Buyer's Remorse - Missing that "WOW" factor

[RobbyIdol]

I recently upgraded my 2014 13" MBA to a 2020 13" MBP. I'm experiencing some buyer's remorse, mostly because of the cost ($1,999 1TB model) vs. actual perceived upgrades to my life. I'm within the 14-day return window, so I'm heavily considering that option.

Yes, the 2020 MBP is a better computer than the 2014 MBA.

But for some reason, I'm just not "wow'd" anymore like I used to be. I don't buy tech often, having had my MBA for a full 6-years now. Before that, I had a 2007 MBP for 7-years, and a white Macbook for a couple years before that.


With each previous upgrade, I had a real excitement for the purchase and a genuine appreciation of the value and enhancements it brought.

The 2007 15" Macbook Pro was a powerful upgrade from the standard white Macbook of the day.

After 7 years of using a powerful, but heavy and cumbersome, machine, the 2014 MBA was a true delight, and I didn't feel like I lost any performance power from the 2007 MBP in my workflow.

But now, while the 2020 MBP is a solid machine, it just doesn't seem that different from a 2014 MBA in terms of my personal workflow. Sure, it's faster loading batch images in Lightroom, has better speakers, and the screen is obviously much brighter/sharper/richer. But is that worth $1,999? I could have gone with a lower end MBP, but I had a hard time justifying that when a 2020 MBA would have been just as well. I tried to go back to the Pro line to see how it felt, but the MBA really does suffice for me I guess. If only the 2020 MBA didn't have such a poor thermal throttling issue, I'd have simply purchased that and called it a day.

I'm leaning toward returning the machine, sadly. My 2014 MBA still works "fine" and I just don't see enough upgrade in value with the MBP to justify the price tag.

Anyone else less impressed with computer upgrades than they used to be? (This is all extremely anecdotal, and if you love your 2020 machines, then I genuinely am happy for you!)

 

[throAU]

A MacBook is a tool to do a job.

If your old MacBook Air does the job, I'm not sure what you were expecting? You'll get better performance out of a new MBA at much less cost.

You are due for an upgrade if you want to stay supported in the next couple of years. It may be worth returning it and holding out for one of the new ARM machines which promise things like much better performance, less heat and better battery life.

As to my 2020 Air - its an upgrade over my old 2015 13" Pro.

Its not a great CPU in it (its still an upgrade but not "wow" as you say), but I knew that would be the case going in - Intel have been fumbling around aimlessly for years - but I needed a new MacBook (I aim to upgrade every 3-4 years but the keyboards were unacceptable until 2020), and larger form factor machines don't suit what I need. Apple don't offer an AMD lineup, the ARM machines weren't out, so ice-lake it is.

It's a stopgap machine for me until the ARM stuff comes out. It will go to the girlfriend when that happens.

 

[Buck987]

You are experiencing one of techs often stated but never emphasized thoughts. It really depends on your work load and needs. I have a 2012 MBP that works as well as my 2020 Air i3 for many business apps and online tools. However if I was busy video editing and photo editing I would get a 16" pro or a imac which would blow my 2012 MBP out of the water. But i don't need those tools so i went with a low cost air that is more portable and has better battery life. Its about needs. All the speed tests and benchmarks in the world mean little if you are mostly creating word docs.

 

[scooterspud]

If your 2014 MBA was still working for you, a 2020 MBP is way more computer than you need. The 2020 MBA would still be significant upgrade for you at hundreds of dollars less.

 

[Grohowiak]

Looks like you don't need it otherwise you would never have thoughts like you do.
Also do you get a "wow" effect when you buy a screwdriver?

 

[bill-p]

You are just not seeing any major feature that is appealing to you.

And rightfully so: the Mac has not really had any real "new feature" added for the past 10 years. iOS itself also has not had any real "new feature" added for some years now. It's the same software, slightly different, more refined. The hardware is faster, but without software to drive it, it's just hardware for the sake of hardware.

That's why software engineers get paid a lot to do their job. Assuming they know how to do their job.

In this particular case, I'm guessing Apple spent too much effort the past few years to transition over to ARM, and they totally neglected to work on new exciting features. So now their users is feeling this way. It's totally understandable.

My point is... sure, the Mac is a tool, but many of the responses above me are missing the fact that a tool itself still has a "user interface", and if this "user interface" is well-designed, with innovative features to make a user's task more efficient, it stands out among the crowd of other tools. For instance, if I have a soldering iron that can automatically sense when it's picked up to start heating, and it has a temperature sensor to detect when to increase heat, then... it's better than most other soldering irons that I have to power up and adjust temperature before I can use them. It's a little thing, but it adds to the experience. I obviously want the more "user friendly" tool.

There are a ton of small things that can be added or tweaked in Mac OS to make it more "user friendly". Sadly, Apple is too busy trying to move away from Intel and x86 to really work on them.

 

[jakeuten]

If it doesn't meaningfully affect your work, then return it. But don't go for the 2020 MBA- I read online to go for the i5 model and that thing got hot with 3 tabs in Safari. My MBP 2020 handles 20+ tabs, 3 word docs, a text book PDF, Spotify, etc. all at the same time without missing a beat. My Surface Laptop 2 couldn't handle that, and the XPS 13 I had before that (2016 model) definitely got uncomfortably warm. I didn't have the opportunity to try that work flow on the 2020 MBA, but I'm sure it wouldn't have went well.

 

[RobbyIdol]

You are just not seeing any major feature that is appealing to you.

And rightfully so: the Mac has not really had any real "new feature" added for the past 10 years.

This is it. Getting a MBP in 2007 was cutting edge tech. Steve Jobs had Apple back in a renaissance, the idea of a truly "Pro" laptop was still evolving and exciting. Then getting my first Air computer was also an equal shift to a new world of portable computing. So light! Such battery! Things have leveled off since then, and the machines are better, but not truly novel anymore. Perhaps its something I'll not see again in a laptop, and just need to focus on appropriate tools to do the job I need from a laptop.

 

[RobbyIdol]

If it doesn't meaningfully affect your work, then return it. But don't go for the 2020 MBA- I read online to go for the i5 model and that thing got hot with 3 tabs in Safari.

Yeah, the thermal issues in the 2020 MBA were precisely why I chose the MBP instead. I had been eyeing up a gold MBA for some time and thought the 2020 model would be the one until I saw Max Tech's review on the thermal issues. That's not acceptable for me, so I'll wait it out until the day Apple makes an ARM based MBA with hopefully better cooling.

 

[bill-p]

This is it. Getting a MBP in 2007 was cutting edge tech. Steve Jobs had Apple back in a renaissance, the idea of a truly "Pro" laptop was still evolving and exciting. Then getting my first Air computer was also an equal shift to a new world of portable computing. So light! Such battery! Things have leveled off since then, and the machines are better, but not truly novel anymore. Perhaps its something I'll not see again in a laptop, and just need to focus on appropriate tools to do the job I need from a laptop.

Well, so... laptops can still be better. If you have had the pleasure to hold an LG Gram, you'd know: Apple can still reduce weight further, and make a laptop that's truly equivalent to a real notebook.

Beyond that, Apple could have done more with the force touch trackpad technology, they could have also added better front-facing camera to do face unlock on MacBook, they also could have added e-ink displays to each key on the keyboard so the layout of the keyboard could change depending on language, they also could have started using OLED displays on their MacBook Pro, etc...

There honestly are a ton of things Apple could have done to both the software and hardware of a Mac computer. Instead, Apple has chosen to dedicate all resources to the switch to ARM processor.

Back during the Steve Jobs days, Apple tried all sorts of ideas and tried to innovate as much as they could. They literally drove the cell phone and tablet industry 10 years into the future.

But nowadays, the focus at Apple is more on selling more services and less on innovative designs. Sad, really.

 

[RobbyIdol]

I think waiting to see what ARM laptops bring from Apple is the move. There will either be a 14" MBP in my future, or a MBA with a better thermal cooling system. Buying a computer in 2020 is great if you need one, but if you don't need one critically, it feels like cashing out your stock just before a big earnings report and missing a potential windfall.

 

[ascender]

I think waiting to see what ARM laptops bring from Apple is the move. There will either be a 14" MBP in my future, or a MBA with a better thermal cooling system. Buying a computer in 2020 is great if you need one, but if you don't need one critically, it feels like cashing out your stock just before a big earnings report and missing a potential windfall.

In terms of the wow factor, if they give us an all new design with features like FaceID and ProMotion screen, I think that will get a bit of a buzz around their laptop line again. Its one reason I switched to an iPad Pro recently to wait and see what the Apple Silicon laptops are like.

 

[ouimetnick]

A MacBook is a tool to do a job.

If your old MacBook Air does the job, I'm not sure what you were expecting? You'll get better performance out of a new MBA at much less cost.

You are due for an upgrade if you want to stay supported in the next couple of years. It may be worth returning it and holding out for one of the new ARM machines which promise things like much better performance, less heat and better battery life.

As to my 2020 Air - its an upgrade over my old 2015 13" Pro.

Its not a great CPU in it (its still an upgrade but not "wow" as you say), but I knew that would be the case going in - Intel have been fumbling around aimlessly for years - but I needed a new MacBook (I aim to upgrade every 3-4 years but the keyboards were unacceptable until 2020), and larger form factor machines don't suit what I need. Apple don't offer an AMD lineup, the ARM machines weren't out, so ice-lake it is.

It's a stopgap machine for me until the ARM stuff comes out. It will go to the girlfriend when that happens.

Just curious as to why you "aim" to upgrade every 3-4 years? Do you use it for business purposes and write it off? What is an upgrade from a 2015 13" MBP to a 2020 MBA? Slower CPU, poorer thermals, True Tone display, slightly thinner and lighter, but isn't everything else the same? I'm using a 2014 MBP 13" with 16GB ram, i5, etc, and ever since Apple started soldering things together and gluing it shut, I see no reason to purchase the entry level MacBook Pro. My entry level 2010 C2D 13" served me well until 2016 when I wanted a nicer display and I bought my 2014 lightly used for substantial savings, over $1200 saved! The thing with the 2010, is I upgraded the drive to a 512GB SSD, ram from 4GB to 16GB, but now you have to buy the computer the way you want it since there is no upgrading in the future. I'd like to get a maxed out 2017 or 2018 13" with Touch Bar next year, but the unreliable keyboard scares me away.

My only upgrade options are either a 2015 13" which is pretty much the same but with a force touch trackpad, or brand new which is out of the question. Hopefully this thing can go another year or 2 and I can reevaluate then.

 

[Robbosan]

I think waiting to see what ARM laptops bring from Apple is the move. There will either be a 14" MBP in my future, or a MBA with a better thermal cooling system. Buying a computer in 2020 is great if you need one, but if you don't need one critically, it feels like cashing out your stock just before a big earnings report and missing a potential windfall.

I have a i3 Air 2020 and it doesn't get hot at all, way cooler than previous 13" and 15" MBPr i have owned.

 

[DanGoh]

Tomorrow is the last day I have to return my 2020 10th Gen Macbook Pro and I am so close to returning it and just keeping my late-2013 rMBP till it becomes absolutely unusable. Here are some issues I've experienced:

• The battery life is disappointing. I'm getting 4-6 hours (video streaming, IDEs, and FireFox), which is poor compared 6 year old machine with 300 charge cycles, which still gets near the same 4-6 hours still.
• The CPU temperatures are 5-10 degrees cooler than my 2013, but I feel much more heat coming from the keyboard deck on the 2020 model.
• Half of the time I have to restart the 2020 model in order to connect it to my 1440p external monitor.
• I constantly get 10-15% battery drain while it sleeps, something that never happened on my 2013 model.
• Anything below 50% brightness on the 2020 model is too low, I have to keep it above that 50% to be usable.

It's not a bad machine, but for the $1700 I paid for it, and the fact that there is a transition to ARM coming, it's really hard to justify keeping it.

 

[involuntarheely]

I think waiting to see what ARM laptops bring from Apple is the move. There will either be a 14" MBP in my future, or a MBA with a better thermal cooling system. Buying a computer in 2020 is great if you need one, but if you don't need one critically, it feels like cashing out your stock just before a big earnings report and missing a potential windfall.

I hope to be proven wrong but the personal computer market is mature and people are not buying that many computers anymore. unless something really revolutionary comes out, any new laptop will not beat iphones as the major cash cow for Apple. the implication is that a majority of resources have and will keep to be devoted to the development of ios/ipados, iphones and ipads, more than macos. I'm also guessing it's cheaper for Apple to develop for ios meaning it's a much more profitable investment. all of this to say that I think it's unlikely $2000 mac computers will be at the cutting edge of technology

 

[rainafterthesun]

I agree with the other posters, if your mba was working out, no need to upgrade just yet.

I still use my 2016 MBP and I got it tricked out for roughly $1000 or a little over that (thank you apple discount and apple$$).

I only got an iPad Pro (same size roughly too) to use as a supplement.

but otherwise I plan on keeping my MBP until it dies out on me or something drastically changes.

 

[UPBaylor]

Interesting topic because I'm in a very similar situation as the OP. Just yesterday, I received my new 2020 MBP which is close to topped out. It's replacing my mid-2014 MBP (retina) that was also similarly upgraded relative to the times. I did the upgrade in order to give my child the 2014, but otherwise I would have kept it as it's still just fine for my use.

I'll agree there isn't a huge "wow" factor, but I do appreciate all the upgrades and really like the fact that it should be good for me for years to come. I like the smaller form factor and lighter weight. Surprisingly, I like the touch bar although I haven't done any customization. Overall, there's a lot of cool features, but nothing completely compelling if I hadn't needed a computer for my child and knew that I was going to need to upgrade fairly soon (within the next year or two). I'm also a slight bit leery about the coming ARM and possible unintended consequences. I didn't want to be an early adopter, so it was either get a tried and true Intel machine now or wait a couple of years after ARM came out.

Overall, satisfied early, but understand the dilemma of not having a major reason on the computer to upgrade.

 

[throAU]

Just curious as to why you "aim" to upgrade every 3-4 years?

Several reasons:

1. battery longevity
2. typically IO standards change
3. I can write off a machine every 3 years for tax deduction purposes
4. CPU instruction set enhancements add up over time
5. AppleCare covers 3 years. I put money aside to update every 3 years to maintain warranty support. its in my monthly budget. this way if my machine ever dies its either in AppleCare replacement window, or I have money aside to replace it.

Big things the 2020 has for me that my 2015 did not

• touchID
• quad core CPU instead of dual
• new instructions for accelerating h.265 and vp9 video (which enables features like sidecar
• hardware fixes for various intel cpu security problems
• better internal GPU
• new battery
• USB type C

 

[throAU]

Slower CPU, poorer thermals, True Tone display,

Just saw this part of your post.

The 2020 MBA has a T2 chip for helping things like video and ice lake is significantly faster than Broadwell in the 2015 (and anything earlier) in terms of instructions per clock.

The clock-speed is pretty low, but I now have 4 cores vs. 2 (so essentially for a lot of things its like having a dual core at 2x the real clock speed), a WAY better GPU, t2 video acceleration and the CPU has instruction set support for h.265 and vp9 built in. Thunderbolt 3/USB type C, better bluetooth standard. Real world, the quad core MBA is faster.

Thermals are a wash (vs. the 2015 13" Pro). On paper it may have less cooling but the MBP 2015 13" machine was hot and loud doing things I do as well from time to time. In terms of video stuff, the MBA is quieter (and the fan itself seems less offensive) so long as the video I'm dealing with is hardware accelerated.

I didn't go pro this time around because most of the heavy lifting stuff I do I now have desktop PCs and the cloud for. Most of my virtual machine work is running on an 8 core desktop with 64 GB of RAM and I just remote to VM workstation on that using Fusion on the Mac. Running VMs on the Mac is only when I'm away from either the office or my home office now.

But all of that aside - the older pro was 5 years old, heavier, and due to be replaced. I wanted USB type C (so I'll be sharing charger with the iPad Pro I buy next year - which I also aim to replace every 3-4 years) and sidecar