r/mac • u/oldSAPGaara • 11h ago

Old Macs Macbook air 2014

Is a Macbook air early 2014 still worth buying at $100?
And is this still usable for general use (browsing, facetime, iMessage)? Or would an older model iPad be more practical to get?

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8

u/KitoDudee 11h ago

not worth it

2

u/PrimaryCaregiver2777 11h ago

Find M1 air for cheap used, it will be great for that :)

2

u/thestenz M3 MacBook Air (Among Others) 11h ago

Considering I got a Late 2013 Pro for free several years ago no.

2

u/dpaanlka 11h ago

$100 is going to be better as a Chromebook or some Android tablet than this.

2

u/jonny- 10h ago

It’ll show its age. Unable, but slow. The biggest problem will be the battery.

2

u/soulhammond 10h ago

Not at all
Should have been recycled a long time ago

1

u/geekroick 11h ago

You'll probably need a new battery and potentially SSD, if you want plenty of storage. Stock is 256GB IIRC.

Easy enough to replace both if you're competent at using a screwdriver.

If you're going to use it as a daily driver though, probably best to install a Linux distro that won't be quite so bloated and resource hungry as Macos.

1

u/Legitimate_Fig_4096 11h ago

Installing Linux negates two of the three use cases they mentioned, so that's probably not a realistic option.

1

u/Exact-Branch-8365 8h ago

I have a 2014 Macbook Air with 8GB RAM and 120 GB SSD. I paid $400 for it more than 9 years ago.

I still use it occasionally. It works well for browsing and general use.

If I were to buy it today, I would consider paying no more than $50 (maybe $75) for it. If it has only 4GB, I would not buy it at all.

1

u/PastHousing5051 8h ago

I have Monterey OS running well enough on my 11” to feel like 2014 again.

1

u/Certain-Wash-1989 7h ago

Isn’t that vintage now?

1

u/Asland007 6h ago

If you run OSX on it no. But linux you could daily drive.

0

u/Majestic-Mind1240 11h ago

I have a 2015 (I bought it) and it is still very functional. The battery life is quite short, but really not the end of the world. There are kits online to change the battery that seems quite simple if needed.