Advice for a cheap purchase.

[bluntslide]

Total mac noob here...
I am fed up with trying to transfer files for my wife via windows. She has a iphone 6 for everyday use and an ipod for music.
I find it painful to use itunes and think that it would be better for my wife to have her own system for this,so i have a few questions.

Is it easier to use a mac for itunes?
What are my CHEAP options for a mac?
Do i need to purchase the latest and greatest mac or are the older generations still good for such a simple task?

I am pretty flexible for a setup, so can consider a laptop/mini/whatever.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Deleted member 138126]

I recently bought a couple of Mac minis (Late 2012 model -- don't get anything newer, they are not upgradeable) from Gumtree for £300 each (they came with i5 and 16GB RAM). I replaced the hard drives with 500GB SSDs that I already had, and I am over the moon with them. They are ridiculously quick for general use, things like suspend and resume are just lightning quick and so reliable. Haven't had a single issue with them. They also consume very little power, are dead silent, take up little space, and look fantastic.

Technically speaking there shouldn't be any difference between using iTunes on Windows or on the Mac. In practice, there is very close integration between iPhone and Mac, all the built-in apps sync with each other (notes, reminders, Safari, photos, etc). The clipboard syncs between iPhone and Mac when in proximity to each other (they use bluetooth). You can continue sessions between the phone and the Mac at any time. I've been a late convert to the Mac, but the integration between iPhone, iPad and Mac is incredibly slick.

 

[bluntslide]

That's really useful information, thank you for that.

 

[applegeek9]

You could also consider buying a refurbished mac if you find apple too expensive they will come with a guarantee in case anything goes wrong