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Bad resale value of new MBPs

M

macbook123

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 11, 2006
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It occurred to me that the resale value of this generation of MacBook Pros might not be the same as with past generations.

Best case scenario: Apple will learn it's lesson and add slots and macsafe back in next summer, along with reduced pricing and better upgrade options including RAM. Famous analyst Kuo has already confirmed that this is the case. Then resale value of this failed shortlived generation will be low.

Worst case scenario: Apple decides to go down this illogical customer unfriendly dongle-for-everything-including-charging-your-iphone path with future versions of the MacBook Pros, despite Kuo's predictions. in that case resale value will be even worse, since longtime loyal Apple users will have been forced to switch ecosystems, as I am in the process of doing right now.

Thoughts welcome!
 
Usb-c is the future. They're never going to add all your soon to be obsolete ports back in. It won't do anything to resale. If anything the old models with your old ports will have a lower resale.

Really, it's not the end of the world. You can adapt or buy a dell or whatever.
 
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Apple will have to either drop the price OR change the design.. I do not see either happening because of how they stuck with the ONE port on the 12".. They got a lot of backlash over that along with the pricing on them and when they did the refresh, they changed nothing...

I think what we see now is what we get. We can accept it or move on. Me? Moving on!
 
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Ming just throws out multiple guesses throughout the year. She will be right just like a broken clock is twice a day. So I wouldn't care too much what she says. OTOH, it would be extremely uncharacteristic for Apple to track back so drastically. Their DNA just isn't cut out to do that, even if they are wrong.
 
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Yes, the resale values for the new MacBooks will take a bigger hit than previous generations. Right now the best value for money is probably the refurbished 2015 15" and I think it will retain it's value quite well for the next few years.
 
My Windows Phone for work uses a USB-C connector to plug in the phone but it is USB A to C. I don't see the benefit of USB-C as a replacement to USB-A. I can see using USB-C to replace micro USB. In my eyes the new MacBook Pro just became a mobile device and is dead to me.

I had the choice of work phones. I could have picked a iPhone 7+ but decided against it. I honestly don't care about the phone experience that much beyond web, email, SMS, navigation and phone calls. The Windows phone is less expensive and comes with office programs out of the box. It does a great job in regards to my needs and I like it.

I replaced my first generation iPad Mini with a Surface tablet from work as well.

My next machine will more then likely be a Razer Blade Pro. Heck I'll probably sell this laptop and buy it just to get it over with. It seems my Late 2015 iMac 5K will probably end up being the last Mac machine in the house.

I have my gaming machine which is going strong. I guess I'll buy a few 5K monitors for it by Dell or the curved monitors and use it for work too.

It's a shame. I love macOS but increasingly I hate the hardware. The soldered on RAM and mobile graphics in the desktops, dropping of the SD card slot and rumors of soldered SSD drives. That's the line. I'm sick of Tim Cook and his greedy ways. Make a real Mac Pro and re-earn my trust and I will come back. Continue down this path and I'm turning my back.
 
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well yeah, when price drop hits, they will definitely drop.

when price drop and 2nd gen combo arrives, even more so. if they change it from 4x usb-c to including anything extra, that will factor in too.

1st gen doesn't hold up well

look at watch gen 1 prices, practically free by apple pricing standards

same with gen 1 retina MacBook 12", perhaps a better product to compare since its their new laptop offering.

it fetches for $700 new base 12" 2015 model from bh, no tax and free ship.

how do you compete with that, on a laptop that was $1299 18 months ago? half price when you factor in tax as well
 
Yes the resale value will drop. Not because they will add back things you mention (when was the last time Apple actually listens to its customers? And it will basically mean a slap to their own face.) But because next year prices on the 2nd gen of Macs will drop like crazy. So the prices of 1st gen will drop even more.

But I want to keep my machine for 4-5 years. Not that I want to sell it next year that I need to care about the resale value.
 
bcave098 said:
The iPhone does come with office apps out-of-the-box. Pages, Numbers and Keynote are free with the hardware. Microsoft Office apps are also available, too.
Click to expand...

Those do not compare to Word, Power Point and Excel.
 
Your worst-case scenario is the road they're going, and the road the rest of the industry will be going down. The dongles issue will be around for the next few years as everyone begins the transition to USB-C, and then this moment will be forgotten just like PS/2 mice, IDE hard drives, and printers that connected to serial ports.
 
They won't add any ports back. MagSafe is at least better in some, but not all, respects than the USB-C replacement (the magnet plus the indicator light, but you can't use generic chargers and use the port for something else when not charging), but the other port's aren't. Yes, more practical at the moment but USB-C is inherently better.

The price could go down though. It has happened before with new models (the Air, the first retina MBP) and it wouldn't surprise me if it happened again.
 
Meicyn said:
Your worst-case scenario is the road they're going, and the road the rest of the industry will be going down. The dongles issue will be around for the next few years as everyone begins the transition to USB-C, and then this moment will be forgotten just like PS/2 mice, IDE hard drives, and printers that connected to serial ports.
Click to expand...

If the rest of the industry follows suit by the time it happens this Mac will be old and dead. The destiny of this Mac is to use adapters for everything for the entirety of it's life cycle.

Lets not forget how they screwed people who purchased super expensive Thunderbolt devices like raid array on the New MacPro. If and when the new MacPro comes out now they get to buy all new raid arrays in order to plug them in. Utterly ridiculous.

The only thing USB-C is good for is smaller physical sizes. Frankly the MacBook was thin enough already. This is literally another USB connector variant just like for years there has been a USB-A and USB-B connector. It's just now Apple has to be a snowflake and change the connector to shave off a MM and sell adapters and power supplies.
 
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EnderBeta said:
If the rest of the industry follows suit by the time it happens this Mac will be old and dead. The destiny of this Mac is to use adapters for everything for the entirety of it's life cycle.

Lets not forget how they screwed people who purchased super expensive Thunderbolt devices like raid array on the New MacPro. If and when the new MacPro comes out now they get to buy all new raid arrays in order to plug them in. Utterly ridiculous.

The only thing USB-C is good for is smaller physical sizes. Frankly the MacBook was thin enough already. This is literally another USB connector variant just like for years there has been a USB-A connector. It's just now Apple has to be a snowflake and change the connector to shave off a MM and sell adapters and power supplies.
Click to expand...

Ridiculous over reaction of a sensationalist just changing your cables will alleviate all these issues. USB c will be the standard before the end of 2017.

As for why it's better than USB A it will take data and charge and has a 4pgb/s bandwidth on tb3 it will also take video and audio up to a 5k signal.

It is the port to do it all and everything will be using them soon...
 
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Samuelsan2001 said:
Ridiculous over reaction of a sensationalist just changing your cables will alleviate all these issues. USB c will be the standard before the end of 2017.

As for why it's better than USB A it will take data and charge and has a 4pgb/s bandwidth on tb3 it will also take video and audio up to a 5k signal.

It is the port to do it all and everything will be using them soon...
Click to expand...

The standard replacing micro USB. You drink too much Apple cool aid if you believe that the change to follow Apple is going to happen almost overnight. Xbox One wireless receiver so you can use a Xbox One controller on the PC uses USB A.

Go ahead and point out things other then Apple and mobile phones and tablets using USB-C exclusively with no USB.
 
The resale value will be similar to the original unibody or retina Macs, which all were priced significantly higher due to new tech involved. The price of the successor models always fell in the following years, reducing the value of the original models. Its the cost of being an early adopter. The next year models will probably be at least $200 cheaper.

As to USB-C, there is no doubt that its the future and there is no going back. Too much benefit to the customer and the industry to stop that train now.
 
EnderBeta said:
The standard replacing micro USB. You drink too much Apple cool aid if you believe that the change to follow Apple is going to happen almost overnight. Xbox One wireless receiver so you can use a Xbox One controller on the PC uses USB A.

Go ahead and point out things other then Apple and mobile phones and tablets using USB-C exclusively with no USB.
Click to expand...

They are going in all new laptops exclusively in some pcs as well, they are in many new phones.

This is the new standard it's not just Apple this time, yeah Apple will use tb 3 where many products won't but that will no longer matter.

It's not drinking apples kook aid it's recognising that things will change and this one is industry wide!!
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
They are going in all new laptops exclusively in some pcs as well, they are in many new phones.

This is the new standard it's not just Apple this time, yeah Apple will use tb 3 where many products won't but that will no longer matter.

It's not drinking apples kook aid it's recognising that things will change and this one is industry wide!!
Click to expand...

Oh yes it is just Apple this and every time. It isn't Apple being noble bringing new connectors to the market.

The brand new Razer Blade Pro has USB 3.1 and a single USB-C port. Much like machines where starting to have thunderbolt ports. At best this is a situation where Apple convinced people to buy Thunderbolt 1 and 2 devices. Changed the port for Thunderbolt3 and dropped USB to force the sale of thunderbolt 3 devices. There are reports that the USB-C ports don't even work for some USB-C devices. Probably because they where expecting a desktop not a mobile device connection (pure speculation but either that or the port wasn't ready for prime time let alone being the exclusive port on a machine)

Enjoy your new MacBook. I'm not buying it. When you can't do anything professional without a bunch of dongles on it despite the name don't come crying to the people who you scoff at for questioning it.
 
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The fact that Apple threw up a "temporary 'sale'" on USB-C-related cables and adapters shows that they're not going to revert their ways by putting back an older USB 3 port or the MagSafe adapter. They will make people adopt, but like the 30-pin-to-Lightning cable transition, it was troublesome until it finally died down.

Just like older Mac minis and MacBooks that have removable memory or removable hard drives, they will still have a place and value for diehard users, but it will eventually diminish when their CPU becomes too slow or when the new hardware becomes more of a requirement than an option, which is around the same time when many new macOS features like Handoff, Continuity, AirDrop, etc. become more prevalent.

I'm waiting for adapters to look more streamlined, and possibly with an additional tether, so it won't get lost.

Right now, the present is bleh with Kanex adapters like these. Small, but still bulky and ugly.
f3d4e41ee23d27bd53ee740788003299.jpg
 
Pretty much arguing based on air that resale values are going to be bad. If this is the future of MBPs, it's just like an iPhone losing the headphone jack, still sells like hotcakes, still generates more anticipation than anything else out there.
 
macbook123 said:
It occurred to me that the resale value of this generation of MacBook Pros might not be the same as with past generations.

Best case scenario: Apple will learn it's lesson and add slots and macsafe back in next summer, along with reduced pricing and better upgrade options including RAM. Famous analyst Kuo has already confirmed that this is the case. Then resale value of this failed shortlived generation will be low.

Worst case scenario: Apple decides to go down this illogical customer unfriendly dongle-for-everything-including-charging-your-iphone path with future versions of the MacBook Pros, despite Kuo's predictions. in that case resale value will be even worse, since longtime loyal Apple users will have been forced to switch ecosystems, as I am in the process of doing right now.

Thoughts welcome!
Click to expand...


Scenario two (or worst case) may take longer to play out. If the 2016 MBP is portent for the rest of the Macintosh line and its downgrade, then, yes, they will lose most of the professional market. In the short term that represents a relatively small number of customers; they wouldn't even notice if the iPhone 8 sells well.

However, my opinion that a good deal of the excellence customers value Apple for stemmed from their former interest in the professional and in meeting those demanding needs. As with any solstice and change of season there is latency involved, former momentum. The true direction of Apple and its fate will be decided in the next few years, now that Steve Jobs is truly gone, his vision as well all in the pipeline. For good or ill it is Mr. Cook & Companies game now.

Scenario one (best case), then Apple gets its act back together quick. I do not foresee that, although an interesting proposition if they would reconsider and actually release a new MBP line in less than four years. Heads would probably have to roll at Apple before that could happen. About the only thing that could precipitate it would be a sizable and prolonged drop in their stock price; but while the perceived demise of the Macintosh would influence it, only serious problems in their iOS realm would do it.

But if so, then you are likely right: in retrospect the 2016 MBPs would be widely viewed as the dogs they are; those readily embracing them now—and bad-mouthing anyone who objects—would drop them cold the minute perceived unfashionable.

Who, after all, would want something as obviously stupid as a MBP without MagSafe?
 
motime said:
Yes, the resale values for the new MacBooks will take a bigger hit than previous generations. Right now the best value for money is probably the refurbished 2015 15" and I think it will retain it's value quite well for the next few years.
Click to expand...
a used rMBP would be better resale value!
 
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