I have an iPad, which has served and is serving me well.

[cwydro]

But if I wanted to get an Apple laptop...something I could hook up to a printer - what would anyone recommend?

Not a gamer, so I don’t need anything to do with that, but do a lot of work from home and I’m thinking a laptop might be a better option for me.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I've got a MacBook Pro, which works well for me.

It's a couple of years old, so I don't know what the latest models are.

[cwydro]

5. Thanks!

Looks like everyone is recommending this!

[TexasProgresive]

2. I'm on my 2nd Mac Book Pro laptop

I love it but it can no longer be upgraded OSwise. That is causing problems with some apps I use. It also will put up the "color wheel" that freezes everything for a while. What I'm saying is I may be in the market to replace my trusty laptop buddy - no, not you Frankie! Frankie is the cat that loves to recline in my lap when I'm in the recliner.

Do your homework. If you need a vote I say go with the Mac.

[cwydro]

4. Thanks! Gives me somewhere to start looking.

Really clueless at this.

Saw a lot of MS laptops, which were ay cheaper than I expected, but I really like my apple products so much, I don’t want to go back,

[redstatebluegirl]

3. Love our mac book pro.

My husband and I both have one.

[cwydro]

6. Thank you!

Seems to be unanimous so far!

Gonna get online and start looking.

[redstatebluegirl]

7. We are on our second one.

The university won't support Apple anymore, we have to get a Dell for work, but we have kept our mac books for our personal use.

[dhill926]

8. depending on what you need it for....

think about a MacBook Air. Much cheaper. A Pro might be overkill...

[cwydro]

14. Thanks for the suggestion!

I’ll look into that.

Yeah, I probably need half of what most devices offer lol.

[demigoddess]

9. MacBook Pro

I've had one for years. No problems yet.

[Tetrachloride]

10. Personally, I prefer desktops.

If you are WORKING from home, get a computer where u can work, see, spread out. An iMac, but not one with a traditional hard disk.

If you are a couch potato or travel a lot, then a MacBook.

my 2 cents, .. your sofa may vary.

[cwydro]

12. I was thinking of a desktop as a possibility.

I travel around a lot, so laptop was first in my mind, but I do have the iPad.

Are the desktops any cheaper than the laptops?

[Tetrachloride]

15. Desktops are cheaper sort of, especially considering --

wear and tear. if u get a laptop , get AppleCare at the same time. No question.

[Mersky]

11. Get a new printer? One with WiFi built in?

Sending print jobs from my iPad, etc. whilst hanging out on my couch, bed, porch, ... is a mighty fine experience that I cannot recommend enough.

[cwydro]

13. I know nothing about printers.

That sounds wonderful.

Is there one you’d recommend?

[Mersky]

16. I like laser printers - toner just keeps going and going

Think you’ve run out of it? Nah, shake the cartridge and you’ll get more pages while you reorder. I’ve been happy with Brother printers. Haven’t had much need for color printing over the past ten years, so one of the cube-shaped B/W laser printers was quite good for my needs. I upgraded to an all-in-one with laser printing, scanning, document feed, and WiFi after I gave my basic one to my niece for Christmas a couple years ago. I’ve been happy with it.

Is seriously cool sending print requests from my phone.

[cwydro]

21. The last printer I had years ago was a Brother that I used with a desktop.

Good to know.

[mr_lebowski]

18. All but the very cheapest printers these days has WiFi capabilities ...

And if you don't need color, I agree with above post re: Brother B/W laser printers.

Something like this is a nice choice ... https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/957941/Brother-Wireless-Monochrome-Laser-Printer-Copier/

Can print straight off the iPad no problem ... although you need a home wifi network, such as the one provided by most cable or dsl routers. Which I'd guess you have?

[cwydro]

19. Yes, I have that. Thanks for the info on printers!

Thing is, I never really had to use my iPad or need a printer. With the lockdown, I’ve been doing some at-home work for the county, which to my dismay involves Excel spreadsheets and that kind of thing (the horror)!

My iPad is rebelling, or maybe it’s just user error, which is more likely.

[mr_lebowski]

22. What do you mean by 'rebelling'? And how is a laptop and/or printer going to solve that?

Have you installed Office 365 from the App Store?

[cwydro]

25. That was just tongue in cheek.

I think it’s objecting to the attention it gets from my dogs. Paws, bodies, etc. My house is ruled by dogs, I’m afraid. The keyboard I bought years ago to go with the iPad has chew marks on it, literally.

Still not sure which ones did that. They all blamed the other.

I gotta say, Apple makes a hardy product.

Can’t blame them for all of it. This iPad has traveled with me on trains, planes, and automobiles. I left it on a bus in Ireland, and scrambled back on to find it thankfully. Spilled Guinness on it. Wine, coffee, tea, water...God knows what else. Helluva little iPad. Sold me on Apple products forever.

The laptop and printer are needed because of the work I’m doing for the county for vulnerable seniors during the lockdown. Or maybe that’s just an excuse because I want to buy a new device.

But this one is having issues. I have to keep reseating the pad into the keyboard as I type. I don’t like typing on the screen keyboard.

They send me a list of names each week ( a LOT of names) to call, and a spreadsheet onto which to enter all the info I have to gather. My iPad seems to have decided to not deal with these demands after working fine with the spreadsheets for three weeks.

I had to do everything using an old school composition notebook. Then write it all up to send it in with all the info. Found I could barely read my own writing!

No, I didn’t know about Office 365 - thanks! I’ll look into that!

Anyway, if I buy a new laptop, I will be guarding it closely. The printer will be out of reach of dogs.

Excellent questions though! Still trying to figure out what to get.

[Lulu KC]

17. I switched from Pro to Air

My Pro was so great, but it died on me.

I got an Air, thinking I wouldn't need a Pro anymore since it was only for personal use and the price is so much lower. Then I got a wonderful job that requires the use of my Air and it has been great. I like the lightness of it. I never miss the Pro. (Shhhh don't tell it that. It was so faithful for so long.)

I've adapted to the reduced disc space by doing this:

1. I pay .99/month to store everything in the cloud. We use a shared Drop Box for work, but I like to have my own copies of things I produce myself. It's a small price to pay for that. Also, when I switched from the Pro to the Air, it was a little awkward getting things from my external hard drive that I use for backup on to the new computer. This will make that more seamless when I finally leave my Air behind. (Though I do back up on the Toshiba external hard drive because you know, better safe than sorry.)

2. If you use the Office suite, it takes up a lot of room. I only downloaded the three apps I use--Word, Excel, and PPT--leaving behind Outlook etc. It took some thought to do this. No big deal.

3. Sometimes if there is a major update, I'll run just a bit short of space to do the update. So I have to clean out some files--which is a good idea to do anyway.

I have an HP printer that has been great. We had a Canon before and it was more temperamental. Both can take printing jobs from the other end of the house with wifi.

[cwydro]

20. Thanks! This is helpful.

Checking out Air and Pro.

[Elwood P Dowd]

23. Info on the Air....

https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-air

Regular price is $999.00, but you can shop the usual suspects and sometimes find them for $899.00 - Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, etc.. Also, I've seen refurbs, open box and prior year models sometimes on sale for even less.

[cwydro]

24. Yeah, in the 800 range is the best I've found so far.

Wish I didn’t like Apple products so much lol.

[Jetheels]

26. I have been in the Apple universe for years.

2 iMacs a MacBook Pro, 2 iPhones, and 3 iPads. I rarely use my new iMac. My MacBook Pro was good for about 8 years. I don’t have a printer but if I need something printed I go to a friends with my iPad and print wirelessly. If you do a lot of typing you might like the MacBook. I like the interface of the iPads best. I don’t like the mouse with the iMac or MacBook. Somehow the iPads are easier for me ergonomically and I like their portability.