Most of my time on the computer is using my desktop MacMini M2, but when I'm watching TV in another room I often like to check emails and a few websites - nothing major. I have an iPad Pro but find it very cumbersome to use. My phone is too small. I'm thinking of buying a MacBook Air. Is it work going cheap and buying a refurbished M1? Any thoughts?
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Which MacBook should I buy?
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MacBook Air seems like the perfect choice because you don't use it for anything "major". Refurb is good if you are okay with that. M2 can also be found on some deals here and there too.
The absolute best offer out there is to buy a MBA M3 13" from Apple directly now through the education store. They do not verify education status when ordering online, and right now there is even more perks because of the "back to school" promo. Go to education store on Apple site, choose the 13" M3 MBA for $999, which is 100 off. If you have an Apple Card you can use that and pay 0% interest for 12 months. When you do that you get an extra $150, making the MacBook $849. If you don't have an Apple Card you can pay the $999 and get a $150 apple gift card
Thank you. I am a teacher so would legitimately qualify for educational pricing. The issue with this deal is I can't think of anything I would want to buy with the gift card
i could get an refurbished M2 Macbook Air for £849 (usual educational price £899) so that might be the way to go. We don't have the Apple Card in the UK.You could use the gift card and turn right around and buy 3 years of apple care for the MacBook for $159, so would only cost you an extra $9. If not, then apple refurb is honestly good. Comes packed just like new, in paper and all, just a different box. You'd be hard pressed to know its even "refurbished"
Keep me posted how it goes. Although Id be jealous because I was not aware of that deal when I bought my 13" M3 MBA from Best Buy yesterday for $999. So I basically lost out on a gift card or free apple care. What I will tell you though is I absolutely love this thing. Screen is big enough to enjoy but the MacBook is super light and portable. Base model is snappy as I don't do any intensive things like video editing, music production, etc
Not sure about the OP, but for me, I much prefer MacOS. If I'm going to pay as much, or more for an iPad and Magic Keyboard, I just assume have a MacBook. Slimmer lighter package and having a full service OS vs enlarged iPhone OS
Just got a 13" M3 16/512gb today in midnight, love it. Perfect size for me for around the house/patio and when travel.
Was going to get a 13" iPad Pro and MGK, didn't like the wobble, speakers, the 4 x 3 ratio and the price.
Couldn't justify $3KAUD with edu discount for a iPad v $2KAUD for the air, was $400AUD off.
Really like apples midnight/blue colours.
Was going to get a 13" iPad Pro and MGK, didn't like the wobble, speakers, the 4 x 3 ratio and the price.
Couldn't justify $3KAUD with edu discount for a iPad v $2KAUD for the air, was $400AUD off.
Really like apples midnight/blue colours.
I've been looking at reviews of the Apple Magic Keyboard and it doesn't look like it's going to work for me on my lap. @Surfsalot mentioned the wobble and other reviews say the same. I've decided to sell my iPad Pro and put the money towards a MacBook Air. I'm just advertising it now, so we'll see if I get any takers. Thanks for all your help guys.
@bellflyer14 and others who advised me - I have now sold my iPad Pro and am collecting a MacBook Air M2 from the Apple Store this afternoon. I took advantage of the educational pricing and the £120 gift card promotion. I initially thought I wouldn't be able to find anything to buy with it, but then realised sooner or later I will be purchasing an updated Apple TV - so the gift card will come in very useful! Thank you all for your advice 😀
Just did the same, but in Space Grey. Was considering upgrading from the 2018 11" iPad Pro, but couldn't stomach buying a new MKB and pencil, and the decent chunk of change for the iPad itself.
Macbook Air all the way. Great device. Struggling to use 25% battery throughout the day as well.
My iPad still works fine, but will be getting less use now for sure. (previous Mac was a 2015 13" MPB, so a huge upgrade).
You could purchase AppleCare which would save you a bit of money if something happened to it.Thank you. I am a teacher so would legitimately qualify for educational pricing. The issue with this deal is I can't think of anything I would want to buy with the gift card
Congrats! Let us know how you like it when up and running. I think you are going to be super happy with it.
I picked it up this afternoon and have been setting it up. I love it! I had the very first MacBook Air some years ago and never really liked the wedge shape and sharp front edge. The redesign of the M2/M3 is really pleasing. I was a little nervous of replacing my iPad given it was the front end to my Roon music system - but the MBA looks even better with the Roon client running full screen on one desktop. I'm a big fan of virtual desktops, going back to my OS/2 and Linux days. I always have my email client on desktop 1, my browser on desktop 2 and Roon on desktop 4. What pleased me was that I set up my browser, Waterfox, so quickly. I have been tweaking it for ages so was resigned to setting everything up from scratch. I copied the contents of the Waterfox profile folder on my MacMini to the default profile folder on my MBA, fired up Waterfox and everything was there - all my extensions, my themes, 1Password, the lot!
It is so much better than trying to use an iPad. I always found my iPad awkward - like everything I wanted to do was an effort. Not so with the MBA!
It's always fun going into my local Apple Store. So many of the staff are ex-students and we always have a little catch-up. Delightful.
That is awesome...so glad you are happy with it. I am smitten with my MacBook Air so far. Seems plenty fast for me and the battery life is amazing. Did you go with the base model? That is what I have currently and I'm hoping it will be enough for my light usage for years to come. Again, Congrats on your new toy, eh I mean machine.
You should get a MacBook Air! I think for the kind of stuff it sounds like you're doing, a cheaper refurbished (or even used!) M1 MacBook Air should be fine. I'm planning to get one such machine to use as a travel laptop, to do things like stream movies and browse/check emails/etc. when on the go (and occasionally from my couch).
I have a more powerful M1 Pro MBP, but I also don't always want to bring that much more expensive machine around places where there's a greater risk of loss or damage.
Plenty of people will tell you you "NEED" 16 GB of RAM, but unless you're browsing with like 40+ tabs open AND running some virtual machine or gaming at the same time, or unless you're doing lots of editing of large video or photo files, you're not going to have issues with RAM. Yeah, 16 GB is nicer for certain tasks, but I'm going to be quite happy with a base model M1 Air for my travel purposes. I think you'll be just fine with that for your couch surfing.
EDIT: Looks like you went with the M2 Air, which I'm sure is a great machine too. You probably still could have gotten the M1 Air for about 400£ cheaper - but the ship has obviously sailed, so I guess this comment is more for anyone else in a similar boat. I'll be buying my next Mac (as I have all my Macs since like 2015) used and for a substantial discount as a result.
I considered the M1 MBA and could have got it for £100 less than I paid for the M2. However, it is no longer available new at the Apple Store - so no educational pricing. The M1 refurbished is £150 cheaper than I paid for the M2. The deal I got on the M2 came with a £120 gift card which I will put towards a new Apple TV down the line. All in all I feel I made the optimum purchase - I could have paid another £100 for the M3!