OT: Time for a new Mac - thinking lap top

[William]

So this will be a first LT for me so I don't know a whole lot about the them. We've been isusing the large screen iMacs for years but it's getting time to replace and I'm thinking maybe it's time. I've been using Mac since the first Apple's came on the scene. I do a lot of video editing with iMovie and some graphics stuff though not necessarily enough to think I need professional grade software/graphics cards. Would like a screen large enough to do this comfortably in laptop form.

Any suggestions or experience with Mac's current offerings would be greatly appreciated.






W.

[Veloo]

I've done lots of video on a 15" Powerbook using Final Cut.
Go for the 16", not the 13.

You always have the option to plug in a larger monitor to it as well so I'd say if you have the money to spend on the portability then go for it.

[rkhatibi]

I have the 16" MBP for work. It's not huge 14" x 10" just slightly larger than a recent 15" Dell. New screens go right up to the edge which really reduces the overall size. The 16" also has the new keyboard which avoids the magic keyboard with butterfly switches problem of the 2016-2019 15" MBP series.

I use mine with a second 27" 4k monitor ($500-ish) when I need the screen real estate. You might consider a 13" and external monitor as the best compromise between portability and screen size.

Thing to remember with modern Apple laptops is that RAM and disk are not user accessible. 1TB disk (standard) should be fine and an upgrade to 32GB is reasonably future proof. Annoying that RAM from Apple is a 3x markup over retail.

[Ken Robb]

Leslie has always been a Mac-user. I was a PC guy because that was needed to run Realtor programs when I was still working. When I retired I knew I would no longer have access to our company PC guru so I converted to Macs because Les is quite good with Mac stuff so I have had my in-house guru.

The first thing I noticed about my first Mac Book Pro was the quality "feel" of the hardware. Then I learned about the quality of tech support on-line and at The Genius bar in Apple Stores.

I know I could get a PC for much less that would theoretically perform any function I would ever want to use but---------I question whether I would get tech support good enough for a computer dunce like me.

When Les bought her latest Mac Book Pro a couple of years ago she wasn't sure that the then-new touchbar that replaced the function buttons across the top of the keyboard was worthwhile but she quickly came to love it. We both like how well our laptops, i-pads, and phones work together.

The sales people in the two Apple Stores I have been to have been very good about explaining the various models even to me. Les catches on much quicker. I'll bet one of these folks can listen to what hardware/software you have and how you use it and recommend a good laptop solution. No One older than 16 should try to learn a whole new system.

[kppolich]

If you need more than 13" of screen real estate without a second monitor wait til the M1X processors come to the larger pro's and iMacs.

If you are OK with your main machine being a 13", new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro 13" with the M1s are no joke.

[stien]

I have a bunch of Macs for work and at home between myself and my wife. 2019 iMac 27", 2x 13" Airs (2014 and 2018?), a 2015 13" Pro and some brand new Mac minis that I'm setting up for some new work stations.

I really like the form factor of the Minis and the fact that they still have USB-A ports (all our dongles and adapters are USB-A and will be for some time). Couple that with the native Mac wireless trackpad/keyboard and I'm not seeing much difference between the iMac and the Mini. I'll still hold onto a laptop for meetings but not as my main machine anymore. I don't love the Touch Bar and USB-C only on the new ones.

I too hear good things about the new processor.

[572cv]

Originally Posted by kppolich

If you need more than 13" of screen real estate without a second monitor wait til the M1X processors come to the larger pro's and iMacs.

If you are OK with your main machine being a 13", new MacBook Air or MacBook Pro 13" with the M1s are no joke.

This is an important point. My Macbook Pro 15" is fabulous, solid. I just plug in the USBc cable and I'm tied into a large monitor as well on my office desk and while I don't use the graphics programs you are using, it does fine with all my architectural CAD stuff. Mine is about 3 years old at this point. But the new processors look to be a real step up, particularly in extending battery life, and being quiet and cool operators.

[duff_duffy]

Just bought a MacBook pro for my wife who has been asking for one for over 5 years! If you know any educators you can get a discount through Apple website. They did not check that I was in education when I did store pickup (although I am) if you want to save few bucks.

[tbike4]

I have a 13" MacBook Pro that is now 6 years old. I travel with it and at home connect it to a 23" monitor. It has been great but at some point I will need new hardware so this is a very relevant thread.

If you want new right now the Air, 13" Pro and Mac mini have the M1 chip. The 16" Pro still has the Intel chip. In the past I have had the 15" MacBook Pro, 17" MacBook Pro and now the 13". And a bunch of desktop Macs. I really miss the G-5.
My next buy will be the 13" Pro w/ M1 chip. I don't want to lug anything bigger around when I travel and it will do what I need and then some.
I always buy hardware with higher specs than I need to future proof the machine. It has worked well so far.

Not sure when the rest of the hardware line up will get the M1 chip.

Yes I am an Apple fan boy. Remember this? We have come a long way.

[dgauthier]

+1 on the new M1 laptops. I wouldn't buy an Intel mac now unless I had no other option.

If you're used to a 27" desktop, you're probably going to find even a 16" laptop screen will feel small. As others have mentioned, any Mac laptop can drive a 4K monitor or television without breaking a sweat. (I drive a 43" 4k tv from a tiny 2015 MacBook for WFH. It's huge and it's great and it just works.)

So go with the portability of a 13", to say nothing of the lower price. The M1 MacBook Air will do everything an optioned-out 27" iMac will and it costs a grand.

[R3awak3n]

Get a mac book pro and call it a day. Would definitely max it out on ram. They are great computers and last forever and why I suggest maxing the ram and maybe do a 512gb drive instead of 256.


Agree I would get the new m1 proc.

[William]

Originally Posted by R3awak3n

Get a mac book pro and call it a day. Would definitely max it out on ram. They are great computers and last forever and why I suggest maxing the ram and maybe do a 512gb drive instead of 256.


Agree I would get the new m1 proc.

I've always figured what ever computer you buy, get the most memory you can to get the most life possible out of it.


Thanks for the comments folks, definitley gives me some things to consider in my Mac search.






W.

[misterpascal]

My experience with Macs; I bought a white MacBook with a reduction of 100 €, supposedly, at this time of year, maybe ten years ago, or a little more. The model had a fault the hull was cracking. Design errors: this has happened on several models from Apple. After two years and two shell replacements paid for by all Apple customers, (YOU, GUYS), the warranty was over. The hull has fallen into disrepair again. Logically, the same causes cause the same effects, and since they had not proposed any solution ...
Then there was the "inverter" / display failure and I plugged it into a monitor.
Then, or before that, I don't remember well, one of the hinges dropped and I noticed that it was plastic inside! which I found absolutely OUTRAGEOUS!
in short, I knew and appreciated the aesthetics of the OS, of course, as everybody, but it 'cost € 800 to me, for a tiny 13' laptop and winch only lasted two years.
I struggled a bit but went back to Windows and I can tell you that I will NEVER more give a dollar to Apple, and never more will I use their system. And I'm going fine without Apple.
When all is well “a Mac” isn’t a "computer"" in people's minds, but something special, above the PCs, a synonym of excellence. it's essentially due to the marketing. But when things go badly you have to go through Apple and everything is excessively expensive.
Outside of their system, their prices are absolutely delusional and disproportionate to the materials and components they sell. In addition, everything is completely locked, so that you cannot troubleshoot yourself, from the shape of the screws to the operating system itself. I have a significant experience in PC troubleshooting, so I know what I'm talking about.
So I decided to forget about this super rich company at the expense of its customers. They don't give a damn about us. For me it’s obvious.
This is my opinion.
Hey, one day I saw a design error on a huge IMac. The customer was smoking or whatever and the glass had turned completely yellow in it: you could see yellow, it had entered it. Same philosophy as with my white Mac Book. They changed the whole inside of the screen, the panel. It cost a fortune ... to all Apple customers (to you my friends). And the same problem will probably come back later, necessarily. Unless the client has quit smoking, of course. Possible. These are design errors.
There are people who are forced to work on Macs because of certain software. Apart from that, I personally do very well without their products.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by misterpascal

My experience with Macs; I Apart from that, I personally do very well without their products.

Lots snipped..

Nice first post...’thinking of a new Mac laptop....

Reminds me of ‘thinking of getting a new “put new group here”, and somebody will give a few paragraphs of why THEY think it’s crap.

I am part of the apple universe, have been since a “Woz” Apple ll GS in 1985. Both grand daughters are on some school issued PC laptop for online learning. As mentioned, going from them(dell, I think)to any Apple anything is like going from a Yugo to a 2021 new Mercedes. I and family have had, since 1985, dozens of Apple stuff...desk tops, laptops, watches, phones, iPads and except for a couple of new batteries, have never had any issue ever.

Mobile on a 3 YO iPad but next is probably a 13inch APPLE laptop.

[Tony T]

My 1st Mac was a Black MacBook. For work, had to use a PC (and had been since 1980 with a Compaq ‘luggable’). When Steve Jobs came back and Apple released OS X, I started paying attention and that Black MacBook was a nice piece of hardware (with an Intel processor). Then heard about Bootcamp and the ability to run Windows on a Mac, and that’s what got me to get that Black MCBook to give OS X a try, while still being able to use the MacBook with Windows for work.
If I didn’t like OS X, then I would use Windows for personal use, but I loved OS X Tiger. For me it made computing fun again.
Still have that Black MacBook. Got a MacBook Air in 2011, and still using it today (though a High Sierra is the last macOS that runs on it). I should get a new MacBook, but I find myself using my new iPad mini most of the time now, (and I also have a Mac mini that I run headless), so I’ll probably stick with the old MacBook for awhile.