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Feet wet - which mac to start off with?
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And to complete the trifecta of lazy questioning, you didn't tell us your budget.
Suppose somebody asked which car they should get without stating where they lived and how far they usually travel, how many kids they have, and how much they want to spend.
Suppose somebody asked which car they should get without stating where they lived and how far they usually travel, how many kids they have, and how much they want to spend.
Mac mini for desktop computer replacement (can probably use existing keyboard/mouse/monitor if replacing a PC). MacBook Air if you want a portable.
Well, back off a little bit, yeah?
They're brand new to macs. Maybe they don't know that they need to ask this many questions for an accurate pick.
If you don't need the portability of a notebook, then the Mac Mini would be a good option - assuming you've got a monitor, mouse and keyboard (many people do). There are a few things to be aware of.
Recent discussions have centered on the 256 gig SD being a lot slower than some larger capacity options. I don't consider that enough storage to begin with, but take a look. Also, while you might get by okay with 8 gig RAM, I wouldn't go that route. Get at least 16 gig RAM; give yourself some headroom against software bloat over the years, things you might want to do someday that are more demanding, etc... Apple seems to price gouge on RAM and SSD upgrades; some people prefer an external SSD, but not the read/write speeds on some larger Apple internal storage are very fast, so factor that in if you go this route.
I'm typing this on a 2017 iMac 27" 5K setup; beautiful monitor, but it's my understanding that for the last several years iMacs have lacked the feature of allowing their monitors to be used by another computer. In other words, if and when I decide to move on to a newer system, I can't use this beautiful monitor going forward.
I don't like the idea of needing to buy a new monitor every time I buy a new desktop computer.
In recent times I've been reading online discussions to the effect that Macs may display best on some resolutions but not all; 4K seems to be recommended. Bottom line, if you're buying a new monitor for it, pay some attention to whether Mac users have a good experience with that.
There are people debating higher end M2 Pro Mac Minis vs. lower end Studio setups; you can read up on that if you wish.
An iMac will spare you some of the decision-making of buying a Mac Mini-based system, but the included monitor won't last beyond the iMac itself. A good display may last you 2+ desktop systems.
Recent discussions have centered on the 256 gig SD being a lot slower than some larger capacity options. I don't consider that enough storage to begin with, but take a look. Also, while you might get by okay with 8 gig RAM, I wouldn't go that route. Get at least 16 gig RAM; give yourself some headroom against software bloat over the years, things you might want to do someday that are more demanding, etc... Apple seems to price gouge on RAM and SSD upgrades; some people prefer an external SSD, but not the read/write speeds on some larger Apple internal storage are very fast, so factor that in if you go this route.
I'm typing this on a 2017 iMac 27" 5K setup; beautiful monitor, but it's my understanding that for the last several years iMacs have lacked the feature of allowing their monitors to be used by another computer. In other words, if and when I decide to move on to a newer system, I can't use this beautiful monitor going forward.
I don't like the idea of needing to buy a new monitor every time I buy a new desktop computer.
In recent times I've been reading online discussions to the effect that Macs may display best on some resolutions but not all; 4K seems to be recommended. Bottom line, if you're buying a new monitor for it, pay some attention to whether Mac users have a good experience with that.
There are people debating higher end M2 Pro Mac Minis vs. lower end Studio setups; you can read up on that if you wish.
An iMac will spare you some of the decision-making of buying a Mac Mini-based system, but the included monitor won't last beyond the iMac itself. A good display may last you 2+ desktop systems.
As mentioned above, get 16gb of RAM.
For the m-series Macs, that's "the new baseline".
If you don't need portability, and already have a decent display, keyboard and mouse...
... The Mini might be a good place to start.
I'd suggest either the "midrange" m2 Mini, or ... if you feel like splurging... the base M2pro Mini.
If it's going to be a laptop, I'd suggest an Apple-refurbished MacBook Pro 14" (2021 release).
Base model should be fine.
For the m-series Macs, that's "the new baseline".
If you don't need portability, and already have a decent display, keyboard and mouse...
... The Mini might be a good place to start.
I'd suggest either the "midrange" m2 Mini, or ... if you feel like splurging... the base M2pro Mini.
If it's going to be a laptop, I'd suggest an Apple-refurbished MacBook Pro 14" (2021 release).
Base model should be fine.
Yep, assuming you need for general use, this is excellent advice. Powerful, silent with all day battery life. One of the key strengths of Apple is the ecosystem of how well the products work together.
As a dip your feet in the water purchase, this is good general purpose Mac. Mac’s hold their value well and the advantage of a base level spec is they tend to keep their value in % terms better. After 3 years you should be able to get 50% back if you resell privately. So if you decide you don’t like it, you will not lose too much money and hopefully you will love it and want to upgrade to something more powerful.
Beware that you can’t upgrade memory or internal storage after purchase. As a dip in the water purchase 8GB of RAM is fine, but if you are planning to keep it for more that a couple of years then 16GB should be considered, it’s just a shame Apple charges so much for RAM and Storage upgrades.
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Buy a used Mac ideally any M1 model.
Buying used allows you to easily unload with minimum money lost.
I assume you have a PC desktop? Buy a Mac mini M1 base model. You can get one for under $500... say $300?
You can refuse the display, keyboard and mouse of your PC with a Mac CPU that costs $300?
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I wonder at what point to go desktop or laptop? even if we don't commute etc the laptop is easier for using round the house as opposed to be fixed to a home office desk with an iMac.
I think my next set up is to ditch the iMac and then get a laptop and an external monitor.