Apple Mac computers have always been wrongly deemed to cost an arm and a leg. In actual fact, there are models cheaper than many offerings from the Windows world. The trick is actually very simple and on Apple Store itself.
I have been recommending my friends looking for a Mac machine to look at the Refurbished Mac section of Apple Store. To me, this is better than looking through Carousell for second hand Mac machines, and not knowing what the previous owners have done to their great machines.
For instance, you can now get a refurbished Mac mini for only S$849 here. Granted it was originally released in 2018 and features a meagre 128GB flash storage. But for basic computing or for your kids’ school projects, it is more than good enough.
Not to mention, you can get a 2020 MacBook Air for only S$939 for your kid if portability is needed. You can even get yourself a 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Pro for S$1,569. By comparison, the new model with the same 8GB of unified memory and 256GB SSD will cost nearly S$300 more.
You might argue that these are refurbished sets and you worry about its quality. Well, you can get a lemon even if you buy a new machine, depending on your luck.
However, I think you can trust Apple’s rigorous process in refurbishing their products. Furthermore, each refurbished unit comes with one-year warranty. Plus, you can have the option of purchasing AppleCare for an additional two years for a total of three-year warranty if you really want a peace of mind.
You can also look through the refurbished iPad section to see if there is anything that catches your eye.