Why are you using your laptop on battery? It's up there with the most ridiculous threads of 2024.
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Why are people using their MacBook Airs on battery?
- Thread starter DeepSix
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As much as not using the Mac battery to preserve resale value seems on it's face ridiculous, resale value especially for Macs for some consumers is an important factor in their purchase.
A lot of us sell our stuff privately for as much as possible so we can afford to upgrade. That is what I do. So anything that affects resale value is an important consideration but most of us realize there is only so much we can do to preserve our device while still getting the most use out of it during the time we have it.
So I think being dismissive of someone who focuses on something you may deam as not important doesn't mean it is crazy or not important.
Apple putting the newest model for the same price as the previous model is rare. They almost always have the newest model at a hiked up price.
I still laugh at all the people in FB marketplace who are asking 95% of what they paid for their used and abused Airs. $1200CAD for a used M2 Air base model or $1300CAD for a used and abused M3 Air base model.... are people serious?
Swappa is a much better way to sell your Mac or phone or PC. Costs a little more than some marketplaces but much safer with less scammers.
I would never buy anything off of Craigslist or FB or many of the other sites that are sketchy.
It costs nothing to resell stuff on FB marketplace. But lots of Airs on there and now with the announcement I expect thousands of people to be putting their newly purchased Air up for sale to get something for it before it comes worth nothing.
A couple days ago I could easily get that for my 2.5 month old Air that has no fingerprint grease on the keyboard and only 8 cycles on my battery. But today's announcement really hurts. But the good news is that not everyone will know about it right away and some may not find out until the new 16GB base models are in stores.
You should see my local FB marketplace. There's people asking $1200CAD for a 2 year old M2 base model or $1300CAD for a used M3 base model with stickers plastered all over it.
So my asking price is quite good in comparison to what others are asking. I find it laughable how anyone thinks they could use a laptop for 2 years and only have it cost them $100 out of their pocket LOL. This isn't 2001 where Apple products retain 80% of its resale value over time.
Right now Im 60/40 on selling it. Im just not 100% sure. I just don't want to be stuck with an expensive paperweight in less than a years time. Just look how much those Intel CPU MacBooks are worth now.
As soon as those 16GB base model Airs hit stores (expecting right away), the only reason anyone would buy a 2nd hand base model Air is the price. Nothing else. And it could have to be a big savings for them.
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I know what you mean. The base model Air is fine for my use cases but I just don't want to be stuck with an expensive paper weight if the upcoming OSX updates Boggs it down in a year or less. I'm perfectly fine keeping it for 3 years but that's if it will even last that through the updates. But yes if I sell it, I would lose a good chunk of money on it.
I would really miss the size, super light weight, form factor, best trackpad in the world and battery life of the Air M3 though. I don't want to sell it and only to soon regret it and then that would be even more costly to buy another one again.
That's unfortunately happened to me before where I've sold stuff and I immediately regret it right after the exchange with the buyer. Only to buy another one, brand new on the same day or day after from the store. [facepalm]. Which costs me more than what I sold my used one for. Essentially just throwing money down the toilet which I hate.
If it fulfils your needs keep it, then trade it down the line. I dont see a savvy buyer forking out $1100 for a used Air. Chasing the next best thing is Apple's game either ways you'll be out of pocket; one you will have had your use out of it, other your taking the hit for someone else...
Days of Mac's retaining much of their value are long gone. Typically the more you pay the more you will loose on the sale so best to get use out of them. Preferably put them to task to earn the $$$.
Q-6
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My personal advice is to hold on to what you have.
You will not have a paperweight in 5 years I can guarantee it. I don't know if you will notice any difference after 3 years but before then I highly doubt it.
If money is no object do as you wish. If it is selling only to have to buy again just to have the latest what happens when m5 comes out? I think these latest Apple laptops have a lot of headroom not seen in anything else at the moment. M2 will still be relevant in 3 years and more so m3, even more.
I would want the latest and I understand the want to upgrade. I would learn to time it so next time you buy right when the latest release is out. Maybe wait until a major redesign and buy as soon as it comes out. Then you won't lose money this time and next time will time it so you get the latest and greatest. But I tell you, that latest and greatest feeling goes fast. If you can love what you have because it does what you need now and quickly then worrying about tomorrow only creates two sufferings. One, you never fully enjoy what you have while you have it and you are always having anxiety of when the next model comes out. Enjoy what you have until it doesn't do what you want in the way you want and forget about what is next. Until you can read about it and not want to buy it-very hard to do. Lol.
I checked out their USB hubs on Amazon and they're way too expensive for my liking. Reviews weren't as high as I would prefer for products over $100CAD. Anker hubs are outstanding in quality, just like their battery banks and chargers and cables.
But why I love Anker is their warranty. 18 months and no questions asked, easily reachable through phone or email. I will stick with a brand that devotes so much priority to customer support. When I bought two of their newly released C300 battery stations, I paid $300 each and within 3 weeks it went on sale twice and both times they refunded me back the difference, no questions asked.
M1 iPad battery life was horrible out of the box. Have it at 100% brightness with no screen timeout and it's dead in 3.5 hours tops. It drops to 50% in an hour and a half. iPads aren't all day battery life devices, MacBooks are and that's one reason why I got rid of my iPad and got a Macbook because whenever I used the iPad out of the house I had to bring the battery bank too.
Im likely going to keep it. Just because I just bought in August of this year and up until a few weeks ago, it wasn't even used everyday. It's not my main machine but I've found a new use case for it in the past few weeks where it's resulted in it being used everyday and my main machine not near as much.
See above. Also I don't need the latest and greatest. I'm the total opposite. I only spend or upgrade when my current stuff is limiting me or I need certain features or my current stuff has stopped working properly.
I just hope Apple will make the AI in future updates optional because not everyone cares about AI in their OS. And I also hope they can make the entire updates optional like they do on iPad with iPad OS. Not everyone really cares about having their OS run the absolute latest version. I usually intentionally run one or two versions behind just so any issues or bugs that are found in newest updates have been resolved.
I think buying a laptop and not using it for its portability is probably the most waste of money spent. When you are out and about you do not have the luxury of finding power outlets in public spaces.
if you really like to have computers plugged in to power all the time you are better off with a desktop.
if you really like to have computers plugged in to power all the time you are better off with a desktop.
There are tons of people who will buy a laptop to only be used in bed or on the couch. Having a desktop in bed or on the couch isn't appealling to a lot of people. For a desk? Yes desktop all the way then. What I will never understand is people who use a laptop at a desk for 12 hours a day. Unless you get a monitor or laptop stand, ext monitor, etc, Horrible ergonomics, you're destroying your neck and spine.
THANK YOU! I could swear my old Ipad Air 2 is superior, probably even TODAY, and every couple of weeks regret not bringing my Ipad Pro into Apple to diagnose when it was still under warranty. Good to know this is typical for them. But I won't buy another ipad unless this is greatly improved!
That's odd. it's a very stock device. I haven't loaded any software on it other than Apple stuff like Final Cut Pro. The only 3rd party software on it at all I believe is coconut battery, which I don't believe runs until you launch it.
But I *DO* have FCPX and a bunch of safari tabs always open. maybe if I shut down those programs, the battery life would still be there. I thought the MBA went into "hibernation" mode after a long period of being in "sleep" mode but maybe not... I just tried to power on and my device was dead, from 50% last week when I used it.
Honestly when I had the M1 Pro iPad, the battery would drain 25-30% in less than a day just in idle with no notifications on. My new Samsung tablet drains maybe 2% from half a day sitting.
That's weird. I'm a teacher, and I've left school iPads that I forgot to power off in sleep mode over the entire summer break (9 weeks) and found them with still some power left. I've always found Apple devices (Macbooks, iPads, and iPhones) to lose very little power while in sleep/standby. Maybe only a few percent in an entire day.
(respectfully asking)
Have you tested for OCD?
Unless all of your responses are just satire and sarcasm check into it. You might benefit relief with over complicating/over thinking every day routines.
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Nope, take the Mac mini for example. In 2006 the cheapest model was $599US. Now in 2024 the model that was announced last week is $599US. Most of the time the new model has the exact same price as the old model. Since 25 years.
The thing is that even a 2013 air has value. Far more than any windows pc.
You also mentioned apple updates being over taxing and potentially slowing down your Mac. My 2016 pro runs fine on the last version of macOS and my 2019 pro feels the same speed as when I got it and I’m running the latest and greatest. It’s not like it used to be. iOS devices slowed down dramatically as the need for more ram (and Apples resistance to it) became the big bottleneck. CPUs are far more capable and have more headroom than they used to. So I have to agree with technerd108 your air will last you 5+ years.
As for the anker and satechi thing…I’m not saying anker is bad. Just that they are the exception not the rule of how things usually go. Yeah satechi is more expensive and yes they have fewer reviews but they’re reliable. I’ve never wondered if my satechi gear will work. It just works. Anker…I’ve had good and bad experiences. Mixed with their cables but bad with their batteries. Both companies have good support however my experience with the AnkerMake m5 leaves me feeling like satechi is better after faster responses, more helpful staff, and a freedom to support their users instead of rigid policies that make you pay for something again despite being in warranty. I usually buy ugreen, satechi, and I stopped buying power banks and instead make my own battery packs now from Samsung 18650s. At the end of the day it’s all preference and you can do whatever you want.
But it’s still funny to me that you complain about poor quality accessories and then go on to explain that you only buy inexpensive accessories. Also that if anker is so good, why did you complain about bad accessories in the first place? If you’ve got it figured out then is there a need to complain? You’ve already complained about the laptops battery suggesting they remove it, but complained about needing to carry a battery, bad accessories but it’s a non issue now(?), updates to macOS, and your iPads (which you no longer have) battery. Really feels like you’re just here to complain about anything and everything.
All batteries drain and degrade over time.... at least with current technology. They will last 1000 cycles of normal use. That should last you several years on average. At such time, you can replace the battery.
Oddly, I've never resold any of my Mac stuff. I just keep it forever, put it in a closet, or I give it away to someone who needs it.
The obsession with keeping a laptop battery 'healthy' for future resale value reminds me of people who never take the factory plastic off seats from their new car. 😂
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That's what I do as they have more than paid for themselves, generally gift to the family. I keep a few old ones out of interest and upgrade only when there's a tangible benefit. I flat out hammer my notebooks as to me they are simply work tools.
I dont purchase with any consideration of resail. They generally pay for themselves in a matter of days few. If using casually I still wouldn't be concerned with such trivia.
OP would be horrified at my Intel 13" MBP it's been dropped numerous times, dents and scratches abound. Someting is loose inside as it now rattles if shaken. Either the GPU or the SW is borked and only one speaker works. It's my junk box now to mess with SW I dont want on other systems. The M1 13" is still pristine with no need to upgrade. It delivers on battery life like no other can, that's more important to me than tricks & bells...
Only 15"/16" I've retained is the ill fated 2011 MBP. I use as a media server and at over 13 years old I just consider when will it give up as they were all doomed to fail. Seemingly this on isn't as it's up 24/7/365. It gets red hot when playing back content it cant do in HW, been doing this day on day, year on year. So I could care very less about battery cycles...
The 2015 12" rMB took a fast fall in battery capacity, yet as it approaches it first decade it retains 75% battery capacity and still my favourite form factor for a Mac . I wish Apple would bring it back with the Mx SOC would be a killer product if priced sensibly. I keep it for the form factor as nothing else comes close with full desktop OS.
Q-6
My goal is to get 3 full years out of the 8GB Air, anything longer and that will be even better. I will likely upgrade it in 3 years depending on how well it handles OSX at the time and whether my use case has changed.
Well Ive never heard of Satechi before. I would probably buy a MacAlly product before a Satechi one. Anker is the best, I've owned a lot of their products over time and yes I've had some go bad but Anker always backs their warranty that it's made me a fan of their products forever. But over the last few years, I've become a big fan of Ugreen products too. I buy a lot of their wall chargers and cables but I wouldn't trust their battery packs yet...still choose Anker over them on this because Anker has been at it for longer.
I don't buy only inexpensive accessories. If I feel the quality is worth it I will pay more. I have some expensive chargers. Just like the Anker prime, it's not a cheap battery bank. But I know it's probably the best battery bank out there at this capacity.