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Comment by birdfood | Hacker News Reader

My personal machine is the first and only new computer I ever bought: a 2012 Mac book air. I wanted to get a pro but couldn't justify the price. I took it in to get the battery replaced a couple of years ago instead of upgrading, again, I couldn't justify the price. I think I'll probably get the battery replaced again soon as it's started to falter. For the stuff I do in my spare time this machine is totally adequate. I also have the original iPhone SE as my phone which I will probably get refurbished soon instead of getting a new one - all the new phones are too big.

I have a machine given (lent) to me by work though.

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> My personal machine is the first and only new computer I ever bought: a 2012 Mac book air.

This is the single Apple computer that I have fully operational. Anything made under Tim Cook - MBPs, iMac - lasted for up to 4 years before either too expensive to fix hardware failures occurred or Apple artificially slowed down those devices by blocking the ability to install non-newest macOS which made those devices too slow to work efficiently. Every installer from High Sierra to Big Sur starts but in 100% cases shows random errors at the end and fails to finish. Monterey is so slow on the 2017 MBP that the cursor is jumpy even in the installer.

I've had the opposite experience - my 2011 MBP died (due to dodgy graphics chip, logic board was replaced twice and it still died a third time), replaced it with a mid-2015 and it's been super solid. I did finally have to replace the battery last year for like $200 but it's running Monterey like a champ. Still my primary work machine with no signs of giving up yet.

I also have that MacBook Air, fully functional including battery. It has only been used occasionally and lasts for a couple of hours, but nothing has been replaced and it’s still my casual personal laptop (I use another machine for work). I was tempted to get the M1 pro MacBooks, but just can’t make myself replace this one - it’s been so good to me.

> I also have the original iPhone SE as my phone which I will probably get refurbished soon instead of getting a new one - all the new phones are too big.

Have you looked at the iPhone Mini? It is a bit bigger than the original SE but not by much!

I did a size comparison of the 13 mini when I was last in an apple store, and it was like 10mm bigger all around. A small phone by comparison but I like the SE better

The SE is losing support this September with iOS 16

About 1/4" larger in both height and width is more than a bit bigger IMO. I agree that the mini is the closest option right now though.

iPhone 13 Mini has an annoying power (side) button placement: it is almost opposite volume buttons—screenshot is triggered often by accident.

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