Thinking of buying a MacBook Pro-have some questions

[linear2202]

So, I'm contemplating purchasing a MacBook Pro. Would be my first Mac. I'm looking for ways that using a mac along with my iPhone and ipad will make my life easier. Synergies between the devices so to speak.

Some of the ways this is useful? I also have an apple watch. I know I could use the MacBook pro to reply to imessage, along with the ipad doing this. My watch can unlook the MacBook pro right? What other features are there? Not really sure is why I ask.

At least for now, I'm probably looking at purchasing something used. How much space is lost after formatting and OS install? Trying to decide between a 128 and 256.

I was also trying to find some on when the Micro usb slots where removed. If I find one with the slot, is this a reliable way to expand my storage? I currently have about 100 gigs of pictures of my boy and similar in video. Was thinking I could buy a good micro usbdisk with an adapter and use this. The wikipedia entry doesn't seem to contain it in the hardware chart.

Looks for thoughts and advice on this..Thanks in advance.

 

[Just_Me_D]

So, I'm contemplating purchasing a MacBook Pro. Would be my first Mac. I'm looking for ways that using a mac along with my iPhone and ipad will make my life easier. Synergies between the devices so to speak.

Some of the ways this is useful? I also have an apple watch. I know I could use the MacBook pro to reply to imessage, along with the ipad doing this. My watch can unlook the MacBook pro right? What other features are there? Not really sure is why I ask.

At least for now, I'm probably looking at purchasing something used. How much space is lost after formatting and OS install? Trying to decide between a 128 and 256.

I was also trying to find some on when the Micro usb slots where removed. If I find one with the slot, is this a reliable way to expand my storage? I currently have about 100 gigs of pictures of my boy and similar in video. Was thinking I could buy a good micro usbdisk with an adapter and use this. The wikipedia entry doesn't seem to contain it in the hardware chart.

Looks for thoughts and advice on this..Thanks in advance.

I recommend the following:

1. At least 8 GB RAM
2. If you utilize cloud storage, whether iCloud, Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, save yourself some money and get the 128 GB model. If you're going to be storing a good deal of photos, videos and music on the MacBook Pro then get the 256 GB variant.

Your Apple products should sync seamlessly with each other once they are configured with the same Apple ID. Depending on how recent your Apple Watch and MacBook Pro will be, you may be able to unlock the MacBook Pro with your Apple Watch. You may be able to copy something from your iPhone and then paste it onto your MacBook Pro. Of course, you should be able to use your iPhone as a mobile hotspot for your MacBook Pro. Those are some of the things you should be able to do. Hopefully, this information is useful to you. Take care.

 

[linear2202]

I recommend the following:

1. At least 8 GB RAM
2. If you utilize cloud storage, whether iCloud, Google Drive, One Drive, Dropbox, save yourself some money and get the 128 GB model. If you're going to be storing a good deal of photos, videos and music on the MacBook Pro then get the 256 GB variant.

Your Apple products should sync seamlessly with each other once they are configured with the same Apple ID. Depending on how recent your Apple Watch and MacBook Pro will be, you may be able to unlock the MacBook Pro with your Apple Watch. You may be able to copy something from your iPhone and then paste it onto your MacBook Pro. Of course, you should be able to use your iPhone as a mobile hotspot for your MacBook Pro. Those are some of the things you should be able to do. Hopefully, this information is useful to you. Take care.

Thanks. It helps some. I use OneDrive for cloud storage. It would be nice to have all of those photos local to me, that's why I thought of using a micro sd slot for more storage.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Thanks. It helps some. I use OneDrive for cloud storage. It would be nice to have all of those photos local to me, that's why I thought of using a micro sd slot for more storage.

You can also do what I did and purchase an external hard drive to connect via USB / USB-C.

 

[pkcable]

Depending on how recent your Apple Watch and MacBook Pro will be, you may be able to unlock the MacBook Pro with your Apple Watch.

The computer might be an issue, but I doubt it. I had the original Apple watch and it unlocked my 2013 MBP, 2016 iMac, and 2017 MacBook.

 

[linear2202]

You can also do what I did and purchase an external hard drive to connect via USB / USB-C.

I do have a couple of external harddrives so that could be utilized also. Thanks.

 

[linear2202]

The computer might be an issue, but I doubt it. I had the original Apple watch and it unlocked my 2013 MBP, 2016 iMac, and 2017 MacBook.

Ok, thanks. That's good to know. I think I'm settling in a circa 2015 model.

 

[pkcable]

Ok, thanks. That's good to know. I think I'm settling in a circa 2015 model.

It's amazing (some might say "Magical") how Apple products work together. So I unlock my MacBook with my Apple watch, THEN I get a call on my phone switch is across the room, BUT I can just answer on the MacBook, OR my iPad which is sitting next to me! lol

 

[linear2202]

It's amazing (some might say "Magical") how Apple products work together. So I unlock my MacBook with my Apple watch, THEN I get a call on my phone switch is across the room, BUT I can just answer on the MacBook, OR my iPad which is sitting next to me! lol

Thanks. These are some of the things I hope to take advantage of.

 

[linear2202]

Ordered a 2017 MacBook pro refurbished from Apple. Will be here Thursday. The journey begins soon. Will have to pay attention to that keyboard.

 

[pkcable]

Nice! Thanks for keeping us updated.

 

[linear2202]

Nice! Thanks for keeping us updated.

Wondering if someone might be able to help me out.

I use one drive for photos, documents, movies, etc. Is there a way to add onedrive photo locations to the photo app?
Thanks in advance.

 

[pkcable]

Wondering if someone might be able to help me out.

I use one drive for photos, documents, movies, etc. Is there a way to add onedrive photo locations to the photo app?
Thanks in advance.

That is a good question! I'm not sure, but I will play around with it on my Mac and see if I can figure it out.

 

[Lee_Bo]

Go ahead and buy what you can afford. If you can afford 16 gigs of ram and 1TB storage, get it.

 

[Lee_Bo]

Also, you'll love how all your Apple devices work together seamlessly.

 

[linear2202]

That is a good question! I'm not sure, but I will play around with it on my Mac and see if I can figure it out.

Thanks. It doesn't seem like Photo's is set up to do this. It seems like the application expects you to import them or use the icloud library?

The Windows applications I have used allow me to set a specific folder location. The app then monitors this location(s) and will add any pictures that appear in the location(s). It's quite easy and simple to setup.

I have developed several other questions that I can't seem to find good answers for on the web. Probably needs a new post in the macos forum.

 

[Khalid Brown]

can I ask another question under same thread
I Just bought the base model 13 in 2019 pro. I have until the end of the week to return. is there a big real wold difference in performance if I return and bump up to the 2.4ghz one?

 

[linear2202]

can I ask another question under same thread
I Just bought the base model 13 in 2019 pro. I have until the end of the week to return. is there a big real wold difference in performance if I return and bump up to the 2.4ghz one?

I do think you would see a difference in going from the 1.4 ghz to the 2.4ghz. Most likely very visible when launching apps, especially ones that might take more time such as Office apps, if you use them. You will also appreciate the increased speed if you plan to use Parallels at all.

Hopefully others will chime in too.

 

[Abu Khadija]

AppleInsider did a video of this recently. You should check it out.