Upgrading my old MBA 11" 2012 to a Macbook 12" 2017?

[Nessdufrat]

Hey guys, in need of advice here...
I kind of had the worst day. This morning I was simply going over my options, thinking about changing my old (but trustworthy) macbook air mid-2012 11" and getting a newer macbook (was aiming towards the 12", I wanted to go as small and light as possible), as an addition to my old and not so trustworthy macbook pro 17" late 2011 with a failing GPU when the MBP actually died on me. I think it knew, somehow...
Anyway, now I'm left with my little 1.7Ghz core i5 4Gb ram macbook air, featuring El Capitan and "this program can't be installed on your computer because it needs OS 10.12 or above" messages every time I want to install something. Needless to say, I'm not touching the OS, since right now I don't really feel awestruck by how fast it is... I guess upgrading will only make things worse. It is a really nice computer, though, and I LOVE its size and it's really perfect for me as my "writing" computer (I'm a writer).
So, yeah... sad day.

I was considering the Macbook 12", because it's so tiny and light. Nothing before 2017, though. But a few people have been trying very hard to change my mind and I want to be sure they are right before giving up on that idea.
The major drawbacks I identified myself are the lack of ports. Like, 1 USB C port? Come on... But I have an iPad pro now and I've been buying adapters so I already have what I need at home (but it does suck).
Keyboard. Enough said. I haven't tested it but I heard enough about it. The 2017 model has the second generation butterfly keyboard and apparently it isn't as bad as the previous ones. Is that true? My main use with this computer will be typing text, very fast. I can't really have a computer with sticky keys or keys that are hard to press. This point would be a no go.

I would have gone straight to a new macbook air 11", but... no MBA 11"?! only 13"? Is Apple thinking people should buy iPad pros 11" and use them to replace their MBA if they want something that small? Spoiler alert, I have the 2018 iPad Pro 11" with the smartfolio keyboard and even though it's great, it didn't replace my computer.
At first I was thinking of buying whatever version, because, hey, to type text I don't need a very powerful machine so something cheap with low cycle count was great, but now that my MBP died, I was starting to consider the i7 1.4Ghz with 16Gb ram and 512Gb SSD. I even found a very good second hand opportunity.
But again, people have said, do not buy that, that processor is so crappy, the computer will have bad performances, etc.

So right now I'm at a loss. I'm stuck with my little MBA, I can live with that for a while, of course, no emergency here unless he decides to die too and meet his big brother in computer heaven, but I'll have to make a decision at some point.
What would you do?

 

[Nessdufrat]

Ok, it seems like nobody has an opinion about that computer? :/

 

[Jamesmcleaner]

Hello,

I would need to know about your budget

 

[spyguy10709]

Honestly, those macbooks are compromised machines. There's a reason apple ended up replacing them with the Macbook Air, the fanless architecture just doesn't deliver enough performance. And the butterfly keyboards never got fixed, apple ended up abandoning them entirely because of their reliability issues.

The 2020 Macbook Air 13" splits the difference between the old 11" and 13" form factors in physical size thanks to smaller bezels and reduced weight. If you're not prepared to spend the ~$1200+ it'll take to get one with a decent CPU and storage, might I recommend the last-in-series mid-2015 macbook air 11? Going from ivy bridge to broadwell is a great upgrade, and those machines can be found in great shape with 8GB RAM for less than $500. And then you can use a cheap PC NVME drive (with $10 adapter) to upgrade your storage, too!

 

[Nessdufrat]

I actually saw a great second hand offer for about 1100$ on a 2017 i7 1.4ghz 16gb 512gb ssd macbook 12" with only 200 cycles on the battery, and it’s in my budget since I would be selling my mid-2012 11" which is still in mint condition and has great ssd storage. That’s why I’m actually considering it. Size is really the issue for me, I really don’t want the 13". I used to have a 13" and it was too big.
And I wouldn’t really want to upgrade a 2012 MacBook Air with a 2015 one, it doesn’t really seem worth it.
I don’t think I could really get used to do everything I do on my MacBook Air on my iPad. I write, mostly, but I also do some programming, some book layouts on indesign and some other things which don’t require a gaming computer but would definitely be more comfortable on a i7 than on a m3 (especially the book design think. That one can quickly take up a lot of ram and processor memory).
My MacBook Pro 17" 2011 died and before I receive my brand new MacBook Pro 16" from Apple from their exchange program, I have to choose between sticking with my beloved but aging MBA or going for that really great (in my opinion) second hand offer.

 

[Nessdufrat]

Ok, so the great offer is gone, no surprise here ^^ but there might be another one which was my first choice before my MBP died on me, and which was the 2017 m3 1.2ghz with 8gb and 256gb SSD. Reverting to the idea of a writing computer, and getting, maybe, another, more powerful one to do the rest of the stuff.
There might be a cheap one to grab, a corner is slightly damaged, screen intact, 10 cycles on the battery, was bought 4 months ago so still under warranty. I’m guessing right now nobody wants it because of the damaged corner. I’m hesitating. It’s under $500 (please note that prices in Europe are significantly higher than in the US when you buy them new, so of course I might get something way cheaper in the US but I live across the ocean ^^).
Ending on Sunday evening, still have time to think about it, right now nobody is bidding.

 

[chrfr]

Ok, so the great offer is gone, no surprise here ^^ but there might be another one which was my first choice before my MBP died on me, and which was the 2017 m3 1.2ghz with 8gb and 256gb SSD. Reverting to the idea of a writing computer, and getting, maybe, another, more powerful one to do the rest of the stuff.
There might be a cheap one to grab, a corner is slightly damaged, screen intact, 10 cycles on the battery, was bought 4 months ago so still under warranty. I’m guessing right now nobody wants it because of the damaged corner. I’m hesitating. It’s under $500 (please note that prices in Europe are significantly higher than in the US when you buy them new, so of course I might get something way cheaper in the US but I live across the ocean ^^).
Ending on Sunday evening, still have time to think about it, right now nobody is bidding.

The keyboards on the 12" MacBook are faulty. The oldest computers are now outside Apple's 4 year extended warranty on the keyboard, and repairs are expensive. I'd pass.

 

[Nessdufrat]

What about a MacBook 12" sold from Apple in December 2019? They can’t decently say there’s no extended warranty on the keyboard since it’s not even one year old. I guess the four year warranty is from day of purchase, isn’t it?

(but if it isn’t, that sure is something to take into consideration)

 

[chrfr]

What about a MacBook 12" sold from Apple in December 2019? They can’t decently say there’s no extended warranty on the keyboard since it’s not even one year old. I guess the four year warranty is from day of purchase, isn’t it?

(but if it isn’t, that sure is something to take into consideration)

The warranty is for 4 years from the date it was originally sold, so yes, if the computer was sold new in December 2019, then yes, it'd have quite a bit of warranty left.