Which laptop?

I have a choice between a new iPad Air or a five year old, refurbished MacBook Pro from Apple. I can’t afford a new MacBook Pro. I’ve read that the Air has a hard time handling InDesign, PS and Illustrator. They both have the same memory and specs, except the Pro has a faster processor of course. What do you think? I can’t decide.

my MacBook air form 2010 runs CS4 great, except for indesign.
Apple just released a new MacBook air that can handle fingers on the keyboard now.
I also purchased a Dell XPS in 2019 which i love, but needs a good drawing software program.

oh the iPad lightning connection port failed on my 2017 (and others) and needs to be repaired for the value of the device, so be careful or get the iPad pro with the usb C port which is more sturdy.

this i my apple advice, not gospel and just a suggestion.
Im still waiting for the day i get deported for exiled or typing such facts about apple products soon.

Thanks for the advice. I use InDesign quite a bit. What do you mean when you say it doesn’t handle InDesign well? Does it lag? I would think that if it would have any problems with a program then it would be Photoshop. Maybe the new ones are better? I’ll be running CS5 for now.

in design never launches or does anything but bounce and fail to operate a function or open a document.
but i an using high sierra which had a problem with older apps.
indesign works perfectly in mountain lion tho and i think El Cap.

Photoshop works good, i use that program 7-10 hours a day this year on High Sierra.
i get a warning which just close.

i hope this helped.
the older Macs are incredible still in 2020

I faced a similar choice last year when it became clear I had to replace my 2008 iMac.

My first question was; how do I future proof this new machine?
Answer - buy as new as possible. Refurbished may be good for now and may even give more power for your dollar (or whatever) but the OS will only upgrade so far, and once that won’t go any further the rest of your software will also fall behind.

My next question was; how can I afford a new machine? I can barely afford a few hundred quid for a half decent second hand/refurbished Mac.
Answer - Apple offer zero % finance and trade in deals on your old machine. I got a brand new mid-high spec 27" iMac for £25/month. I can easily afford that.

This year I did the same with my iPhone (sim only deal so I buy my own phone).

The main problem the Air has in running the CC apps is the standard 8GB of memory, which isn’t enough. If you get the Air, you’ll need to order it with 16GB. It’s not the ideal computer for processor-intensive needs, but it will work.

I agree with @StudioMonkey regarding an older machine. A 5-year-old refurbished machine will probably be great for now (as long as it has 16GB of memory or more), but it’s already 5 years old and will become obsolete years earlier than a new machine.

the funny, wierd thing is the logic boards are very similar from a 2010 macbook air compared to a 2018 macbook air. Apple is selling the 2020 macbook air with an i3 processor, which is what my 2010 has. They make these operating systems to not work with older software to keep us buying or using these laptops.

Thanks everyone. I’ll probably end up buying a 13" MacBook Pro. I’m not crazy about the small screen, but it’s what I can afford right now. I’ll be hooking it up to a 27 inch monitor anyway.

new, or older version?
if older, they have a mini display port which a $10 dongle is perfect for a hdmi monitor .
My Dell xps is 13.3 inches and perfect screen size for a laptop.
although i did use a 11" macbook air and ipad before that.

It’s actually an old iMac that I’ve been using as a monitor until I can get a new external monitor. I think I’ll be purchasing a new MacBook Pro.

I us an iMac as my everyday computer but I bought a second hand 13" MacBook Pro. I actually prefer the smaller size because I use it for travel, though if you’re hooking up to a monitor, it would be a good setup.

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Why dont you look for a Barebore/Laptop with Hardware that supports OSX and then u “build” the System yourself, maybe even with Dual or Triple Boot?
If ure on a (tight) Budget then this might give you a more powerful device in the end for ur money.
I could help you finding a suitable Barebone, but with used Laptops the search could be more difficult.