Apple MacBook

KRB2725

I need a new laptop and am pretty set on getting a 12" MacBook.

However, a new model has just been launched and I can't decide between that or a reduced 2015 model.

The difference in price is £150, but to someone like me that doesn't really understand the behind the scenes going ons, the spec doesn't look too different. I use my pc for email & browsing mainly, watch the odd bit of tv on it as well.

Does anyone have any knowledge or opinions please?

It is the MacBook 8gb ram, 256gb flah storage model. £899 for 2015 model, £1049 for 2016. I know neither is cheap, but I am buying myself an extravagant gift to mark a special occasion!

Thanks

Mr_Toad

Save yourself some money, the 2015 model will be fine.

I've had this MacBook since 2010 and it's still absolutely fine for everything.

wba31

emmatthews wrote: »

I use my pc for email & browsing mainly, watch the odd bit of tv on it as well.

Does anyone have any knowledge or opinions please?

It is the MacBook 8gb ram, 256gb flah storage model. £899 for 2015 model, £1049 for 2016. I know neither is cheap, but I am buying myself an extravagant gift to mark a special occasion!

For your usage needs it really is extravagant, you could get away with a £300 windows machine for your usage, so on that I'd recommend the cheaper model

and i am an Apple fan typing this before you think I'm a hater...

zarf2007

emmatthews wrote: »

I need a new laptop and am pretty set on getting a 12" MacBook.

However, a new model has just been launched and I can't decide between that or a reduced 2015 model.

The difference in price is £150, but to someone like me that doesn't really understand the behind the scenes going ons, the spec doesn't look too different. I use my pc for email & browsing mainly, watch the odd bit of tv on it as well.

Does anyone have any knowledge or opinions please?

It is the MacBook 8gb ram, 256gb flah storage model. £899 for 2015 model, £1049 for 2016. I know neither is cheap, but I am buying myself an extravagant gift to mark a special occasion!

Thanks

Google 'apple refurb uk' and checkout the refurbished prices, these are usually brand new and fully packaged from people who have had buyers remorse and returned them. They have 1 year warranty and you can extend with AppleCare

RobTang

For your uses the only extra thing is an hour or 2 more battery life on a single charge.


depending on the model you get its 10-20% faster all round, its probably worth going into a apple store and playing with one for a while as its not the fasting thing in the world but its ok for general tasks, also the keyboard for me is a bit marmitey (I can type quickly on it but I just don't like it.)

KRB2725

Thanks all.

I've seen one in John Lewis, but will pop back and have a play on it to see what I think - hadn't really thought about the keyboard.

I know I can get a decent Windows pc far cheaper, but I can't find anything I like the look of as much as a MacBook - I know it's not the best reason to purchase, but this is very much a present to myself rather than a sensible, practical purchase.

Have looked at the refurb site, but the 2015 model has been reduced by £150 in most stores & this hasn't been reflected on the refurb site yet so they are actually more expensive than a new one, but thanks for the tip.

almillar

I've had this MacBook since 2010 and it's still absolutely fine for everything.

Wrong Macbook.

The upgrade brought faster SSD (storage) and processor - speed and efficiency is better overall, and therefore the new one has, apparantly, an hour more battery life. Plus you can buy a pink one now!

That's all that's changed - either will be fine for you, you just need to decide whether the new one is worth £x extra.

If you're buying in JL make sure it's the new ones you're looking at - find out the Model number of the new and old ones so that you can tell the difference on the box before you walk out with an old one instead of a new one!

zagubov

If you buy a slightly older one, see if you can get one with system 10.9 instead of the latest one, and don't bother letting it update.

I know it sounds odd but the hardware and software companies have struggled to catch up with the latest version of OSX, 10.11, so you may end up shelling out for a new printer and software.

As for the built-in software, the iPhoto app was simply abolished in 10.11 without warning and the new version of iTunes is pretty user-hostile. I haven't the foggiest what Apple think they were playing at, calling this an upgrade.

Roland_Sausage

zagubov wrote: »

If you buy a slightly older one, see if you can get one with system 10.9 instead of the latest one, and don't bother letting it update.

Not possible. The earliest these MacBooks came with it 10.10.

zagubov

Roland_Sausage wrote: »

Not possible. The earliest these MacBooks came with it 10.10.

All the more reason for maybe getting something older, refurbed and cheaper.

almillar

zagubov - which companies, and which printers? Anything that works in 10.9 should work in 10.11.
OP wants a Macbook, which is 10.10 at least, so why change to a different computer just to get an older OS? There was plenty of warning about iPhoto, and it changed to Photos, which imports your iPhoto library quite nicely as far as I've seen. iTunes - can't argue!