Did I make a mistake buying a 2017 Air?

[Michial Brown]

I just read an article(see below)from a few months ago here on iMore that pretty much discouraged buying a MacBook Air, limiting it to an ok buy if you’re a first time Mac person or limited on funds. I’ve had Macs for 10 years. I’m replacing a 2012 mbp and don’t need all the power or the latest for my needs. It was a bit discouraging and surprising finding that view by iMore writers.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.im...w-2017-macbook-macbook-air-or-macbook-pro?amp

 

[Michial Brown]

Here’s this too. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/apple-macbook-air-update-dont-buy-2017-6

 

[tigerinexile]

Provided that you got a reasonable amount of storage, I think it's a good buy.

I was thinking of upgrading this year, but I really didn't care for the new MacBook Pros.

So I got a used 2012 MBP and upgraded it (16GB RAM, 1TB SSD) for my power usage, and took my old 2013 Air (base configuration), wiped it, and installed Sierra and Windows 10 on equal-sized partitions (60 GB each), with MS Office and various other work programs.

It's reasonably well powered, the keyboard is nicer than the newer ones, and it's nicely designed as always.

If you're happy to use it for four years, it's still a good purchase.

 

[Michial Brown]

I have a 2012 mbp that’s slow I initially put 16 go of ram in it from owc when new but didn’t know I could replace the 5400 rpm hdd. Is it easy to do? Can you recommend one?

 

[tigerinexile]

It's easy enough.

I got a Samsung EVO 850 SSD, 1 terabyte. Ordered it from Amazon.

The only difficult part of it is getting the grommets off the old HDD to put on the new SSD. You need a Torx T6 screwdriver for that, and it wasn't the easiest to find at my local Home Depot.

The videos and instruction pages online (including one at Apple's site) are clear.

 

[Rob Phillips]

I think you’re reading into things a little too far. The Air is the entry-level MacBook. It makes sense. It has the lowest starting price point and it isn’t as powerful as today’s MacBook Pros. Does that mean the Air is not a good option for you? Absolutely not. You have fairly simple needs. You don’t need a souped-up computer. You should get plenty of use out of your new MacBook Air and, especially at the price you paid (which I remember seeing in another thread), you got a good deal.

My two cents: Stop worrying and enjoy your new MacBook!

 

[tigerinexile]

Exactly.

The Air is likely to get discontinued in a year or two, some people are tucking one of the later ones away for when their current one dies. They're beautiful little machines.

 

[Michial Brown]

True. I got it for $1049 plus a free beats wireless solo3. Just wondering if I should have paid the extra for a 256gb ssd 13 inch mbp.

 

[Bazza1]

...and if you're in Canada, Best Buy is offering the 2017 13" / 128GB for $999 ($200 off the regular price - and cheaper than the local Apple Store) right now - one assumes to catch the going-back-to-school crowd.

I use a mid-2011 11" 1.6 / 4 / 128 on the current OS and have no issues with it - otherwise I'd consider this sale. I don't do anything too strenuous on it (short of some pic and sound editing) and I have a whack of stuff on it - and still 30 GB free.

I'd say 'go for it' as far as getting the Air - it seems its the last of the affordable / capable MacBooks Apple intends on selling for awhile. And, at the price above, it's well below the cheapest (less powerful) MacBook out there.

 

[Michial Brown]

I got the 1.8 256gb 2017 for $1049.00 plus a free pair of beats I’m selling for $200. They are $300 normally. That’ll help pay off the Air