3 quick questions about a refurb

[rye9]

My soon to be 6 year old 13" MBP is in need of replacement. I was holding out for a 13" rMBA, but alas that's likely not going to come about any time. I wanted something 'cheap' since I don't need heavy duty as I just recently got a powerful desktop, but now I'm thinking of getting a refurbished rMBP. The new MacBook I don't want because it's the same price as the MBP for less power, and as a PhD student I use USB drives a lot so I kind of want those ports.

Anyways, so my 3 questions are:

1) How was this MBP originally $1149? They start at 1299 I thought?This

2) How long about until the newest model with Force Touch hits the refurb store? 3 months? 4? More? Obviously this is a guess and speculation by you guys, but I'm still curious

3) Would you recommend a refurb or the student promo deal in the summer? I think I can get a little more $$ off in the end even considering the $100 gift card with the promo if I get a refurb, right?

 

[Abbara]

1) It's a decent device, especially compared to your 6 year old one. But it's non-retina. If you don't care about Retina, I'd definitely get the MBA 13'.

MBA 13' has a 12h battery is unbeatable, very light, yet the performance is likely a bunch better than your current MBP and it's even used as a med-level developer/photo editing machine. And it's about $1k, an extra $100 for 8gb you'll want to get. Storage wise I'd say 128gb is enough for most people, with extra SD cards or external HDs for long-term storage that doesn't need to be blazing fast like an SSD. Apple charges $1.50 per GB of extra SSD, while an external drive costs maybe 0.25c.

In addition, the 2014 MBA 13' is pretty awesome and $100-200 cheaper at places like Best Buy who are looking to ditch their old, but 'new' (as in never opened), stock. So you can pick it up for $800. Add a movers/edu discount and you've got a killer machine.

For comparison, the new Macbook 12' is about as powerful as a 2012 MBA 11'. So a 2014 MBA 13' is a great machine.

2) No clue. I imagine it'll take a while, they won't sell them unless they've got lots which means lots of returns. I think it'll take a while. In any case though the Force Touch looks semi-useless. Gives you a 3rd click, seems many have trouble using it precisely (even apple store employees), and isn't very much supported. It's nice, for sure, but it's extremely minor. Being able to fast forward at different speeds with a hardware solution is silly, you have tons of software solutions for that. It's still nice but not something to hold out for, imo.

3) I'd personally go with a student deal. Refurb, despite testing, is always an added risk, and the discounts on them aren't huge. Much bigger discounts on older models right now at non-apple stores like Best Buy. And unless you need heavy duty computing, many older models will do just fine as what was 'pro-performance' years ago, is now entry-level performance.

 

[rye9]

Thanks for the detailed reply! I edited my first question, I forgot to clarify what I meant.

And I went to the Apple Store today to test out the Force Touch. I actually didn't mind it, fortunately. I also decided I don't like the tapered aspect of the MBA, so I'm pretty set on the rMBP. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to get the best bang for my buck