Is a Macbook Air 2014 still good in 2020?
Is a Macbook Air 2014 still good in 2020?
I am planning to buy a used Macbook Air for college but don't know if I should get a 2014 one.
MacBook Air
Is a Macbook Air 2014 still good in 2020?
I am planning to buy a used Macbook Air for college but don't know if I should get a 2014 one.
MacBook Air
Also, where are you planing to buy it from. Apple has Refurbished Macs that come with a 1 year warranty just like new.
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac
Buying from a third party can be a gamble. We see posts here everyday of folks who have bought from the internet only to find the Macs have not been prepared properly for sale including being locked by the previous owner or still having the previous owners Apple ID, which is useless to the new owner.
See this topic and be sure the owner has followed the instructions.
What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support
Also, where are you planing to buy it from. Apple has Refurbished Macs that come with a 1 year warranty just like new.
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac
Buying from a third party can be a gamble. We see posts here everyday of folks who have bought from the internet only to find the Macs have not been prepared properly for sale including being locked by the previous owner or still having the previous owners Apple ID, which is useless to the new owner.
See this topic and be sure the owner has followed the instructions.
What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support
Yes, it can mean that. Also running low on RAM will cause the Mac to be very slow as it needs to use virtual space on the hard drive. Catalina will not run well on only 4GB RAM and future OSs may be even more RAM hungry.
You should ask him to upgrade to Catalina to test. But after he follows the steps to sell it, it will revert to the OS it originally shipped with and you'll need to upgrade it from there. Unless he follows the procedure it will be tied to his Apple ID and you will not be able to upgrade or purchase anything from the AppStore. When you get the Mac it should boot as new into the Setup Assistant so you can enter your own information including Apple ID and create your own Admin user account.
I have a 2012 and it's still pretty perfect, albeit not heavily used for anything other than documents like excel, word, numbers, pages, email, music. No movie making, etc. It's kept free of junk mail and any extraneous programs, etc. I back it up everyday.
I think of it as I have the money I would have spent in my pocket in caseI need it. When the time comes, i.e. it's crashed, I'll get a new one and load my back-up drive onto it. And then I'll have the latest.
Hope this helps you decided either way. After all, there's nothing nicer than a new Apple laptop!
2014 is getting a bit long in the tooth. But it is capable of running the latest OS and should be supported with OS upgrades for many years to come.
Do you believe it can handle surfing on the internet and completing school work?
Probably but it depends on what the schoolwork is. You'd need to post more specs, like RAM and hard drive capacity. You can post a link to the Mac you are looking at.
The specs:
Processor-1.4GHz Intel Core i5
Memory-4 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
Graphics-Intel HD Graphics 5000 1536mb
4 GB RAM is insufficinet. I'd suggest you get 8GB RAM as it is not upgradeable. Also, be sure it is an SSD drive and has enough capacity for your needs.
If it only has 4GB RAM does it mean I can only open a certain amount of tabs before the Mac starts to lag or freeze?
So the max I can update the Mac (if I were to buy it)would be Mojave? Without experiencing any issues?
With only 4GB RAM it's not going to be a good experience with any OS. I really urge you to go for at least 8GB. If you don't, you'll kick yourself later.
Ah ok thank you very much.
A few hours ago I met up with the person and tested the macbook air. Works fine. The only problem is its never been updated.
Well hands on is a good way to test. If you do buy it be sure he follow the steps to properly prepare it for sale. I still think the 4GB RAM will be a issue though.
Is a Macbook Air 2014 still good in 2020?