Good Nerd Purchases

Laptop
MacBook Neo
This is the Mac for most people most of the time. It will do anything regular folks will need it to do. Heck, it’ll even do more advanced bits, just a bit slower. And it’s a no-brainer for any high schooler or kid heading off to college. I recommend the upgrade to 512GB of storage and I doubly recommend using the education store discount of $100.

Desktop
M4 iMac
The M4 iMac is excellent for most people who don’t want to move their computer around. Bump up the storage to at least 512GB. If you have your own monitor, keyboard, and pointing device, then the Mac mini is the next obvious choice. Again, bump it to 512GB of storage and you have a machine that will last a very long time.

iPhone
iPhone 17e or iPhone 17
If money is a real consideration, the iPhone 17e is an excellent choice. You won’t be disappointed in it at all. If you have $200 more, the iPhone 17 is better in every way, but, again, costs $200 more. I am going to downgrade from my iPhone 16 Pro because it’s just too heavy.

iPad
iPad
For years I recommended the iPad Air, but now I think most people would be totally fine with the standard iPad. It’s a great little device that you will want to tote around with you. And, at $449 for the 256GB model (which is what I recommend getting), it’s a lot less than the iPad Air. The iPad Pro, by the way, is simply amazing. At emptying your bank account. But wow does it have an amazing screen.

Apple Watch
Series 11
The Apple Watch has no real competition. Buy the newest and keep it for three+ years.

AirPods
AirPods 4 with ANC
I bought them for myself during July 2025 and use them nearly every day. I love them and consider them a must-have purchase.

iCloud Storage
200 GB
Protect your photos by throwing a couple of bucks at Apple for the iCloud storage. The prices are competitive and, if take care to set it up correctly, your iPhone will back itself up each night. Then turn on iCloud Photo Library and have all your photos available to you even if you fill up your iPhone. Seriously, we’re talking about three bucks a month.

Certified Refurbished
If you don’t shy away from refurbished, getting one of these machines from Apple’s Certified Refurbished store is great. iPhones and iPads come with new outer shells and batteries and a regular one-year warranty. This is the way to go if money is tight (or you are smart with your money). The M4 Mac mini pops up on here occasionally and is a hell of a bargain.

What I’m Currently Using
M2 Mac Book Air, 24 GB RAM, 512 GB storage
iPhone 16 Pro, 128 GB
Apple Watch Series 10
AirPods 4 with ANC
Despite my recommendations of certified refurbished products, the above were all bought new.

What I Would Buy Today
If I could buy whatever I wanted and set up a little office, I would buy an M4 (non Pro) Mac mini with 32GB RAM and a 2TB SSD. Since I don’t have an office and often just sit around the apartment nerding about, I would get the MacBook Neo with 512GB SSD.In Citrus.

Page updated: 2026, March 12