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Sithian

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 28, 2016
22
4
Hello all,

Apologies if this has been posted many times, but I would still like opinions on if I should get a MBA or MBP - seems like a good time to buy either.

Will be using the machine for browsing, office work, and music apps like Anytune, iRealB, and Spotify. Leaning toward the MBP special on Best Buy right now that will get you $200 off of the 1TB 16GB 13” MBP.

A lot of machine I know, but I am looking for longetivity.

Also looking for a good external monitor that I can use for MB, PC & IPad. Advice on an adapter & cable to connect appreciated-

Opinions welcome- thanks in advance!
 
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I assume you meant MBA or MBP. The Best Buy special is good, but I'd encourage you to look at the 2020 MBAs Apple Refurbs too. They're like-new, come with a one year warranty and option to buy Applecare+. The refurb stock changes often so if you don't see the specific config you'd like, keep checking back. For example, you can get a i5/16GB/256 for $1099 or a i7/16GB/1TB for $1569:

 
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I assume you meant MBA or MBP. The Best Buy special is good, but I'd encourage you to look at the 2020 MBAs Apple Refurbs too. They're like-new, come with a one year warranty and option to buy Applecare+. The refurb stock changes often so if you don't see the specific config you'd like, keep checking back. For example, you can get a i5/16GB/256 for $1099 or a i7/16GB/1TB for $1569:


How about from specs standpoint?
 
How about from specs standpoint?
Not sure I understand your question. I had quoted the specs for a couple of the available refurb models, but there are others. What did you want to know about the MBA specs?
 
Not sure I understand your question. I had quoted the specs for a couple of the available refurb models, but there are others. What did you want to know about the MBA specs?

Ah I didn’t realize those were actual quoted specs- thank you! What I meant to ask is if its worth it for me to go with the MBP vs a higher end MBA.
 
Ah I didn’t realize those were actual quoted specs- thank you! What I meant to ask is if its worth it for me to go with the MBP vs a higher end MBA.
Based on the usage you described, an i5 MBA sounds like a good fit. I'm not the best person to help with a display recommendation, but I've had good experience with usb-c to displayport connections with my iPad Pro, and that would work with the MBA too. If you give a bit more detail about available ports on your PC, your iPad type, I'm sure someone will chime in with a recommendation for you.

I should add that MBA versus MBP discussions abound on Macrumors, and there's lots of solid reasons to chose either. I suggested the refurb MBAs as a solid choice that will also save you some money ... to use toward a display eh?.
 
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Hello all,

Apologies if this has been posted many times, but I would still like opinions on if I should get a MBA or MBP - seems like a good time to buy either.

Will be using the machine for browsing, office work, and music apps like Anytune, iRealB, and Spotify. Leaning toward the MBP special on Best Buy right now that will get you $200 off of the 1TB 16GB 13” MBP.

A lot of machine I know, but I am looking for longetivity.

Also looking for a good external monitor that I can use for MB, PC & IPad. Advice on an adapter & cable to connect appreciated-

Opinions welcome- thanks in advance!

I recommend a base model 13" MBP. It has a good track record for performance and reliability. The base model 13" MBP also actually runs cooler with less fan noise in a lot of tasks than the MBA or the 1TB 16GB 13” MBP. I assume that low fan noise would be good for your music apps. Best Buy and Amazon have it for $100 off too.

On the other hand, if you can wait, Apple is planning to transition away from using Intel CPUs to their own CPUs. The first new macs with Apple chips will come out at the end of this year, and one of the first models is rumored to be a new 13" MBP. Apple said they plan to stop selling macs with Intel chips within about two years.
 
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Thanks for the replies, and not a straightforward decision it seems. I’d prefer not to wait as my IPad has been my main home machine for too long (My 2015 MB overheats and has been out of commission for a while).
 
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