Old Ipad or Mac

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nadeem_k

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Hi

I've been looking at older Macbooks and Ipads that can be picked up for relatively cheap. I was just wondering if its worth it. It would primarily be used by my kid for school so zoom and maybe a PDF here and there.

The options are:
  • 1st Gen Ipad Air
  • Ipad 4
  • MacBook Air 11 Inch 1.4Ghz 2GB
  • MACBOOK PRO 13'' DUAL CORE I5 2.3GHZ
 
But would that apply to a mac also? I have always been a windows user so no clue how important updates are on a mac and how nee versions of the OS impact the performance.
 
nadeem_k said:
But would that apply to a mac also? I have always been a windows user so no clue how important updates are on a mac and how nee versions of the OS impact the performance.
Click to expand...

What sort of budget?

My daughter used a Macbook Air early 2014 model until a few weeks back when she took over my 2015 Macbook Pro because I replaced it and it has better specifications than her old Air.
Battery life on both is still excellent.

Both run the latest version of OS and all the apps she needs for her studies.

We have a family subscription for O365 which we all use on these.

I am posting from and iPad Mini 4, still running everything I need it to and using the latest iPad OS.

The Macbook Air will be sold as soon as I check what they sell for.

So they can last long, even longer than her 2014 Macbook Air.

Shop around, you should still be able to get a Windows laptop for less, but I know little about those.
 
Last edited:
I have an old iPad 2, it almost impossible to use based on the software updates.
 
nadeem_k said:
Hi

I've been looking at older Macbooks and Ipads that can be picked up for relatively cheap. I was just wondering if its worth it. It would primarily be used by my kid for school so zoom and maybe a PDF here and there.

The options are:
  • 1st Gen Ipad Air
  • Ipad 4
  • MacBook Air 11 Inch 1.4Ghz 2GB
  • MACBOOK PRO 13'' DUAL CORE I5 2.3GHZ
Click to expand...

I just turned on my old iPad 2 after many years... still works fine, only problem is it only updates the software to version 9..

Not sure if it will be good for zoom and stuff though
 
I would say

old Macbook/Air - yes
old iPad - no [ie no longer being updated by Apple] <--- not that they're completely useless - I'm using two very old iPad's as 'dementia' clocks (RecallCue still runs on them)
 
What would be the min requirements on a macbook? The one option is an air i5 with 2gb ram and the other is a pro i5 with 4gb of ram.
 
nadeem_k said:
What would be the min requirements on a macbook? The one option is an air i5 with 2gb ram and the other is a pro i5 with 4gb of ram.
Click to expand...
Please not most "newer" Macbooks have RAM and SSD soldered in..

NO UPGRADE for you...

Minimum 8GB Ram if you really want to use the thing.. Forget 2GB - 4GB might run some stuff... but ideally get something with 8GB+
 
jasweb said:
Please not most "newer" Macbooks have RAM and SSD soldered in..

NO UPGRADE for you...

Minimum 8GB Ram if you really want to use the thing.. Forget 2GB - 4GB might run some stuff... but ideally get something with 8GB+
Click to expand...

Do you... Do you actually own a Mac?

Have you ever?
 
nadeem_k said:
Hi

I've been looking at older Macbooks and Ipads that can be picked up for relatively cheap. I was just wondering if its worth it. It would primarily be used by my kid for school so zoom and maybe a PDF here and there.

The options are:
  • 1st Gen Ipad Air
  • Ipad 4
  • MacBook Air 11 Inch 1.4Ghz 2GB
  • MACBOOK PRO 13'' DUAL CORE I5 2.3GHZ
Click to expand...

nadeem, by my math, that Pro is a 2017. I think the Air is a little older... Are prices similar?
 
Kola_CT said:
You have no idea what you are talking about.
Click to expand...
Someone doesnt know what they are talking about but I think you are confused as to who it is.
In my last company I had a few Macbook pro's that ran windows or Linux.
Why you ask?!? well its because Apple had deemed the hardware too old to receive the latest MacOS versions.
Why does that matter, just run the older one? - It matters because in order to update most of the applications you use requires the latest version of MacOS.
That effectively renders the device useless unless you install another OS on it.

TLDR version;
Apple enforces planned obsolescence on devices, stay away from their older hardware.
 
Rocket-Boy said:
Someone doesnt know what they are talking about but I think you are confused as to who it is.
In my last company I had a few Macbook pro's that ran windows or Linux.
Why you ask?!? well its because Apple had deemed the hardware too old to receive the latest MacOS versions.
Why does that matter, just run the older one? - It matters because in order to update most of the applications you use requires the latest version of MacOS.
That effectively renders the device useless unless you install another OS on it.

TLDR version;
Apple enforces planned obsolescence on devices, stay away from their older hardware.
Click to expand...

In other news, Big Sur will work on Airs from mid 2013 and Pros from late 2013... So, around seven years old.
 
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