Smaller laptops or tablets?

[pinksnowmanshandle]

Preface to the Preface: There will be a TL;DR at the bottom.

 

 

So I'm going to preface this with stating that I know knowing the general opinion of this site's user base and Apple being that I've been here almost 3 years and the fact that I already have a laptop that is decent for what it is and for the cost of what I'm going to be talking about here might bring up suggestions of why don't I just get a better performing laptop  and my answer to that would be when I need the performance the Bristol Ridge A10 is plenty enough when on the go.

 

My thing is, it's not always ideal though to carry around a 3 or 4 pound 15" laptop in certain situations that while aren't the most common to me but for bringing it to work to use when on break or if I wanted to hang out in the break room a bit before or after work. I'm 95% sure my current laptop would be too big to fit into the lockers which I know the lockers can at least hold something as long as a Nintendo switch with the joycons attached I believe and still have a few more inches (I think). But I'm not sure if maybe for what I'm looking for that maybe an Apple Macbook would be what I'd want. I know there are a few considerations that make it a tough sell for me at least and I'm sure a lot of you guys too, largely the price for what you're getting spec wise, the general lack of ports and few upgrade options or paths to take during the purchase and after the purchase since there are virtually no upgrade options after you order it online or buy the specific model in store. Another option I was considering was maybe an iPad Pro, maybe the 10" model since for 2.9" of extra screen space you pay quite a bit more to get similar features and hardware. But the form factor and not being as intentionally designed for a laptop hybrid as like the Surface Pro. Which then maybe a Surface pro could be an option too but I'm not so sure that it's as solid as like a laptop form factor. One thing that does have me interested is maybe being able to have a cellular connection to the device itself so I dont have to use the hotspot and drain my phone's battery though again there are options to solving that issue too without having to pay for an extra line and hope that it would be able to access our data plan from Verizon (We were planning to upgrade from our old 12GB Verizon XL Plan to the new Unlimited plan) without any extra unreasonable fees outside of maybe a line access fee.

 

For the purpose of this second device would be for when I don't want to use my phone if it's say low on power or I have some time to kill or w/e and to be able to fit it into the lockers in my work's breakroom. I almost hate to say that I might've almost answered my own question but I almost think that the new Surface Pro if it has LTE my only issues would be that the trackpad on the Surface Type Cover kinda sucks imo since its smaller than the trackpad on the Macbook but I do have a Logitech M325 that I can also bring with it.

 

So really my question is Macbook, Chromebook (though to me it lacks a lot of things that I want), iPad Pro 10", or Surface Pro?

Pricing for the MacBook starts where I'd say the low mid range of the Surface Pro starts. 
Slightly better CPU and iGPU for the same price as the Macbook as the base Macbook has a core m3 and slightly worse iGPU. Both models have 8GB of ram and 256GB of storage. But for Discord and Chrome and Spotify a Core m3 and 8GB of RAM is plenty. I guess again sort of answering my own question while not answering it at the same time is that the form factor of a laptop is more attractive to me but I mean having LTE would be nice too and I think Apple knew if they put cellular in the Macbook they might cannibalize some of their iPad sales but I don't think the ideal customer for a cellular iPad would want to pay more for a Macbook but it allows the ideal customer of a Macbook to get more functionality out of their machine.

 

 

TL;DR

Spoiler

I'm not sure if I want to get either a Macbook or a Surface Pro or an iPad Pro.

I want something to be a supplement to my primary laptop which is a supplement to my desktop so that if I don't want to use my phone when at break or sitting at work for a bit before or after a shift I can have the option to use something else. 

 

LTE would be nice but I have options to get internet without it. But having it integrated would be a plus but I do like the form factor of a laptop.

 

Also...

LPT: For better context, please read the whole thing or at least skim it to get what I'm trying to get at.

 

[The Sloth]

5 minutes ago, wcreek said:

Apple Macbook

good laptop overall if you deal with overheating issues. surface pro is more than just a laptop, it would give you a good experience overall, i would suggest the MacBook 2012 over the Ipad. 

 

laptop- macbook 12 2017 

tablet- i pad pro 

both- get the surface pro

[pinksnowmanshandle]

18 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

good laptop overall if you deal with overheating issues. surface pro is more than just a laptop, it would give you a good experience over all, i would suggest the MacBook 2012 over the Ipad. 

 

laptop- macbook 2012 

tablet- i pad pro 

both- get the surface book 

But for web browsing and Discord and Spotify tho?

[The Sloth]

4 minutes ago, wcreek said:

But for web browsing and Discord and Spotify tho?

it will depend, for typing and a good display surface pro, for basic use and web MacBook 2017( might overheat). i pad is good but won't do well in multitasking. 

 

i would go for the MacBook 2017 for looks and casual use or the pro if you are doing any actual work like typing.  apple has much better customer support but you can get a surface pro has LTE. 

[pinksnowmanshandle]

Just now, nerdslayer1 said:

it will depend, for typing and a good display surface pro, for basic use and web MacBook 2017( might overheat). i pad is good but won't do well in multitasking. 

 

i would go for the MacBook 2017 for looks and casual use or the pro if you are doing any actual work like typing.  apple has much better customer support but you can get a surface pro has LTE. 

Eh Minnesota gets chilly it also gets pretty hot too

[pinksnowmanshandle]

24 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

it will depend, for typing and a good display surface pro, for basic use and web MacBook 2017( might overheat). i pad is good but won't do well in multitasking. 

 

i would go for the MacBook 2017 for looks and casual use or the pro if you are doing any actual work like typing.  apple has much better customer support but you can get a surface pro has LTE. 

I mean this isn't really what I wanted to do as it'd feel more of an upgrade rather than a sidestep or an alternative to my 15" laptop I got back in October which I don't think would fit in a locker in my break room.

 

But the base 13" MBP costs $1299

[The Sloth]

1 minute ago, wcreek said:

But the base 13" MBP costs $1299

try to find a refurbished 2015 model 

[pinksnowmanshandle]

2 minutes ago, nerdslayer1 said:

try to find a refurbished 2015 model 

Meh

[pinksnowmanshandle]

I hear MacBook Pros can get hot too if not hotter, I have a 2010 MacBook Pro 13" Base spec that has seen better days I dont remember if it really got hot...