Which Mac would you recommend for me?

[hky740]

I'm in the market for something new and I'm considering getting a Mac though deciding which one is right for me has been somewhat of a back and forth struggle.

Looking for as much as advice as possible on which model to look at.

I'm going to be moving an apartment in a few weeks so I'm thinking an iMac or a Macbook Air/Macbook Pro. Either way, it would be my primary machine.

The iMac and it's all-in-one nature makes it appealing from a space standpoint - especially if the built-in speakers are sufficient for music playback. If I can get something with solid enough speakers built in so I wouldn't have to buy external ones, that would be a plus. I probably wouldn't watch many movies on it but want speakers that at least makes Spotify Premium sound good.

A Macbook Air/Macbook Pro are appealing because they are even more portable, obviously, than a iMac. If I'm flying home, for instance, bringing it would be easy. From a space standpoint, one of those systems makes even more sense than an iMac.

But I wonder if a 13 inch display is just too small for my primary system, and I worry about buying a laptop with documented keyboard issues (unless I go all out and get the new 16' MBP which financially may be a stretch). I'm not sure a Macbook Air is future proof enough spec wise but I could be wrong.

I would want 16 GB RAM on anything I buy... unless it's a 27 inch iMac I can easily upgrade from 8 GB myself. 16 GB might be more than I need now but as I plan to have whatever I get for at least a few years, I'll be glad down the road it's there.

Another requirement would be a 512 GB SSD. I'm not interested in an old fashioned HDD or a fusion drive. Space wise, 512 GB should give me enough breathing room now and for a few years. I wouldn't want to risk 256 GB and I think 1 TB would be excessive.

I'm flexible on the processor but I think it would have to be at least a quad-core one. It's almost 2020 after all. I'm also flexible on the GPU think I would want to avoid the Intel UHD 617 I've seen on some models.

I would describe a typical workload as something like: browser (up to 10-12 tabs), Spotify app, LibreOffice writer or equal, security suite. From time to time, I might do minor photo, audio or video editing but nothing too intense as things stand now. I won't be playing games on it.

Ultimately, I probably want more of a system than I need now because I would plan on having it for at least a few years and it would hold up better over time with stronger specs now. I wouldn't want to settle for something that's "just enough" now and be in the market for another system in a year or two. Looking to invest in something that will hold up over a few years at least.

 

[a2jack]

In your situation I would go for a 2018 mini from Apple. Load it as you can afford, and drive a tv set as a monitor.

The beauty of this building block approach is you can change screens as your needs expand.

No more "all in ones" for me, as they age quickly and are just a big old heavy lump to dispose of. a2

 

[Plett]

As much as I prefer a laptop and externals for docking in the house, for simplicity sake I recommend the iMac with 512, and 16G, can't imagine you would outgrow that based on your info for some time.

 

[hky740]

As much as I prefer a laptop and externals for docking in the house, for simplicity sake I recommend the iMac with 512, and 16G, can't imagine you would outgrow that based on your info for some time.

How good are the internal speakers on the current gen iMac - good enough to enjoy Spotify or are external speakers still the best way to go there?

 

[Plett]

How good are the internal speakers on the current gen iMac - good enough to enjoy Spotify or are external speakers still the best way to go there?

To subjective for me to say, my son has an iMac, I only use it when I am at his place and don't pay attention to the speakers. I'll let someone else chime in there sorry.

 

[theluggage]

How good are the internal speakers on the current gen iMac - good enough to enjoy Spotify or are external speakers still the best way to go there?

I have a 2017 5k iMac - as far as I know, the only thing that's happened since then is a CPU/GPU upgrade.

The speakers sound exactly like a pair of surprisingly good small speakers shut up in an aluminium box with only a thin vent at the bottom and no front-firing grilles. They can certainly match the sort of small portable "radio" on which millions of people enjoy music, but you wouldn't buy a larger stereo that sounded like that and any card-carrying audiophile would be driven to a Van Gough.

So, it really depends on your expectations and what you personally need to "enjoy Spotify" - I'd say that they're perfectly adequate for background music while you work (although, personally, I'd prefer the speakers to be further away) as well as incidental video/podcast watching, casual gaming etc. but for any remotely serious listening you're still going to want external speakers.

I think virtually any iMac with the 512GB SSD option would do you. The critical issue with the iMac is whether the display fits your needs - in which case they are probably the best value-for-money that Apple offers. If not, maybe consider getting a 13" MBP plus an external display (you can go the whole hog with external keyboard and mouse/trackpad if you like - for many years my go-to system was a MBP on an 'elevator' stand next to a display, with external mouse/keyboard).

Keyboard wise - although there's always something better on the horizon - the next 6 months might reveal (a) if Apple are going to roll out the "new" scissor keyboard across the MacBook range or (b) if the last revision to the butterfly keyboard actually did fix it (although that's probably too late to save its reputation).

My worry with the Mac Mini is the feeble GPU that I wouldn't trust to even run the Mac desktop smoothly if I wanted flexible display choices, even for 2D work. Its probably OK if you pick your display(s) so they don't need scaled mode. (That and the mean SSD sizes on the base model).

 

[HappyMBAowner]

Go for a MBP - anyone. I've been using a MBA since 2013. No complaints and 99% satisfied - my MBA is still purring like a new one. But, the only thing I'd do if I were to start again, is get an MBP instead of a MBA. It's just a bit more powerful, has more connectivity and is more upgradeable. And get quad-core if you can afford it. https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/macbook-vs-air-vs-pro

 

[revmacian]

I'm in the market for something new and I'm considering getting a Mac though deciding which one is right for me has been somewhat of a back and forth struggle.

Looking for as much as advice as possible on which model to look at.

I'm going to be moving an apartment in a few weeks so I'm thinking an iMac or a Macbook Air/Macbook Pro. Either way, it would be my primary machine.

The iMac and it's all-in-one nature makes it appealing from a space standpoint - especially if the built-in speakers are sufficient for music playback. If I can get something with solid enough speakers built in so I wouldn't have to buy external ones, that would be a plus. I probably wouldn't watch many movies on it but want speakers that at least makes Spotify Premium sound good.

A Macbook Air/Macbook Pro are appealing because they are even more portable, obviously, than a iMac. If I'm flying home, for instance, bringing it would be easy. From a space standpoint, one of those systems makes even more sense than an iMac.

But I wonder if a 13 inch display is just too small for my primary system, and I worry about buying a laptop with documented keyboard issues (unless I go all out and get the new 16' MBP which financially may be a stretch). I'm not sure a Macbook Air is future proof enough spec wise but I could be wrong.

I would want 16 GB RAM on anything I buy... unless it's a 27 inch iMac I can easily upgrade from 8 GB myself. 16 GB might be more than I need now but as I plan to have whatever I get for at least a few years, I'll be glad down the road it's there.

Another requirement would be a 512 GB SSD. I'm not interested in an old fashioned HDD or a fusion drive. Space wise, 512 GB should give me enough breathing room now and for a few years. I wouldn't want to risk 256 GB and I think 1 TB would be excessive.

I'm flexible on the processor but I think it would have to be at least a quad-core one. It's almost 2020 after all. I'm also flexible on the GPU think I would want to avoid the Intel UHD 617 I've seen on some models.

I would describe a typical workload as something like: browser (up to 10-12 tabs), Spotify app, LibreOffice writer or equal, security suite. From time to time, I might do minor photo, audio or video editing but nothing too intense as things stand now. I won't be playing games on it.

Ultimately, I probably want more of a system than I need now because I would plan on having it for at least a few years and it would hold up better over time with stronger specs now. I wouldn't want to settle for something that's "just enough" now and be in the market for another system in a year or two. Looking to invest in something that will hold up over a few years at least.

Something to consider:

1. There is no guarantee that the butterfly keyboard is going to fail. I own a 2017 MBP (non-touch bar) and a 2019 MacBook Air.. and I've seen no issues with the keyboards on either model.

2. I feel it is not always best to rely on specs as an indicator of machine performance. The T2 chip in certain machines takes a lot of the work off of the CPU leaving those machines to perform better than the specs would suggest. I even edit videos now and then on my 2019 MacBook Air and have seen no issues.

3. I use my MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) for web browsing (~10 tabs), Numbers app, Pages app, iMovie, Calendar, Reminders, Email, GIMP and Affinity Photo (image editing), iMessage.. and have not seen an issue with the 8GB RAM even when running many of these apps simultaneously.

I don't play music or use LibreOffice so I cannot attest to those use cases. I would think that the MacBook Pro 13" would be great for you.

 

[skaertus]

I'm in the market for something new and I'm considering getting a Mac though deciding which one is right for me has been somewhat of a back and forth struggle.

Looking for as much as advice as possible on which model to look at.

I'm going to be moving an apartment in a few weeks so I'm thinking an iMac or a Macbook Air/Macbook Pro. Either way, it would be my primary machine.

The iMac and it's all-in-one nature makes it appealing from a space standpoint - especially if the built-in speakers are sufficient for music playback. If I can get something with solid enough speakers built in so I wouldn't have to buy external ones, that would be a plus. I probably wouldn't watch many movies on it but want speakers that at least makes Spotify Premium sound good.

A Macbook Air/Macbook Pro are appealing because they are even more portable, obviously, than a iMac. If I'm flying home, for instance, bringing it would be easy. From a space standpoint, one of those systems makes even more sense than an iMac.

But I wonder if a 13 inch display is just too small for my primary system, and I worry about buying a laptop with documented keyboard issues (unless I go all out and get the new 16' MBP which financially may be a stretch). I'm not sure a Macbook Air is future proof enough spec wise but I could be wrong.

I would want 16 GB RAM on anything I buy... unless it's a 27 inch iMac I can easily upgrade from 8 GB myself. 16 GB might be more than I need now but as I plan to have whatever I get for at least a few years, I'll be glad down the road it's there.

Another requirement would be a 512 GB SSD. I'm not interested in an old fashioned HDD or a fusion drive. Space wise, 512 GB should give me enough breathing room now and for a few years. I wouldn't want to risk 256 GB and I think 1 TB would be excessive.

I'm flexible on the processor but I think it would have to be at least a quad-core one. It's almost 2020 after all. I'm also flexible on the GPU think I would want to avoid the Intel UHD 617 I've seen on some models.

I would describe a typical workload as something like: browser (up to 10-12 tabs), Spotify app, LibreOffice writer or equal, security suite. From time to time, I might do minor photo, audio or video editing but nothing too intense as things stand now. I won't be playing games on it.

Ultimately, I probably want more of a system than I need now because I would plan on having it for at least a few years and it would hold up better over time with stronger specs now. I wouldn't want to settle for something that's "just enough" now and be in the market for another system in a year or two. Looking to invest in something that will hold up over a few years at least.

If you want to get a computer which you can carry with you, buy a MacBook Pro. Not the Air, the Pro. The Pro is more powerful and capable than the Air, and it will last longer. The weight difference between the Air and the 13-inch Pro is not enough to justify getting the less powerful machine.

If you want a bigger display and you do not care about extra weight or price, you can go with the 16-inch model.

You can buy an external display, mouse and keyboard, and dock your laptop to them. So you will be able to use a larger display when at home.

But buy a laptop only if you are going to travel with it, or bring it with you to work. If you are going to use the computer only in your apartment, then go with the iMac.

I would suggest the iMac instead of the Mac mini. The iMac, especially the 27-inch model, has a gorgeous display, and you will probably not find anything similar to go with the Mac mini.