Van said:
I’m trying to decide between getting a MacBook or a Thinkpad for my studies. I’m starting a science degree and will focus on physics later. I’ll definitely be doing some coding in Python and maybe Matlab. Other than that, it’s mostly normal student tasks like looking at notes, documents, and doing research. I’ve ruled out gaming laptops because I already have a desktop at home and I don’t want distractions.
The course site just says to avoid Chromebooks. They mention that if you can’t run certain software, they’ll provide computers at school.
Even so, I want to get a solid laptop that will last me several years. Should I go with a MacBook or a Thinkpad?
I have an iPhone and iPad with the Apple Pencil for notes, so a MacBook would fit in with those, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about ThinkPads too—they’re known to be very durable.
I’ve saved enough and I want the best laptop I can afford. If I go for a Mac, I’m looking at the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 chip, 512GB or 1TB SSD. On the Thinkpad side, I’m not sure what model to get. Given the price, which one would be better?
My gut says Mac, but I want to make sure I’m considering all the options before I make the purchase.
Edit: I meant to say MacBook Air M3 or the MacBook Pro with M3 chip.
I used ThinkPads for almost 20 years, but I recently switched from a 2021 X1 Carbon to a 13-inch MacBook Pro with M2, and I love it. I still use the ThinkPad at home, but I take the MacBook everywhere else. Here’s what I think: It depends on how you work.
I tried MacBooks a few times in the past (2010, 2019, and 2021), but I didn’t stick with them because of how I worked. I used to do a lot of heavy Microsoft Word and Excel work, and ThinkPads were perfect for that. The keyboard is great, and the trackpoint (that little red pointer) meant I didn’t have to take my hands off the keyboard while working on spreadsheets. Microsoft Office on Mac was terrible in 2010, and it’s still not as good as the Windows version.
Now I don’t do that kind of work anymore. I mostly use my laptop for browsing, reading, highlighting PDFs, and taking notes. Like you, I also have an iPhone and an iPad with a pencil. In this case, the Apple silicon MacBook is far better. No contest. Here’s why:
- The battery life is incredible. I’ve never had a laptop that lasts this long. Most days, I don’t even need to charge it.
- The way it works with my iPhone and iPad is just too convenient. For example, I can open a PDF on my Mac, use the pencil on the iPad to highlight or write on it, then save or send the marked-up PDF from the Mac instantly. Or I can write something on the Mac and add a picture from my phone in no time.
I don’t know anything about programming, so I can’t help you there. But since you mentioned you’ll be using it for viewing and taking notes, I hope my experience helps you decide.