You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My daughter wants one for school and general listening-to-bad-modern-music but I'm not made of money, yet don't really like the idea of a second hand laptop.
Is there a way to buy something new/older/not-the-latest-thing, for maybe a grand or less?
If so, which model/year and where is the best place to buy it?
ta.
Can she get educational discount via the school? That or the refurb store. Is the school an iPads for Learning school?
Yep, student discount through school, apple refurb or trusted online referb-erer
Links because they can be hard to find:
Offical refurb store: https://www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/mac. Stock changes frequently so watch it for a week to see what is available, and be happy to wait a few weeks for what you're after to appear. Compare what is available with the current hardware as some deals are a lot better than others. We've had several refurbs and they've all been as-new.
For basic stuff a normal current Macbook is entirely sufficient I'd say.
rossburton
For basic stuff a normal current Macbook is entirely sufficient I’d say.
Of the current lineup, a Pro or Air is a better choice for most imho, they are no more expensive than the Macbook, but are considerably faster. The only benefit I can think of for the Macbook is that it's small/thin so it depends if OPs daughter will be carrying it around. 🙂
For a student I would be going with an air at whatever spec you can afford. It's the newest platform released.
Be aware you will need dongles for USB C connection of stuff too.
If you can determine what spec. you want your refurb, then sign up to the refurb. tracker - https://refurb-tracker.com - and get email notifications.
Agree that you want the latest model, and get a couple of £6 USB-C dongles from Anker to allow use of USB devices.
If you can get the educational discount it puts you some way along the depreciation curve for 'free'. Sort of. They hold their value quite well so you could sell early and lose barely anything. Relevant if you will either sell or upgrade early.
But there's no getting around the fact that it's not the cheapest way to get a computer.
and get a couple of £6 USB-C dongles from Anker to allow use of USB devices.
Yep (actually 1 is probably fine). I've also got one of THESE which makes file transfers dead simple.
Another vote for a refurb one. Huge saving on new and I've had a couple of them for my daughters with no issues
cheers all.
As above and the MBP is the pick of the bunch, I hate to be this guy as I used to be an apple evangelist. Does she really need such an expensive laptop, some of the chromebooks look amazing now and you can often use them as tabletes as well. Half the money and dare I say it their products gmail, YouTube, maps are used by everyone so she might get on with it better. The good thing about Apple is everything is locked down by them so no dodgy third party software.
Although she won't get the glowing apple!
They will also give you a year 0% finance on anything over £300, choose how you wish to pay at check-out and fill in the forms, there shouldn't be a delay in approval unless you're a bad risk according to Barclays/Close.
my recommendation would be to buy a t440 from a third party that sells refurbed laptops used in offices.
£300 or so - it's light, windows 10, 160Gb ssd and 8gb ram.
we used to be a mac house - but it's now a lifestyle choice rather than a tech choice
How much is the educational discount? I've always meant to properly look at the prices at Dixons Airport stores - if they're genuinely VAT free (minus 20%) then likely cheapest. I've always been suspicious that they were old stock (ie not latest models).
UNiDAYS app for schools and unis.
Aren’t they releasing a new MacBook one soon?
The old one was heavily discounted recently because of rumours of a new updated air model. Eg £650-850.
You’re not made of money?
Buy a cheap windows laptop. What does she need a MacBook for? Music and word? Lol.
Need a Ferrari to drive around the corner? Yes it’s nice to own but if you’re being careful, a Micra will do the same job.
Does the school specifically ask for Apple laptops and have an Apple studio?