12" Macbook 2016 vs. 2017

[neoelectronaut]

So this is the conundrum I'm having at the moment.

Best Buy has the 2016 12" MacBook for $300 off.

Here's the equivalent 2017 model:

Is the 2017 model improved enough over the 2016 model to be worth that $347 difference?

Thoughts?

 

[CatherineVeraGat]

How long are you going to be using it? What are you going to do on the MacBook?

 

[neoelectronaut]

How long are you going to be using it? What are you going to do on the MacBook?

It's for the wife for school so Photos/E-Mail/Web Browsing/School Work, etc.

No heavy lifting in regards to video or anything fancier.

Gonna be used as long as it sticks around, most likely.

 

[CatherineVeraGat]

It's for the wife for school so Photos/E-Mail/Web Browsing/School Work, etc.

No heavy lifting in regards to video or anything fancier.

Gonna be used as long as it sticks around, most likely.

I think that the 2016 model would be powerful enough for what she wants it to do.

 

[CrystalQuest76]

Get the less expensive model. As you described, she will not need the extra horsepower of the newer machine. Saving money is not a crime.

 

[ZapNZs]

I think either model would meet her needs, but I would favor the 2017, personally. The CPU improvement is pretty massive, the battery improvement is nice, and I personally like the changes they made to the keyboard and if it was going to be my daily machine the 2017 keyboard is the one I would personally favor. For a computer that my goal was to keep as long as possible, that would probably justify the higher price to me.

 

[Jess Tech]

The 2016 MacBook model is definitely still a great machine, but I think upgrading and spending the extra $300 is worth it, I highly recommend, when buying an Apple Computer, buy it with the specs that you are going to want for the next 3-4 years, "future proof' your purchase in other words. Many benchmark tests have shown the 2017 1.2GHz Core m3 MacBook to be approx 30% faster than the 2016 1.2GHz Core m5 MacBook

 

[ssmed]

I think the keyboards in the 2017 MP has been improved. This is my one complaint about my earlier MP. Your might want to check that out.

 

[Tork]

I've been mulling over the EXACT same situation all day! In the market for a MacBook and was set on the '17 until I saw that same deal at Best Buy. It's a steal with the education discount for sure. But, the keyboard improvement and speed increase (both very much not trivial) are still pushing me towards the '17. The keyboard especially for me -- it's a big improvement. The older models bothered me right off the bat when I played around with them in the past. Not so with the '17. For your wife's use, perhaps she could try typing on the older model for a bit in-store. If it doesn't bother her relatively immediately as it did me, she might adapt to the shallow keys and it might be the one. Such a good price.