Still in great condition. Would this be a good "first" computer for my 7 year old to learn on? She has an iPad 7 now and already has "screen time" turned on. So she has her own Apple account.
MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 10.15
Welcome!!
It could be. It can run up to macOS 10.15 which, from your equipment line, appears to be its current OS version. You can't install MS Office because MS decided to only support the current OS plus two next newest OS versions (Right now,—Ventura, Monterey, and Big Sur).
However, it should work with the free LibreOffice, which can exchange files with Office Apps. There will be other software that needs a newer OS but I've not had issues with my 2012 Macbook Pro 13 and its older app versions so far.
The Good: The model has proven nearly bullet-proof. It stayed in the line unchanged for 4-1/2 years. It was the last model that allowed users to install more RAM and upgrade the hard drive to something faster at home. It has an optical drive. It is rather robust physically compared to current more delicate Macbook Pro models— better for pre-teens I suspect. I still use my 2012 13-inch daily.
The Bad: Nothing major. The only "known issue" in the model is the little hard drive cable. it is painfully thin and can chafe against metal edges in the chassis over time and short, causing some very odd issues. New cables are still available, cost under US$20, and are an easy at-home install job.
Apple no longer services the battery in that model, and few after-market batteries have proven up to the job. Still, the 2012 works as a desktop computer. I keep mine at OS 10.14 Mojave because 10.4 still runs Office 2008, the last version that could open really old Word/Office files. I have some docs going back to Word 3 and 4 that I am slowly converting to .docx format on the 2012.
The original mech hard drive in the model was a slow 5400rpm/SATA 3GB on a fast SATA 6GB bus. Many of us have done an at-home upgrade to an SATA 6GB solid-state drive (SSD). I've done that and also doubled my RAM from 4 to 8GB. However, these data from my 2012/13" show what made a performance difference as I progressed through the upgrades. It shows the SSD was the big factor in the computer still being a pleasure to use today:
Base system as shipped:
4GB RAM and slow SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office 2008 and Photoshop Elements 12 took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.
First upgrade, RAM:
8GB RAM and slow SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office and Photoshop Elements took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.
Second upgrade, inexpensive solid-state drive (SSD):
8GB RAM and fast SATA 6GBps SSD: Office and Photoshop Elements take under 4 seconds to be ready to use.
Ultimately it is your call but I feel that, for your child's limited needs, it might a viable option. If you opt to change to an SSD or even a faster mech hard drive, best practice is to replace the drive cable at the same time for the reasons mentioned above. Belt and suspenders, ya know!
Caveat: Best Mac results for the SSD swap are with either the Crucial MX series (NOT the older Bx series) or SSDs from Other World Computing. I get nothing for recommending either.
Post back if you have more questions.
Welcome!!
It could be. It can run up to macOS 10.15 which, from your equipment line, appears to be its current OS version. You can't install MS Office because MS decided to only support the current OS plus two next newest OS versions (Right now,—Ventura, Monterey, and Big Sur).
However, it should work with the free LibreOffice, which can exchange files with Office Apps. There will be other software that needs a newer OS but I've not had issues with my 2012 Macbook Pro 13 and its older app versions so far.
The Good: The model has proven nearly bullet-proof. It stayed in the line unchanged for 4-1/2 years. It was the last model that allowed users to install more RAM and upgrade the hard drive to something faster at home. It has an optical drive. It is rather robust physically compared to current more delicate Macbook Pro models— better for pre-teens I suspect. I still use my 2012 13-inch daily.
The Bad: Nothing major. The only "known issue" in the model is the little hard drive cable. it is painfully thin and can chafe against metal edges in the chassis over time and short, causing some very odd issues. New cables are still available, cost under US$20, and are an easy at-home install job.
Apple no longer services the battery in that model, and few after-market batteries have proven up to the job. Still, the 2012 works as a desktop computer. I keep mine at OS 10.14 Mojave because 10.4 still runs Office 2008, the last version that could open really old Word/Office files. I have some docs going back to Word 3 and 4 that I am slowly converting to .docx format on the 2012.
The original mech hard drive in the model was a slow 5400rpm/SATA 3GB on a fast SATA 6GB bus. Many of us have done an at-home upgrade to an SATA 6GB solid-state drive (SSD). I've done that and also doubled my RAM from 4 to 8GB. However, these data from my 2012/13" show what made a performance difference as I progressed through the upgrades. It shows the SSD was the big factor in the computer still being a pleasure to use today:
Base system as shipped:
4GB RAM and slow SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office 2008 and Photoshop Elements 12 took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.
First upgrade, RAM:
8GB RAM and slow SATA 3GBps 5400rpm hard drive: Office and Photoshop Elements took 15-18 seconds to be ready to use.
Second upgrade, inexpensive solid-state drive (SSD):
8GB RAM and fast SATA 6GBps SSD: Office and Photoshop Elements take under 4 seconds to be ready to use.
Ultimately it is your call but I feel that, for your child's limited needs, it might a viable option. If you opt to change to an SSD or even a faster mech hard drive, best practice is to replace the drive cable at the same time for the reasons mentioned above. Belt and suspenders, ya know!
Caveat: Best Mac results for the SSD swap are with either the Crucial MX series (NOT the older Bx series) or SSDs from Other World Computing. I get nothing for recommending either.
Post back if you have more questions.
Thanks you for your response. I know exactly what you mean. I did the SSD upgrade myself, maxed it out on RAM and replaced the hard drive cable as well. It's still a great computer in very good condition. Honestly I'd put it up against my moms 2 year old "dell" and pretty sure it will still out preform hers.
There's a game they play in my daughters computer class called Kodable that she loves and I figured this way she would have a machine to learn on, play the game on and we can also monitor her through her screen time. She only gets 45 minutes a day! Other than that, go be a kid and enjoy the outdoors and using your imagination!
Again thank you very much for your response. I appreciate it. Have a wonderful rest of your day.
I have a 2012 MacBook Pro 13".
