The decision between Mac and Windows is a matter of personal taste so it's mostly up to you. However, depending on what you are going to do with your laptop you might want/prefer Windows if you are going to do something related to specific productivity fields as specific software is more likely to be available for Windows as well as gaming stuff, or if you are already into Apple ecosystem (iOS) or if you are going to do mostly video editing then go for Mac.
Mac is very minimalistic and restrictive with user so there's no much you have to learn how to do. I warn you that you will need 3rd party software even for basic features like snapping windows but in return you have a lower chance of breaking something within the system as you won't have admin privileges.
You can get a windows laptop cheaper than a Mac but if you want something with the same or higher performance, build quality and long-lasting battery, then you'll have to spend as much or more money than if you bought a Mac.
If you want Mac then try the latest MacBook Air or a second hand MacBook Pro.
On the other hand, if you go for Windows then you should browse among ThinkPad, Dell XPS, Microsoft Surface, Asus Zenbook or Samsung Galaxy, maybe some HP models but only aluminum chasis 'cause HP plastic is trash. You might want at least 16 gb of RAM and if it fits your budget one of the latest AI processors as local AI features are expected to become a standard for daily workflow and many apps and services could require it in the future. However anything with dedicated cores for performance and efficiency (like Intel 12th gen and up or equivalent) should provide both high performance and long-lasting battery.
What are you actually doing?
Reading 30 page documents is nothing, a calculator has enough power to do that.
It sounds like you have always had cheap windows machines hence your issues.
My advice would be:
ARM setups have longer battery life by their nature, this is Mac and Chromebooks and some windows machines, hard to find.
There are some good windows machines, Surface Book (not pro or laptop, but book), Lenovo Thinkpad.
If you are going to spend 1k then any is will be fine.
Most people who rave on the Mac being so much better moved to mac from a £300 cheap laptop to a £1100 Mac and can’t see the problem with that comparison.
At £1000-£1200 it’s all really a preference.
Don’t by Dell, most common failed laptop on the market. Always has power issues.
Honestly, if you are just reading and writing documents, a high end Chromebook will be perfect.
Personally, I have a Mac laptop due to battery and a windows desktop for power.
(And Linux server for Plex 😂)
Good luck
Mostly research, having 30+ webpages open as flick back and forth looking for what I need, others loading, downloading,etc. My writing isn't killing them.
I'd like to get into some photo/video editing but nothing professional.
I'm not a gamer. But I have 1tb full harddrive, I have backups and don't need most on my laptop, I need to get an easier/more regular backup setup too.
If you are adding editing, and on a laptop I would say grab a Mac M2/M3. You can add external drives for low cost and keep the main SSD of the laptop for current work. The windows laptops around the same price will be very good, but for me the battery life will be the winner vs windows.
If you want a "workhorse that will last you many years" may I suggest adding a third option into the pool? Linux! Currently switched from Windows to Linux due to that exact reason, Windows (10) was getting slow with only a few programs actively running and file operations were relatively noticeable. Switched to Linux (Arch specifically) and I cannot believe the difference in speed. Dual-boot Win11 and even a fresh install is not nearly as fast. Do be careful with which display manager you use, KDE Plasma has been slightly buggy sometimes for me, but if you are okay with not using Premiere Pro (Davinci Resolve for the win) or any other proprietary software for Win/Mac, then I'd say try it out!
(Note: if you do not want to do everything manually, a plug 'n' play distro such as Ubuntu or Mint might suit you better)
Why not Linux? I’ve honestly not heard of them before but found a company pcspecialist that builds what you need, but it’s linux. For the price it seems I could get a lot more for my money with that.
Or eBay have business sellers that buy and upgrade laptops with bigger ram and ssd’s. My only concern is they say they’re under manufacturers warranty, but surely that’s broken once it’s opened and upgraded? Or is that not an issue with laptops?
If you don't have an extremely low end laptop or pc then there's just no need to use Linux. Windows has some ease of use features that Linux doesn't have, such as not having to use terminal to install an app
Most laptops that have been upgraded will be too old for their warranty anyway so it doesn't matter if a company has upgraded them.
As long as you don't do any gaming, a macbook pro would be the perfect workhorse for you. You can find some M1 MBP's for about \~£1000 in the used market, and/or get yourself a macbook air m2 new for that. Just bear in mind that it might not be as powerful as the windows equivalent, though it will hold on to your tasks better.
First check does apps you want to use already optimized for M1, M2 and M3. If use apps not optimized would became slower.
[https://isapplesiliconready.com](https://isapplesiliconready.com)
Honestly, the M1, M2 & etcetera MacBooks are really good. Get one with 16GB of RAM and you'll be fine. They cost more than a cheap Windows laptop though, so keep that in mind. Unless you need specific software like Microsoft Word or something. There's Mac alternatives that do the same thing and sometimes just Mac versions of the same software.
Well if you need something that can last on battery and don't overheat and can do research work as you say I would recommend any mac with M chip as they really last.
Well... I can't argue the case between Mac and Windows but for what you've explained you do, you're not going to get much Mac for £1k and any you can't find (New) will equally struggle.
You might however find a second hand Mac for £1k with decent specs.
Ideally you'd want a MacBook Pro.
Mostly research, having 30+ webpages open as flick back and forth looking for what I need, others loading, downloading,etc. My writing isn't killing them.
I'd like to get into some photo/video editing but nothing professional.
I'm not a gamer. But I have 1tb full harddrive, I have backups and don't need most on my laptop, I need to get an easier/more regular backup setup too.
The decision between Mac and Windows is a matter of personal taste so it's mostly up to you. However, depending on what you are going to do with your laptop you might want/prefer Windows if you are going to do something related to specific productivity fields as specific software is more likely to be available for Windows as well as gaming stuff, or if you are already into Apple ecosystem (iOS) or if you are going to do mostly video editing then go for Mac. Mac is very minimalistic and restrictive with user so there's no much you have to learn how to do. I warn you that you will need 3rd party software even for basic features like snapping windows but in return you have a lower chance of breaking something within the system as you won't have admin privileges. You can get a windows laptop cheaper than a Mac but if you want something with the same or higher performance, build quality and long-lasting battery, then you'll have to spend as much or more money than if you bought a Mac. If you want Mac then try the latest MacBook Air or a second hand MacBook Pro. On the other hand, if you go for Windows then you should browse among ThinkPad, Dell XPS, Microsoft Surface, Asus Zenbook or Samsung Galaxy, maybe some HP models but only aluminum chasis 'cause HP plastic is trash. You might want at least 16 gb of RAM and if it fits your budget one of the latest AI processors as local AI features are expected to become a standard for daily workflow and many apps and services could require it in the future. However anything with dedicated cores for performance and efficiency (like Intel 12th gen and up or equivalent) should provide both high performance and long-lasting battery.
With the exception of the Dell XPS, I agree with all of this. I’ll add, if you are just reading and writing documents, consider a chrome book.
What are you actually doing? Reading 30 page documents is nothing, a calculator has enough power to do that. It sounds like you have always had cheap windows machines hence your issues. My advice would be: ARM setups have longer battery life by their nature, this is Mac and Chromebooks and some windows machines, hard to find. There are some good windows machines, Surface Book (not pro or laptop, but book), Lenovo Thinkpad. If you are going to spend 1k then any is will be fine. Most people who rave on the Mac being so much better moved to mac from a £300 cheap laptop to a £1100 Mac and can’t see the problem with that comparison. At £1000-£1200 it’s all really a preference. Don’t by Dell, most common failed laptop on the market. Always has power issues. Honestly, if you are just reading and writing documents, a high end Chromebook will be perfect. Personally, I have a Mac laptop due to battery and a windows desktop for power. (And Linux server for Plex 😂) Good luck
Mostly research, having 30+ webpages open as flick back and forth looking for what I need, others loading, downloading,etc. My writing isn't killing them. I'd like to get into some photo/video editing but nothing professional. I'm not a gamer. But I have 1tb full harddrive, I have backups and don't need most on my laptop, I need to get an easier/more regular backup setup too.
If you are adding editing, and on a laptop I would say grab a Mac M2/M3. You can add external drives for low cost and keep the main SSD of the laptop for current work. The windows laptops around the same price will be very good, but for me the battery life will be the winner vs windows.
If you want a "workhorse that will last you many years" may I suggest adding a third option into the pool? Linux! Currently switched from Windows to Linux due to that exact reason, Windows (10) was getting slow with only a few programs actively running and file operations were relatively noticeable. Switched to Linux (Arch specifically) and I cannot believe the difference in speed. Dual-boot Win11 and even a fresh install is not nearly as fast. Do be careful with which display manager you use, KDE Plasma has been slightly buggy sometimes for me, but if you are okay with not using Premiere Pro (Davinci Resolve for the win) or any other proprietary software for Win/Mac, then I'd say try it out! (Note: if you do not want to do everything manually, a plug 'n' play distro such as Ubuntu or Mint might suit you better)
I don't think that Linux is the best idea, as OP said that they're not the most technological person
Yeah okay, that is true. Then Windows or Mac might be better in this case
Why not Linux? I’ve honestly not heard of them before but found a company pcspecialist that builds what you need, but it’s linux. For the price it seems I could get a lot more for my money with that. Or eBay have business sellers that buy and upgrade laptops with bigger ram and ssd’s. My only concern is they say they’re under manufacturers warranty, but surely that’s broken once it’s opened and upgraded? Or is that not an issue with laptops?
If you don't have an extremely low end laptop or pc then there's just no need to use Linux. Windows has some ease of use features that Linux doesn't have, such as not having to use terminal to install an app Most laptops that have been upgraded will be too old for their warranty anyway so it doesn't matter if a company has upgraded them.
Oh. Ok. So they’ll be new old-stock laptops they upgrade. That makes sense. Windows it is.
As long as you don't do any gaming, a macbook pro would be the perfect workhorse for you. You can find some M1 MBP's for about \~£1000 in the used market, and/or get yourself a macbook air m2 new for that. Just bear in mind that it might not be as powerful as the windows equivalent, though it will hold on to your tasks better.
I got a made-for-linux laptop from Tuxedo and im pretty happy with it
First check does apps you want to use already optimized for M1, M2 and M3. If use apps not optimized would became slower. [https://isapplesiliconready.com](https://isapplesiliconready.com)
Honestly, the M1, M2 & etcetera MacBooks are really good. Get one with 16GB of RAM and you'll be fine. They cost more than a cheap Windows laptop though, so keep that in mind. Unless you need specific software like Microsoft Word or something. There's Mac alternatives that do the same thing and sometimes just Mac versions of the same software.
Well if you need something that can last on battery and don't overheat and can do research work as you say I would recommend any mac with M chip as they really last.
Well... I can't argue the case between Mac and Windows but for what you've explained you do, you're not going to get much Mac for £1k and any you can't find (New) will equally struggle. You might however find a second hand Mac for £1k with decent specs. Ideally you'd want a MacBook Pro.
what exactly will you be doing?
Mostly research, having 30+ webpages open as flick back and forth looking for what I need, others loading, downloading,etc. My writing isn't killing them. I'd like to get into some photo/video editing but nothing professional. I'm not a gamer. But I have 1tb full harddrive, I have backups and don't need most on my laptop, I need to get an easier/more regular backup setup too.
Stop buying ones already half gone and you might see they last longer.