Upgrade question

[surfer369]

I have a 2012 MacBook air and thinking of upgrading and have a few questions.

1. Should I upgrade to a MacBook air (when the newer verison gets released)
2. or get the MacBook? what is the difference?

3. Once I get the MacBook air, how do I backup or move all the stuff that's on my current laptop?
4. Can these be easily sold, or better to wipe it clean and give to a family member?

 

[sunapple]

1. I guess so when you think your current MacBook isn't sufficient anymore. The new one will be faster which can be worth the upgrade, however it might come with less ports and USB-C.

2. The MacBook has lower powered processors, but it's lighter, thinner and has a much better Retina screen (colors and resolution). It's great for everyday use in my experience, I use the low-end 2015 model. Other differences are the ports, it just has USB-C so it requires adapters to work with most external devices.

3. You can move your files from your old Mac to the new one via built in software features. You can backup your old Mac with Time Machine (probably best to keep using that afterwards for regular backups), and transfer it easily to your new Mac during the initial setup.

4. Sure, these machines do quite well on the second-hand market. You can choose to just give it away if you don't want to deal with selling it, or maybe turn the old machine in for credit when buying the new one. I would personally sell it, because it'll get you the most money.

 

[tubeexperience]

And what would be the reason for this upgrade?

Upgrading for the sake of having something new is not a good reason.

 

[canuckRus]

I have a 2012 MacBook air and thinking of upgrading and have a few questions.

1. Should I upgrade to a MacBook air (when the newer verison gets released)
2. or get the MacBook? what is the difference?

3. Once I get the MacBook air, how do I backup or move all the stuff that's on my current laptop?
4. Can these be easily sold, or better to wipe it clean and give to a family member?

Test drive the MacBook keyboard to see if you can tolerate it.

 

[Boyd01]

Upgrading for the sake of having something new is not a good reason.

Why is that? If you want a new toy and can afford one, that seems like reason enough to me.

The current MBA is not going to be much faster than your 2012, however it has some other plusses. Much longer battery life - some people would consider that reason enough to upgrade. Also much faster wifi. This could make a big difference if you have a compatible router and want to access shared disks or other resources on your local network (wifi speeds perhaps 5x faster than your 2012). Probably not much help just for browsing the internet though.

The SSD on the current models is also much faster, maybe 3x faster than yours. Again, depends on your usage. Most people probably won't notice a significant difference.

As for the new models, nobody knows but everyone has an opinion. Might as well wait a few weeks and see. You didn't mention whether you were interested in the 11" or 13" MBA. Lots of rumors that the 11" will be phased out. Don't think I'd be interested in a new MBA with USB-C ports. That might be the future, but today I have lots of regular USB peripherals and a couple Thunderbolt ones. Also very fond of the MagSafe power connector.

I think the MacBook would be a cool toy, but can't justify it for the price. It can't take the place of my MBA which is my primary computer. Not enough ports, wieid keyboard, not fast enough (I have the i7 MBA).