[dearchichi]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Compare online prices from Amazon and Flipkart, look at card deals etc and decide, that all I can say on quotes. But if you can do get the latest M2 itself while purchasing and for personal use 256 GB is good enough.

Thank you for your prompt response.

My laptop usage would revolve around programming, basic photo and video editing, lots of large PDF files being open and general browsing. I would like to have a machine that is fast, lasts long (7+ years), is hassle-free, relatively portable, and can work well with external drives (for additional storage) and monitors.

Professionally, I have been on Macbooks for the past 7 years:
- a 2016 13" Macbook Pro running Intel i5 with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage
- a 2022 14" Macbook Pro M1 with 16GB RAM and 500GB storage

While I haven't done photo and video editing on them, they have served all other needs quite well with no hiccups.

I thus plan to go in for a Macbook Air (I cannot afford the Pro versions) and hope to receive a similar trouble-free experience. Do you have any suggestions related to this?

Also, would you recommend purchasing it online, like on Amazon, as against offline stores? Either way, is there an equivalent of an automotive PDI I could perform in the laptop to ensure it's authenticity?

Thank you for your time.

[naveen.raju]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Please let me know if these prices are fair for both the M1 and M2 versions.

In early October, Amazon had the 13" Macbook Air M1 for sale at around Rs. 67000 (Appario Retail). Do you recommend I wait around for those prices to be offered again? Or, would you recommend I choose offline stores?

Do you also suggest I got for the AppleCare package?

Thank you.

I paid around 1.2L for the base M2 and the specs are more than enough for personal use. I suggest that you go for M2 as it's slightly better than M1. Online stores can give better offers since they have multiple card offers. Check whether those cashbacks are available in offline stores.

Would recommend getting the Apple care package (I dont have one though). My friend who purchased around the same time as me now have a faulty motherboard. Apple store quoted around 60k for the replacement.

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Also, would you recommend purchasing it online, like on Amazon, as against offline stores? Either way, is there an equivalent of an automotive PDI I could perform in the laptop to ensure it's authenticity?

There are equivalent offers in Apple 'reseller ' stores too (iVenus, imagine etc.), similar too online one's; ofcourse coupled with card discounts and the likes.

Do check the store around you and bargain for a good offer. There is no PDI per se, but they open a fresh piece and set it up right in front of you. So, I think that should be okay.

I think you should get the M2, 8GB, 256GB for ~ 90K at Apple resellers.

[dearchichi]

Originally Posted by ashvek3141

There are equivalent offers in Apple 'reseller ' stores too (iVenus, imagine etc.), similar too online one's; ofcourse coupled with card discounts and the likes.

Thank you for your response.

Since I am completely new to such purchases (the last computer I bought was in 2011 from a local offline assembler), could you please let me know the following?

- am I right in construing an Apple "reseller" as an Apple authorised seller of new Apple products (and services)? The term "reseller" hints at "refurbished" or "refreshed" products, and I would like to have this settled.

- what is the difference between an Apple reseller and offline stores like Reliance Digital or Chroma? Do Apple resellers stock Apple products exclusively and provide support that non-resellers don't?

- is it recommended to purchase from Apple resellers online, or should one largely do so at their physical stores?

I think you should get the M2, 8GB, 256GB for ~ 90K at Apple resellers.

- these are the prices for 13" Macbook Air M2 with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD I could glean online (exclusive of offers on cards):

Online Apple India store: Rs. 1,14,900
Amazon Apple store: Rs. 1,04,990
Chroma online store: Rs. 1,04,990
Reliance Digital online store: Rs. 1,14,900.00
iVenus online store: Rs. 119,500
Corporate vendor: Rs. 1,03,400.00
Imagine online store: out of stock

I don't find one that retails of Rs. 90,000. Should I look elsewhere?

Also, do all of these sell first-hand products despite the price differences? Are any of these preferred over the others?

Thank you for your time.

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

- am I right in construing an Apple "reseller" as an Apple authorised seller of new Apple products (and services)? The term "reseller" hints at "refurbished" or "refreshed" products, and I would like to have this settled.

Yes, they very much sell NEW Apple products. 'Reseller' just because they have a tie up with Apple as a 3rd party vendor and probably this was before Apple established their "official" store in India.

- what is the difference between an Apple reseller and offline stores like Reliance Digital or Chroma? Do Apple resellers stock Apple products exclusively and provide support that non-resellers don't?

Well, I'm not quite aware about the "official" Apple store, but the resellers do provide a similar experience. Infact, I find the resellers provide better discounts / sale offers, etc. than the Apple store.

- is it recommended to purchase from Apple resellers online, or should one largely do so at their physical stores?

Doesn't quite matter. However, I got my Mac from a physical imagine store in Viman nagar, Pune.

- these are the prices for 13" Macbook Air M2 with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD I could glean online (exclusive of offers on cards):

Online Apple India store: Rs. 1,14,900
Amazon Apple store: Rs. 1,04,990
Chroma online store: Rs. 1,04,990
Reliance Digital online store: Rs. 1,14,900.00
iVenus online store: Rs. 119,500
Corporate vendor: Rs. 1,03,400.00
Imagine online store: out of stock

I don't find one that retails of Rs. 90,000. Should I look elsewhere?

Also, do all of these sell first-hand products despite the price differences? Are any of these preferred over the others?

Well, seems like they aren't running any offers presently and have kinda reverted to the original MRP. Maybe you could wait for a few weeks and as they might come up with some year-end sale.

Also, if could manage to buy the Mac on some students' ID card than you could end up saving ~ 18% on the MRP, under the 'students discount scheme'

[akshay81]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

I don't find one that retails of Rs. 90,000. Should I look elsewhere?

I bought 2023 M2 MacBook Air (13" variant) last week from Reliance Digital for 98K (with Apple Care+). You have to bargain hard with them. Their final offer was 90K for the machine. Thereafter, bargained for Apple Care - so they offered the same for ~8K (as against ~19K).

[dearchichi]

Hello.

I'm trying a rough comparison between an assembled desktop computer and a Mac Mini M2. I need two of these, one for my 12-year old daughter and one for myself.

The following is what I could come up with. Forgive me if such a comparison is not a like-for-like one. I have excluded items common to both choices (monitors, UPS, webcams etc.).



Usage: programming, photo and video editing, lots of large PDF files being open and general browsing. Some bandwidth for gaming, if at all.

Requirements: long lasting (5+ years), hassle-free, and can work well with external drives (for additional storage) and monitors.

Is it worth paying an additional ₹24,250 for each Mac Mini? What factors do I need to consider while making this choice? I would like to know if Windows licenses come for free with assembled PCs or if they need to be bought additionally.

Thank you.

[bhairavp]

I'd get the Windows PC frankly. That's quite a powerful system for daily use. On onlyssd.com there are 2TB nvme SSDs for 8k, just 1k more than the one you've quoted.
The 1650 is a decent GPU as well. Plus, you can add more RAM/storage/change the GPU in the future.

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Hello.

I'm trying a rough comparison between an assembled desktop computer and a Mac Mini M2.

Usage: programming, photo and video editing, lots of large PDF files being open and general browsing. Some bandwidth for gaming, if at all.

Requirements: long lasting (5+ years), hassle-free, and can work well with external drives (for additional storage) and monitors.

Is it worth paying an additional ₹24,250 for each Mac Mini?

Windows licenses

If you are not already invested in the Mac ecosystem, your usage and requirements do not warrant that extra spending. You are better off with an assembled PC. The main things to look for in your use case are lots of RAM (like 16 GB), and an SSD with DRAM cache (like Samsung 970 EVO). Also, get a Micro ATX case if you want minimal footprint on desk.

Windows license does not usually come with assembled configurations. You can get a bulk (OEM) license from the shop if they are Microsoft certified (I remember some shops in SP Road had such a certificate on display). Else you can buy a license online, during the holiday season Microsoft Store offers good discounts.

By the way, the price you listed for a 5600G seems way off. As per this reputed shop in Lamington Road, Mumbai, it should be about 12k. You can further save 3-5k in SSD and motherboard combined, so the budget should come to about 48-50k for the config listed. Beyond this, it is OT for this thread and we can further discuss in the Desktop PC configuration thread.

[PatienceWins]

Originally Posted by akshay81

I bought 2023 M2 MacBook Air (13" variant) last week from Reliance Digital for 98K (with Apple Care+). You have to bargain hard with them. Their final offer was 90K for the machine. Thereafter, bargained for Apple Care - so they offered the same for ~8K (as against ~19K).

Wow, that is a very good offer. I was planning to get the same config from Dubai Bur Dubai market for 87k (without apple care), but not confident with some bad reviews online for stores there. Even though we can check the authenticity of the mac on the apple site, there has been some reports on stolen/ blacklisted iphones which can be found only in the apple store.

There is no benefit in buying the mac from apple store in dubai mall as there is no VAT refund. Third party seller like iStyle seems to get VAT refund. Planning to check there.

If I can get a deal similar to yours in India, I do not see any reason to get it from Dubai. Will try Reliance Digital in Bangalore too. Thanks

How is your experience with M2 Air? I plan to get the 256 gb variant (13 inch) as it is for my son who will be predominantly using it for browsing, MS Office and multimedia. No editing involved. I am confused between the 256 gb and 512gb variants as some reviews say 256 gb variant is slow.

Professionally, I use a M1 Pro, 14" display, with 32 GB RAM and it offers very good performance. I would not spend that much for personal use.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by dearchichi

Is it worth paying an additional ₹24,250 for each Mac Mini? What factors do I need to consider while making this choice? I would like to know if Windows licenses come for free with assembled PCs or if they need to be bought additionally.

Thank you.

Wont you pay additional for procuring the Windows OS ? Thats something close 10K I guess?

Rest I think is dependent on your preferences.

Hassle free part again is dependent on usage. This a swing both ways depending on how you see it. I have a 12 year old 2011 Mac mini which works just fine. Windows folks I think can quote similar usage levels.

[akshay81]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Wow, that is a very good offer. I was planning to get the same config from Dubai Bur Dubai market for 87k (without apple care), but not confident with some bad reviews online for stores there. Even though we can check the authenticity of the mac on the apple site, there has been some reports on stolen/ blacklisted iphones which can be found only in the apple store.

There is no benefit in buying the mac from apple store in dubai mall as there is no VAT refund. Third party seller like iStyle seems to get VAT refund. Planning to check there.

If I can get a deal similar to yours in India, I do not see any reason to get it from Dubai. Will try Reliance Digital in Bangalore too. Thanks

How is your experience with M2 Air? I plan to get the 256 gb variant (13 inch) as it is for my son who will be predominantly using it for browsing, MS Office and multimedia. No editing involved. I am confused between the 256 gb and 512gb variants as some reviews say 256 gb variant is slow.

Professionally, I use a M1 Pro, 14" display, with 32 GB RAM and it offers very good performance. I would not spend that much for personal use.

Wouldn't suggest buying from Dubai since I know 2-3 people who have faced issues with Apple product bought from Dubai recently (esp. Apple Pencil and iPad). The cost difference is also not much considering the peace of mind if bought in India.

M2 Air is being used by my son for browsing, MS office (including Teams) and BlueJ. The machine is fast, lag free with a great battery life. Will definitely advice to go for it.

M2 256GB variant is way way faster than my Windows 11 system which has 12th gen i5 + 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. Given the proposed use, don't think 256 to 512GB will make any noticeable difference.

[PatienceWins]

Update: Got M1 Mac Air 256GB variant for my son from Flipkart (64K after exchanging his old HP laptop). Got M1 instead of M2 as the deal was good and M1 is good enough for his usage of browsing, youtube and MS Office.

[Anijsh]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

Update: Got M1 Mac Air 256GB variant for my son from Flipkart (64K after exchanging his old HP laptop). Got M1 instead of M2 as the deal was good and M1 is good enough for his usage of browsing, Youtube and MS Office.

How do you manage MS Office? Got separate O365 subscription on your own or got any deal for that?

[lxskllr]

Bhpians - those who use macs for complex/heavy excel spreadsheets, do you notice any difference vs. windows? My work involves multiple spreadsheets with 1L+ rows and simple data manipulation on my windows machine takes time.

Windows laptop: 11th Gen i5-1145G7 and 16GB RAM

Will upgrading to a mac help?