I’m using a 2015 or so Let’s Note, and I really need something faster and with a better display and battery life. I prefer Macs, but need Office for work, and had back luck running Word and co. on a mac in the past.
But I think one of the new machines would be worth it, in order to put up with using office on mac.
So, my questions are as follows:
1. what did you buy?
2. where did you buy it?
3. If you paid in installments, what were the details? Monthly and for how many months? Applecare or whatever the mandatory insurance they ask for with installments, did you have to get that?
4. I am super leery about cracked screens. I have seen many reports with the screens cracking for the slightest reason. Any insights on this? Is there insurance with the installment plan that would cover me on this?
5. M1 or M2? And why?
6. Anything else you think I ought to know.
I don’t have the cash to plonk down, if it seems feasible, would like to get one on installments. Hence a few of the questions above.
Much arigato in advance.
9 comments
Apple Store has Paidy as a payment option https://paidy.com/apple/
Just a quick mention: Last I checked, you can get them with English keyboard layouts at no extra charge. You might be aware but many people seem not to be.
I’m writing this on a mid-2014 MacBook pro, wife has a first gen air that she likes (M1).
Yes, you can get the ‘english’ keyboard if you want it, but I think that suits programmers more than someone using MS office.
I’ve never seen or heard of a screen problem, cracked screens might be abuse?
No, AppleCare is optional, you do not have to buy that. Also, apple’s phone support is top notch, and you don’t need to worry about calling in after the ‘free’ support ends (or AppleCare, if you spring for that). They seem very generous with their phone time, and have always been wonderful.
I got a M1 Pro a few months back, from the refurbish shop on apple’s website. Unsure of installments, but can still get apple care if you want on it and it saves a few man compared to buying it new.
M1 Macbook Pro, love it. Just bought it on [Apple.com](https://Apple.com) Japan site, they sent it to me.
Only issue is occasional flicker with external monitor. Apple made it a bit better over time, but it’s not yet perfect. I suspect M1 can’t fix it, but the later chips probably have it fixed. Dropped it a few times, its solid, no screen issues at all.
I will probably buy a M2 soon, to get one with magsafe, and definitely not getting one with touchbar ever again. The intel rosetta code is impressive, so running Intel apps is quite acceptable.
I bought an M1 MacBook Air from Apple’s online store shortly after they were released and it’s great, it’s very fast. I was so impressed with it that I bought an M1 iMac for my work after they were released. The M1 iMac is blazing fast compared to my older Intel iMac. I installed the M1 version of Parallels on my iMac and then installed the Arm version of Windows in Parallels so that I can run Windows apps when I need them.
I have MacBook Pro 16″ M1 Max for personal use (I write iOS & Android apps) and I bought it in US last fall and carried it with me to Japan last month. So far no cracks that I can tell (but then I’m a programmer not graphics person/gamer…).
And my wife has MacBook Air 13″ M1 (also purchased last year) and it also seems to have survived the trip OK.
As for the choices I made: I got 16″ because my eyes aren’t so good reading small screen and Max because I wanted a bit more power and RAM option to reduce my development build times. My wife wanted a light PC so Air (and M1 in case my laptop goes down and I have to use her computer in a pinch).
I also have MacBook Pro 13″ M1 for work (purchased earlier this year and also brought from US) and no cracks that I can tell. I also run Microsoft Office suites on it and seems to work OK. Again I’m a programmer so I run Microsoft Visual Studio most of the time, some Teams and rarely Word/Excel/Exchange. (Haven’t used other Office apps.)
M1 is an awesome computer
M2 is upgraded from the M1 but not as much as the upgrade between the Intel Macs and the M series Macs
I assume the M3 is going to be huge with the new small chips coming out
Got a m1 refurb air. When the m1 pros came out they felt way overpriced for what they offer and benchmark wise for what I use it for the m1 air is amazing.