A couple weeks ago, you may have read a post I wrote talking about accidentally ruining my MacBook Pro. I really don't want to get into the details of my clumsy-ness again, but I will say, I was debating between 3 options: buying a completely new laptop, a used one off someone, or purchasing a refurbished. And, as you can tell by the title of this post, I chose the refurbished route, and got myself a MacBook Air!
I'll be honest, I didn't even know Apple had a refurbished products available for purchase. I mean, I was never the type of shopper to check out deals online growing up. I followed suit with my parents, and just found and compared sales through flyers that came to the house weekly. It was really only until the end of my high school and beginning of university I found myself doing more and more online research and comparisons. And, even then, I still didn't know about refurbished products until after both my sister and I got MacBook Pro's...
But, since this time around purchasing a new laptop would be coming from my pockets (and not my parent's wallet), I really wanted to sure I got the best possible deal without emptying the bank.
Navigating through the Apple's website was easy enough. Although they didn't have a specific tab linking to the refurbished section, searching "refurbished" was simple enough to get you to that page. And, from there, Apple had a wide selection of items that were available for at least 15% off regular price.
During the time of my search, Black Friday and Cyber Monday was quickly approaching. So, my research consisted of comparing models of MacBook pros, and learning about the minor details of GB and onboard memory (and more tech mumbo-jumbo) before really committing to purchasing a laptop. Also, everyone told me to wait a bit to see the kind of sales Black Friday weekend would have, just in case. Made sense to me.
However, as Black Friday/Cyber Monday arrived, I realized they sales were pretty much only consisted of 10% off regular price.... So, I made a decision to go ahead with purchasing a refurbished. Only... by the time I went back to Apple's site, all the Pro's were gone. And, I was left with the 12" MacBooks, and the Airs...
Back to research...
I ended up doing comparison research weighing the pros and cons of all 3 models of MacBooks. After the end of my research, I decided to go with Air. I mean, the main purpose of purchasing a new laptop for school was for school. So, I was really keen on battery life and memory space for documents. Plus, I already had a Pro... If I got another one, it won't feel as new... does that make sense? Plus, the 12" macbook's just didn't make sense to me... only 1 USB port? Really?
I ended up selecting the Air from March 2015 with 8GB and I forget the other tech details, but pretty much the same details as a new laptop.
The best part was saving 15% off the price of a new laptop, plus free pickup. I mean, they did have the option for free shipping, but my house, and the other house with the same street name but different ending (i.e., I live on Crescent, and they live on Avenue) have been getting our mail mixed. Didn't want the risk of having my package sent to them.
Oooo, better yet, although they estimated a shipping date/pickup date that was nearly 2 weeks from the day I purchased the Air online, my item was available for pick up within days. So, it was a nice surprise!
I never bought an Apple product from the Apple Store before. In the past, we would buy our products at a local Best Buy because of "deals" plus it was just closer to home. So, I was surprised when an apple employee put my boxed MacBook Air into the cutest string bag with an Apple logo. Never had anything like that before.
Also, from my online research of Apple refurb products, one con many people mentioned was the packaging. They didn't get that thrill of unboxing their apple products. But, to my surprise, mine came with a box and everything that clearly stated MacBook Air with the addition of "Apple Certified Refurbished" right at the bottom. And unboxing felt just as good when I first unboxed my pro years ago!
When you open the box, you are first shown the laptop itself. Underneath, you have a booklet with information about the product, a plug adapter and charger. And, with that said, everything was in order and nothing was missing.
I experienced no problems with the start up. It was quick an simple. And, transferring some information and documents from my Pro to the Air was just as simple. I thought a lot of work for be needed, but the company really thought of everything.
I immediately saw the difference in weight between both the Pro and the Air. The Air is noticeably lighter and thinner. The frame on the Air around the screen was silver as opposed to black found on the Pro. The battery life on my Air is notably long lasting (up to 12 hours) than my Pro... but, then again, I've had my Pro for a while. I also find the Air MUCH faster, which I'm really happy about. Other than that, everything else was the same.
The keyboard is exactly the same, which I love! I'm not a fan of the new keyboard look you find on the 12" MacBook. So, it was nice to be able to use some of the keyboard covers I previously bought and used for my Pro on the Air.
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