Buy 13" rMBP now, or wait for Skylake?

[hotelspunk33]

I have been wanting to buy the macbook pro ever since my old sager np7338 died (cpu and gpu failed on me, never buying a gaming laptop again...). I just don't know if I should buy now or wait a bit. I could probably wait 3 months max using my work computer. I also want something more portable, my sager wasn't exactly that, and if you wondering, I don't really game anymore... So should I wait for skylake or act now. The Buyer's Guide says caution for rMbp too...


Thanks!

 

[robE89]

If there won't be any new macs next week when the imac 21.5 4k will be announced then i don't think we will see newer macs before febr-march-april when the new intel chips will be released.

The answer is pretty much the same for everyone: wait if you can, buy if you can't. It's not like we are wizards and can guess the future, there are so many possibilities.

 

[itsOver9000]

Wait or buy a refurbished unit now to save a little bit of $$.

 

[TechGod]

Pick up a cheapo MacBook Air or MBP while waiting for the refresh then sell it. That might be a good idea.

 

[Woochoo]

Pick up a cheapo MacBook Air or MBP while waiting for the refresh then sell it. That might be a good idea.

That's what I did some months ago while selling my old MBP 2010: bought a cheaper brand-new 2014 MBA in ebay, while waiting for Skylake 15" MBP to be released. Couldn't be happier with my decision... It would have been a pain in the ass to spend one more year with a Core2Duo and Sata II laptop.

 

[AppleFan360]

I just bought one today. Don't see any reason for you to wait. It's an excellent machine. There will always be something better around the corner. Why worry about it. Besides, Skylake is not going to be the end all-be all of computing. The current crop of rMbp's are very good. You will love it. Trust me.

 

[Woochoo]

I just bought one today. Don't see any reason for you to wait. It's an excellent machine. There will always be something better around the corner. Why worry about it. Besides, Skylake is not going to be the end all-be all of computing. The current crop of rMbp's are very good. You will love it. Trust me.

Well, that's totally true but then it comes to a point where you have to decide if the next "jump" is good enough. For example, Broadwell is almost the same as Haswell, but Skylake will improve in various areas with new features. So if someone has an Ivy bridge there's no point on not waiting for Skylake and going Broadwell now (unless their computer dies). That's why i bought a Haswell with the lowest config (4gb ram, i5...) to resist one more year till I go to a 15" Skylake.
It won't be really noticeable compared to last gen, for now, but when the time is passing by, you realize there are big differences between some generations of hardware. For example, my MBP 2010 still was a C2D with Sata II. I thought it was OK to buy it just a month before the early 2011 gen, but the time shown that 2011 gen olds much better than 2010 for stuff like: thunderbolt, Sata III (I could only reach 240MB/s with a SSD on Sata II), i5/i7... It's not like "yeah, its 1 year younger technology so it will be better" but "it brings much more benefits, despite the time that has passed".

 

[Thunderboltedge]

Well, that's totally true but then it comes to a point where you have to decide if the next "jump" is good enough. For example, Broadwell is almost the same as Haswell, but Skylake will improve in various areas with new features. So if someone has an Ivy bridge there's no point on not waiting for Skylake and going Broadwell now (unless their computer dies). That's why i bought a Haswell with the lowest config (4gb ram, i5...) to resist one more year till I go to a 15" Skylake.
It won't be really noticeable compared to last gen, for now, but when the time is passing by, you realize there are big differences between some generations of hardware. For example, my MBP 2010 still was a C2D with Sata II. I thought it was OK to buy it just a month before the early 2011 gen, but the time shown that 2011 gen olds much better than 2010 for stuff like: thunderbolt, Sata III (I could only reach 240MB/s with a SSD on Sata II), i5/i7... It's not like "yeah, its 1 year younger technology so it will be better" but "it brings much more benefits, despite the time that has passed".

Could you give more details about Skylake benefit? I am asking as I don't know well, I know about the 30% energy consumption saved but for the rest, what is the benefit it is more making you wait for a purchase?

 

[sinoka56]

firstly, thunderbolt 3 port can be used as a usb type c port for future use

 

[TechGod]

Could you give more details about Skylake benefit? I am asking as I don't know well, I know about the 30% energy consumption saved but for the rest, what is the benefit it is more making you wait for a purchase?

Support for DDR4 (I think), TB3 in a Type C port, support for wireless charging(although Apple would never do it), boost in efficiency as you said, a decent jump in iGPU performance and more that I'm probably missing out on.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Support for DDR4 (I think), TB3 in a Type C port, support for wireless charging(although Apple would never do it), boost in efficiency as you said, a decent jump in iGPU performance and more that I'm probably missing out on.

Yeah the DDR4 support is patchy as far as I can tell on skylake, I personally don't think apple will bother this time round it's expensive and not that big a boost yet. The only real benefits seem to be improved graphics (especially for the 13 inch 64MB of eDRAM cache could be a real bonus), possible 5K support and an hour or so extra battery. Of course a redesign of the rMBP might make it all that much more attractive.

 

[Gman021]

If you needed another one for sure you wouldn't have to ask. I would hold out, it will be worth it.

 

[Woochoo]

Yeah the DDR4 support is patchy as far as I can tell on skylake, I personally don't think apple will bother this time round it's expensive and not that big a boost yet. The only real benefits seem to be improved graphics (especially for the 13 inch 64MB of eDRAM cache could be a real bonus), possible 5K support and an hour or so extra battery. Of course a redesign of the rMBP might make it all that much more attractive.

Well, as others perfectly said, Thunderbolt 3 + USB C (thunderbolt usable too as USB C port), and wireless charging too (appart from the typical performance improvements). Its one of those things that you won't appreciate right now, and you'll probably have to use adaptors the first 1-2 years with the peripherals you already own, but as the time passes by, you'll appreciate to have a computer with USB C ports + the performance of them, since most peripherals and components will come in a USB C format the following years. With that, would come a redesign too (but ofc I'm speculating in this last point).

 

[mtneer]

I have been wanting to buy the macbook pro ever since my old sager np7338 died (cpu and gpu failed on me, never buying a gaming laptop again...). I just don't know if I should buy now or wait a bit. I could probably wait 3 months max using my work computer. I also want something more portable, my sager wasn't exactly that, and if you wondering, I don't really game anymore... So should I wait for skylake or act now. The Buyer's Guide says caution for rMbp too...


Thanks!

It is hugely unlikely there will be a Skylake update in the next 3 months, pretty much in the midst of the holiday season. If you really need that laptop before then, get a refurb and save some cash. If you can make do with your work computer + any other devices that you have at home - phablet/ tablet etc. until the spring, your chances of bagging a Skylake laptop improve tremendously.