Oooooof how very dare you

Sorry. But those 12” MacBooks were the kind of device that gets propeller heads on their “Apple laptops are underpowered and overpriced” rants. It actually was both those things… even if it was a lovely handbag and flip up travel table friendly physical design.

Oh, and OP, ignore the Chromebook suggestion for Uni work. Thin clients have been the future since I was at Uni… but the world still expects you to have a fully functioning stand alone computer. There will be a need to close the chromebook and open a PC/Mac/Unix machine at some point on your course, guaranteed.

It actually was both those things…

Mine really wasn’t and for the OP’s described use, it would be fine. YMMV

Oh wow people are still doing the Mac Vs pc thing? How quaint

Typing this on an early 2014 MacBook Air. Still does everything I need it to do. The only thing I’ve ever had to do is replace the battery a few months ago and when it does die it be replaced with another Mac.

As you said they Just work, I ve always said if you like messing around and altering things get a pc or android phone if you just want to get on and happy with the programs and apps available go Apple. Been using Apple since 2004 when I got an iBook 12″ after getting fed up with my PC and have never regretted it.

As for the price look at the premium models of a lot of makes and they are comparable to Apple prices. One of the big things with Apple is they make the actual computer and operating system and if you have anything else Apple they just work with each other without any hassle.

Pro or Air imo would be good just get the best one with the max ram that you can afford.

I ve always said if you like messing around and altering things get a pc

Once you deep dive into the Mac (Unix) terminal, I’d argue macs are more customisable (Than Windows).

That said, Windows 10 is decent. The ergonomic gap between OS X and Windows is narrowing. I still prefer Mac OS but it’s not streets ahead like it was 5-8 years ago.

Your use case is primarily Microsoft Office. You’re proposing to pay double the price of a PC laptop for something that will do an inferior job. It’s the wrong tool for the job in this instance, IMHO.

Mrs FD bought an Air roughly the same time I bought a £500 Windows laptop 8 yrs ago. My laptop got bloated and slow, and fell apart 3 years in and I gave up on it. Since then I’ve had works laptops of varying quality and ability, most requiring to be plugged in to the mains after a year or two.

All the time the Air has just worked as soon as you open the lid, never frozen, battery still strong etc etc.

Will be looking at another Air if and when this current one dies

For all the nice hardware you can get a PC with, it still runs windows, which is still to this day bloody awful. I have the misfortune of using a PC occasionally at work and it makes me want to smash it in every time. Its still way behind Mac OS in terms of usability despite having up to date windows. Get the air 😉 Hardware only does so much, its the software and OS that makes the machine and in that regard Mac wins hands down still. They also make nice hardware too.

Pages and numbers (mac equivalent of Word and Excel) although lacking some features vs. the windows equivalents are way nicer to use so you don’t need the Windows versions, and don’t even start on Keynote Vs Powerpoint….

Its still way behind Mac OS in terms of usability despite having up to date windows

Whatever you are used to seems intuitive and easier to use. I have a MBP at work. I used the Mac OS for a bit, but it really wasn’t intuitive the way Windows is. I use some specialized software that is Windows only, so ended up just running Windows on it in Bootcamp. I’m sure someone who was a long-term Mac user would have exactly the opposite experience if they tried to switch too.

Pages and numbers (mac equivalent of Word and Excel) although lacking some features vs. the windows equivalents are way nicer to use so you don’t need the Windows versions,

This is where you might run into serious problems. For most people doing everyday stuff, the Apple stuff is probably fine. The reason those extra features are there (especially in Excel) is that some people really do need them. If you are one of those people, you have to run MS Office, and you are better to do that on Windows because the Mac versions (apparently) lack some features. The software I use in my work to analyze data is Windows only and uses Excel to generate charts. The chart generation does not work with OpenOffice, etc. The software will still run fine and output the results as tables, but having to manually generate the charts would be an enormous amount of work.

So, the idea that a Mac can do everything a Windows machine can do is not always the case, the same with the “you don’t need MS Office” argument. It is probably true for what most people do most of the time, but it’s not universal. If the OP is doing university courses, it’s a really good idea to check what software they will need to run and make sure they have a machine that is compatible.

I mean, you can just run windows on a Mac for the very rare occasions when you actually need it. I have a bootcamp partition and I can’t remember when I last used it. Gah I fell into the trap.

I mean, you can just run windows on a Mac for the very rare occasions when you actually need it.

If you need Windows but don’t need Mac, you are better to get a dedicated Windows machine. It’s a PITA having to reboot to switch OS. Parallels is also a PITA.

The reason those extra features are there (especially in Excel) is that some people really do need them. If you are one of those people, you have to run MS Office, and you are better to do that on Windows because the Mac versions (apparently) lack some features.

Not sure thats the case anymore. Excel was way behind on the Mac for a long time but the latest versions seem pretty close to the windows versions. Im sure there’s some exceptions with function support but the OP doesn’t sound like thats going to be an issue. Of course if you have 3rd party software that hooks into Excel then you might be stuck on windows. I feel for you 😉

Im sure there’s some exceptions with function support but the OP doesn’t sound like thats going to be an issue.

The smart thing to do is check this before hitting the “buy” button.

Still on my 2013 11″ macbook air, its been a great little machine and still is actually for what the OP needs, having a hard time justifying a replacement, but an apple silicon air, hopefully later this year, might push me to upgrade. If you don’t need it right now, I’d hold off until these new macs are announced.

There’s a list of some of the features missing from the MacOS version of office. It’s from 2018 so might be out of date:

https://www.howtogeek.com/340435/whats-the-difference-between-microsoft-office-for-windows-and-macos/

I use a mac at home and windows at work, all on an office 365 license so all apps are the ‘latest’ version. I’m far from a ‘power’ user but did find a few niggles in OneNote when using Class Notebooks on the mac – I usually found a decent workaround on my phone though.

I’ve been using a Mac long enough now that I would seriously consider buying one out of my own money if I no longer had access to them through work. And that’s unlike me, because I’m tight. But that’s mainly down to my requirements; there’s not much in the way of alternatives when it comes to Linux based systems with widespread support for software.

If the main use-case is MS Office, it’s difficult to look past a Windows PC. In fact as much as I’ve grown to like Macs, Finder is the most frustrating thing on there, file management in Windows is far superior in my opinion. You’re less likely to run into any software compatibility issues, either with what is required for your course, or with your peers. And depending on what you’re studying and what your goals are, it could well be that you land a job working on a Windows machine, where you have to get your head around the many subtle, and sometimes not so subtle differences in the software and keyboard layout.

I switch between Mac (2009 iMac) and Windows (2012 100% solid state laptop) a number of times every day. Can’t say I am bothered which I am using, both have their pros and cons and I just get on and use whatever is in front of me.
Both machines are sill performing fine but the solid state Windows laptop is still very fast whereas the Mac feels slower. Maybe it always did but agin doesn’t really make a whole lot of difference as both do what I need to work from for 8 hours a day with a few hours of leisure time thrown in.

If the Mac was to blow up I would probably get another one as it is on display and they still look nicer than any other home computer on the market and that would be the only differentiator for me.

My daughter has my old 2012 MacBook Air for Uni. She loves it and it appears to be the ‘laptop of choice’ for most students. I used it for four years before handing it over and never had an issue with it. As Kelvin says it’s easier to type on than a MBP.

I’ve two MBPs since, the one with the horrible keyboard and the latest 16in one. It’s a brilliant machine. I bought the MBP because I worked away a lot and wanted the bigger screen. It’s noticably heavier tho.

So yeah get the Air.

I currently have a Dell desktop, a Microsoft Surface Pro 7 and a 17″ Lenovo Ideapad that I bought a couple of years ago – it has an i3 and is an awful POS.

I like having a big laptop for when I’m working at a remote/site office and I’m looking to replace the Lenovo.

I use them all for music, Netflix, Lightroom etc and on the work side, just Excel, Word and Adobe PDF editor. All my work stuff is saved on OneDrive for access across all machines.

The natural choice for me, would be something like a Dell XPS 17 for a decent spec laptop – however, would my workflow suffer for moving to a MBP 16 for my big laptop duties?