Everything Apple (the Mac heads thread)

Not obsolete, but the value for money you get with the new chips is way better imho

Yeah at this point it would be madness not to buy into the new architecture I any way possible; literally every part of the OS is optimised for them, and the performance even of the M1 Air is many multiples faster than an Intel config.

Get a refurb or second hand M1.

Apple also likes to cut off all support for older models pretty abruptly. I remember when my Mac Pro wouldn't update to a new version of Mac OS but was happy to run any version of Windows.

@salad-cunt
@pjay
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Thanks for your replies.

So correct me if I'm wrong but I think I'll go with either a mini or if possible a laptop, but definitely with an M1 chip, for about £600-800 and then the rest on an iPhone. Obviously, neither will be new.

So any advice similar for the iPhone? Which would be the oldest one I could get away with?

Edit: minis are £600 ish new, so I'd buy that new tho

Edit, Edit: is it worth getting a second hand mini to shave £100 or whatever off? Or better to just get a new one?

This is the way. Apparently.

Is that a random link or do you know them?

Random link from google

; )

Just to throw an unsolicited opinion into the mix, I got the base model M1 Air (think it was under £900 new), and the speed and battery power is pretty ridiculous compared to the mid-range Intel machine I was previously on.

Correct, the old Intel machines are (more or less) obsolete now.

lol, no but you obviously fell hook, line, and sinker for the marketing.

I just built a 'Mac Pro' with an i5...

literally every part of the OS is optimised for them

lol also no

If you ever tinkered about under the hood of macOS you would discover this is very much not true!

I just built a 'Mac Pro' with an i5...

at least you didn't pay Apple to do it.

'xactly.

Don't get me wrong if I was buying a new Mac I'd go with Apple silicon but Intel Macs are not obsolete and will work happily for years to come.

I concur with the Apple silicon discussion. I got my M1 MBP in Nov 2020 and at that point I had a handful of compatibility issues. I can't remember the last time I had one though so I'd buy another without a thought. Battery life alone is a big thing; I've worked the whole afternoon on mine (emails mostly to be honest) and have 88% left, and that's with 205 cycles and "fair" condition on the battery.

I actually got lucky with my last (used / refurbished) iPhone, it was basically looking like new, with a fresh (non-apple) battery in it, and has held up great. I'm looking again now for my mother and frankly don't really see good offers on the used market, only dodgy sellers or prices that are kinda high really, so personally I'd rather get (an older model, but) a brand new device for peace of mind.
The absolut minimum you should get is an iPhone series 8, as everything below isn't supported any more, OS wise (dead end at iOS 15). If you get an 8, or even better an X that will already set you back a couple hundred if you buy good condition / new.
So not that much money left for the actual mac.

Mac wise I'm not in the know exactly what stuff costs right now; of course get apple silicon (M1 or better) if your budget allows it, but as you said you wanted to do video stuff and would maybe like a laptop..
..as mentioned before I think you should be clear first about what kind of computer you actually want / need.
Also - if you, so far, are not tied into the apple eco-system at all, and are actually comfortable using windows (and non-apple smartphones) then likely you would get more bang for you buck.

What's wrong with apples? I find them much better than anything PC I come across

+1

lol, no but you obviously fell hook, line, and sinker for the marketing

I really didn’t. The performance of the Apple M-series chips is way better than the Intel chips Apple were using previously. I’m still using a ten year old Intel MacBook Pro on a daily basis and it will definitely keep me warm during the Winter, but the sound of the fans ramping up every half-hour or so gets pretty annoying.

Edit: minis are £600 ish new, so I'd buy that new tho

Edit, Edit: is it worth getting a second hand mini to shave £100 or whatever off? Or better to just get a new one?

Apple refurb base-model minis are £589 (£699 new). These only have 8 GB RAM though and it’s not upgradeable. They also have some refurb iPhone 11 and 12 on the site.

https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished

It is indeed - and aside from Intel vs. Apple it's true more widely (e.g. Intel vs. AMD).

Better != obsolete though, although I'm sure it suits Apple for people to think that.

I have similar issues with my work laptop - it's a recent Dell i7 but still sounds like it's about to take off sometimes. Sounds like the M1 chips are ideal for laptops.

That's really useful. Ta.

I'm looking to get a new laptop was originally going to go for a 2 in 1 pc based thing like the surface Pro but a potential job has come up that will be mac based so looking at getting a refurbished mac book. I know that mac books have gone through many changes but are there any any completely shite ones to keep clear of. I read somewhere that the 2018 mac books were v poor is this correct???

What’s your budget?

As discussed above, if you can afford it, the best option is anything Apple silicon based. M1 air etc

Might have to dig in to savings but would like to get soothing that will last me as long as my 2012 mac it's finally giving up even after 3 fresh installs it still playing up . I'll take a look at m1 prices.

Is there a setting in macOS' "Mail" that allows me to see complete email conversations, including multiple levels of quoted text / can I switch off the "collapsing" of indented stuff?

Just give in to gmail and use their browser mail

Turn off 'Organise by Conversation' in View menu?