Advice on Apple laptops?

[Russ Smith]

We want to get an Apple laptop so it will be easier and so she can use the movie app from the phone on Lucy's laptop, apparently it comes free too(iMovie I think it's called) to edit stuff for youtube.

We went to Best Buy to look, we live so close to Cupertino you'd think there'd be Apple stores all over the place but there aren't. There's one in Valley Fair that's mainly by appointment, but when we looked into that they actually don't have much more stock than Best Buy did, and Best Buy had only 3 laptops in stock.

We think we want 1024 memory, 13 inch screen is probably enough. No real preference but I guess SSD preferred. I know virtually nothing about Macs I assume we're looking at MacBooks and MacBook air. Does anybody have any recommendations? We want something she can use both for video editing and of course as a regular laptop.

Amazon has a bunch of them but many of them are refurbished. We're probably going to make an appointment to go to the Valley Fair store but it seems like they're more geared for iPhones and other stuff they don't seem to be all that focused on helping you find a laptop.

 

[Mainstreet]

It appears Walmart may carry Apple computers, at least online.

 

[Russ Smith]

It appears Walmart may carry Apple computers, at least online.

They do online but they have very little in store. Lucy wants to see it first.

In doing research it seems like we may only need 512 on the hard drive, everyone is saying if you're going to do You Tube just get an external drive, which I already have.
The key is apparently RAM, lots of people saying get 32 you'll see a big difference on video editing.

 

[Mainstreet]

They do online but they have very little in store. Lucy wants to see it first.

In doing research it seems like we may only need 512 on the hard drive, everyone is saying if you're going to do You Tube just get an external drive, which I already have.
The key is apparently RAM, lots of people saying get 32 you'll see a big difference on video editing.

I'm not much into video editing, although I would like an easy-to-use program to edit family photos that are losing color.

If you have any suggestions for that, I'd welcome it. I'm a rookie at this... beginner level.

One of the reasons I buy at Walmart, also online, is they usually have a return policy where you can return it to a physical store if you don't like a product.

 

[Devilmaycare]

We want to get an Apple laptop so it will be easier and so she can use the movie app from the phone on Lucy's laptop, apparently it comes free too(iMovie I think it's called) to edit stuff for youtube.

We went to Best Buy to look, we live so close to Cupertino you'd think there'd be Apple stores all over the place but there aren't. There's one in Valley Fair that's mainly by appointment, but when we looked into that they actually don't have much more stock than Best Buy did, and Best Buy had only 3 laptops in stock.

We think we want 1024 memory, 13 inch screen is probably enough. No real preference but I guess SSD preferred. I know virtually nothing about Macs I assume we're looking at MacBooks and MacBook air. Does anybody have any recommendations? We want something she can use both for video editing and of course as a regular laptop.

Amazon has a bunch of them but many of them are refurbished. We're probably going to make an appointment to go to the Valley Fair store but it seems like they're more geared for iPhones and other stuff they don't seem to be all that focused on helping you find a laptop.

I wouldn't bother with Best Buy or Amazon. Hit the Apple Store, they focus a little more on the iphones and ipads but they'll be able to help you. Usually you want to go there or order from Apple since you can configure the machines. The other retailers usually only have a couple configurations.

I'm not sure what you mean by 1024 memory since they start at 8 GB and go up. Also all of the Macbooks are SSD. It's just a matter of which size you want. You've also going to want to get the M3 chip instead of the M2 if you go with the Air.

I'm making the assumption that video editing is going to be on the lighter side, ie more of a hobbyist use than pro. From what you said I'd go with one of these two options:
13" MacBook Air, M3 chip, 16GB memory, 1TB SSD. $1699
14" Macbook, M3, 16GB memory, 1 TB SSD. $1999

As a base. If you have the budget more memory or storage wouldn't hurt with bumping memory first out of the two. You can always add external drives but you can't add memory.

 

[Devilmaycare]

It appears Walmart may carry Apple computers, at least online.

I wouldn't buy from Walmart for the same reason as Best Buy. Lack of configuration. You're usually limited to only a couple options.

 

[Russ Smith]

I wouldn't bother with Best Buy or Amazon. Hit the Apple Store, they focus a little more on the iphones and ipads but they'll be able to help you. Usually you want to go there or order from Apple since you can configure the machines. The other retailers usually only have a couple configurations.

I'm not sure what you mean by 1024 memory since they start at 8 GB and go up. Also all of the Macbooks are SSD. It's just a matter of which size you want. You've also going to want to get the M3 chip instead of the M2 if you go with the Air.

I'm making the assumption that video editing is going to be on the lighter side, ie more of a hobbyist use than pro. From what you said I'd go with one of these two options:
13" MacBook Air, M3 chip, 16GB memory, 1TB SSD. $1699
14" Macbook, M3, 16GB memory, 1 TB SSD. $1999

As a base. If you have the budget more memory or storage wouldn't hurt with bumping memory first out of the two. You can always add external drives but you can't add memory.

Sorry I meant the HD size I meant 1 TB .Yes I think we will probably be more interested in more memory and get external storage, I already have a few external drives for that very reason.

Thanks

 

[Mainstreet]

I wouldn't buy from Walmart for the same reason as Best Buy. Lack of configuration. You're usually limited to only a couple options.

When I buy a laptop, I usually research what I want in it and then wait for a store to carry it at a reasonable price.

I've found Christmas is the best time of the year if one has the time to sit on computers and wait for deals. I'm not sure if that applies to Apple though.

 

[Devilmaycare]

When I buy a laptop, I usually research what I want in it and then wait for a store to carry it at a reasonable price.

I've found Christmas is the best time of the year if one has the time to sit on computers and wait for deals. I'm not sure if that applies to Apple though.

It really doesn't apply to Apple. Generally the stores have the same deals as Apple around the holidays. The bigger issue is that they don't have all of the options. How Apple's been doing their machines for a while now is that they have a base model that's the minimum processor, ram, HD, etc. and then allow you to select upgrades to those bases. It's a mini-build to order type of system.

Stores like Walmart usually only have the base models and maybe the first ram bump. Both of the configs I gave Russ aren't available at Walmart since they only carry the 512 GB SSD models with either 8 or 16 GB of ram.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Have you considered a mac mini? Not sure how much portability plays a factor here, but I've found my mini to be considerably less expensive than my pros and beastly in terms of power/specs.

 

[oaken1]

Get a PC?

Hell, I just built one with an Intel 14th gen i7, 64gigs of Ram, 2 TB SSD, and an RTX 3060 video card for less than 1500 bucks...with a glass case and RGB fans and RAM
Way more for your money

 

[Russ Smith]

Thanks for all the advice. We got a Macbook Air 13 inch 16 GB with 512 SSD from the Apple store. We discussed it with the sales person and she was pretty clear that for what we're going to do we didn't need anything more powerful. Didn't try to push a PRO on us.

I have Windows laptop that she's been using one of the big issues is when she shoots video on her iphone the best way we've found to get the video to the laptop is using Google Drive but it's not very fast and prone to crashing. She can edit on her phone using iMovie but you can't get iMovie on Windows so we end up using something called Capcut which isn't as easy for her to edit. The Mac comes with iMovie.

Haven't done anything with it yet but i will say the display on hers blows away the display on mine which is only 2-3 years old.

 

[Devilmaycare]

Thanks for all the advice. We got a Macbook Air 13 inch 16 GB with 512 SSD from the Apple store. We discussed it with the sales person and she was pretty clear that for what we're going to do we didn't need anything more powerful. Didn't try to push a PRO on us.

I have Windows laptop that she's been using one of the big issues is when she shoots video on her iphone the best way we've found to get the video to the laptop is using Google Drive but it's not very fast and prone to crashing. She can edit on her phone using iMovie but you can't get iMovie on Windows so we end up using something called Capcut which isn't as easy for her to edit. The Mac comes with iMovie.

Haven't done anything with it yet but i will say the display on hers blows away the display on mine which is only 2-3 years old.

Congratulations. Looks like she put you in a similar one to me. I just had the bigger SSD since it's for video. Just one clarification question though, did you get the M2 or M3 model? I'm hoping she still kept you in the M3. It'll be better for video editing and longevity.

 

[Russ Smith]

Congratulations. Looks like she put you in a similar one to me. I just had the bigger SSD since it's for video. Just one clarification question though, did you get the M2 or M3 model? I'm hoping she still kept you in the M3. It'll be better for video editing and longevity.

Sorry yes M3, followed your recommendations to the letter and the sales person agreed.

We already did a mini test and air drop with a video from iMovie on phone to the Mac works perfectly!

So much better than trying to use google drive.

And now she has hers she doesn't share my laptop so double win (-:

 

[Devilmaycare]

Sorry yes M3, followed your recommendations to the letter and the sales person agreed.

We already did a mini test and air drop with a video from iMovie on phone to the Mac works perfectly!

So much better than trying to use google drive.

And now she has hers she doesn't share my laptop so double win (-:

Sweet, glad it's going well so far. Airdrop is so nice to have. I use it constantly for moving things between my phones, macs, and AVP.

You don't have to share yours now but how long before you're making her share hers?

 

[Yuma]

I have a 13" MacBook Air. I would get the biggest screen. Video editing, you want more screen, memory, and HD. Airdrop is the bomb. Having all your devices in one environment makes sharing stuff from device to device seamless. I bought mine online and picked it up at an Apple Store. The reason I did it that way, is with the Apple Card, you can buy at 0% and spread the payments over two years. It made the buy super affordable. Sounds like if you are serious about Apple to just make an appointment and go do it! If you don'[t make an appointment, and just walk in, sometimes it's a pain to get someone to wait on you. Trust me, and appointment is good!

 

[Chaplin]

Get a PC?

Hell, I just built one with an Intel 14th gen i7, 64gigs of Ram, 2 TB SSD, and an RTX 3060 video card for less than 1500 bucks...with a glass case and RGB fans and RAM
Way more for your money

PCs are cheaper, but you get what you pay for. I have yet to find ANY PC laptop that performs nearly as well as a mid-level Macbook. Apple's laptops are the cream of the crop.

 

[oaken1]

PCs are cheaper, but you get what you pay for. I have yet to find ANY PC laptop that performs nearly as well as a mid-level Macbook. Apple's laptops are the cream of the crop.

Cream of the crap you mean.

Apples strength is their software and the fact it's proprietary.
PC hardware is far superior in every facet. It really isn't even close.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Get a PC?

Hell, I just built one with an Intel 14th gen i7, 64gigs of Ram, 2 TB SSD, and an RTX 3060 video card for less than 1500 bucks...with a glass case and RGB fans and RAM
Way more for your money

Have you tried using an Apple? I've had far fewer issues in general with an Apple. Everything works much better and is much easier/more intuitive.

 

[Yuma]

I have had an Apple MacBook Air, several PC laptops, and a Chromebook. I know you want to do video editing and I have no idea what the Chromebook would use. If it was just needing a Laptop and you wanted inexpensive, my Chromebook (Acer brand) was awesome. I would put Apple on top. Then PC, since you want video editing, and then Chromebook. I know the guys in my shop think the Mac processor is pretty damned good. If you are tech, the PC you can get under the hood and change things around yourself. If you are not a tech person, I would go Apple for the tech support. Heck, you can even get a shop at the Apple Store on Video Editing.

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[Chaplin]

Cream of the crap you mean.

Apples strength is their software and the fact it's proprietary.
PC hardware is far superior in every facet. It really isn't even close.

I have multiple computers so I'm not some idiot, but hey if you already made up your mind why respond if all you care about is tearing me down?

 

[Russ Smith]

So far the one issue is just like with iPhone you can't directly upload a video from iMovie to youtube because youtube is google not Apple. So you have to save it to I think iCloud, then go into youtube and grab the video and upload it. But then you have to remember to go back and delete it from iCloud or you end up paying to store it.

That's the one issue with Apple that I am completely baffled by, it just seems obvious they intentionally set it up so everything saves to iCloud so you'll wind up having to pay more to save it all

 

[Yuma]

So far the one issue is just like with iPhone you can't directly upload a video from iMovie to youtube because youtube is google not Apple. So you have to save it to I think iCloud, then go into youtube and grab the video and upload it. But then you have to remember to go back and delete it from iCloud or you end up paying to store it.

That's the one issue with Apple that I am completely baffled by, it just seems obvious they intentionally set it up so everything saves to iCloud so you'll wind up having to pay more to save it all

People do look at it that way. However in the Apple Environment, it's a way to work on files, from the phone, tablet, MacBooks, etc., and everything is updated everywhere. I can work on something on my MacBook, like a grocery list. Head to the grocery store, open up my list and it's all there.

 

[Devilmaycare]

So far the one issue is just like with iPhone you can't directly upload a video from iMovie to youtube because youtube is google not Apple. So you have to save it to I think iCloud, then go into youtube and grab the video and upload it. But then you have to remember to go back and delete it from iCloud or you end up paying to store it.

That's the one issue with Apple that I am completely baffled by, it just seems obvious they intentionally set it up so everything saves to iCloud so you'll wind up having to pay more to save it all

FYI, she shouldn't have to go to iCloud before uploading. Saving the edited video to the MB's SSD should be enough and then you can upload from it. Then it's on her computer still for archiving or anything else that the two of you want to do with it. That saves you from having to worry about iCloud space. You only get 5 GB on it for free and then you have to pay for more storage.

The save dialogs defaults to the last folder that was viewed in it. It might have defaulted to iCloud out of the box and she just need to change the save location. Usually edited videos go into the Movies folder in your user's home directory.

Also, there's 2 forms of the save dialog. A simple one, shown below, and a full file picker. You can change the save location in the simple by clinking on the "where" combo box and selecting one of the saved locations. All of the usual suspects are in it by default. If you click on the down pointing triangle next to it than you get the full file picker.

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[oaken1]

Have you tried using an Apple? I've had far fewer issues in general with an Apple. Everything works much better and is much easier/more intuitive.

I have. My brother is a huge apple fanatic and I have used his many times.
I will admit, I came up PC...and then was really turned off by apples exploitation of child slave labor to manufacture their products...not exactly "slave",..but 12 hour shifts for a quarter is the same thing.
same with Nike..I used to be a huge fan of their shoes...they were the only ones I ever bought. But I wont give them a dime ever again.