Do I need a MacBook?

[TalskiddyTreacleMiner]

I'm in the market for a new laptop I think. I say I think because i have an iPad which I use a lot, but I don't find it great for office type stuff - Word, Excel etc.

Over the years we've got through loads of Windows laptops as they seem to slow right down after a couple of years. The current one has got a failed motherboard and isn't worth getting fixed.

So I'm thinking of throwing a bit more quite a lot more money at a new one and am specifically looking at the latest MacBook Air with the M1 chip. Friends who have Macs tell me they last for ages and when I add up how much I've spent on cheapie Windows ones, I could probably have bought a Mac only once in that time.

But do I need one? I want one, but it seems such a lot of money to spend when I already have an iPad. I can afford it due to a recent windfall but I can't seem to justify it. Tell me how great, or not, Macs are!

They are great. Very simple to use. I love mine.

Before I had my baby it was the thing I’d save from a burning building.

i absolutely love mine, do not regret moving from windows

LOVE mine. It's 4 or 5 years old now and still going strong.

Will be getting dd one for her birthday in a couple of months.

I have 2, one for personal stuff and one for work. The older one has been going strong for 7 years and it still runs like new. I’d never get another laptop. It’s worth every penny imo.

Yep you need one! And I mean medically NEED!
I was the same as you replacing crappy laptops every couple of years.
My MacBook is now in its 6th year and I think it cost about £1,000 but it's honestly still as good as the day I got it. Well worth the investment

I have a MacBook and a phone. Really couldn't find room in my life for an iPad as well.

I had one with my last job. I miss it loads. Go for it

Oh you're all talking me into it! I could donate the iPad to DH to use. He's too long in the tooth and a technophobe to get used to a Mac I think. I do also have student discount so I can get a little bit more off taking it to under a grand.

I like them because I find Apple far easier and nicer to use but do they do loads more for me than a Pc? No.

I'm just getting a new one. I've had my old one for about 15 years and it's still great. I just want more memory and a bigger screen. It is the best computer I've ever owned.

I believe ours is now 10 years old and still going strong! The battery life is non existent so we just leave it permanently plugged in but other than that it's still great. Our previous laptop was Windows and it started going wrong after 4 months - it crashed more than it worked. The Microsoft jingle still fills me with an irrational level of rage! DEFINITELY do it, I absolutely rank ours in our top ever purchases.

Mine has lasted 4 years and works the same though. My sisters lasted 10 years until I spilled coffee on it

Everyone needs one! We have three 😂

Love mine
DH has one that is still going strong 12 years later!

Only you can answer if you need one. I have two macs (mac book air circa 2010 and Mac book pro circa 2019). The Mac book air is slow when I decide to have a word document, 20 webpages and run some commands in terminal. If you are reasonable with it it’s fine, it is now DS’s to do school work and play the odd game on. I only got the newer Mac as I wanted to play games more.

M1 chip isn't compatible with the full MS office suite (teams in particular) yet. But that aside, if you aren't needed that function or are happy to wait until Microsoft finds a work around, then 100% yes ! I've always been a MAC user, use a pro for work and have an air (7 years old and still working) that gets used about the house. Great investment!

Yep they're ace. I had my desktop Mac for 10 years until I sold it last month due to it no longer updating. But it still worked fine as a basic computer for web browsing and simple documents.
My current MacBook Pro is 4 years old and is as good as new. I'd never go back to Windows.
If you have a iPad / iPhone everything just works well together.

They’re well worth the investment. My niece had hers for more than 15yrs. It never caused her problems. I bought my one in 2013 and it was still working perfectly up to the day it got stolen in 2016. I got another one 3yrs ago (it was a gift) and it’s still working like new now.
My iPad mini is 6yrs old and works great, but slower now. My iMac is 5yrs old and works perfectly. The last time I liked Windows was XP!!! Every windows laptop I’ve had lasted less than two years and had all sorts of problems. I’m sticking with Apple products from now on!

I use my ipad with a keyboard when I’m using Word or Powerpoint away from my desk. It’s perfectly adequate for my needs, although I do have a desktop PC. So many people spend £1000 on a piece of kit they’ll mostly use to scroll Facebook.

That's interesting hop27. I don't need Teams, I have a rubbish work laptop and we use Hangouts so don't need to worry about that. In terms of Office applications I really only need to be able to type up the odd document and use a spreadsheet both of which I find hard on an iPad, but I think Macs have native software that can do this?

Mine was £898 with student discount...

Do it. You won’t regret it! Love mine!

I’ve got student Microsoft as well. Word and excel and stuff

I think I'm going to get it from StormFront. It's a bit more expensive with student discount than buying direct from Apple but they offer a three year guarantee. I'll stick it on the house insurance for any accidental damage.