I first compiled this information in 2012 to help some friends who wanted to buy Macs. I updated it in early 2014 to help some students who were taking a class in Mac/iOS programming. (Such requires use of a Mac; it cannot be done on a PC.) Now I'm updating it again.
This is what entitles me to give this advice: I have used many different Macs since 1985, and I buy about one every other year, so I've been doing this for a long time. I have bought both brand new and refurbished. I have opened almost every Mac I've ever owned to upgrade it (except the new ones that can't be opened.) I am stingy, so I always look for the best deal and the best strategy.
[1] Your friend who works at Apple may be able to get you a discount. However, Apple employees are inundated with such requests from their friends, and they have a limited number of discounts to use, so employees usually reserve the discounts for their family members.
[2] Don't be afraid to buy a refurbished Mac. Apple sells them for about 15% less than list price. A refurbished computer has been returned to a tech who checks everything and fixes what may be broken. Many new computers ship with problems or even DOA. A refurbished computer has been checked a second time beyond the normal factory testing. (This is true of other computer brands besides Apple too.) Be careful: you may be buying last year's model.
Go to http://store.apple.com, scroll to the bottom, and look for "Refurbished and Clearance."
There are also educational discounts. The discount is about 10-15%. You can get the discount only on Mac Books and iMacs, not on Mac Minis or Mac Pros.
You can sometimes buy refurbished Macs from these companies. I have bought from all of them in the past:
- Tech Restore, www.techrestore.com, in Concord
- Small Dog Electronics, www.smalldog.com, on the east coast
You can buy used Macs from Mega Macs, but they tend to have older models. www.megamacs.com
[3] Memory. You want your Mac to have as much memory as possible. But it's less expensive to install the memory yourself. Other World Computing (www.macsales.com) is a reputable company that sells quality memory, hard disks, and SSDs. Their web site can tell you how much memory your computer will hold, and they have videos that will show you how to install it, and tools to help you get rid of static electricity, etc.
(I've opened almost Mac I've owned, including laptops, and upgraded the RAM and hard disk.)
[4] Processor. You probably want to have a computer running Sierra (10.12+) or High Sierra (10.13+). To run those operating systems, you need a computer with an i5 or i7 processor, not the older Core 2 Duo or (shudder) Core Duo chip. The latest version of Xcode is 9, but you can get by in my classes with Xcode version 8.
[5] Screen. The new retina screens are beautiful. Once you use one, you'll never go back. Some people can't tell the difference. If you're one of those, don't bother. Some say that if your eyes are bad, you won't notice the difference. My experience is the opposite: my eyes are bad, and the retina screen really helps a lot.
[6] Upgrades. On most recent Macs, it is not possible to upgrade the processor chip. On many of the Macs released in the past three years, it is not possible to upgrade anything at all inside. The latest MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Retina are not user serviceable at all. You cannot upgrade the RAM, disk, battery, or anything else inside. If the upgrade you'd like to do is not available on www.macsales.com, then it is not possible to do that upgrade. Some of the older MacBook Airs have upgradeable parts but not all parts. The recent MacBook Pro (not Retina) may still have available upgrades.
[7] Beware of Craigslist and Ebay unless you know what you're doing. The conventional wisdom is that any laptop being sold on Ebay has been dropped. (Most laptops have probably been dropped even if they're not on Ebay.) Also, many Macs on Ebay come without operating system disks, which may be necessary if you need to restore or reinstall. (Even Macs from Mac Pro and Tech Restore come without disks, but they can help you if you have a problem.)
[8] To order any upgrade, you have to know your Mac's model identifiers. If you already have your Mac in hand, do this:
Apple Menu -> About This Mac -> System Report
or
⌘-Space --> System Information
Then look at the Model Identifier. An example is "Macmini6,2."
You can look up the tech specs on any Mac model on the Every Mac web site.
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