I already have a Ubuntu laptop and don’t need a Mac one, except for the occasional presentation of how Meteor launches apps in the iOS simulator or on an iOS device. Also I can’t easily get a friend’s Mac whenever I need.
What would be the most cost-effective Mac laptop to own, that in terms of specs can run Meteor, XCode and the iOS simulator?
My old 2008 Unibody Macbook (non-pro) runs meteor just fine!
I haven’t run the iOS simulator though… not sure if there would be any issues with that.
I am sure you can pick one up second hand for something like $200 somewhere…
If you can’t find one I will happily sell you my one if you don’t mind paying postage from Australia.
Here is a compatibility table for Macs supporting the last OSX version.
I guess any of them should be fine, you should aim for a machine supporting recent Xcode versions.
If you’re looking to buy a new (not second-hand) machine, the 1st price macbook air would be more than enough, but it’s still quite expensive just for an emulator.
if you’re in San Francisco this place specializes in used Macs http://www.lovehaightcomputers.com/#!in-stock-now/c1p5j
I bought a used mac from them, it was really affordable. the staff is really knowledgeable.
Check the Apple Refurbrished models. They’re all relatively new, come with new enclosures, batteries and 1 year warranty.
Although not a laptop, the mac mini may work for you as well.
I was thinking about that - a good deal at <$500 new, but harder to bring on site to show people (I’d have to carry peripherals and hope there’s a display).
Not bad…
Macbook Pro Unibody 13" - Starting at $750
Macbook Air - Starting at $650
Refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook Air 1.4GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5 for $760 seems like a good deal, but I’m a total n00b when it comes to Macs. I’m reading that Airs have TN panels? Those would be worse for showing multiple people Meteor stuff on a screen because of the poor viewing angles. Gotta do more research…
i want to know is it wise to have Microsoft surface pro instead of MacBook ? got information from cheap travel laptop and perfect vlogging cameras.
If you want to develop for iOS, no! The iOS SDK only runs on Mac. On top of that, Meteor generally doesn’t run as well on Windows as it does on Linux and Mac.
There are workarounds though. I successfully got it running in a virtual machine on Linux. It was kind of fiddly though, and Apple does not like people running Mac on VMs, pretty sure it’s against their Terms of Service.
I got a $200 MacBook Pro. And now I’m in love with Mac.
Runs El Capitan, and no further. But not an issue for xCode. Working great.
I caved and bought an iPhone to test my iOS apps on… beautiful. I signed up to iCloud the next day lol. All my shit is synced.
Be careful this can cost you moneh 
Also, be careful with the cheapest mac you can get.
To release on the app store, you need to dev with a recent xcode version.
To use a recent xcode version, you need a recent os.
To run a recent os, you need a mac with specific stats.
So, if releasing to the app store is a concern, it helps to future think a bit.