I have about 2100€ and I want to build an entire apple ecosystem, what would you suggest ?

[SloumaGamer]

Basically what the title says, so far I only have an iphone SE 2022 that I use daily , thinking about getting a MacBook,ipad,apple watch & a new iphone maybe?
What would be the most perfect list 🤔 ?

 

[RokinAmerica]

Refurbished.

M1 Air, Mini or regular iPad, watch. New iPhone... are you looking at the 15 or new but older model: perhaps 14 or such? NEW phone might well eat much of your budget

 

[dizmonk]

Budget is a good start but we have no idea what you need it for. If it's just basic computing and if you want portability, I'd say find an m1 Air, and upgrade to iphone 13 and Apple watch Se. I used to have iPads but I never used them.

 

[SloumaGamer]

Budget is a good start but we have no idea what you need it for. If it's just basic computing and if you want portability, I'd say find an m1 Air, and upgrade to iphone 13 and Apple watch Se. I used to have iPads but I never used them.

Basically I need them to finish my university engineering cycle 😅 and definitely gaming on them sometimes

 

[SloumaGamer]

Refurbished.

M1 Air, Mini or regular iPad, watch. New iPhone... are you looking at the 15 or new but older model: perhaps 14 or such? NEW phone might well eat much of your budget

Yeah the iphone 15 will pretty much eat a huge junk of my budget , I'm looking at iphone 13 since it's quite cheaper and good

 

[ipaqrat]

Basically I need them to finish my university engineering cycle 😅 and definitely gaming on them sometimes

What field of engineering? What's your software requirement? AutoCAD, ArcView, Mathematica, SolidWorks, SCADA data collection? Any proprietary apps your professor's require for compatibility? Will you require Virtual Machines? Will your engineering cycle carry on into advanced degree programs?

 

[Shanghaichica]

The M1 MacBook Air is currently £797.97 -
Apple Watch SE- £249
ipad 9th gen - £449

= £1495.97

Which would leave about £300 for a second hand/refurbished iphone. If you were willing to accept refurbished devices you will get more for your money.

This post just made me realise how expensive Apple devices are. I did not buy all my ecosystem in one go. I bought one device at a time when I started in 2014. After 6 months or so I had a full ecosystem and then I just replaced and added devices over time so when you did it that way it doesn’t feel as expensive as doing it all in one go.

 

[Flowstates]

Try and find a used pre re-design Macbook air with 16/512 (Important) , pay attention to the battery capacity but it should be possible.

Try and find a refurbished iPhone 15, most older phones will most likely lose an increasing amount of value as we move away from a lightning world.

Wait for the next year's apple watch as it will be redesigned and it being a fashion accessory holding a contemporary design is more important than the other products.

And consider the reality of your need for an iPad, if you can justify it. Wait for the next year's redesign to hit and bank on the weakened re-sale values. If urgent, used iPad Air 11'.

Your being strategic with timing will allow you to stretch your budget and take advantage of the wealthier apple customers on tighter upgrade schedules.

And consider that the ecosystem grows in the following way (in order of relative usefulness per $/spent on device for the "usual" non power-user user) : Mac = Iphone > Watch > iPad.

Give yourself time to be patient and dip your toes in instead of jumping head in.

Toodles !

(Edit, unless you are in a purely software engineering course MacOS will probably be a hindrance)

 

[dizmonk]

The M1 MacBook Air is currently £797.97 -
Apple Watch SE- £249
ipad 9th gen - £449

= £1495.97

Which would leave about £300 for a second hand/refurbished iphone. If you were willing to accept refurbished devices you will get more for your money.

This post just made me realise how expensive Apple devices are. I did not buy all my ecosystem in one go. I bought one device at a time when I started in 2014. After 6 months or so I had a full ecosystem and then I just replaced and added devices over time so when you did it that way it doesn’t feel as expensive as doing it all in one go.

I know I already said this but having had 2 Ipads, I repeatedly found myself not using them and then selling them. I would skip the iPad. I agree with the other poster that I'd go with a 16gb/512gb either M1 Air. You might even be able to get a 14" M1 refurbed from a third party site with that money.

 

[SloumaGamer]

What field of engineering? What's your software requirement? AutoCAD, ArcView, Mathematica, SolidWorks, SCADA data collection? Any proprietary apps your professor's require for compatibility? Will you require Virtual Machines? Will your engineering cycle carry on into advanced degree programs?

Electronic engineering

 

[SloumaGamer]

What field of engineering? What's your software requirement? AutoCAD, ArcView, Mathematica, SolidWorks, SCADA data collection? Any proprietary apps your professor's require for compatibility? Will you require Virtual Machines? Will your engineering cycle carry on into advanced degree programs?

As far as programs goes I'm using electric simulation programs a lot such as Multisim , Proteus 7 , Matlab

 

[SloumaGamer]

The M1 MacBook Air is currently £797.97 -
Apple Watch SE- £249
ipad 9th gen - £449

= £1495.97

Which would leave about £300 for a second hand/refurbished iphone. If you were willing to accept refurbished devices you will get more for your money.

This post just made me realise how expensive Apple devices are. I did not buy all my ecosystem in one go. I bought one device at a time when I started in 2014. After 6 months or so I had a full ecosystem and then I just replaced and added devices over time so when you did it that way it doesn’t feel as expensive as doing it all in one go.

Yeah they're quite expensive indeed

 

[SloumaGamer]

Try and find a used pre re-design Macbook air with 16/512 (Important) , pay attention to the battery capacity but it should be possible.

Try and find a refurbished iPhone 15, most older phones will most likely lose an increasing amount of value as we move away from a lightning world.

Wait for the next year's apple watch as it will be redesigned and it being a fashion accessory holding a contemporary design is more important than the other products.

And consider the reality of your need for an iPad, if you can justify it. Wait for the next year's redesign to hit and bank on the weakened re-sale values. If urgent, used iPad Air 11'.

Your being strategic with timing will allow you to stretch your budget and take advantage of the wealthier apple customers on tighter upgrade schedules.

And consider that the ecosystem grows in the following way (in order of relative usefulness per $/spent on device for the "usual" non power-user user) : Mac = Iphone > Watch > iPad.

Give yourself time to be patient and dip your toes in instead of jumping head in.

Toodles !

(Edit, unless you are in a purely software engineering course MacOS will probably be a hindrance)

Oh okay thank you , I could get an iphone 15 pro along with an M1 air and wait until next year like you said for the redesign of the apple watches , possibly newer ipad models as well , is that better than grabbing an M1 air / iphone 13 / ipad 9 and an apple watch SE 2022 right now ?

 

[Mr Magoo]

If upgrading iphone i think an iPhone 12/13 pro max or a iphone 12/13 mini phonewise would be good enough. And regarding computer either a mac mini m2 or a m2 macbook. Ipad air m1 is enough. I have an ipad but hardly use it as much as i thought i would. (Probably since i have a foldable phone.) And apple watch 8. Get a apple 4k tv as well. All refurbed or 2nd hand. Maybe toss a apple homepod mini in, if there's any money left.

 

[Flowstates]

Oh okay thank you , I could get an iphone 15 pro along with an M1 air and wait until next year like you said for the redesign of the apple watches , possibly newer ipad models as well , is that better than grabbing an M1 air / iphone 13 / ipad 9 and an apple watch SE 2022 right now ?

The first option would be my choice, although I'm unsure whether I'd buy the Pro (the Lidar and stereoscopic video/photo capture are nice but depending on the market it could be a 30% upspend),

I'd avoid the iPad 9 given it's increasingly dated design and relatively small display size unless you could get one at a very affordable price, but think about your use case again. I found that buying one such device without a very clear spot for it in your workflow will only cause despair as you will try to shoehorn it into your habits. Mine ended up being a quite expensive pdf and rss reader with the usual mathematics write-up.

If you really want to start wearing an apple watch right now (and you have a tolerance for used items), I'd get a used series 7+ which will, for what will be the same or less, provide you wtih a better experience.

PS: Try and consult with your technical staff to ensure that all the courseload will be available on MacOS, at ETHZ we were advised to avoid macintoshes unless studying architecture, I ended up needing to buy a PC to experiment properly without using up my compute credits, alas.

 

[Duncan-UK]

The harsh reality is that your budget is nowhere near enough. Despite all of their woo-woo Apple just isnt interested in you unless you have a large amount of disposable income or wealthy indulgent parents!

 

[applepotato666]

I wouldn't get an iPad. They can be pretty expensive and unless you draw you won't be using it much when you have a computer and an iPhone that's certainly going to be bigger than the SE. I'd save on the iPad and get a better iPhone/MacBook.

But better advice is don't buy anything Apple brand new in euro right now. The value just isn't there for anyone who doesn't need Apple products to do their job (2000 euro for an 8GB RAM "Pro" computer says enough about what a joke it is)

 

[Reggaenald]

Ebay

 

[theluggage]

As far as programs goes I'm using electric simulation programs a lot such as Multisim , Proteus 7 , Matlab

Then you need to get advice from people with experience of those programs (look on dedicated forums) and the people running the course. Are there Mac versions at all, and if so, are they any good? Will you be provided with the Mac version? Which ones do you use often enough need to run on your own computer? Is the course PC-centric and, if so, do you want to be the one doing the extra work to prove that it can be done on Mac?

You should buy the type of computer that runs the specific bits of software you need to use. In some cases, that turns out to be a PC. In other cases, it turns out to be anything that can browse the web, run a word processor and answer emails because anything specialised is done in the labs on computers that cost far more than your budget…

 

[Reggaenald]

Budget is a good start but we have no idea what you need it for. If it's just basic computing and if you want portability, I'd say find an m1 Air, and upgrade to iphone 13 and Apple watch Se. I used to have iPads but I never used them.

He could get a used Apple Watch S7 for cheaper than the SE with many more features, that’s what I did at least. Wear the battery down and get it replaced by apple for a basically new one.

 

[polyphenol]

The M1 MacBook Air is currently £797.97 -
Apple Watch SE- £249
ipad 9th gen - £449

= £1495.97

Which would leave about £300 for a second hand/refurbished iphone. If you were willing to accept refurbished devices you will get more for your money.

This post just made me realise how expensive Apple devices are. I did not buy all my ecosystem in one go. I bought one device at a time when I started in 2014. After 6 months or so I had a full ecosystem and then I just replaced and added devices over time so when you did it that way it doesn’t feel as expensive as doing it all in one go.

I have a refurb mac mini M1, a refurb iPad (think it was previous year's model when I bought it). MBP & Watch I waited and got a decent reduction from list prices. Phone, hmm, I paid full price.

For me, refurb is an excellent approach.

 

[Jay Tee]

What would be the most perfect list 🤔 ?

The fundamentals of any Apple ecosystem are made up of two components:

• an iPhone
• a Mac

The specific iPhone and Mac will depend on your needs. Do try for an iPhone 15 though, either new or refurb. The exact Mac will hinge on the importance of mobility, and the particular workload: an iMac, or one of the MacBooks.

Don't forget to budget-in:

• an external drive for your Mac's Time Machine backups
• AppleCare+ for convenience in times of trouble

The third and fourth devices will be much less important.

 

[antiprotest]

Go refurbished, as some have said.

But also consider increasing the budget by delaying some of the lower priority items and getting better models for each item.

If you force everything into that budget, you might have to compromise on every single purchase.

So I mean get the best refurbished model for each item.

In the end you might end up saving yourself money and frustration because the devices will perform better and longer.

 

[Schlumpf]

As far as programs goes I'm using electric simulation programs a lot such as Multisim , Proteus 7 , Matlab

Matlab has a native macOS version and runs perfectly fine

 

[SloumaGamer]

The fundamentals of any Apple ecosystem are made up of two components:

• an iPhone
• a Mac

The specific iPhone and Mac will depend on your needs. Do try for an iPhone 15 though, either new or refurb. The exact Mac will hinge on the importance of mobility, and the particular workload: an iMac, or one of the MacBooks.

Don't forget to budget-in:

• an external drive for your Mac's Time Machine backups
• AppleCare+ for convenience in times of trouble

The third and fourth devices will be much less important.

Oh I see thank you