4 ms·

I'm quite impressed with the M1 to the point that I'm considering my own MacBook, not to mention familiarity with it from work etc... But the pricing is drivin

I'm quite impressed with the M1 to the point that I'm considering my own MacBook, not to mention familiarity with it from work etc... But the pricing is driving me crazy. Ok the MacBook Air base model can be had for a reasonable price, but quite modest upgrades to 16gb/512gb ram/SSD effectively increase the price by about £550 (from ~£850->£1400 for cheapest available comparable units from trustable retailers) or £400 on the Apple store. At which point it seems worth considering the £1800-900 14" pro model since basically everything is a lot better on it. But I guess that's the point. I suppose one way of looking at it is that the base air is discounted because the market sees it as something with a short shelf life and the 16/512 model is paying the full Apple premium for something that is actually likely to still be useful for anything more than being a glorified Chromebook in 3 years. Assuming, you know, the screen doesn't crack, if that's a real problem.

joshstrange 5y ago
I mean even base models will normally be fine for 4-6+ years depending on your work. Also Apple computers hold their value unlike any other computer in the industry. Go look on eBay or similar for what 4-5 year old MBPs are selling for, I think you'll be surprised.
- captainbland 5y ago
  Well this is what's tricky for me. I'm into software development, etc. but I also have a desktop which is suitable for such work. That's fine. But I'd like it to at least be suitable for light development work as a more portable device for the foreseeable, so 8GB feels like it's already being pushed on my existing Ubuntu laptop (which is ~4 years old). But it's hard to justify such a price increase when it would still ultimately be a secondary machine.
wilg 5y ago
Just chiming in to say I have a M1 Air with the base 8GB RAM and I regret not upgrading that.
- captainbland 5y ago
  You know, I found a refurb Pro 13" with 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage for the equivalent price of a new Air with that same config. I realise it's basically the same machine with a fan, extra graphics core and touch bar... but in combination with your comment and my own doubts I figured I'd go for that as it seems like the best compromise I've come across. Hey, at least it has 'pro' in the name.

joshstrange 5y ago

I mean even base models will normally be fine for 4-6+ years depending on your work. Also Apple computers hold their value unlike any other computer in the industry. Go look on eBay or similar for what 4-5 year old MBPs are selling for, I think you'll be surprised.

captainbland 5y ago
Well this is what's tricky for me. I'm into software development, etc. but I also have a desktop which is suitable for such work. That's fine. But I'd like it to at least be suitable for light development work as a more portable device for the foreseeable, so 8GB feels like it's already being pushed on my existing Ubuntu laptop (which is ~4 years old). But it's hard to justify such a price increase when it would still ultimately be a secondary machine.

wilg 5y ago

Just chiming in to say I have a M1 Air with the base 8GB RAM and I regret not upgrading that.

captainbland 5y ago
You know, I found a refurb Pro 13" with 16GB RAM and 512GB of storage for the equivalent price of a new Air with that same config. I realise it's basically the same machine with a fan, extra graphics core and touch bar... but in combination with your comment and my own doubts I figured I'd go for that as it seems like the best compromise I've come across. Hey, at least it has 'pro' in the name.