy software 8GB should be relatively comfortable for browsing/writing and plenty of other workloads.

It is true that memory has plateaued, but that's mostly owing to the fact that was has been changing faster than DRAM densities is the bus speeds. So products come out with faster speeds in that regard vs higher DRAM densities.

 

[AudiHeel]

Think someone suggested getting the M2Air on the last page because the M1Air can only run 1 external monitor. Well I'm fairly sure the M2 Air can also only run 1 external monitor.

If I were you I'd be looking for a really good deal on 2 M1Airs. Mine was $675 open box 6 months ago. I bet you can find 2 for less then the price of 1 new M2Air by the end of the summer. If price matters 8GB is fine for 20+ tabs open and a few normal apps running.

 

[montuori]

If I were you I'd be looking for a really good deal on 2 M1Airs. Mine was $675 open box 6 months ago. I bet you can find 2 for less then the price of 1 new M2Air by the end of the summer. If price matters 8GB is fine for 20+ tabs open and a few normal apps running.

Also don't forget that Apple offers educational discounts. I'd imagine this situation qualifies.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of the 16GB crowd, I'd suggest that the M1 8 is plenty capable. I know enough professionals across a wide range of fields for whom this would be an upgrade and who are plenty successful with whatever old thing they're schlepping around. Save the extra cash for ramen and late night pizza.

Lastly, universities have computer labs. If an anomalous use case arises, there's almost certainly on-site hardware available for use. (I have fond memories of the VT-100s in the labs as well as the folks I met there; and developed the useful habit of saving early and often after some schmuck hit the power switch on the wrong machine.)

 

[Dealmans]

OP going to buy them houses too, hello dad lol

 

[StoneJack]

But that's a lot of assumptions to make about people's usage, and it's especially problematic when macOS Monetary has had multiple major memory leaks from day one (day zero if you count the betas,) including an obnoxious memory leak related to the Finder and Spotlight that can cause the Finder to use upwards of 3GB+ of ram and persists to this day.

Is 8GB of ram still serviceable in 2022? Sure. But is it ideal/future proof? Absolutely not.

Well, I work in the same field as those students (business administration education). The heaviest app is Excel financial models, maybe some E-views. For very heavy work, universities have specialized computer labs, which business majors usually do not use (no need).

RAM: I have both 16GB and 8GB ram M1 Macs, mac mini 8/512 and MBA Air 16/512. I also have 12 inch 8GB Macbook 2017, which is now have Monterey 12.4 installed. Big Sur and Monterey 12.0 had memory management problems, all now fixed by Monterey 12.4 (actually earlier).

So in usual work, there is ZERO difference between all three. All ran Pages, Keynotes, MS Office just great. I assume that M2 is even faster (by 18% or so). So based on practical usage, 8/16GB does have zero difference in everyday tasks. Now if the students want to edit 4K video, M1 with 8GB just slices through the video because it has builtin hardware decoders. M2 is even faster. It also decodes latest photo compression formats just great. You can google videos of M1 8GB encoding and compressing heavy video files just fine (compared to Intel Macbooks and even desktops). M chips have different architecture with soldered M2 and memory swaps, that allows for 8GB to be sufficient for memory heavy tasks. 16GB is better but not compulsory in everyday computing.

Based on usage pattern, 8Gb is fine. Sure, if one has budget, why not 16GB? Yes, can be done. But if you have to fit in tight budget, 8GB is absolutely fine.

Now about future proof. 2017 12inch Macbook rans Monterey great. It is 5 year old machine. It also rans Big Sur, Catalina, etc.

Now M2 is a latest machine, designed for Ventura. It will be absolutely fine with Ventura (which is end of 2023) and add 2 iterations after Ventura - it is 4 year span - and still have full support. I don't expect Mac OS to require 16Gb in foreeseable future. After 4 years of college life, both M2 probably will be OK to retire. If say, Mac OS 2026 will absolutely require 16GB of RAM (just an example), two options: stay on earlier versions; or just sell MBA M2 and maybe invest in latest MBA is you absolutely need Mac OS 2026, which is not a case.

So why M2 then?
Latest design, less weight, better webcam, newer CPU and GPU.

How about M1?
Great cost performance. Best budget buy. It is like a car. I have Toyota SUV (4Runner in US), Prado here, 2018 model, 2.7l gasoline, bought in 2020 used. Could I buy new 4Runner with a bigger engine? Yes, but it would be much more expensive, I don't drive through rocks everyday and it will use much more fuel. So I have something which is still good for occasional offroad, but saves money on everyday tasks. So M1 is also a viable alternative.

Ultimately, it is a matter of difference of 300 dollars on each notebooks, planned for 4 year use; it is not that much, we are not buying here Macbooks Pro for 2000 or more; it is a matter of selection of a budget model, so I suggest M2 as a more refreshed, latest model. I would only add internal storage to 512GB if possible.

 

[dmk1974]

OP going to buy them houses too, hello dad lol

Ha, um…no.

 

[Malus120]

Well, I work in the same field as those students (business administration education). The heaviest app is Excel financial models, maybe some E-views. For very heavy work, universities have specialized computer labs, which business majors usually do not use (no need).

RAM: I have both 16GB and 8GB ram M1 Macs, mac mini 8/512 and MBA Air 16/512. I also have 12 inch 8GB Macbook 2017, which is now have Monterey 12.4 installed. Big Sur and Monterey 12.0 had memory management problems, all now fixed by Monterey 12.4 (actually earlier).

So in usual work, there is ZERO difference between all three. All ran Pages, Keynotes, MS Office just great. I assume that M2 is even faster (by 18% or so). So based on practical usage, 8/16GB does have zero difference in everyday tasks. Now if the students want to edit 4K video, M1 with 8GB just slices through the video because it has builtin hardware decoders. M2 is even faster. It also decodes latest photo compression formats just great. You can google videos of M1 8GB encoding and compressing heavy video files just fine (compared to Intel Macbooks and even desktops). M chips have different architecture with soldered M2 and memory swaps, that allows for 8GB to be sufficient for memory heavy tasks. 16GB is better but not compulsory in everyday computing.

Based on usage pattern, 8Gb is fine. Sure, if one has budget, why not 16GB? Yes, can be done. But if you have to fit in tight budget, 8GB is absolutely fine.

Now about future proof. 2017 12inch Macbook rans Monterey great. It is 5 year old machine. It also rans Big Sur, Catalina, etc.

Now M2 is a latest machine, designed for Ventura. It will be absolutely fine with Ventura (which is end of 2023) and add 2 iterations after Ventura - it is 4 year span - and still have full support. I don't expect Mac OS to require 16Gb in foreeseable future. After 4 years of college life, both M2 probably will be OK to retire. If say, Mac OS 2026 will absolutely require 16GB of RAM (just an example), two options: stay on earlier versions; or just sell MBA M2 and maybe invest in latest MBA is you absolutely need Mac OS 2026, which is not a case.

So why M2 then?
Latest design, less weight, better webcam, newer CPU and GPU.

How about M1?
Great cost performance. Best budget buy. It is like a car. I have Toyota SUV (4Runner in US), Prado here, 2018 model, 2.7l gasoline, bought in 2020 used. Could I buy new 4Runner with a bigger engine? Yes, but it would be much more expensive, I don't drive through rocks everyday and it will use much more fuel. So I have something which is still good for occasional offroad, but saves money on everyday tasks. So M1 is also a viable alternative.

Ultimately, it is a matter of difference of 300 dollars on each notebooks, planned for 4 year use; it is not that much, we are not buying here Macbooks Pro for 2000 or more; it is a matter of selection of a budget model, so I suggest M2 as a more refreshed, latest model. I would only add internal storage to 512GB if possible.

Look. I'm not here to tell you or anyone else that "you're using it wrong." My issue is with everyone saying "well I get by with 8GB just fine." Good for you, there are a lot of people/use cases that don't get by just fine on 8GB.
You say a 2017 12" MB "runs Monterey great." My SO has one of those, and I can say that if you think they "run Monterey great," then we probably just have a fundamentally different definition of what "great" means. Don't get me wrong, I love the Retina MacBooks, they're an amazingly portable design that was years ahead of its time, but they're pretty slow for most things today.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I worked in business administration for more than half a decade, and while my work now is a lot more varied, I still do a lot of business admin type tasks on a daily basis.
With multiple tabs open for research, a few excel files, some other documents, and modern business communications apps (Teams, Slack, Zoom, etc) I can absolutly feel the difference between 8GB, 16GB, and even 32GB of ram.
You can of course absolutely get by with 8GB, particularly if you're using the Windows version of Excel which is a lot more efficient than the Mac version (as a former collegue of mine once put it "the Mac version of Excel does not excel...") but it's not ideal, and some people are going to have a bad time.

(One final aside on your point. Yes, most Universities/Colleges provide computer labs with capable machines. But let's be honest, students don't like to use them unless they absolutely have to for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that working on your own machine is just far more comfortable, convenient and doesn't tether you to the lab.)

Anyway, I made my point earlier. RAM > SOC > Storage. If you have to pick and choose I'd stick with that order. But. You could also just let them choose.

 

[StoneJack]

Look. I'm not here to tell you or anyone else that "you're using it wrong." My issue is with everyone saying "well I get by with 8GB just fine." Good for you, there are a lot of people/use cases that don't get by just fine on 8GB.
You say a 2017 12" MB "runs Monterey great." My SO has one of those, and I can say that if you think they "run Monterey great," then we probably just have a fundamentally different definition of what "great" means. Don't get me wrong, I love the Retina MacBooks, they're an amazingly portable design that was years ahead of its time, but they're pretty slow for most things today.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I worked in business administration for more than half a decade, and while my work now is a lot more varied, I still do a lot of business admin type tasks on a daily basis.
With multiple tabs open for research, a few excel files, some other documents, and modern business communications apps (Teams, Slack, Zoom, etc) I can absolutly feel the difference between 8GB, 16GB, and even 32GB of ram.
You can of course absolutely get by with 8GB, particularly if you're using the Windows version of Excel which is a lot more efficient than the Mac version (as a former collegue of mine once put it "the Mac version of Excel does not excel...") but it's not ideal, and some people are going to have a bad time.

(One final aside on your point. Yes, most Universities/Colleges provide computer labs with capable machines. But let's be honest, students don't like to use them unless they absolutely have to for a variety of reasons, not least of which is that working on your own machine is just far more comfortable, convenient and doesn't tether you to the lab.)

Anyway, I made my point earlier. RAM > SOC > Storage. If you have to pick and choose I'd stick with that order. But. You could also just let them choose.

well I think that we are fundamentally on same page: we both saying that on base field, 8GB is fine, if you add Teams, Zoom etc, then you may (or not) need more memory or so. However, you are simulating more challenging scenarios and then assert that in those scenarios, 8GB may be not enough. I am fine with those assertion, however, we don't know yet about M2 and capabilities, M1 was already amazing for multitasking even under most challenging conditions and I think M2 will be just enough for some tabs, Zoom and Excel open and calculating at same time. It is even not that challenging at all. You might seen iPad Pro M1 editing three 8K video streams at same time, and this was under 6GB of RAM or so, maybe 8. So ultimately you would be able to run three 8k video streams on M1 mac and even more so on M2 within the 8GB RAM envelope. So ultimately, yes 16GB is preferred and better, but not compulsory - that's what I am saying and under normal usage scenarios 8GB should be fine. I would probably add more internal storage as it really would be filled by 4th year of usage. However, with cloud apps it also may vary. I am right now on 12 inch macbook with 4 mail accounts and Office and iWork; since all stored in cloud, my macbook has only 48GB of storage filledm, with 200 GB still available (because I store everything in iCloud).

Probably I'd conclude that yes 16GB is a great idea if you have budget for that; 512GB of internal storage is great if possible; but at the end of the day, you will be absolutely fine with stock m2, 8/256GB combination. There is no reason you won't be satisfied with it. And it is cheapest and probably already avaiable configuration.

When I was buying my M1 Air, I did just as recommended - I chose 16GB of RAM and doubled storage. One year later, my storage is filled only to 50-60GB and I never performed any RAM intensive tasks so far and that using it every day with MS Teams, Keynote etc. If it was Intel, I probably would install Parallels but with M1, I don't need ARM Windows at all, so all that power and RAM just sits there mostly unused. So that why I recommend stock configurations if you have budget constraint.

 

[ctjack]

I have M1 Air with 8 GB of ram and graduated recently with master's.
Pros: it is doable, I didn't feel any bad sides.
Con: it choked a little when adding my work apps on top of my study items.

Conclusion: averages never win - only extreme options have a chance. You need to either save money drastically (bestbuy open box m1 Air for $670 or microcenter $750 new) or you should be fully invested (M2 Air with 16GB of Ram and 512 gb ssd).

Currently my 8gb M1 Air feels tight and I feel like dumping it after using close to 2 years. No big deal, but going this route you indeed sacrificing the life expectancy of a laptop - I didn't mind cause i saved a lot and we had no options back then at the M1 Air release date. I feel like if I had 16GB of RAM then I would be packed for 4-5 years easily.

 

[DrCC]

I have a suggestion that can make them happy, but also you, the paying parent.
Since you are going to spend the money on an M1 or M2 Air, offer them the amount you are willing to spend as a base, and let them pay the difference to whatever they want to get. They might choose the M1, M2, 8GB, 16GB or even a Pro model... it will be their computer for many years to come and they know better what they will use it for. Also maybe they might have individual preferences regarding the aesthetics of the M1 or M2 Air and this way they choose for themselves.
Either way, they are lucky to have a very good dad 👍

 

[Bazza1]

I have a suggestion that can make them happy, but also you, the paying parent.
Since you are going to spend the money on an M1 or M2 Air, offer them the amount you are willing to spend as a base, and let them pay the difference to whatever they want to get....Either way, they are lucky to have a very good dad 👍

Sounds like A Plan.

Also you / they should check with the Schools they are going to, and see if they have specific recommendations as to specs - and OS, if it comes that. Awkward bringing MacOS to a school where specific software for courses may be WinOS only. Additional expense for OS and translation software.

And yes, there is - as well as my earlier posting about the Refurb Store - the Educational Discount, as noted elsewhere on this thread.

But a little personal investment by them in their devices may make good business sense - and how appropriate is that, given their courses?

 

[dmk1974]

Sounds like A Plan.

Also you / they should check with the Schools they are going to, and see if they have specific recommendations as to specs - and OS, if it comes that. Awkward bringing MacOS to a school where specific software for courses may be WinOS only. Additional expense for OS and translation software.

And yes, there is - as well as my earlier posting about the Refurb Store - the Educational Discount, as noted elsewhere on this thread.

But a little personal investment by them in their devices may make good business sense - and how appropriate is that, given their courses?

Right along those lines. When they graduated HS last month, instead of giving them some cash to probably piss away, my wife and I thought the laptops would be a more than generous gift. I basically printed out a sheet of paper for each of them from the Apple EDU store that had the base M1 MBA (since M2 was not yet announced) and AirPods, telling them that I expect in late June or July that Apple will have their Back to School sale when they Airpods are thrown in for free. I also told them at the time, if they wanted a MacBook Pro or other model, they would have to pay the difference. Look, they are not tech geeks like me (they just didn't get my engineering/nerd/tech gene), so whatever seems like a machine that will work for them in school with a great battery and no issues, they'll go with. Hence, I doubt they will want to kick in extra coin.

After M2 was announced, this all is what got me thinking. We'll see. I agree that RAM may be more important than the new model. It just all keeps adding up. If this was for me, I'd go M2 with 16gb and 256gb storage (we use OneDrive and my laptop isn't my main media host...my Mac Mini is).

I have bought a dozen or so times over the years from the Apple Refurb store (as well as BB open box excellent). Never had issues. If not for the free Airpods (assumed) with the BTS sale, I'd go Refurbs for them, with the extra RAM. My kids won't know or care if new or refurb in-hand. One has been using my wife's old 2018 MBA and the other my old Intel 2020 MBA anyway.

As to the OS, you are correct, that could change things. Both universities recommend Windows machines since they say there are some business apps that are not compatible with Mac. But perusing forums at both schools, most say MacBooks are no problem at all and maybe only during a couple 300-400 level classes may need a computer lab. Looking at Dell XPS 13 if they don't go the Mac route, but we'll see. And if a Windows machine, absolutely a minimum of 16gb RAM and 512gb storage. And still holds....if they want something more powerful or even the newer Dell XPS 13 Plus, they can put their hand in their pocket.

 

[bondr006]

FYI

Compared: M2 vs M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra | AppleInsider

Apple's new M2 is the start of a new Apple Silicon generation. Here's how the M2 fares when compared against the already-released M1 family of chips.

appleinsider.com

 

[Student of Life]

FYI

Compared: M2 vs M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra | AppleInsider

Apple's new M2 is the start of a new Apple Silicon generation. Here's how the M2 fares when compared against the already-released M1 family of chips.

appleinsider.com

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Not bad, its basically between the M1 and the M1 Max/Pro minus the muticore benchmarks.

 

[jav6454]

FYI

Compared: M2 vs M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra | AppleInsider

Apple's new M2 is the start of a new Apple Silicon generation. Here's how the M2 fares when compared against the already-released M1 family of chips.

appleinsider.com

View attachment 2019488

View attachment 2019486

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Are reviews out yet?

 

[shakopeemn]

Regarding the decision to go with a Mac, I'm assuming that's the solution as both of the kids were using Macs in high school? If that's the case it makes perfect sense.

No flaming please, but the business world is centered around Windows. It's not just the OS, but my daily Excel running on Windows does not have the same keyboard shortcuts as on my Mac at home. Again, that's something that they can get used to once they start their careers.

Best of luck to them!

 

[jav6454]

Regarding the decision to go with a Mac, I'm assuming that's the solution as both of the kids were using Macs in high school? If that's the case it makes perfect sense.

No flaming please, but the business world is centered around Windows. It's not just the OS, but my daily Excel running on Windows does not have the same keyboard shortcuts as on my Mac at home. Again, that's something that they can get used to once they start their careers.

Best of luck to them!

Assuming they had either one, learning MacOS isn't hard.

 

[Bazza1]

As to the OS, you are correct, that could change things. Both universities recommend Windows machines since they say there are some business apps that are not compatible with Mac. But perusing forums at both schools, most say MacBooks are no problem at all and maybe only during a couple 300-400 level classes may need a computer lab...

Of course, if Windows is the issue and they're still keen on Mac, there is virtualisation software available that would allow running on a Mac. Products like Parallels which does run on M1 - and I understand Parallels has Student pricing. But that would also require purchase of WinOS.

(Sidebar: regardless of OS, Microsoft does offer a free Student version of Office - https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/education/products/office )

 

[DrCC]

A Windows 11 Pro licence can be had for $10-$20 online. And yes, Windows 11 ARM64 in Parallels works great when Windows is needed for a specific app. I have quite a few Windows 32 and 64 bit apps running in emulation mode and they all work nicely, I haven't had one fail so far.

Actually, for certain projects I switch my workflow exclusively to Windows in Parallels and working in full screen on the built in LCD + an external 4K monitor is not a problem for my M1 Air (I do have 16GB in it). Before getting the M1 Air I was using Windows machines exclusively, but I found the M1 Air to have the best of both worlds: privacy, security and great battery life on macOS, but it can also do heavy duty Windows stuff when I need to. I have not missed or needed my old Windows laptop which I still kept in a drawer, just in case.

Edit: A lot of universities offer Office 365 for free to their students, this includes all Office apps on both Windows and Mac.

 

[theroaringbadger]

The m1 16gb is better – more ram. However the M2 16gb ram is prob the better Pick. Better processor, performance, battery and webcam plus MagSafe – the last two being lifesavers on their own.

 

[dmk1974]

Regarding the decision to go with a Mac, I'm assuming that's the solution as both of the kids were using Macs in high school? If that's the case it makes perfect sense.

No flaming please, but the business world is centered around Windows. It's not just the OS, but my daily Excel running on Windows does not have the same keyboard shortcuts as on my Mac at home. Again, that's something that they can get used to once they start their careers.

Best of luck to them!

Thanks for the well wishes! The past 4 years in high school (for use at the school), they had small 11" district-provided Chromebooks and the school used some Google ecosystem (there was a name for it but it escapes me at the moment). But in the house, they mainly used their MacBooks and had no issues with the Google apps. My son more recently had a Windows computer a few years back since he used to play Steam games. My daughter has been using a Mac at home for maybe 4-5 years now.

At my work, we have always used Windows based PC's and laptops. Every night and morning I too need 10 seconds maybe to get my shortcut keys straight, but flipping between Windows and MacOS isn't too big of a deal I feel tech-bilingual!

 

[wnorris]

Is 8GB of ram still serviceable in 2022? Sure. But is it ideal/future proof? Absolutely not.

One item that has not been discussed here related to RAM is the OS update from Monterey to Ventura. The introduction of Stage Manager with Ventura highlight the importance of having ample RAM. Only the M1 iPads can use Stage Manager due to RAM limitations in older iPad Pro models which screws over 2018/2020 owners.

I have to think that over the next few versions of MacOS the same problems will start to be seen in M1/M2 Mac models with 8GB of RAM especially as Stage Manager is refined. Ventura with Stage Manager is likely going to be much more RAM intensive making the 8GB device more risky from a future proofing standpoint.

 

[Saturn007]

Finally, please for the love of god purchase AppleCare, or have some kind of supplementary insurance (credit card, homeowners insurance, etc) that will cover both mechanical failures and accidental damage. They're college students, even if they're careful **** happens (and sometimes just breaks randomly) and being a "poor college student" and suddenly facing a super expensive repair bill sucks.

^^^^^^^
This! Other students may inadvertently bump into their laptop; parties in dorm room; roommate is a klutz or their friends are; they’ll be doing lots of walking around campus, so drops are more likely; laptops develop issues and those can be costly.

MagSafe, I’d argue, is essential for dorm life! That points to M2 MBA.

Major campuses frequently have Apple certified techs who can do in-house repairs or who can provide loaners while theirs is sent in. You want a fast, Apple branded service if a breakdown happens in the middle of their term paper, final project, etc.

2. Given you have a Mac at home, getting them Macs makes good sense. Dad as Tech Support is a Real Good Thing.

3. Agree 100% with those who stated that the majors one declares just after graduating high school may change radically depending upon courses, instructors, friends, getting hooked on other intellectual, aesthetic, political realms. Although I personally prefer the MBA tapered designed, that also points to the M2 MBA.

4. If their interests change or they discover a need for a more powerful laptop, they can readily sell their devices on campus and get a new one! That could be one that would take them through final year of their major and into their first job! In short, whatever you decide this summer doesn't have to be set in stone for all four years.

5. So, what has it been like raising twins?

I keep picturing The Patty Duke Show or Sister, Sister!

How are they facing going to separate colleges, so far apart? That has to be hard on twins.

Getting them the same Mac laptop is a good idea — it means they can connect over their laptops — and that you, their mother (if she's in the picture), and they can FaceTime each other seamlessly!

Keep us posted!

 

[beach bum]

A thought… What does each college recommend for a laptop? I lucked out with using my Mac(s) for school, but I did run into some issues where the software was Windows specific and had to use my computer at work.

 

[dmk1974]

^^^^^^^
This! Other students may inadvertently bump into their laptop; parties in dorm room; roommate is a klutz or their friends are; they’ll be doing lots of walking around campus, so drops are more likely; laptops develop issues and those can be costly.

MagSafe, I’d argue, is essential for dorm life! That points to M2 MBA.

Major campuses frequently have Apple certified techs who can do in-house repairs or who can provide loaners while theirs is sent in. You want a fast, Apple branded service if a breakdown happens in the middle of their term paper, final project, etc.

2. Given you have a Mac at home, getting them Macs makes good sense. Dad as Tech Support is a Real Good Thing.

3. Agree 100% with those who stated that the majors one declares just after graduating high school may change radically depending upon courses, instructors, friends, getting hooked on other intellectual, aesthetic, political realms. Although I personally prefer the MBA tapered designed, that also points to the M2 MBA.

4. If their interests change or they discover a need for a more powerful laptop, they can readily sell their devices on campus and get a new one! That could be one that would take them through final year of their major and into their first job! In short, whatever you decide this summer doesn't have to be set in stone for all four years.

5. So, what has it been like raising twins?

I keep picturing The Patty Duke Show or Sister, Sister!

How are they facing going to separate colleges, so far apart? That has to be hard on twins.

Getting them the same Mac laptop is a good idea — it means they can connect over their laptops — and that you, their mother (if she's in the picture), and they can FaceTime each other seamlessly!

Keep us posted!

I get the Apple Care argument, and it may happen, but the thought of paying that PLUS the deductible (variable depending on the damage) just eats at me. My credit card does indeed at least give an extra year of the standard warranty coverage, but of course not accidental damage like Apple Care. We'll see. Especially for the kid going a plane ride away vs a drive away.

I've always liked the tapered design as well. I've had a MacBook Pro in recent years, and disliked that edge against my palms. Not deal-breaker, but like MBA style better.

To your point, if whatever laptop I get them is still being used in 2026 by them, I'd somewhat be amazed. If we go with M1 now, maybe sell and upgrade to M3 or whatever in 2-3 years. I do think each will remain in a major within each business college, even if major changes slightly. They definitely all of the sudden won't become comp-sci or mechanical engineers...trust me

They are actually boy/girl twins and frankly, like yin and yang. Distance will be harder on me and mama, but I think we'll all get used to it. Just got back from a 2-day college preview today for my son so he can get oriented, pick classes, and spend a night in the dorm with one of his future room mates. Stopped by the "TechZone" at their student center and they pitch it that they can fix computers if needed. We'll see. But nice to know that option is a 5 minute walk from his dorm vs me 160 miles away.