[Reporter's Note] Is it worth it to purchase a Macbook Air for one million won?

[Consumerwide -  Yohan Bok Reporter]  It starts from the moment the reporter got a tiny used iPhone 6 from someone I know that I consider purchasing another Apple product in the future. The iPhone 6 served me greatly from secondary phone to main phone as the reporter got to like them due to their small, light, and durable features until it wasn't able to carry any longer its duty. The phone could carry messaging, calls, and banking duties; thus, the reporter felt comfortable. Photos looked prettier on the gallery app, but it was not the best for writing or typing because of the small screen.

After tasting the world of the iPhone, she'd been checking out Apple products, including the iPad, for her outdoor task. Concerning all the writing and other tasks, I felt the Macbook Air would serve the best. I purchased it when it hit 950,000 won the third time during the six-month period since the end of last year, while also checking and comparing its technical features with those of Windows-based laptops.

It seems to me that Microsoft is testing the capacity of their OS today while passing on the incomplete system to consumers with update services after the end of Windows 7. There have been constant issues since the release of Windows 10, from update errors to installation errors to compatibility issues, which consumers have had to bear. After keeping switching between Chrome and Explorer, hoping one of them would work, all the convenient and familiar experiences with Windows were fading away from the memories of the reporter. Aside from that, the OS price of Windows-based laptops goes beyond 100,000 won, which is worth some of the cheap laptops on the market.

Not that she was choosing the Apple product to show up to the Microsoft company to prove them wrong. Apart from its sleek appearance, stability, which has been advertised numerous times through different articles and their homepage, caught my attention. Probably, it takes more experience to learn its capacity; however, having a closed system, which Apple is notorious for, can be stable as they can cooperate with many other systems. On top of that, the Macbook Air was not as expensive as other Windows-based 13-inch laptops with similar technical features. And, concerning the contemporary trend, which develops and distributes light and simple apps with practical and essential features instead of programmes with high-edge technologies and essential features, since releasing smartphones, the reporter thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to use the Macbook Air, which has capacity between smartphones and laptops. After testing a variety of programmes, including Notes, Word, and photo-related apps on both the Galaxy A32 and the iPhone 6, for six months, I was not too afraid of jumping into an unfamiliar system.

The reporter has chosen the Coupang channel, which is relatively easier to claim in the case of device issues based on her past experience with refunds, for her first Apple laptop. Coupang does not distribute only good-quality products. One of the low-priced Chinese plug products, which had multiple burning or melting cases based on customer comments on the products, or a laptop with a high price are both distributed through the same channel. Nevertheless, the reporter chose the channel only because she could claim at any time, at least during the first month, as well as the C/S being under Korean distribution regulation regardless of suspicious manufacturers or the first handlers of the product. This is probably one of the reasons that the reporter hasn't gotten a membership in Temu or Ali, which are two of the cheapest distribution channels in the world. Recently, Gmarket and Smartstore, the Korean online distribution channels, have also accepted the free refund and exchange system, though partially. Perhaps one of the best aspects that the domestic channel can offer is trust in the transaction. Apple, the manufacturer, offers a one-year free repair guarantee for Macbook Air (M1), and consumers can extend the warranty by purchasing Applecare at the time of purchasing the laptop.

By the time the reporter got the product, the battery was almost reaching down to 15~17%, and it took 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete the charge. But she felt so much electricity flow on the surface of the laptop during the entire charging process. It was strange for her that the US company is manufacturing and distributing the product without resolving one of the fundamental safety features, the earthing system, whereas the US, where their headquarters are, is restricting global companies to provide only faultless products. The Macbook Air, which reporter purchased, was not a direct purchase from overseas, but a product that is imported to Korea officially. If Apple is constantly ignoring their duty to provide a safe product to overseas countries, maybe Korean government should restrict any electric product that does not meet the safety standard of Korea. The reporter has never seen a product in Korea that allows electricity to flow over its surface; if it did exist, it was undoubtedly a poor quality product that was clearly eligible for a return.

One way for consumers to address the earthing failure is to simply unplug the device at the best battery charge (maximum of 80%), alternatively they can use a metal clip made by a Korean manufacturer to fix the Apple charger and prevent electricity overflow and electric shock, or they can swap out the charger head for one with an earthing system.

While actually using the programmes on the Macbook Air, the reporter is still adjusting to a new feature, from keyboard layout to Korean-English key, shortcuts, and interface, by using the simpliest apps, including Notes and Photo apps, trying to remember her old memories on Apple computers from her 20s. The note app was as simple as one on an iPhone 6, and the photo app seemed amazing with its detailed colour adjusting feature that reminds her of Photoshop. This might need time to test its full capacity. Macbook Air is very slow to read USB flash discs, which is considered one of the weakest aspects of the Macbook series, as slow as 1/4 of a PC (processor: Rygen 5 3500) and the former laptop of the reporter (Jooyeon Tech). However, this can be resolved by accessing your file through an external hard drive. At this point, the reporter can tell that Macbook series aren't inconvenient but will definitely consume extra cost. Now it is a matter of its capacity to handle your desired tasks. Would that perform to satisfy your heart loss after an expensive investment? Currently, she's only using basic apps, such as text and photo editing and the internet, so it's not much different from an ordinary laptop. This is slower than the PC, which the reporter assembled with assistance from her neighbourhood's friend, but not as much as missing her former laptop. If you prefer any laptop that is faster and has a high capacity, your choice is supposed to be ones built by popular Taiwanese manufacturers, who've been producing good computer parts and computers concerning both price and performance.

The reporter is still unsure of the worth of the Macbook Air product, priced at one million won. Other than the keyboard, there aren't many differences between this and the iPhone 6. The reporter required years of experience to become acquainted with the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy, as well as to recognise their appealing qualities. Given this, it ought to take the same amount of years and challenges to fully appreciate the worth of the MacBook Air.