Budget macbook?

Mr.Meerkat · February 2, 2022

Before anyone says "hurr durr, get a windows laptop", I have one, a X13 flow. However, I need a Mac for two reasons:

A. need to compile an small IOS app for a uni project (uni doesn't own any and nobody is going to give funding for an undergrad project)

B. work uses a proprietary piece of software that they do have iMacs for at work but I would like to be able to open it outside work as well.

Requirements:

Only two, as small and light as possible, and is affordable (ideally no more than £300). Small and light is actually important as for reason B, I will also use it at work, meaning it will go into my work bag, which is already bursting at the seams.

With these two requirements, it's basically down to these options:

1. 2015 MBA 13 (£215, i5 5250U, 4GB, 128GB)

2. 2015 MBP 13 Retina (£300, 5257U, 8GB, 128GB)

3. 2017 M3 Macbook 12-inch (£300, m3-7Y32, 8GB, 512GB)

Notes: MBA 11 dropped because same cost as MBA 13, 2016 MBP13 starts at £450, which is a little too overbudget.

MBA13 is the cheapest but I think I can justify £85 for 4GB more RAM and infinitely better displays on the latter two options so I guess that's out (and no, 8GB MBA13 is for some reason £300+)

As power isn't a major concern for me (5900HS and 3700X covers that), I'm tempted to throw the MBP13 out but then again, the performance difference is quite substantial...might actually make a difference for compiling. This leaves me in a weird situation where MBP is better for reason A whilst Macbook is better for reason B...what-to-do...I am leaning towards the Macbook 12 as it's the better "one solution fits all" but are the core Ms really that bad? Mind you, to reiterate, power isn't really a factor in this situation soooo....welp?

BondiBlue · February 2, 2022

Stay away from the 12" MacBook. They were unreliable machines in a variety of ways, and the keyboard replacement program Apple offers is only good for 4 years after the date of manufacture. They were also pretty weak machines in the processing department. They're nice MacBooks, but flawed in many ways.

I'd also stay away from the 4GB Air. 4GB of RAM is simply not enough for modern versions of macOS. 8GB is the minimum you should get these days. That leaves you with the 2015 Retina MBP as your best option. It's a reliable machine, and while it's definitely older it still holds up really well. It's a much better choice than either of the other two models you listed. It has a Retina display too, and that's a major advantage over the pre-2018 Airs.

Alireza · February 2, 2022

2017 m3 macbook is in my opinion the best you can do

the core m cpu is not good enough for everyday use and probably fine for compiling your app and your software at uni even in 2022

and 512GB SSD really shows it self while working with swift because the app itself needs a lot of space (also its a lot more compare to other options)

i would've go with this one if i were you

Darkseth · February 2, 2022

Out of those, that's the order/ranking you want:

1. 2015 MBP 13 Retina

2. 2015 MBA 13

3. every other Macbook

4. 2017 M3 Macbook 12.

third is obiously a small joke. But the 12" is one of the worst Macbooks you can buy, unless you need the smallest/lightest package. It has the first (or 2017 has second) Generation Butterfly Keyboard, the Generation that made alot of Problems. TO be fair: I haven't heard much complains about 3rd and 4th Generation Butterfly (2018 and newer) so far, but they still feel shit.
Also, it's passive and a 4,5w Chip, so it will throttle fast when doing stuff. But if you can wait, it will work.

The 2015 Macbook PRO Retina Models were the last "really good" Macbooks before the M1 Generation. Good keyboard, good IO, SSD still swappable i think?

And a great Display.

The 2015 Macbook Air has a 900p TN Panel, so shitty Display, but useable for anything that doesn't require color accuracy. Also, not that much slower.(but 4gb Ram could be an issue here).

The newer 12" Macbook, despite having a 2 generation leap, is not faster than those other 2. Probably even a bit slower, because of less TDP and no active cooling.

But low Performance for beeing silent is one thing.

Having a shitty Keyboard that might Fail is another. This is the reason this Model is garbage. If you get a defect there, you're probably better off throwing it away than getting a repair.

Ignoring the "silent" part or weight, there's not a single aspect that makes it better than the 2015 MBP. Keyboard is much worse, Performance is worse, I/O is worse.

TL;DR: Invest in the Macbook Pro model, you will have a much better experience. And it will be better for resale, or if you want to keep it.

Mr.Meerkat · February 2, 2022

15 minutes ago, BondiBlue said:

-snip-

14 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

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Actually there is one additional factor to the puzzle. Type-C charging. Currently, I carry a 18W PD charger around in my work bag for my android phone and iPad mini 6 (thankfully this one was actually provided by work) where from my understanding, you can change a macbook via an 18W PD charger, so no new cable, no additional charger, saving even more weight (like we're approaching 1KG of total weight savings...).

As my uni project will be over within the next 4 months but will probably continue to work at my company for at least 18 months, where I'm inclined to put significantly more weighting to the job aspect.

It is super annoying how the MacOS-only software we use is literally just for admin but when you spend 5-20 minutes, 6 to 10 times every working day on it, the convenience of being able to whip it out of your bag, do the admin and then just chuck it back in is very appealing. This does mean that minus the compiling, the toughest thing the Mac will need to do is have 10 or so tabs and a few other programs open.

This does mean that IO-wise, type-C is more important than having HDMI or type-A, performance isn't too important (i.e. as long as it's not lagging doing "office" stuff) and the keyboard, very anecdotal but my sister's 2017 MBP13 feels just fine (and is still working fine, 5 years later) so to be honest, apart from the reliability part, the Macbook does seem to suit my use case better. However, I do recognise that the MBP13 is the better device.

BondiBlue · February 2, 2022

3 minutes ago, Mr.Meerkat said:

snip

As the owner of a Mac with a butterfly keyboard I REALLY don't see how the convenience of Type-C charging makes it worth it. I sent my 2017 13" MBP to Apple three times in the second half of 2021 alone. They completely replace the top case when they do the keyboard replacement, but even so they're unreliable. If it breaks again they're literally going to replace it entirely with a 13" M1 MBP instead of repairing it again. That's how bad the keyboards can be. Plus, there's always a chance that your MacBook wouldn't even be covered under the repair program anyways.

As long as the battery isn't very worn out you shouldn't have any issues with battery life on a 2015 MBP. My 2013 13" MBP has a bad battery but still lasts several hours when being used for YouTube playback and working on a second monitor. You've also got to consider the other reliability issues the 12" MacBook has. They're known for very bad keyboard failures (worse than the later butterfly models), they're known for logic board and SSD failures, and they're known for performance issues (which shouldn't be an issue for you outside of compiling iOS apps).