Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Are macbooks worth the cost?

98 replies

Rebus1 · 17/10/2020 13:35

Just that really. Need a laptop that will last as long as possible without becoming really outdated. Online reviews of the 2020 model are good but just wondering about personal experience of them.
Love the looks and apple stuff generally but just wondering if will last. We can afford it but can't afford to replace it in 2 years.

OP posts:
StandardPoodle · 17/10/2020 18:04

I have a nine year old MacBook Pro which is still going strong and an iPhone 5 (think the current model is a 12?) which is also fine.

MiniMum97 · 18/10/2020 00:26

Yes you can on the face of it get more for your money with a non-Apple laptop, but the benefit of a Mac is that they just keep working, and last for years and years and you don't spend half your life trying to fix them. Worth the extra expense imo.

HappyDays10101 · 18/10/2020 01:54

Yes, it’s great.

HappyThursdays · 18/10/2020 05:23

I got dd one for secondary school (a basic model) and 10 yrs later she's still got it. Not one £ spent on looking after it

Her brother wanted a windows gaming type laptop and in the same time frame, he's gone through 3 laptops. Admittedly they cost less to start with, but overall we've spent more on his because they've all eventually died a death - he managed to kill off a Dell, a HP and another brand I can't remember

I'm not an apple advocate I have to say but they do seem to last longer

MarieG10 · 18/10/2020 06:22

I looked at MacBooks as I have Apple for everything else. Friends have them and their take on em is expensive but they last and well...they just work. No reinstalling the operating system every three years etc.

In the end I had to go for a windows based laptop due to some software I use that doesn't work well on Macs. Had 2.5 years a d had to reinstall windows which was a nightmare and went wrong...lucky I have a service contract on it.

I think Apple is definitely better. For the money the spec is inferior but clearly the OS needs less power.

M1ssour1 · 18/10/2020 06:22

We have MacBook Airs and a Pro and learnt the hard way after having cheaper laptops that only last 5 minutes.

That said just be aware that I think the quality of Apple has dropped hugely recently. My son bought an IPod a couple of months ago which was faulty and had to return it 3 times before he gave up and switched to an iPad because he lost faith in the product. Same thing happened. Got a complete refund. We’ve also recently had a faulty charger that came with a brand new phone they refused to replace.Hmm

We were quite shocked as all have Apple phones and also have 2 other iPads in the house. Have never experienced faulty Apple products before. The Apple store didn’t seem surprised and on Googling it seems we weren’t alone.

My dh is a programmer and previous Apple fan.Wondering if quality control during the pandemic has suffered.

An iPod is one thing but a faulty £2000 laptop would hurt.

MoonJelly · 18/10/2020 07:01

Yes. I'm using one that I've had for over seven years and it works fine. By contrast, the windows desktop that I'm using for working from home was new in March and is already infuriatingly slow.

Silvercatowner · 18/10/2020 07:14

Another Mac fan here. I'm not very tecky and love not having to worry about viruses and all the other crap that slow Windows machines down.

SimonJT · 18/10/2020 07:17

I have an iMac thats almost eleven years old and a pro thats six years old. Both work well, I game, use music/video editing software etc, no lag, no long login waits, no slow windows updates.

Work provides us with window laptops, so far mine have averaged an 18 month lifespan, despite having good spec on paper they have regularly struggled to cope with software I use at work. When I use the same software on a decade old Mac it runs without issue and without a ten minute load time. My old employer used Mac, the laptop I was using was one of the old white cased Macbooks, so that meant it was around eight years old when I started my job, so when I quit it would have been almost ten years old. Thats a decade of heavy use for at least eight hours a day.

Ginfordinner · 18/10/2020 07:26

No. But DH is tech savvy. My Toshiba is about 8 years old. I much prefer a Windows laptop.

pepperwood · 18/10/2020 07:36

My MacBook Air is 5 years old and hasn't slowed at all. Office for Mac has had issues but everything else is great.
I've never had a laptop last that long and after a couple of years they've needed to be constantly plugged in.

Metallicalover · 18/10/2020 07:50

It depends on what you use your laptop for? If it's just for general internet browsing and using word documents. Then nope it's not worth the price and your better off saving your money and getting a chromebook.
My husband works in IT and loves his MacBook it's provided by work but he needs it for work. He always advises a chromebook unless money is no option 🤣

paddingtonbearsmarmalade · 18/10/2020 07:56

I just replaced my 2013 MacBook Air with the 2020 MacBook Air. My old one was still working well but I was struggling with the memory & decided to benefit from my Apple student discount! If I hadn’t had the discount I would still be happily using my old one. It’s much better than my work Surface Pro (similar price!) and my mum’s 2 year old HP.

Ifailed · 18/10/2020 08:11

I've got a 2011 thinkpad that's still going well, it has the best laptop keyboard I've ever used with great tactile feedback. As far as I can tell most Apple hardware is indistinguishable from PC hardware now, you are only paying extra for the name.

Aragog · 18/10/2020 08:47

My MacBook Air is 4.5 years old and works like new.

I always had windows based laptops before and had to replace them every 2-3 years as they become so slow..

My last windows laptop had a touch screen. Hated it!

kitschplease · 18/10/2020 09:28

I've owned two since 2009 - the first one needed replacing only because my toddler spilt water all over it (my fault) so got the second on the home insurance. It must be 5 years old and is good as new in terms of speed and functionality.

The only thing that's let me down is the charging cable but you can get replacement non-apple ones that last longer than the official ones.

Ratonastick · 18/10/2020 09:47

Another MacBook Pro user here. I replaced mine last year, the previous one was nine years old and just starting to slow down. I could probably have got another year out of it for home us but I was going self employed so couldn’t risk it. If you are just using them for home computing, I would say they are worth the money and very easy to use / maintain.
The touch screen point is interesting as it does highlight that Apple Products are designed to be used as a suite of devices rather than one thing doing everything. I have an iPad, and iPhone and a MacBook so everything does it’s job, they all work together and I don’t have to get involved. I am the perfect example of what makes Apple a $tn company.

LegArmpits · 18/10/2020 09:49

Absolutely. I've had my MacBook Pro since 2013 and it's been absolutely hammered by me, kids and cats and a job where I lug it about every day. Also survived being dropped into a tiled floor (the screen did not) but it works as good as the day I got it.

QueenofLouisiana · 18/10/2020 10:08

We converted to macs about 15 years ago. We are on 2nd MacBook and iMac, although partially due to wanting a smaller, lighter laptop.
Love the fact that they just work. DS has used the iMac everyday for schooling in lockdown and now homework, downloaded appropriate programs for computer science GSCE and imedia Cambridge National without issues or slowing down the machine.

Plussizejumpsuit · 18/10/2020 10:23

I think what you also have to remember is mac books a premium products.. People are often comparing a 2k mac book with a £500 laptop.

Turtleturtle81 · 18/10/2020 10:26

@StatementKnickers

Massively overrated, not worth the price IMO. You're paying for the name. They don't even have touchscreens! You can get a non-apple laptop with the same specs as a Macbook (or better) for half the price. Look at Which for reviews.
Why would anyone want touchscreen on a laptop? You’ll just end up with grubby finger marks all over it.

I’ve had mine for 6 years and never had an issue with it. It works as perfectly as the day I bought it.

Ginfordinner · 18/10/2020 10:27

@Plussizejumpsuit

I think what you also have to remember is mac books a premium products.. People are often comparing a 2k mac book with a £500 laptop.
This ^^
chipsandpeas · 18/10/2020 10:28

i love mine, its a 2015 model that i bought refurbed on amazon 2.5 years ago and it runs pretty great

chipsandpeas · 18/10/2020 10:29

should add its a macbook air i have 11inch screen

MaudesMum · 18/10/2020 10:33

The only problem with their long life is that they get to a point where the software doesn't update, meaning they're a little less secure. I've currently got a macbook pro that's 8 years old and am considering getting a new one just because of that. In fact that seems to be a problem with all Apple products - I also have an iphone 6 which is working perfectly well, but won't update to the latest software.

Swipe left for the next trending thread