First Hardware Upgrade in a Decade

[Spuck]

So I have an 2009 Macbook Pro that I have been able to keep upgraded because I have a really good Mac Certified Specialist who owns his own store near buy.Now its been a decade, and the mac isn't doing the bare minimum of communication device, writing machine, and web browser anymore.

My birthday is in a month so I decided it time to upgrade. I would like to go with the new ARMS Mac, but I don't see that arriving any time soon so I have to decide between a refurbished 2020 Macbook Pro, an iPad Air with a Magic Keyboard, or an IPad Pro with a magic Keyboard. Any suggestions?

I'm leaning towards the IPad Pro, but I am hesitant because it is top heavy and some of my best writing is done on the couch.

 

[filu_]

I curse the day I swapped my iPad mini 5 for an iPad Air 3 with a Logitech keyboard. The iPad has not become a laptop at all, but it has become too big and too heavy to use comfortably on the couch, even ignoring the weight of the keyboard.

The keyboard itself is heavy, even after disconnecting it remains a part of it as a cover. There is no such thing in the iPad Pro (with Magic Keyboard) but then the device is not protected after disconnecting the keyboard, which I would not like.

If I would choose one more time, I would choose the iPad mini and buy an MBA ....

 

[cms2]

I have an iPad Pro (with Smart Keyboard, not magic) and a 16” MBP. I’m not sure what your use case is, but you mentioned writing - if I were a writer, and especially if I were freelance, I think I’d go with the iPad or iPad Pro. I use my iPad for almost everything, BUT - scheduling meetings with numerous participants is painful using either Calendar or Outlook for iPad. It’s the one thing I frequently switch over to the Mac to take care of. If that’s not a big part of your life, then it shouldn’t be an issue. Hope that helps.

 

[Spuck]

Hmm... good suggestions. I have been considering the Macbook Air, but I heard that gets sluggish and heats up when you run things line zoom and Discord, and that already happens with my old mac.

 

[filu_]

Read more about MBA / zoom / teams here:

MacBook Air for Zoom/Teams

I do most of my heavy lifting on desktop Macs, but am looking into buying a notebook. Mostly for writing/browsing the internet, for which I expect any MacBook Air would be sufficient. But — pandemic obliges — I also need to spend quite a bit of time on Zoom/Teams meetings. So my question is...

forums.macrumors.com

Here about replacing your computer with an iPad:

iPad as a laptop replacement

No, because: - you will not format the flash drive, - you may need a big screen anyway, - applications are "slimmed", e.g. Brother application for my printer only supports basic functions, - the Files application is terrible, - if you have a collection of your music and photos on your desktop...

forums.macrumors.com

It looks like you need to buy 2 devices

 

[nothingtoseehere]

Hmm... good suggestions. I have been considering the Macbook Air, but I heard that gets sluggish and heats up when you run things line zoom and Discord, and that already happens with my old mac.

Your use case sounds like a Macbook Air for me, base model should be fine except you want custom backgrounds in Zoom (needs quad-core). In my household, there are two MBAs, of 2014 and 2020, and both of them have no problems at all with Zoom, or with heat. But taking the myriads of messages going either way into account, the only way to check what is true for you, is ordering a machine with good returning options. Apple itself allows returning within two weeks. Then start using, giving the device a few days for syncing, indexing and all that, and after one week you should be able to judge whether keeping or leaving.

 

[Fishrrman]

In your case, "the old saying" applies:
If you "need now", BUY now.

Don't worry about ARM Macs -- I wouldn't want "the first release" of these in any case. Too many "unknowns" at this point.

If you favor a 13" display, get a 2020 MacBook Pro 13".
If you like a larger display, get a 2019 design MacBook Pro 16".
(both of these have the re-designed "scissors" keyboard)

DO NOT BUY any of the following:
MacBook Pro 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 13"
MacBook Pro 2016, 2017, 2018 15"
... because of the very problematic "butterfly" keyboards. They have a high rate of failure, and when they do fail, the repair is VERY expensive once they "pass beyond" Apple's 4-year warranty extension (for keyboard failures).

 

[Mousse]

I hate laptop ergonomics. Either the keyboard is too high or the monitor is too low. Ideally, I would go with an iMac, but you've rule it out for reasons of your own. From the available choices, I would go with an iPad Pro as the display is larger than the iPad.

 

[Bustermd]

From experience, typing on an ipad pro is very difficult at the best of times due to the poor ergonomics of the smart cover keyboard AND the magic keyboard. You could use any wireless or wired keyboard theoretically, but if you want to type with the thing on your lap it is next to impossible as it will just fall over. Also for heavy productivity work I find the ipad to be difficult to use due to poor multitasking, etc.

I would recommend getting an Intel Macbook Pro unless you are willing to live with the challenges of using an ipad for heavy productivity (everyone is different, you might not mind so much). I think if you want to update to ARM down the road the intel macs will retain reasonable resale value as lots of people need an x86 laptop for their specific use cases.

 

[Spuck]

DO NOT BUY any of the following:
MacBook Pro 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 13"
MacBook Pro 2016, 2017, 2018 15"
... because of the very problematic "butterfly" keyboards. They have a high rate of failure, and when they do fail, the repair is VERY expensive once they "pass beyond" Apple's 4-year warranty extension (for keyboard failures).

Thank you for giving me the suggestions of the years not to go do. I will consider a 2019 16 inch macbook pro now that I know it doesn't have the butterfly keyboards. It's probably going to come down to that or a 2020 Macbook air with the 10th Generation iCore processor.