@fullmom I have the 15" MacBook Pro with touchbar. Right now the touchbar is really just a gimmick. It’s not really useful for much. I mostly use it for adjusting volume, which is actually more of a PITA than using function keys. However, I expect software to catch up at some point and make better use of the touchbar.
I personally can’t do much actual work on a 13" screen, but my D’s been just fine with her 13" Air the last few years. I think it’s an age thing, honestly, as I recall doing fine with smaller and lower-res screens when I was in my 20’s and 30’s. In fact even with a 15" screen I’m much more comfortable plugging into my 26" monitor for “real” work. But I actually do fine with my ipad for taking notes in meetings, which is probably similar to how a student would use a 13" laptop in class.
Regarding the 13" vs 15", I’m currently more inclined towards the 15", but even the 13" screen with current graphics and resolution support is light years ahead of the 10.4" passive matrix LCD I had with the first notebook I used in college back in the mid-late '90s*. .
Also, notebooks nowadays with the possible exception of some lower-end desktop replacements are much lighter than what was available during my undergrad years. Many student notebooks of my undergrad years weighed as much as 10-12 pounds with adapter.
When I hear undergrads or young professionals(excluding those with physical disabilities) complain that a 5-7 pound notebook is “too heavy” to heave around, that tends to cause me and some friends who are around my age to chuckle/ROTFLOL. I used to heave that 11 pound notebook everywhere I went along with necessary binder and required textbooks.
We just happened to buy a new laptop this weekend. I agree with everyone who says to check with the school and see what they recommend or require. My DS says Apple hasn’t done much in the way of updating their hardware. The last refresh didn’t really add anything special compared to the more powerful processors and memory I have pcs. There is a worldwide apple developers conference this week and there are some rumors that some upgrades will be presented, but more likely with a new iPad (which I also need). And as for the new laptop, I got a 15" dell. I have had 13, 15 and 17 inch, and I use 2 monitors. I like the 15" as it doesn’t take up too much room on my desk and I can see plenty. I carry a 13" to work, but prefer the 15" at home.
Best deal for an Apple is to get a refurbished Macbook Pro on ebay or amazon.
They usually come with upgraded memory and a warranty. Pretty durable tried and true for a machine that is going to get constantly bounced around in a backpack. WAY cheaper than buying new ones with tiny memory, which only come with a pathetic 12 month warranty. Load it up with free MS office for students and you are good to go.
Of course, you could buy multiple PCs for the same price that does everything the Mac does. But years ago I tired of fighting with my kids about the Apple/PC thing. Kids who don’t make any money require Apples exclusively; lucky for them they are supported by PCs users who make the money to finance their Apple requirements.
We have a 12", 13" and 15" Macbook / Macbook pro in the family. The keyboard is exactly the same size on the 13" & 15". The 12" is slightly smaller and the track pad is smaller. As far as 13" vs 15", the big difference is the quad core CPU, slightly dimmer screen, and standard 16Gb of memory on the 15". The 15" also weighs about 2 lbs. more and is much larger physically. It is too big for airplane trays and not the best in a backpack.
None of these compare to a 4K external monitor. You have roughly 5x more usable work area compared to a 15" laptop.
For a non-CS/engineering student I’d lean toward portability. You can always hook up to an external monitor for other work.
The above only applies if you’re comparing low-end consumer grade notebooks like the Dell Inspiron/Vostro, Toshiba Satellite, most of HP/Compaq, anything by Sony*, etc which also tend to have much more QC/build quality issues than higher end PCs or Apples.
If you compare them to the higher end PCs…especially the corporate line notebooks such as the Dell Latitude/XPS, corporate versions of Lenovo, etc…machines which you usually have to order direct from the OEM rather than purchase at one’s local bigbox store like Best Buy or Costco, the gap is much closer to one to one.
Sad especially considering for what they give you in terms of build quality/QC, they're seriously overpriced.
Speaking of the Latitude, for what it’s worth, I recently needed to buy a PC for a middle schooler who will end up using some programs like Blender and Unreal Engine in computer class. I wanted durability and decent specs but this is still a middle schooler, so I didn’t want to spend a ton. I ended up getting a Dell Latitude E7270, refurbished with warranty, i7 256 gb ssd, 8 gb ram, on ebay for mid-$600s. A little more than I wanted to spend, but way better than what his older siblings used for the same price (Microsoft Surface 3). Hoping it will last at least 3 years+.
I know a few clients who are still happily running D610 latitudes from 2005 to this very day.
Only upgrades are for larger hard drives, installation of Win 7 Pro and worn CPU fans from years of use(and sometimes abuse) in harsh working environments.
And this is despite the fact money isn’t an issue for them as they could easily afford to buy themselves several of the most expensive TRICKED OUT Macbook Pros/Equivalently priced gaming PC notebooks.
You can buy a Dell Inspiron 5000 gaming laptop for $1150 with a i7 quad core processor, 16GB RAM, and a video card with 4GB RAM. A comparable Macbook Pro might run you $2800. Even if you accept Dell’s might have more QC issues, you can buy two Dells for the price of one Macbook Pro and still have money left over. There’s a lot to like about Apple, but under no stretch of the imagination is it the most economical choice.
We built a 4core 4ghz 8gig RAM 500gig hd for around 230 last week. With case & wireless. Provided our own monitor, kb, and mouse. DD wanted something to game with, so we went over to the “sale” section of our not too far away parts place and made an afternoon of it. Stupid Windows license ran another benjy, but…it’s her machine, and maybe half to 1/3 the cost of prebuilt of similar spec.
I still like the idea of getting a chromebook for taking to class and just opening a remote session on the room-bound desktop, but think she will need to suffer a catastrophic failure of her other laptop first.
Seriously, the build your own desktop and remote into it with something cheap and light is a really viable option.
And again, they’re not apples to apples comparison.
Dell Inspiron is their low-end consumer-grade line of notebooks with a much higher likelihood of QC/build issues. I should know considering I’ve worked on more than my fair share of them over the last couple of decades. .
Also, reasonably knowledgeable gamers who choose their own machines and have taken the prudent time to save up would never choose a Dell Inspiron…especially with those specs.
They’d be going for an XPS or splurge on an Alienware and the minimum amount of RAM would be 32 GB…assuming they’re even inclined to game on a notebook.
And who initially brought up a “gaming laptop” in the first place? Albeit one which would be considered extreme bottom of the barrel by most computer gamers I know.
Dell puts gaming in the title. The point isn’t whether the laptop is a true gaming laptop. The point is it provided performance comparable to a MacBook Pro at less than half the cost.
If one only looks at tech specs without considering QC/build quality…they’re not likely to be able to fully enjoy that performance. Especially if they have to put up with lost time and aggravation derived from the lower quality QC/build quality, time lost from having to send the machine back to the shop for warranty repair or worse, having to consider the ROI between sending it back for out-of-warranty repair once the warranty runs out or buy a brand new notebook much sooner than expected.
Lost count of how many friends, clients, and neighbors got burned by failing to consider that factor when buying their first notebook or few notebooks*.
So, back to topic and the OP’s question, which was not about gaming machines or desktops or what people in business are using or a refurbed machine. And for someone not tech savvy, I’d not recommend buying something without some warranty or knowledge of the history of the machine for an incoming college freshman. And speaking of, OP, get insurance on the laptop. Kids drop them, step on them, they fall off lofted beds, spill stuff on them, they disappear, etc.
Be careful with going with insurance/extended warranties unless the terms do not exclude user inflicted accidental damages/drops/spills. If one doesn’t check for this, s/he may be in for a nasty surprise when s/he finds user-inflicted damage due to carelessness/accidents aren’t covered.
This is especially the case with water/liquid damage or what is considered abusive handling as most warranties/many insurance policies will automatically be voided if the warranty/insurance tech detects any sign of spills or such handling upon checking the machine when it’s sent in for warranty/insurance evaluation.
And even if one finds such insurance, carefully weigh the ROI…for some it may be worth it…for others not so much.
This was one key reason why I got my Amex Blue card.
The student insurance policies cover the damage to laptops. This is separate from the computer warranty. This kind of student insurance , which is commonplace now, probably didn’t exist much 20 years ago. It’s very affordable and very worthwhile.