I have a 15 inch MacBook Pro Retina from 2012 (The first gen. I guess it's not considered Vintage!) that's going OK. the battery is shot so I have to keep it plugged in. The computer is actually fast enough for basic stuff. I do some photography on Lightroom and use iMovie and it lags but is tolerable. I was thinking about upgrading to a 16 inch MBP. I was hoping they would updated with the recent announcement for the silicon chips but they were not updated. There are some deals for a few hundred off 16 inch MPBs so I was thinking about upgrading now. Is there any sense that there's an updated in the next month or so? I realize that there may be updated next year to the apple silicon.
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Buy MacBook Pro 16 inch or wait
- Thread starter UNCMo96
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I would just go ahead and get the current 16" MacBook Pro. I got mine at Microcenter for the refurbished 6 core model for $1499 and it is just like new and flawless! I'm still shocked at how much cheaper I got it for.
I bought one even before the announcement. Apple is so predictable now that I knew they were not going to announce a new 16 inch MacBook Pro. Just like I use to wait for the new Apple TV which is usually every 4 to 5 years a new one comes out except when they released the 4K version a bit quicker.
While there is always something new around the corner, I would wait in this situation. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a very strong track record, there will be a new 16-inch MacBook Pro with not only Apple Silicon but an "all-new form factor design," and potentially a Mini-LED display, in Q2 or Q3 of 2021. That's anywhere from 5 to 10 months away still, but sounds like the type of significant upgrade that you only get once every 3 to 4 years roughly rather than just an annual spec bump.
I have a mid 2012 15 also with a shot battery. I was going to get the 16 but after watching the keynote it may be worth a wait. I can get a new battery from ifixit for $99.
Whats the big deal with getting a Silicon mac. You know there will be problems mainly with many apps not being fully or even partially compatible. If you need a new macbook pro and you want the bigger screen buy one now
I doubt it. The Intel phase out has begun & Apple setup their presentation as the lineup they're going into Christmas with.
I waited to see what would come yesterday and I have a friend who's a genius at Apple, so this was my final guided view: I don't want a 1st generation ARM machine. A full redesign is also in the works. The current 16" is a killer machine and a known quantity. So yesterday afternoon I ordered a 16" i9 and I've been using it all day. After 10 hours it's down to 6% on the first charge. The screen is at 90%, but I'm not doing any heavy apps yet. It's fast and the keyboard is very good. The speakers sound amazing for the size. It's just a spectacular machine, assuming it doesn't break down. I can easily update to an ARM when I feel safe about it and maybe after a full redesign. In the meantime, I have work to do!
Robert
Robert
If you are considering the base processor, RAM, and GPU, and you are willing to consider the 512GB size, Micro Center has had some refurbs for like $1,500...which is a super solid discount. It's a helluvalotta computer for $1,500, and even the base configuration is a very capable device.
If you are using external displays, there are some caveats with the 16-inch models using the 5300M and 5500M GPUs - they tend to get very hot and can make considerable fan noise, especially if using a display while the laptop is open due to their power consumption. The 5600M GPU does not have this issue.
Overall, I think now is a great time to buy these, but I am biased towards buying established systems rather than being first adopters of new technology. The properties of this design is known and so far it's showing itself to be very reliable. Like all systems, they have some bugs and annoyances, but the good vastly outweighs the bad. The biggest issue is the one with respect to external displays.
If this system gets updated in the short term, I think it might be only a minor update given it was not included in the Apple Silicon event, Intel's 10th gen CPUs yields only a marginal gain over the current 9th gen, AMD has not publicly announced mobile GPUs to replace the current 5XXX series in the MBP 16, and the 5600M GPU with HBM2 is a special GPU made exclusively for the MBP 16 that was released only about 4 months ago. Of course no one can predict Apple's behavior so that is only my guess.
Do you need it now? If so, get it now.
If you can hang around with your current MacBook until they update it (nobody really know the this will be, although we all suspect from 8 to 18 months), then wait for the next one.
The current MBP 16" is supposed to be a great machine, although some people are having fan issues when connected to external monitors.