As a 2015 MBP 13” Owner, I struggle to find current models compelling...

[Adelphos33]

I have an early 2015 MacBook Pro with a 2.7 GHz i5, 8 GB of RAM and 256G storage. Currently I have about 103 GB of storage available (I could clear the “Other” section, which has about 57GB). The battery has 88 cycles. I am currently using it every day as I work from home, but normally my main personal computing device is an iPad Pro, which I use to manage photos, personal finances, etc. I use the MBP for logging on to a Windows machine at work and for basic personal computing (Office, etc).

I wanted to be really amped to buy this year’s refresh, but I am not really enthused... Here are the issues

1) Clock speed on all of the MBP models are well below my 2.7GHz
2) It seems like 8GB RAM is fine for my usage for the next couple of years
3) MBP models have Touch Bar, which I am skeptical of
4) MBA models all run hot apparently and don’t seem like they would last all that long (on the other hand, many people are using the old non-retina MacBook Pro models to this day)
5) My iPad Pro provides the best of modern Apple hardware; do I really need a current MBP?
6) MBP gets all of the software updates
7) I never notice any slowdowns with my current MBP and rarely experience shutdown, spinning wheel, etc
8) Weight is fine

I do feel like it would be cool to have a lot of the modern Mac features (USB-C charging, Sidecar comparability with iPad, Apple Pay) with a bit more future proof, but I am not sure if it is worth me spending $1,799 on it or whatever it costs, especially for a computer that will apparently run exactly the same as my current setup. Anyone else having this dilemma?

 

[eedoxies]

I have the exact early 2015 MacBook Pro model you describe, but with 1280 cycles and the battery status of replace soon. Thought I would probably upgrade this year. Now that new models announced, I don't know what I will do. I am tempted to replace battery and wait to see what comes next. If I spend $299 (I believe that is correct pricing) for a new battery now and something really appealing to me is released later this year, I would hesitate to get it having just spent money on a battery.

 

[Sanpete]

It's like the new car itch. The one you have seems to be working fine for you, but there's always that wandering eye for something new ...

(Clock speed isn't a helpful metric unless you're looking at the same processor. Processing speeds for the newer models are faster, but you don't seem to need that.)

 

[1rottenapple]

Your Mac sounds fine for your use why even entertain the notion of upgrading other than padding apples pocket books. Spend the $$1700 on buying stocks that are down. I bet you’ll triple that investment in 5 years.
I’m interested in upgrading but my computer needs are going to change and my 13 in can’t handle it.

 

[chrfr]

I have an early 2015 MacBook Pro with a 2.7 GHz i5, 8 GB of RAM and 256G storage. Currently I have about 103 GB of storage available (I could clear the “Other” section, which has about 57GB). The battery has 88 cycles. I am currently using it every day as I work from home, but normally my main personal computing device is an iPad Pro, which I use to manage photos, personal finances, etc. I use the MBP for logging on to a Windows machine at work and for basic personal computing (Office, etc).

I wanted to be really amped to buy this year’s refresh, but I am not really enthused... Here are the issues

1) Clock speed on all of the MBP models are well below my 2.7GHz
2) It seems like 8GB RAM is fine for my usage for the next couple of years
3) MBP models have Touch Bar, which I am skeptical of
4) MBA models all run hot apparently and don’t seem like they would last all that long (on the other hand, many people are using the old non-retina MacBook Pro models to this day)
5) My iPad Pro provides the best of modern Apple hardware; do I really need a current MBP?
6) MBP gets all of the software updates
7) I never notice any slowdowns with my current MBP and rarely experience shutdown, spinning wheel, etc
8) Weight is fine

I do feel like it would be cool to have a lot of the modern Mac features (USB-C charging, Sidecar comparability with iPad, Apple Pay) with a bit more future proof, but I am not sure if it is worth me spending $1,799 on it or whatever it costs, especially for a computer that will apparently run exactly the same as my current setup. Anyone else having this dilemma?

It seems like your Mac is just fine for you, but as far as clock speeds go, they’re not directly comparable. The current models will be faster than yours, even at a lower clock speed. The current laptops also have 4-core processors while yours only has 2, so for applications which can take advantage of the extra processor cores, the performance gap to yours will open even wider.
The heat issues are not really a problem on the Air. For people who need a more powerful computer, Apple offers the MacBook Pro. None of the parts in the Mac laptops are operating outside their rated temperature ranges.

 

[shoppy]

I like shiny new toys that alone is worth it.