Help choosing a Mac

[Webcat86]

I have a 2019 MBP 13”, which was a rush purchase after breaking my trusty 2012 MBP.

Coming from a laptop with MagSafe and multiple ports to just 4 USB-C ports always felt like a backwards step, and although the computer is generally very good it does have some niggles. The very first one was replaced the day after purchase as it kept freezing and rebooting. The replacement was better but had some bug where it would randomly log me out, and although that’s now fixed it does sometimes get hung up on videos and reboot. It also sounds like a jet engine when I’m on a Google Meet call and it runs very hot if I have it on my lap. So it’s not the stellar Apple performance I’m used to.

So with the silicon chips and the newer models, I’m seriously considering upgrading. But here’s my dilemma:

- I want MagSafe back and like the touch bar. MS is more important than TB, so the 13” is essentially ruled out
- The Air is tempting, but two ports is an even bigger step back, and I’m not keen on it having no fan
- the 14” is, frankly, more computer than I need. But it has MagSafe and the extra ports which are important, and having come from the 2012 MBP I’m not worried about the extra size and weight.

BUT, I don’t really need all that power. I’m a writer and run my own business, but it’s not heavy video editing etc. It’s some web design, lots of browser tabs, YouTube, various apps at once but none that are particularly taxing. I sometimes use GarageBand for audio recording and rarely iMovie, which my current MBP kinda struggles with.

Extending my dilemma is the fact I’m not opposed to going for a desktop model. I have an iPad Air which can cover most of my work if I need to be away from my desk, but most of the time I’m at my desk anyway.

My problem is the Air, 14” MBP and iMac are all in the same price ballpark when I’ve got 16gb memory and 1tb storage. So price isn’t a big differentiator to make it an easy decision.

And of course if I go for the desktop route, that opens up Mini and Studio. Studio is more than I want to pay and more than I’ll ever use but equally, I expect this to be a long-term purchase that I’ll be using 5-10 years from now so I want some future-proofing.

For those in the know, are the newer laptops still very hot? My 2019 literally makes me sweaty if it’s on my legs. If they’re all like that, it tilts me further to a desktop computer and iPad for mobile use. If they’re better now, it tilts me more towards the 14”.

 

[Lioness~]

I just bought the Mac Studio and the Studio Display. Really great and good looking machines, I'm very happy with them.
So pleased that I probably will buy another Display later 😛
Sure they cost some, Mac's always do! But then you have great computer and gorgeous display for quite some time.

Last desktop I had was iMac 2013. Was not much power in it at the end, but I got 7-8 years of a really good desktop from it. Latest 1,5 yrs I was just surviving with it. I also bought a MBA to bridge some stuff. Not hot at all, but I don't need the power as in MBP in a laptop.

Then I waited for what would come in desktops in the Apple silicon lineage, and this is it. I expect to have it for quite some time.

Good luck with your choice 👍

 

[Webcat86]

I just bought the Mac Studio and the Studio Display. Really great and good looking machines, I'm very happy with them.
So pleased that I probably will buy another Display later 😛
Sure they cost some, Mac's always do! But then you have great computer and gorgeous display for quite some time.

Last desktop I had was iMac 2013. Was not much power in it at the end, but I got 7-8 years of a really good desktop from it. Latest 1,5 yrs I was just surviving with it. I also bought a MBA to bridge some stuff.
Then I waited for what would come in desktops in the Apple silicon lineage, and this is it. I expect to have it for quite some time.

Good luck with your choice 👍

Thanks for the reply. I’ve decided on the iMac over the MacBook range, the Studio is tempting though! But the price helps to make that an easier decision

 

[wakka]

Sounds, like you've already made your decision, but if you want 16GB RAM/1TB storage I would go with either the iMac or the 14" MBP.

The Air has too many drawbacks to be worth it once you've factored in the cost of the additional RAM and storage, and the Studio will be complete overkill - you'll never get to make full use of the Max chip it uses, even over a 5 to 10 year usage window, and once you factor in the cost of a display, keyboard, mouse (especially if you want the official Apple gear), you're simply shelling out far more than you need to.

The only thing you might want to wait for is the M2 version of the iMac. When this will come though, no one knows. Within the next 6 to 12 months seems a fair bet. It probably won't offer huge improvements over the M1 for your usage though.

 

[Webcat86]

Sounds, like you've already made your decision, but if you want 16GB RAM/1TB storage I would go with either the iMac or the 14" MBP.

The Air has too many drawbacks to be worth it once you've factored in the cost of the additional RAM and storage, and the Studio will be complete overkill - you'll never get to make full use of the Max chip it uses, even over a 5 to 10 year usage window, and once you factor in the cost of a display, keyboard, mouse (especially if you want the official Apple gear), you're simply shelling out far more than you need to.

The only thing you might want to wait for is the M2 version of the iMac. When this will come though, no one knows. Within the next 6 to 12 months seems a fair bet. It probably won't offer huge improvements over the M1 for your usage though.

Thank you. I had narrowed it down to those 2 so that’s encouraging. I had considered waiting for the M2 but as you say, I don’t think it’ll make much difference for my needs.

My current frustration is actually ordering it - there’s a 2 month wait if I select the trackpad with the iPad. But if I select the mouse it’s ready in a week or two. Normally i would do that and order the pad separately but then it’s £100 more, unless Apple will do a price match

 

[Webcat86]

Update: ordered the iMac. Bizarrely, if I order the mouse with it, it’s available in 2 weeks. By ordering the trackpad, it’s a 6 week wait

 

[Lioness~]

Update: ordered the iMac. Bizarrely, if I order the mouse with it, it’s available in 2 weeks. By ordering the trackpad, it’s a 6 week wait

You will be happy with it 🥰
Order the trackpad from somewhere else if that is what you want to have. We always want to have our ordered Macs yesterday, right.
I waited 2 months for my Display, got the Mac Studio a month earlier, to what use 🤔

 

[Webcat86]

You will be happy with it 🥰
Order the trackpad from somewhere else if that is what you want to have. We always want to have our ordered Macs yesterday, right.
I waited 2 months for my Display, got the Mac Studio a month earlier, to what use 🤔

That was my original plan, to buy it separately. But here’s the kicker: the trackpad matches the colour of your iMac and keyboard, so adding it to your order counts as a customisation of the bundle. Ok, I’d happily have a different colour pad, except that ordering it separately costs an additional £100 - it’s £50 to add to your iMac order, and £149 to order it separately (black, white is £129, and the other colours aren’t available for individual purchase)

I spoke to Apple to confirm this, and they also said because it’s one bundle they can’t deliver them separately, nor would they do a price match to let me order a separate trackpad for the same price as adding it to the order.

So on balance I decided I’d just wait a bit longer

 

[wakka]

Awesome.

The wait is annoying but I'd have done the same as you. I'm a dedicated Magic Trackpad user and if I was buying one of the 24" iMacs, I'd definitely want the colour matched one.

Which colour did you go for btw?

 

[Webcat86]

Awesome.

The wait is annoying but I'd have done the same as you. I'm a dedicated Magic Trackpad user and if I was buying one of the 24" iMacs, I'd definitely want the colour matched one.

Which colour did you go for btw?

Blue! Matches my phone. Honestly I’d have gone with silver if it arrived quicker but the wait was the same so I thought I may as well get funky!

I contemplated not getting the pad but I have a Magic Mouse and never use it, really don’t like it.

 

[wakka]

Very nice

Enjoy it.

 

[AppleFan1998]

I really love that they brought the colors back

Thanks for the reply. I’ve decided on the iMac over the MacBook range, the Studio is tempting though! But the price helps to make that an easier decision

 

[Webcat86]

I really love that they brought the colors back

Yeah it is. Kinda surprising they haven’t for the laptops, as they’re more likely to be seen by more people

 

[satcomer]

Yeah it is. Kinda surprising they haven’t for the laptops, as they’re more likely to be seen by more people

They brought some colors to the new Mac Book Air!

 

[Webcat86]

They brought some colors to the new Mac Book Air!

Well, sort of...

 

[Hareti]

To go back to the original thinking on laptops and ports.

The question of ports is a lot simpler than it used to be, in that a single TB4 port is equivalent in throughput to 8 of the old USB3 ports. So unless you’re planning on connecting multiple large displays, or multiple TB4 SSDs, a multiport dock is going to be better than what you have with multiple usb3s.

On the road I use a breakout box as I ‘m never entirely sure what I need when I arrive at a remote office. While at home it’s a lot simpler to plug in one cable to a dock than several separate cables.

So unless you have a throughput need, even a two port Air is less of a problem than it was a couple of years ago.

 

[Webcat86]

To go back to the original thinking on laptops and ports.

The question of ports is a lot simpler than it used to be, in that a single TB4 port is equivalent in throughput to 8 of the old USB3 ports. So unless you’re planning on connecting multiple large displays, or multiple TB4 SSDs, a multiport dock is going to be better than what you have with multiple usb3s.

On the road I use a breakout box as I ‘m never entirely sure what I need when I arrive at a remote office. While at home it’s a lot simpler to plug in one cable to a dock than several separate cables.

So unless you have a throughput need, even a two port Air is less of a problem than it was a couple of years ago.

Agreed, but it undermines the point of a laptop - portability and travel

The irony is that the desktop computers are the ones that would best make use of a multiport dock, but they have more integrated ports.

 

[wakka]

Yeah, I used a 12" MacBook with that one single solitary port for years as my main computer. It was fine. Actually, it was kind of neat having all the cables running into a breakout box on my desk, rather than pouring messily out of either side of the computer as they had done on the unibody MacBook Pro I'd had before that.

The only problem was when would I would attend meetings and I would forget my HDMI dongle or the dongle would be flakey and not work. It was also a pain when you just wanted to quickly plug something in over USB and you needed this cumbersome adapter.

I have the 14" Pro now and I do like having an HDMI port back - it's already come in useful when visiting clients in situations where I absolutely wouldn't have had a dongle - but it's really non-essential these days. Just a nice-to-have.

 

[Webcat86]

Yeah, I used a 12" MacBook with that one single solitary port for years as my main computer. It was fine. Actually, it was kind of neat having all the cables running into a breakout box on my desk, rather than pouring messily out of either side of the computer as they had done on the unibody MacBook Pro I'd had before that.

The only problem was when would I would attend meetings and I would forget my HDMI dongle or the dongle would be flakey and not work. It was also a pain when you just wanted to quickly plug something in over USB and you needed this cumbersome adapter.

I have the 14" Pro now and I do like having an HDMI port back - it's already come in useful when visiting clients in situations where I absolutely wouldn't have had a dongle - but it's really non-essential these days. Just a nice-to-have.

True, but at the price point, “nice to have” changes IMO. I can begrudgingly understand a desktop computer having fewer ports because you can have a permanent setup with a box. But the entire purpose of a laptop is portability, and designing it in such a way that you assume people will be at a desk all the time is bananas.

 

[wakka]

Yeah, I would agree with that, and yet still defend the 12" MacBook's single port design. I can see why the idea of stripping out every port type (including Magsafe) to an ultra-simplified USB-C only approach appealed to the designers. And on the MB 12" it actually did make sense.

That laptop was extraordinarily thin and light and to take advantage of the then-new USB-C technology to offer all of the connectivity of a port-stuffed previous-gen MBP in a single slot was actually (IMO) a very user friendly decision. Away from the desk, you had this ultra-slim, fanless, almost fully sealed unit. But at your desk, with one single connection you had power, monitor, Ethernet, all the rest.

The problem for me lay with extrapolating that vision to the Pro notebooks. There was basically no good reason except bloody mindedness to have four USB-C ports and zero USB-A, HDMI, or SD slots. Form dominated function and in a product that is ostensibly above all a tool for getting work done, that is (as you rightly say) bananas!

 

[Webcat86]

Yeah, I would agree with that, and yet still defend the 12" MacBook's single port design. I can see why the idea of stripping out every port type (including Magsafe) to an ultra-simplified USB-C only approach appealed to the designers. And on the MB 12" it actually did make sense.

That laptop was extraordinarily thin and light and to take advantage of the then-new USB-C technology to offer all of the connectivity of a port-stuffed previous-gen MBP in a single slot was actually (IMO) a very user friendly decision. Away from the desk, you had this ultra-slim, fanless, almost fully sealed unit. But at your desk, with one single connection you had power, monitor, Ethernet, all the rest.

The problem for me lay with extrapolating that vision to the Pro notebooks. There was basically no good reason except bloody mindedness to have four USB-C ports and zero USB-A, HDMI, or SD slots. Form dominated function and in a product that is ostensibly above all a tool for getting work done, that is (as you rightly say) bananas!

Totally agree. For the products sold as portable, like the Air, it totally makes sense to be as lightweight as possible, and it's therefore necessary for the device to be stripped-back in comparison to the bigger siblings. Just like we accept the iPad doesn't have an HDMI port. My issue is solely with the Pro models, including the new 13", which is less equipped than the Air, which has MagSafe and 2 USB-C, whereas the Pro is left with one USB-C because the second one acts as charging socket

 

[wakka]

Yeah, it's a weird design and now looks even weirder since there is a line of 'true' Pro models with much more powerful chips and a fuller range of ports.

I think it's just there for the B2B audience at this point, who buy it in bulk. That's my guess anyway. I don't know why any individual buyer would pick it over the new MBA.

 

[Webcat86]

Yeah, it's a weird design and now looks even weirder since there is a line of 'true' Pro models with much more powerful chips and a fuller range of ports.

I think it's just there for the B2B audience at this point, who buy it in bulk. That's my guess anyway. I don't know why any individual buyer would pick it over the new MBA.

Yep that was exactly my dilemma. But I didn’t want a fanless laptop or just 2 ports. I wouldn’t mind the 13” if they just called it MacBook, because it clearly isn’t a Pro and has little in common with the bigger ones.