#sharingiscaring #1
José Nunes
Professional Dot Connector | Marketing Strategist & Video/Content Creator | UAV/Drone & Digital Twins Technologies/Training Consultant | AI, XR & EV Tech Evangelist
Many times, I reach certain conclusions that I feel like sharing with friends, but I rarely have the initiative to create content to share on social networks. It was from this realization that I decided to start changing that.
This #sharingiscaring is, in essence, just that: an exercise in sharing things that I think may interest those who follow me on networks such as Linkedin and Facebook.
#1 – Giving a new life to a piece of technology | MacBook Air 13” 1.6GHz Intel i5
Every day, we hear about sustainability, often without considering how to apply this concept in our daily lives. We often overlook things we no longer use, such as a smartphone, a camera, or a laptop. Why not give them a second life? That's what happened.
Lately, I've been selling a lot of items on OLX, so selling an old MacBook Air 13” with Intel i5, "half-abandoned," was my first reaction when I came across it. This laptop served my girlfriend from 2016 to 2023. A device bought new, but it was tired, and that's why it was (rightly) replaced by a MacBook Air 13” with the M1 chip for better performance.
Recently, I've been thinking about the term sustainability and how to put it into practice. So, I started to take a closer look at this iconic piece of technology. Some YouTube videos about this laptop's generation made me realize that even today, in 2023, it is still a capable device, especially for those who only need text processing, emails, internet browsing, or even some video (1080p) and photo editing, or an Adobe suite if they are designers.
Looking objectively at this computer, I consider that it has some limitations - some newer software may not work - but overall, macOS Monterey (v12.7.1, the latest version that can be installed on this hardware) can still run most programs that the majority of us would need for a normal day-to-day workflow.
Let's go into detail: this laptop, originally released in 2015, has a 1.6GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core processor, 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM, an Intel HD Graphics 6000 1535 MB graphics card, and a 128GB M.2 storage disk (remember, from 2015). Geeks and IT experts may say it's a very outdated machine, and I can't help but agree. However, it can undergo some upgrades that will significantly improve its performance.
What upgrades, you ask? NVMe M.2 storage disk and battery. In my view, that's all it takes to have a viable computer for work without major problems.?
In the particular case of this laptop, the fact that it has a 128GB storage disk is an excellent pretext for Apple to sell its iCloud. However, this 2015 model allows you to change the disk - and yes, you'll need to buy an adapter - but that's not a problem.
The battery, after 8 years, was also exhausted and lasted less than 1 hour, which is very limiting for a laptop.
Let's now go to a brief list of materials and some calculations:?
- NVMe M.2 500GB storage disk (surely affordable options with this amount of space, and this board supports up to 2TB of disk, but I chose this option to be budget-friendly).
Example: [Link to the SSD product]
SSD M.2 2280 GOODRAM PX600 500GB 3D TLC NAND NVMe PCIe Gen 4.0x4
€36.90
- NVMe storage disk adapter.
Example: [Link to the adapter product]
RIITOP NVMe SSD to 12+16Pin Upgrade Adapter for MacBook Air (2013-2017 Year) A1465 A1466 and Mac Pro (Late 2013-2015 Year)
€12.99
- Battery: here we'll also opt for a model made by another manufacturer since original Apple batteries are priced high (for this model, around €300).
领英推荐
Example: [Link to the battery product]
Bateria Apple MacBook Air 13" A1369 7.4V/48Wh
€42.50
?
All in all, we're looking at an upgrade costing €92.39, which, in my opinion, is good value for the investment. It's important to consider that this laptop is available on OLX for values between €450 and €250, meaning that if you don't have one of these lying around, revitalizing such a machine will cost around €500, easily. If you don't have one of these laptops sitting around, it may not make much sense to buy one for this purpose.
?
Some cheaper examples of this model on OLX:
[Links to OLX listings]
If you have one of these laptops collecting dust, I think you should consider this upgrade. Even by today's standards, you'll end up with an interesting machine, not only for yourself but also for a child or a parent who needs a computer for daily tasks. Truth be told, with €500, you'll hardly find such an interesting machine on the market, even in 2023; on the other hand, you're also being responsible/sustainable by giving a second life to an old piece of technology.
?
To conclude, I just want to say that even with almost 9 years since its launch, this equipment remains a beautiful example of Apple technology with a chassis completely made of aluminum, a decent monitor, a keyboard that many brand enthusiasts consider one of the best ever released, two full USB A 2.1 ports, a charger with Magsafe, which is honestly genius, a mini DisplayPort for connecting external monitors, and even a full SDXC card reader, which is still super interesting "nice to have."
Oh, I must also mention that this generation has the iconic backlit Apple logo, a feature that, in my opinion, the new models should have.
The trackpad is honestly the weakest point - it's from a very old generation and not very responsive compared to the new Apple models. But that's nothing that can't be solved with an external mouse since this laptop has Bluetooth 4.0 that works without any issues, both for the mouse and connecting your modern TWS earphones/headphones (I have the Nothing ear(2) and the Sony WH-1000XM4, which I tested and worked perfectly). If you like the "old" wired headphones, you always have a 3.5mm headphone jack connection.
?
Complete specs for this model's generation:
[Link to Apple Support page]
?
I hope you enjoyed this #1 of #sharingiscaring. If you did, leave your like, your comment, and if you really liked it, share it with your friends and family; I bet there are some Macbook Airs from this generation lying around unused.
?
Thank you, and until next time!
José Nunes
#sharingiscaring #sustainability #technology #laptop #apple #macbookair
Turning ideas into meaningful business ?? Entrepreneurship | Innovation | Business Design | Jobs-to-be-Done ??
1 年My 2017 MBP is following a similar path. Already changed the battery, now the display is showing a greenish accent, but with an external monitor it’s working just fine for browsing and for Pokémon TCG ??