Apple MacBook Pro MLH12LL/A 13-inch Laptop with Touch Bar, 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 8GB Memory, 256GB, Retina Display, Space Gray (Renewed) 4.0 out of 5 stars 121 $900.00 $ 900. 00 $1,099.99 $1,099.99. The Apple MacBook Pro MF839LL/A is another top laptop for programming. The 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5 processor delivers superior performance, and it offers a turbo speed up to 3.1 GHz. It has a 3MB shared L3 cache and has no trouble computing millions of instructions.
How fast does your MacBook need to be to comfortably code iOS apps with Xcode? Is a MacBook Pro from 2-3 years ago good enough to learn Swift programming? Let’s find out!
Here’s what we’ll get into:
I’ve answered a lot of “Is my MacBook good enough for iOS development and/or Xcode?”-type questions on Quora. A few of the most popular models include:
These models aren’t the latest, that’s for sure. Are they good enough to code iOS apps? And what about learning how to code? We’ll find out in this article.
Since 2009 I’ve coded more than 50 apps for iOS, Android and the mobile web. Most of those apps, including all apps I’ve created between 2013 and 2018, were built on a 13″ MacBook Air with 8 GB of RAM and a 1.3 GHz Intel i5 CPU.
My first MacBook was the gorgeous, then-new MacBook White unibody (2009), which I traded in for a faster but heavier MacBook Pro (2011), which I traded in for that nimble workhorse, the mighty MacBook Air (2013). In 2018 I upgraded to a tricked out 13″ MacBook Pro, with much better specs.
Frankly, that MacBook Air from 2013 felt more sturdy and capable than my current MacBook Pro. After 5 years of daily intenstive use, the MacBook Air’s battery is only through 50% of its max. cycle count. It’s still going strong after 7 hours on battery power.
In 2014, my trusty MacBook Air broke down on a beach in Thailand, 3 hours before a client deadline, with the next Apple Store 500 kilometer away. It turned out OK, of course. Guess what? My current MacBook Pro from 2018, its keyboard doesn’t even work OK, I’ve had sound recording glitches, and occasionally the T2 causes a kernel panic. Like many of us, I wish we had 2013-2015 MacBook Air’s and Pro’s with today’s specs. Oh, well…
Sign up for my iOS development course, and learn how to build great iOS 14 apps with Swift 5 and Xcode 12.
When I was about 11 years old I taught myself to code in BASIC, on a 100 Mhz i486 PC that was given to me by friends. It had a luxurious 16 MB of RAM, initially only ran MS-DOS, and later ran Windows 3.1 and ’95.
A next upgrade came as a 400 Mhz AMD desktop, given again by friends, on which I ran a local EasyPHP webserver that I used to learn web development with PHP, MySQL and HTML/CSS. I coded a mod for Wolfenstein 3D on that machine, too.
We had no broadband internet at home back then, so I would download and print out coding tutorials at school. At the one library computer that had internet access, and I completed the tutorials at home. The source codes of turn-based web games, JavaScript tidbits and HTML page snippets were carried around on a 3.5″ floppy disk.
Later, when I started coding professionally around age 17, I finally bought my first laptop. My own! I still remember how happy I was. I got my first gig as a freelance coder: creating a PHP script that would aggregate RSS feeds, for which I earned about a hundred bucks. Those were the days!
The world is different today. Xcode simply doesn’t run on an i486 PC, and you can’t save your app’s source code on a 1.44 MB floppy disk anymore. Your Mac probably doesn’t have a CD drive, and you store your Swift code in a cloud-based Git repository somewhere.
Make no mistake: owning a MacBook is a luxury. Not because learning to code was harder 15 years ago, and not because computers were slower back then. It’s because kids these days learn Python programming on a $25 Raspberry Pi.
I recently had a conversation with a young aspiring coder, who complained he had no access to “decent” coding tutorials and mentoring, despite owning a MacBook Pro and having access to the internet. Among other things, I wrote the following:
You’re competing with a world of people that are smarter than you, and have better resources. You’re also competing against coders that have had it worse than you. They didn’t win despite adversity, but because of it. Do you give up? NO! You work harder. It’s the only thing you can do: work harder than the next person. When their conviction is wavering, you dig in your heels, you keep going, you persevere, and you’ll win.
Winning in this sense isn’t like winning a race, of course. You’re not competing with anyone else; you’re only really up against yourself. If you want to learn how to code, don’t dawdle over choosing a $3.000 or a $2.900 laptop. If anything, it’ll keep you from developing the grit you need to learn coding.
Great ideas can change the world, but only if they’re accompanied by deliberate action. Likewise, simply complaining about adversity isn’t going to create opportunities for growth – unless you take action. I leapfrogged my way from one hand-me-down computer to the next. I’m not saying you should too, but I do want to underscore how it helped me develop character.
If you want to learn how to code, welcome adversity. Be excellent because of it, or despite it, and never give up. Start coding today! Don’t wait until you’ve got all your ducks in a row.
The recommended system specs to run Xcode 11 are:
Looking for a second-hand Mac? The following models should be fast enough for Xcode, but YMMV!
When you’re looking for a Mac or MacBook to purchase, make sure it runs the latest version of macOS. Xcode versions you can run are tied to macOS versions your hardware runs, and iOS versions you can build for are tied to Xcode versions. See how that works? This is especially true for SwiftUI, which is iOS 13.0 and up only. Make sure you can run the latest!
Pro tip: You can often find the latest macOS version a device model supports on their Wikipedia page (see above links, scroll down to Supported macOS releases). You can then cross-reference that with Xcode’s minimum OS requirements (see here, scroll to min macOS to run), and see which iOS versions you’ll be able to run.
Awesome! We’ve discussed what you need to run Xcode on your Mac. You might not need as much as you think you do. Likewise, it’s smart to invest in a future-proof development machine.
Whatever you do, don’t ever think you need an expensive computer to learn how to code. Maybe the one thing you really want to invest in is frustration tolerance. You can make do, without the luxury of a MacBook Pro. A hand-me-down i486 is enough. Or… is it?
Want to learn more? Check out these resources:
Sign up for my iOS development course, and learn how to build great iOS 14 apps with Swift 5 and Xcode 12.
A good laptop can give your child a fantastic research tool to see them through their school years. The best school laptops can help children to learn vital computing skills, and also give them a powerful research machine for all their studies.
The ideal laptop depends on what your child will be studying, of course. But in all cases, you'll definitely want it to be good value, dependable and lightweight. It should also last for a number of years, seeing them through many classes – and, of course, great grades!
We pick out some of the best laptops out there for students, with models to fit all budgets.
In this guide:
These are the best laptops you should consider for packing into a school bag:
Best for design-minded students How much is microsoft word for macbook pro.
The Apple MacBook Air might be Apple’s cheapest laptop, but you’re still looking at over $1,000 worth of tech, so it’s by no means a budget choice.
https://pont.over-blog.com/2021/01/omnisphere-2-vst-plugin-free-download.html. It should, however, last for years – ideally seeing a student through from high school to college.
Packing an Intel Core i5 processor, the Air will happily cope with hardcore homework, and the 12 hour battery means that it can keep going from the breakfast to recess through to evening without needing a charge.
After a period of neglect, Apple is back to promoting the Air again, and the 2019 MacBook Air is one of the best MacBooks (and cheapest) you can buy. If you're keen on a Mac and fancy making a saving, you can still pick up the older MacBook Air model for under $1,000. It's a perfectly good computer that's still super-stylish.
Pros
Cons
Best for demanding Windows users
Sticking with powerful laptops, this is another generous model for students. The Dell XPS range is its high-end series of laptops, designed to give MacBooks a run for their money.
It's the kind of laptop to consider for a senior student with more demanding coursework, perhaps. For any other high school student, it's overkill. The Dell XPS 13 has a fast processor in a small and lightweight frame, plus with a decent battery life.
A solid state drive means it's fast to boot up, taking just seconds, so that killer essay idea won’t be lost in the moment.
Pros:
Screenflow 7 3 – create screen recordings without. Cons:
Best for Google-loving students
It may not be a powerhouse, but the Samsung Chromebook is an excellent companion for lectures, thanks to a near instant startup time and the full range of Google apps.
It runs the Google Chrome operating system – all notes and essays are automatically saved to the cloud, so there's no panic about lost files if the laptop gets left on the school bus.
Chromebooks like this one can open and edit Microsoft Word or Excel documents, though they use Google's suite of web apps (Docs and Pages) to do so. They're virtually indistinguishable in practice, and the Google tools have better options for sharing and collaborating on work.
Pros:
Cons:
Best for flexibility
Another Chromebook, but this one is more powerful, making it a great choice for those looking to run more demanding apps or keeping lots of browser tabs open at once.
It also has a neat trick up its sleeve – its touchscreen can rotate 180 degrees and double as a tablet.
The touchscreen is useful for making quick diagrams or notes, and the flexible screen makes it easier to comfortably watch videos when it's in the “upside-down-V” shape.
Pros:
Cons:
Best for students on a budget
The cheapest Windows 10 laptop on our list, and for a reason – the low-end Pentium processor isn’t really that powerful.
But, for the money, you’ll get a more than capable laptop that can deal with Word documents and spreadsheets without breaking a sweat. It may not be able to handle demanding programs (forget 3D gaming), but as an essay machine, it’ll do a fine job.
The battery life is good too, meaning that you won’t get caught out with the dreaded battery warning symbol at critical moments.
Pros:
Cons:
Best for portability
Technically this is a tablet rather than a laptop, but it's a good Windows 10 device to consider.
Microsoft has recently introduced its cheapest entry-level Surface yet, the Go, priced at $400. The price point makes it a compelling alternative. Easy to slip into a bag, offering the full Windows experience and with a long battery life, there’s a lot to like here.
You’ll definitely want the keyboard though, which is sold separately (for an extra $100).
Pros
https://coolufiles160.weebly.com/sony-ip-camera-viewer-software.html. Best for students (or parents) with deep pockets
Does any school student truly need a MacBook Pro? No. Do they want one? Yes. They really do.
Make no mistake, the MacBook Pro is overpowered for anything your average school student would want it for, but if you’re a family of MacBook owners, then you might be tempted.
The great thing about the MacBook Pro is that it is designed to last, meaning you can expect it to last the school years, accompany them to college and even to their first job – by which time they can buy their own laptop. Don’t forget the generous discount that Apple offers to students, either, knocking $100 off the asking price.
Pros
Cons
If budget is a concern, then rest assured that there are plenty of choices that will serve any school student perfectly well. The Acer Swift 1 mentioned above is a snip at $300, and that price is by no means an anomaly. Shop around and you’ll find plenty of laptops that fit your budget and can do everything a school child should need. So, how much should you be looking to spend?
Up to $300 How to download microsoft office in macbook.
This is the starting point for Windows laptops. At this price they will be low powered, and chunky. They're also likely to not come with too much storage space, but most can be expanded with a cheap SD card. There are also a lot of Chromebooks available at this price point – these are well worth considering. They may be a little more basic than a traditional laptop, but can do pretty much anything a student would want. See more about Chromebooks below.
Up to $500
You're entering the mid-range territory at this price point, so you’ll be able to pick up a laptop that offers a modest degree of power. Processor and Ram are the key differences. While under $300 you’ll be restricted to around 4GB of Ram, for up to $500 you can get 8GB. More importantly still, the laptop should have a more respectable processor. This will mean faster startup and running speeds and better multi-tasking from the laptop – useful for flitting through the numerous browser tabs open during research, or when going between documents.
Up to $750
With up to $750 at your disposal it’s possible to score a nice laptop. But really, for school students, this price point is diminishing returns. While faster processors mean better performance, it will be mostly under-utilized. You’re paying for the kudos of a more powerful laptop without actually getting to use the power. Imagine buying a supercar, but only ever driving it at sensible speeds on public roads. However, if your child is studying anything like graphic design or coding (or wants a laptop for gaming, too) the price could be justified.
$750-$1,000
At this price point, you're certainly being generous. The most likely laptops to fall within this band are Apple MacBooks – they're brilliant machines, but overkill for essay writing and web browsing. The main things going in their favor are style and reliability. A MacBook will look the part, but being super-slim, they're easy to put in a bag for the day. Better still, a MacBook should last for years.
A Chromebook differs from a traditional laptop. These low-cost models run the Chrome operating system rather than Windows or macOS. The ethos behind the Chromebook is “cloud-first” – everything is stored online. Although Chromebooks do come with some built-in storage, it’s usually small.
You don’t get Word or Excel either, but Google’s nearly identical alternatives – Google Docs and Google Sheets – as well as other apps such as presentation software. Importantly, you can open and edit Microsoft files with these tools.
Chromebooks tend to be speedy to start up too, utilizing an SSD and not bogged down by unnecessary programs. It’s a very well streamlined platform that runs the same way your Windows laptop did when you first took it home, but everyday.
Chromebooks are also very light and portable, strengthening their justification as a worthy consideration.
Taskpaper 3 8 3 – simple to do list. The main reason to go for a Chromebook? Price. You can buy a respectable model for under $300, and it will run fast and look slim and modern. If your child is only going to need a laptop for spreadsheets, essays and web browsing, a Chromebook can be a great choice.
There’s bound to be at least one much-envied student in the class with a MacBook, but that doesn’t mean that you have to follow suit.
For a school student, even the entry level MacBook Air is overkill. Yes, of course it'll run quickly, plus give lots of power and a beautiful screen. But, there are laptops that can do all the same tasks for half the cost (and admittedly, a little less style).
That said, your child will love you forever (or until the next Apple refresh), and that laptop will last a long time. It might even find its way back to you, if your child moves onto the next thing.
The good news is that Apple offers some decent discounts on MacBooks for students – if you want to buy one laptop to last plenty of years, it could still work out as a good investment.
Which MacBook Should I Buy? – our handy guide explains the differences between the MacBook Air, Pro and 12-inch MacBook
If you're looking to pick up a new laptop for a student, there are a few ways you can save yourself some cash in the process.
Timing is key. The back to school season is a vital one for retailers, and they'll be slashing prices of school kit. That's not just pencils and erasers, but laptops too. Check the retail stores before a new term starts to find decent deals on laptops, including Best Buy, Target, and Amazon. You can check the history of Amazon's product pricing at www.camelcamelcamel.com to make sure that a bargain laptop really is on sale for its cheapest price.
Don't forget to go straight to the manufacturers either. Both Apple and Microsoft offer student discounts on their laptops. Microsoft gives a 10% discount on hardware, but also offers software to students for free, including Office 365, which includes full versions of Word, Excel and other programs.
It's also worth checking if the school has an existing program. Some schools offer laptop loans to their students, depending on background. If you qualify, you may be entitled to a free loan of a device for the child's time at the school.
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