Apple

Only one reply saying you should involve your wife in this decision. Not enough.

You need to involve your wife in this decision. Her use case is nothing for a modern laptop, either Windows or Mac. Anything new will run like a dream in comparison to what she's got. Literally anything. Get her to a physical store to type on the keyboards and make sure she likes whatever models are in contention. This is highly personal and subjective so other opinions aren't worth much.

I do think it worth mentioning that switching ecosystems isn't something to do lightly. She needs to be involved in that decision. I've used both Windows and Mac. I'm comfortable with both, but generally prefer Windows. They are way too different to treat the possibility of switching flippantly.

Focusing on the tech instead of the writing itself is a mistake. You see this among wannabe photographers as well, who buys expensive cameras that they can't fully utilise. Get her a manual typewriter.

There's pros and cons to both platforms and there's plenty of people willing to argue each side. I wouldn't necessarily focus on this as much as trying to find the laptop she's most physically comfortable typing on. Also for an aspiring writer you may want to look into a screen that's easy on the eyes over long periods.

Obviously my first point is take her to a Microcenter or something and test them out. Every keyboard has different travel distance and resistance.

I write in my m1 MacBook Pro. When I type very fast I sometimes worry I’m clipping under the keys. Other than that, I love it. Ive written way more since I got it, and the feel of the laptop is perfect. There are some solid windows laptops for typing too. Ultimately, for a writer, it’s going to come down to what keyboard she likes the feel of. It’s hard to write when it feels like a chore because I hate the keyboard (the old butterfly switches for example, I could NOT use.

Just get the cheapest M1 Air you can find.

Just reinstall Linux onto the Asus. It'll run like new, free, and if she's just using it for word processing, Bing bang boom.

Option 2(that I actually did for a writing laptop): buy a used Chromebook at a computer store(they have stacks of them) for 40 bucks, enable Linux(or stu ck with chromeos) and you have a lightweight little weird processor). My only issue was there keyboard was too small and I ended up using a Bluetooth keyboard anyway.

macOS and Pages have long been many writer’s tools of choice. If you wife really wants windows or a windows app (or just a safety net while learning), Windows ARM can be downloaded for free and only has the following restrictions without a paid license:

• cannot set a custom background
• the occasional watermark appears telling you to activate windows

Everything else works fine.

You can install UTM or the free version of VMware Fusion (current Tech Preview supports 3D video acceleration and fast drag and drop file transfer), allowing your wife to have a fully-functional Windows environment.

And the new MacBooks are incredibly fast and energy efficient. If all she’s doing is living in a word processor a MacBook Air will be more than enough, and should go about a full day or more on a single charge. Obviously with a windows VM the battery life will be slightly worse, but nowhere near as bad as many flagship windows laptops.

Writing is not hardware-intensive; a Chromebook would be much cheaper if that’s all she does. What else will she use this laptop for that makes you want a MacBook?

MacBook. Probably an M2 Air.

Obviously you should talk to your wife yada yada like everyone else said, but my opinion is that a MacBook would be best. Best battery life, screens etc plus the ecosystem stuff you mentioned with her iPhone.

Already lots of good points here, but I’d add an additional thought: if the use case is writing plus lightweight computing (email, web browsing, messaging, etc.), you may also want to consider an iPad. It, too, plays in the Apple ecosystem along side her iPhone and provides a lightweight and portable device to work on.

They’re pretty dead simple to use and you aren’t stuck with a single, permanent keyboard. There’s multiple first and third-party options for keyboard cases/folios and you then have the option to use a nice desktop keyboard at her usual work location.

And, something that is much rarer on laptops, you also have the option of cellular. If connectivity and mobility are important, an iPad would provide both.

My previous laptop was a MacBook. It lasted me 10 years and had barely any issues. I've never owned an iPhone, but I imagine the integration features are quite nice for those who do.

While MacBooks are overall reliable and the user experience is good, there's no denying they're pricey. If all she is doing with it is going to be writing, I would get (at the most) an entry-level MacBook Air, and maybe only with a discount if you can manage one.

Otherwise, something cost-efficient like a Chromebook would be more than sufficient, as basically anything can act as a good text editor. George R R Martin famously writes all of the A Song of Ice and Fire books using Wordstar on a DOS PC from 1987 (though given how long he takes between books, maybe that is a bad example after all).

With that in mind, the decision is ultimately dependent on your own situation. If it doesn't break the bank to get the MacBook, sometimes getting something nice that costs a little bit more is better than getting just what you need. But for the situation you described, I'd say just about any laptop would do.

With the switch to Apple Silicon, it’s pretty much impossible to justify buying a Windows PC unless you have specific needs that absolutely require it; the Mac hardware is just that much better. Shop around for the best discounts on an M1 or M2 MacBook Air and just buy it. I suspect she’ll especially appreciate how much better Apple’s trackpads are, plus the super long battery life that comes from power-efficient chips.

Wanted to chime in again with this article I found that may give you some starting points.

https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-laptop-for-writers

I’d say if she’s just using it to write and is familiar with windows get a cheap windows laptop. Obviously ask her what she wants though. No reason to drop over a grand on something that can be done on literally any device (Including paper).

If however she wants to migrate over to MacOS then obviously go with an apple product.

What do you actually gain from using apple products besides the debatably better build quality? I personally think the keyboards now are obnoxious.

I can only give my perspective as a developer switching from windows to Mac (I had the surface book and switched to the M1 Pro MBP. I still also use a Windows pc at home daily since I game a bit.

I really did enjoy my surface book, it had great battery, great display, was versatile, the surface pen was nice. However, I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a windows laptop. At least for me, my MBP has a level of polish that is quite hard to find. MacOS is fine for me, I got used to it and I don’t have any complaints, it has its pros and cons compared to windows, what’s new.

I do feel like your wife would probably enjoy the experience of a 14 or 15 inch MacBook Air. I think they are incredible value due to how powerful they are but also how power efficient they are. Standby on Macs is particularly amazing.

I can only guess, but I think the workflow of a Mac will probably suite a writer better than on windows. I feel Finder in macOs to be more friendly and easier to use, Stage Manager might be useful if she switches between a few apps while writing, and I just feel like a MacBook Air is really an excellent All-Rounder of a laptop.

How does she feel about the MacBook keyboard? I personally quite like it, now that they're normal again, but especially for an aspiring writer I think that is a pretty significant criterium.

You don’t need much to write. Maybe consider a tablet with a keyboard instead. An iPad with a keyboard or even a Chromebook would be just fine and save the file locally as well as in the cloud.

Depends on use case. As others have suggested please ensure that she is in the discussions.

M powered macs are both a blessing and a curse. They are fast, battery efficient, and have the ports you need with the Pro.

But they force you to be stuck with the storage amount you leave the store with, no ability to upgrade, and a reduced software library thanks to the removal of x86 code. If she plays games on her machine, she's going to have a bad time.

Meanwhile, Windows machines haven't changed much since 2015. Yes they can still do everything that they could, so software isn't an issue and games play better than they ever did. But the cost is the amount of extra research you need to do to ensure you are getting a good machine.

My current windows laptop looked good on paper, but the battery life turned out to be worse than I expected and the speakers are so quiet I can't hear them.

With that said. If you have the budget, the Macbook is the better work machine in my view. Especially if your are just typing. We are leveling out on storage and RAM requirements, so long as you get more than 256GB of storage (1TB recommended 512GB min) and at least 8GB of RAM anything you get will feel snappy and quick.

However if she intends to use it for more, I.e. games, video editing, photo shop, connecting other devices to it like a Garmin. Then you should ensure that whatever you get can do it. (Web browsing doesn't count any more)

You can't just fallback on Linux just yet, as there is only a few distros for it and software is still limited.

As someone who used primarily windows for 20+ years, used the surface pro line from the 1st through 7th iterations, and now only runs with a MacBook Air, I would say absolutely get the cheapest M1 Air you can find.

If she's not a heavy user and is just doing word processing and light computing, it will be vastly more than enough machine, and be best in class in the most important things I can think of when thinking about a laptop for a writer:

1. nice big, bright, high res display for crisp text and easy reading/writing

2. insane amounts of battery life for writing in cafes or libraries or wherever for probably longer than she could stand to work in any given day

3. nicely portable and discreet for carrying around to places where she can write

4. decent keyboard and possibly the best laptop trackpad around for ergonomics (such as they are, in a laptop)

Getting used to MacOS will take a few days at most, and there are plenty of free/Foss apps to improve quality of life for Windows users moving to macs.