Macbook pro 2018 vs macbook pro 2019

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My uncle has someone working in a an apple related or selling store in Bahrain and he wants to buy me an apple laptop(lucky me). I have never used apple anything. But since I got an offer, who would tell him no. His options on his friends store are only the new macbook air 2019 or macbook pro 2018. Both of the are new and unopened and 13'. I do have a few questions to others about it tho as I haven't used an apple laptop before.

1)I only do docs, music, movies, Netflix and maybe some photo editing. I think new 2019 air would be enough but since i get a choice, 2018 pro won't be bad for future proofing, right? Both are only 8gb ram. Would that be enough? I would like a lag free experience and I want it to last long(lots of years) as I will be going to Germany for studies after a couple of months and maybe work there.

2)Both of them are 256 GB options. Maybe i should buy some cloud options. Is it enough? Maybe I can get an ext drive and 256 would be enough to write docs and store other small things.

3) I don't like apple phones because I like to tinker with my phones. So android all the way. Would it be that bad to use an android phone with a macbook? Could I use alternative apps to calendar, cloud and syncing?

Kindly help me and advise.
Thank you
Don

Questionnaire for laptop/notebook purchase

PS: Don't get the air models and the 2019 16" pro is the one with better keyboard and fewer hardware issues.
8 GB is bare minimum now and 256GB storage is unacceptable.

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SaiyanGoku said:
Questionnaire for laptop/notebook purchase

PS: Don't get the air models and the 2019 16" pro is the one with better keyboard and fewer hardware issues.
8 GB is bare minimum now and 256GB storage is unacceptable.

Apologies for the posting at the wrong thread maybe post in that thread to get replies?

I don't know if i can tell him to get the laptop from another place as its a present. Anyone here who uses a 256gb macbook?

Anyone else with other suggestions?

I have a 256 GB macbook 2017 macbook pro, get 500 GB model minimum

W

Also for cloud storage buy MS Office 365 home pack in India itself from amazon as it gives 6TB(1TB per user account & 6 user accounts) onedrive storage for as low as Rs.3.6k/year during some sales(biggest being the oct month great Indian shopping sale).

P.S. just checked its price,currently it is available for 3970 & with 10% off using sbi card you can get it for 3573(3374 if you buy via sbi yono app(must add to cart & finish the transaction within yono app,sbi bank account is must to use yono) for extra 5% cashback of 198 & assuming you will get it after 90 days,it is sbi after all so no guarantees).

chillz88 said:
Apologies for the posting at the wrong thread maybe post in that thread to get replies?

I don't know if i can tell him to get the laptop from another place as its a present.

It is better to have no present instead of one which you'd start hating later because of hardware and/or software issues.

If you go full on cloud, (Netflix, etc), then Macbook 500GB is enough (Even 256 GB is enough). You can store non-important files in a secondary HDD (get appropriate type c cable for it though).
In terms of software stability and OS responsiveness, its far ahead of Windows, even after many years when a windows laptop would start lagging and junk files accumulated everywhere... I can never go back to Windows for work purposes, trying to move to linux but its been bumpy.

Not everyone requires a giganthicc piece of slab to carry around for simple tasks.. Either get a macbook, or the dell xps and install linux

But know this, you are spending so much on a laptop, apple's ecosystem hates piracy and do not think you can just download and install photoshop just like someone would on windows..

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Nerevarine said:
If you go full on cloud, (Netflix, etc), then Macbook 500GB is enough (Even 256 GB is enough). You can store non-important files in a secondary HDD (get appropriate type c cable for it though).
In terms of software stability and OS responsiveness, its far ahead of Windows, even after many years when a windows laptop would start lagging and junk files accumulated everywhere... I can never go back to Windows for work purposes, trying to move to linux but its been bumpy.

Not everyone requires a giganthicc piece of slab to carry around for simple tasks.. Either get a macbook, or the dell xps and install linux

But know this, you are spending so much on a laptop, apple's ecosystem hates piracy and do not think you can just download and install photoshop just like someone would on windows..

The place where I am going to(Germany) is very strict on piracy. They even hold you up at the airport if they see torrent apps on it. So i wouldnt be able to download anything that way. So can't download apps that way anymore.
I want this laptop to last because I will be stuck in Germany and won't have much to live on for at least two years. So I want this laptop to last long as my personal laptop and I have to look up cloud and other apps that work with android. I hate apple phones cos i like to tinker with my phones,but for my laptop, I want it to always work and don't want to tinker with it at all.

Since syncing with my android phones won't work with native apps, would Google photos, drop box, Google calendar be still as good. Are you using an android phone?

I am planning to buy a 1tb ssd too and a hub or adapter too. Any recommendations?

What do you mean by "syncing with my phone won't work" ?

You can access your phone from the MacBook if you install android file transfer app.

And most cloud providers have app for Mac OS ?

Yes I am using an Android phone. Get a decent hub, can't recommend any because I didn't actively look after I got mine but look for something that has atleast 2 USB 3.0 port, a SD card reader and HDMI 2.0.

Keep the laptop keyboard dust free, reading up reports online, many have stated keyboard switches can die if dust gets inside.

C

I have heard you can respond to messages and phone calls. Maybe use airdroid but can't reply through those?

Wanted to know what cloud you use for your photos and data storage and calendar.

I heard about the potential keyboard issues amd will keep it dust free. Would buy a 2tb hdd too. Looking also to buy a hub that attaches to the side of the laptop to minimize wires. Hope they would be stable enough. Thanks for the help.

chillz88 said:
I have heard you can respond to messages and phone calls. Maybe use airdroid but can't reply through those?

Wanted to know what cloud you use for your photos and data storage and calendar.

I heard about the potential keyboard issues amd will keep it dust free. Would buy a 2tb hdd too. Looking also to buy a hub that attaches to the side of the laptop to minimize wires. Hope they would be stable enough. Thanks for the help.

No I dont use any of these, so dont know about it much
I use google drive mostly. If possible get a wired hub instead of one that attaches to the side. Side hubs take 2 usb type c slots and they get pretty loose quickly. Get a hub with a protruding wire, they will work much longer.

Please don't get 2018 models or anything with butterfly switches. They are plagued with crap keyboard issue.

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SaiyanGoku said:
Please don't get 2018 models or anything with butterfly switches. They are plagued with crap keyboard issue.

I have heard about that too but he gave me these options..

I have heard that you can buy it from the USA with more customizations and much lesser price. Are there any sites which uses virtual addresses with which you can ship a macbook from usa to India?

chillz88 said:
I have heard about that too but he gave me these options..

I have heard that you can buy it from the USA with more customizations and much lesser price. Are there any sites which uses virtual addresses with which you can ship a macbook from usa to India?

Additional customs / import duty would make the lower price pointless.

If you have any friend who is doing MS or is a student, buy with his name and address for additional discount.

C

Bought a 256 GB 2019 macbook pro 13 inch one in Bahrain for 1.22L with a free energizer usb 7 in 1 adapter too. . The only con would be smaller Arabic alphabets too on the keys. Now I have to bring it from the middle east to India through my uncle who is coming to India in two days.

Anyone know if i have to open it first there and then bring it in luggage or hand luggage?

Do you guys recommend any good 1tb ssds, usb c pen drives?

chillz88 said:
Bought a 256 GB 2019 macbook pro 13 inch one in Bahrain for 1.22L

I hope that has 2.4GHz i5 8279U instead of weaker 1.4GHz i5 8257U
Processor Comparison - Head 2 Head
Graphics Card Comparison - Head 2 Head

chillz88 said:
Do you guys recommend any good 1tb ssds,

I would've bought a normal ssd (sata or m.2 nvme depending on the speed requirements) with enclosure instead.

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chillz88 said:
Anyone know if i have to open it first there and then bring it in luggage or hand luggage?

Just make sure packing is not sealed,open it once & then close it again.Better to carry in cabin/hand luggage.

chillz88 said:
Bought a 256 GB 2019 macbook pro 13 inch one in Bahrain for 1.22L with a free energizer usb 7 in 1 adapter too. . The only con would be smaller Arabic alphabets too on the keys. Now I have to bring it from the middle east to India through my uncle who is coming to India in two days.

Anyone know if i have to open it first there and then bring it in luggage or hand luggage?

Do you guys recommend any good 1tb ssds, usb c pen drives?

That price is monstrous for Apple premium. Don't ever pack any electronic/precious item in Checkin/Main Luggage. Use Hand bag/Carry Bag and keep it with you. You never know where it will get stolen.

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All noted. Any recommendations for external hdds which uses usb c? Do most of you use ssd or hdd?

hdd is fine, unless you tend to drop things.
Get a normal caviar blue and use a orico usb type c enclosure. later you can upgrade to ssd if you wish using same enclosure.

chillz88 said:
All noted. Any recommendations for external hdds which uses usb c? Do most of you use ssd or hdd?

You can get a USB C to USB 3.0 micro-b adapter cable and use it with any external drive. How did I found this out? I got a type-c hub which uses same cable and all external HDDs which I tried worked, even on my phones.
My laptop is all SSD but I keep media and game/os/software installers in HDDs.

Nerevarine said:
hdd is fine, unless you tend to drop things.

Sorry for OT: I thought about getting a cheap 240GB ssd to use as an internal 2.5" torrent drive and it would survive 7-8 years easily even with heavy 10 TB/year write (which is too high). Or should I just use my 660p for it?
Also, would installing linux on same nvme drive but on a separate partition disturb existing windows installation? I don't remember about the grub stuff.

Also, would installing linux on same nvme drive but on a separate partition disturb existing windows installation? I don't remember about grub stuff.

@Desmond David might answer this better, but I think No. If Its configured properly, Linux wouldnt touch your existing windows installation.

I thought about getting a cheap 240GB ssd to use as an internal 2.5" torrent drive and it would survive 7-8 years easily even with heavy 10 TB/year write (which is too high). Or should I just use my 660p for it?

This is actually a good idea but why not use a regular HDD ? Torrents dont need fast read writes, if you are concerned about reliability then get a slower RPM drive.

*www.amazon.in/ORICO-Transparent-US...37ADDWJHCH5&psc=1&refRID=W6QG2FD5V37ADDWJHCH5

US $1.99 |0.2M 1M USB3.1 Type C to USB 3.0 Micro B 10Pin Cable 5Gbps Data Connector Adapter For Hard Drive Smartphone PC OTG C Type PHONE-in Data Cables from Consumer Electronics on AliExpress

Buy these two and you are set.. Alternately, you can buy the type c enclosure (slightly costly) and a type c to type c cable. REMEMBER TO SEE Reviews for cable as some sellers in aliexpress sell usb 2.0 cable and market them as 3.0.

You wont find internal 2.5 inch hdd with capacity 2tb + for cheap. So it would be more economical to buy external hdd 2 tb + directly.

So calculate your requirements and make a decision

Nerevarine said:
Also, would installing linux on same nvme drive but on a separate partition disturb existing windows installation? I don't remember about grub stuff.

@Desmond David might answer this better, but I think No. If Its configured properly, Linux wouldnt touch your existing windows installation.

It won't but that is only if your bootloader is set up correctly. All linux distros do this automatically these days. However, you will still require an EFI partition where the linux distro will put the bootloader. The EFI partition will be automatically created by windows when installing so normally you don't have to create one manually.

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Nerevarine said:
This is actually a good idea but why not use a regular HDD ? Torrents dont need fast read writes, if you are concerned about reliability then get a slower RPM drive.

Torrents need good random 4k read/writes which is why a torrent downloading at 4MB/s can cause a typical hdd to crawl while a download manager downloading at 6MB/s works fine.

@SaiyanGoku It is only writes which matters for torrents when using a ssd so only downloading torrents results in write endurance of ssd getting used. Just saw the successor to kingston A400 on amazon *www.amazon.in/dp/B07KCGPRMQ/

Nerevarine said:
This is actually a good idea but why not use a regular HDD ? Torrents dont need fast read writes, if you are concerned about reliability then get a slower RPM drive.

SSD won't consume higher battery or cause more vibrations than fans. I use an old hdd for torrent but I think it might die (hearing faint clicking noise).

Desmond David said:
It won't but that is only if your bootloader is set up correctly. All linux distros do this automatically these days. However, you will still require an EFI partition where the linux distro will put the bootloader. The EFI partition will be automatically created by windows when installing so normally you don't have to create one manually.

Got it. Would keep running it on VM for now and then when I'm ready to learn/practice android dev would install it on a separate partition.

whitestar_999 said:
@SaiyanGoku It is only writes which matters for torrents when using a ssd so only downloading torrents results in write endurance of ssd getting used. Just saw the successor to kingston A400 on amazon *www.amazon.in/dp/B07KCGPRMQ/

I would never reach even 100 TB writes in 5 years (have 400 TB total). I think that's a QLC drive.

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SaiyanGoku said:
I would never reach even 100 TB writes in 5 years (have 400 TB total). I think that's a QLC drive.

Yes I am also not sure but I checked the official specs on kingston site & write endurance of this Q series is same as A series so it shouldn't matter.

C

Got my macbook. Used it. The next day it won't even start.. Lol. Now its a expensive paperweight. Hopefully I can give to the authorised Indian apple service for fixing it.

Wow thats unfortunate, did you buy it from an authorized place ? if you bought it from amazon, you are eligible for FULL refund while keeping the paperweight..

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Nerevarine said:
Wow thats unfortunate, did you buy it from an authorized place ? if you bought it from amazon, you are eligible for FULL refund while keeping the paperweight..

Yeah I did but from Bahrain. I asked the Indian service center for replacement and they said they wont replace since its from another country but can fix it.

I have to find some way to get it back to Bahrain for replacement.. I dont know what went wrong with it or maybe just so unlucky enough to get a dud.

Are they charging you for repairing it ?

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Nerevarine said:
Are they charging you for repairing it ?

No they said they said they will check it and maybe open it up if it doesn't boot up. I don't want my new expensive laptop to be opened up. I rather have a replacement. I have to take it to them by Monday or send my laptop back with another person back to Bahrain to be checked up and replaced.

yeah get it replaced i guess.

C

I returned it back and the sales person couldnt turn it on unless he used a separate charger. Afterwards he used my same charger and it worked. He then send it to the technician who made the report after two days saying that there is no problem with the laptop when he checked it.

Should i push for a replacement or would it be alright? Any suggestions?

chillz88 said:
Should i push for a replacement or would it be alright? Any suggestions?

Do you want to take risk with it or just want peace of mind? If it is the latter, push for a full refund and get a non-Apple laptop. It hasn't been more than a month and you already are making trips to service center.

chillz88 said:
I returned it back and the sales person couldnt turn it on unless he used a separate charger. Afterwards he used my same charger and it worked. He then send it to the technician who made the report after two days saying that there is no problem with the laptop when he checked it.

Should i push for a replacement or would it be alright? Any suggestions?

Get a replacement i would suggest for peace of mind

SaiyanGoku said:
Do you want to take risk with it or just want peace of mind? If it is the latter, push for a full refund and get a non-Apple laptop. It hasn't been more than a month and you already are making trips to service center.

Macbooks are way better than windows for casual work I wont suggest windows laptop if you have budget.

pkkumarcool said:
Macbooks are way better than windows for casual work I wont suggest windows laptop if you have budget.

Windows laptops in same budget don't die randomly or have keyboard issues because the OEM decided to cheap out on components.

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SaiyanGoku said:
Windows laptops in same budget don't die randomly or have keyboard issues because the OEM decided to cheap out on components.

True but chances of being a satisfied mac user is much more than chances of being a satisfied windows user judging by online comments & some real life experience.

SaiyanGoku said:
Windows laptops in same budget don't die randomly or have keyboard issues because the OEM decided to cheap out on components.

Windows has bad optimisation compared to a mac so for regular user i wont suggest windows.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

whitestar_999 said:
True but chances of being a satisfied mac user is much more than chances of being a satisfied windows user judging by online comments & some real life experience.

Tried using MacOS on VirtualBox. Didn't expect it to run like a slideshow. Gave it plenty of resources and it still lagged.

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SaiyanGoku said:
Tried using MacOS on VirtualBox. Didn't expect it to run like a slideshow. Gave it plenty of resources and it still lagged.

No wonder,running mac os smoothly on any virtual environment is very tricky. You will have to modify virtual environment & even then chances of linux host systems are more than windows systems for doing this.
Anyone run MacOS in a VM as a pseudo-hackintosh? - Ars Technica OpenForum

SaiyanGoku said:
Tried using MacOS on VirtualBox. Didn't expect it to run like a slideshow. Gave it plenty of resources and it still lagged.

Trying macos using virtual box is not a good idea i tried too and it lagged horribly. To experience mac os fully you should try a macbook or imac apple harware and macos is best.i know macbook keyboard are bad but apple os optimisation is pretty good.

SaiyanGoku said:
Tried using MacOS on VirtualBox. Didn't expect it to run like a slideshow. Gave it plenty of resources and it still lagged.

VM cannot match the MacOS with the real MacOS hardware. (it will always be slow). I agree the experience in macOS laptop is splendid. One of my company lead had macOS laptop and he was running Parallels with Windows 10 in it and Visual Studio Installed. To my surprise it was running butter smooth in MacOS hardware.

Zangetsu said:
VM cannot match the MacOS with the real MacOS hardware. (it will always be slow). I agree the experience in macOS laptop is splendid. One of my company lead had macOS laptop and he was running Parallels with Windows 10 in it and Visual Studio Installed. To my surprise it was running butter smooth in MacOS hardware.

My VM had 4 threads and 8GB ram on an NVME SSD (which is much better than any low end 2019 macbook) but it still refused to run smoothly. I might need to try on VM Ware with accelerated 3D graphics again (not soon though).

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SaiyanGoku said:
My VM had 4 threads and 8GB ram on an NVME SSD (which is much better than any low end 2019 macbook) but it still refused to run smoothly. I might need to try on VM Ware with accelerated 3D graphics again (not soon though).

Disk speed doesn't matter,it is very difficult to achieve the same level of compatibility between mac os drivers & the virtual hardware created by a software. I am not even sure you can run accelerated 3d graphics on vmware(running on windows system as host) for mac os without doing some things first(see the above thread for some ideas).

SaiyanGoku said:
My VM had 4 threads and 8GB ram on an NVME SSD (which is much better than any low end 2019 macbook) but it still refused to run smoothly. I might need to try on VM Ware with accelerated 3D graphics again (not soon though).

A VM doesnt work like that, you cannot have good hardware and expect VM to run perfectly fine. VMs have to be optimized to run on the specific hypervisor you are running on. And besides you need graphics pass through (not just enable 3D graphics, which obviously was the reason for slowdown).

One of the reasons why linux runs so well in VMs is because they are optimized from the start to run on VMs. MacOS isnt.

Apart from that, no touchpad comes close to the feel and usability of the macbook ones. Macbook hardware is expensive af, but if your usability is only for work purposes, then they are great devices.