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Buying previous generation Pro

Christian 5G

Christian 5G

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 16, 2010
1,081
744
Orange County, CA
Just wondering when would you people recommend buying the 2015 model MacBook Pro?

When are the best deals come up? Black Friday of closer to new year?

I'm planning on getting a retina 13' Pro with 512gb storage.

Hope my upgrade will be noticeable from Air 2014
 
I was waiting patiently for the refresh... had my $$ ready. Then the price increase.

Im now scoping out refurbs and used ones online. Once the new ones come into the store I'll give them a peek, but for ~ +500$ over the current version WITH SAME OR WORSE CPU performance, same RAM, I'll likely save ~ 1500 and get the current version.
 
As an aside, I have the 2015, and it's great. It will be the perfect machine to use for the next couple of years at least. This will give the new machines time to allow USB-C to proliferate, the touchbar tech, assuming it doesn't tank, to become a mature feature with loads of dev support....and you may even get kaby lake ;)

As for where to buy, here in the UK lots of places seem to be selling out of the older models.
 
Barrierfreeman said:
As an aside, I have the 2015, and it's great. It will be the perfect machine to use for the next couple of years at least. This will give the new machines time to allow USB-C to proliferate, the touchbar tech, assuming it doesn't tank, to become a mature feature with loads of dev support....and you may even get kaby lake ;)
Click to expand...

That is my plan. I have a 2015 15" rMBP with dGPU. I will look at the replace unit in late 2017 and see if it make sense to upgrade.
 
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Scrivener said:
I got the late 2015 15 inch pro and the keyboard is beautiful. The screen is perfect and it actually feels every inch a pro machine - and no Dongles. Couldn't be happier - it'll do me for another four or five years.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing, bought a 2015 15" Pro. Bought it from Apple's refurb store and just got it yesterday via UPS. I have to say, when I unboxed it, I thought for a minute that they had sent me a brand new one. It's that perfect. I mean, this thing is absolutely immaculate. The only way I could tell it was a refurb was because it already had 6 cycles on the battery. I'm very happy with my purchase! And of course, no dongles needed makes me even happier!!
 
lambertjohn said:
I did the same thing, bought a 2015 15" Pro. Bought it from Apple's refurb store and just got it yesterday via UPS. I have to say, when I unboxed it, I thought for a minute that they had sent me a brand new one. It's that perfect. I mean, this thing is absolutely immaculate. The only way I could tell it was a refurb was because it already had 6 cycles on the battery. I'm very happy with my purchase! And of course, no dongles needed makes me even happier!!
Click to expand...


I might be new. My new one had 3 or 4 few cycles on the battery.
 
I've been researching....
Used < Refurb < New < 2016 Version
75% cost < 85% cost < 100% cost < 130% cost

Looking at ~ 1600 - 1800 for used compared to 4000 for new (Im in Canada)... makes the 2016 version a really hard sell.
 
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CaliKW said:
I've been researching....
Used < Refurb < New < 2016 Version
75% cost < 85% cost < 100% cost < 130% cost

Looking at ~ 1600 - 1800 for used compared to 4000 for new (Im in Canada)... makes the 2016 version a really hard sell.
Click to expand...

I just grabbed a new last gen top spec for $1899USD on ebay, no tax and free shipping. I was going to get a new gen top spec with the upgraded graphics, but since I'm only doing iOS development and maybe some video editing on it, I don't need all the new features. I canceled my $3000+ order and got something $1100 cheaper -- to be fair, though, a portion of that was Apple Care. I'll probably get it for the laptop I just ordered at some point, but not now. The ebay posting also comes with a second charger.
 
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I am looking to get this as well. The only problem is, I am not looking to upgrade for 4 years. Will the late 2015 model still be going strong by 2020? And which 13 inch model would you recommend in terms of specs? How can I know if it's a late 2015 model or an earlier one?
 
urbanlegend179 said:
I am looking to get this as well. The only problem is, I am not looking to upgrade for 4 years. Will the late 2015 model still be going strong by 2020? And which 13 inch model would you recommend in terms of specs? How can I know if it's a late 2015 model or an earlier one?
Click to expand...

I'd highly recommend getting 16 GB of RAM as 8 GB is already cutting it close with MacOS these days.

You'd have to provide more information on what you do to tell you if it'd be good for 5 years, but the difference between the 2015 and 2016 performance-wise is marginal at best. A 2015 i7 quad-core 15" with 16 GB of RAM will be outperform and be useful longer than a 2016 i5 dual-core with 8 GB of RAM.
 
Honestly I just need it for university and surfing and watching shows. Do I still need 16GB RAM? Or can I get away with 8? Also, I want the 13 inch, the i7 is only for the 15 inch right?
 
urbanlegend179 said:
I am looking to get this as well. The only problem is, I am not looking to upgrade for 4 years. Will the late 2015 model still be going strong by 2020? And which 13 inch model would you recommend in terms of specs? How can I know if it's a late 2015 model or an earlier one?
Click to expand...

I was using a 2010 Macbook Pro 15 until I upgraded to the 2015 model. And the 2010 Macbook Pro was still running fantastic. Still is, actually; it's sitting right next to me. Of course, I upgraded the HD to an SSD, and I maxed out the RAM to 8 GB, and that helped get it up-to-date with way more speed than it originally had. Point being, I got five years out of the old dog and probably could get a few more if I wanted. It's fast, it's quiet, and the 1680x1050 anti-glare screen was the love of my life for a long time. But no more. The retina screen on my new Macbook Pro is way better!! And of course, there's a quad-core CPU, 16GB RAM, lots of ports, etc. etc. I can only hope I get as much life out of my 2015 Pro as i did my 2010 Pro.
 
I picked up an refurbished early 2015 McBook Pro 13 retina 8gb and 256gb ssd last year from Apple for $1269. Perfect machine. Looked like new and does everything I need.
 
Recently bought refurbished 2015 rMBP from the online Apple store, a 13" , 256gb with 8gb ram, 2.7GHz, Intel core i5. They shipped it really fast. No complaints at all. Price was good. The Apple certified refurb has been working flawlessly.
 
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urbanlegend179 said:
Honestly I just need it for university and surfing and watching shows. Do I still need 16GB RAM? Or can I get away with 8? Also, I want the 13 inch, the i7 is only for the 15 inch right?
Click to expand...

i7 quad core is only in the 15". There was an i7 dual core available for the 13". The 13" only have dual core processors.
 
I would wait for Black Friday, since it is close enough, to see if you can find one with the right price/configuration ratio that works for you.

That machine should last you for a good 5 years, depending on your use case and which config you get.

Happy hunting!

That said, I personally am ready to rip the Mac Band-Aid and get a Razer Blade as my next machine (once my 17 in MBP dies).

So if you're open to using Windows check out their site.

http://www.razerzone.com/

Their machines appear to be the closest to Apple hardware with excellent specs I've seen yet.
 
Since the announcement I have bought the 2015 15" MBP with AMD graphics - I anticipated the place I bought from would soon run out of stock. I have kept the item in its box so far, while I come to a decision on which model to use.

I wish to see the new MPB in person, and I would also like to see some reviews.
 
Last edited:
Scrivener said:
I got the late 2015 15 inch pro and the keyboard is beautiful. The screen is perfect and it actually feels every inch a pro machine - and no Dongles. Couldn't be happier - it'll do me for another four or five years.
Click to expand...

Did absolutely the same. Couldn't be happier.
Got really good deal too.
 
CaliKW said:
I've been researching....
Used < Refurb < New < 2016 Version
75% cost < 85% cost < 100% cost < 130% cost

Looking at ~ 1600 - 1800 for used compared to 4000 for new (Im in Canada)... makes the 2016 version a really hard sell.
Click to expand...

Used ended up being the way to go for me.

I got a used excellent condition 2015 15" base model for $1350 shipped, and it came with AppleCare until April of 2019. About 60 charge cycles on it. It even came with one of those $40 3M privacy screens! This would've been about $2,600 (tax inclusive) just a week or two ago, so I'm very, very happy. A new 13" model without the touch bar would've cost me more than this, not to mention how much a new 15" would be. A much welcome upgrade over my base model 2013 MacBook Air.
 
Am very happy with everyone's input here. I will wait until Black Friday and will most likely purchase it.

I would like to get apple refurbished if it gets a little more discount, if not Best Buy might be a way to go on Black Friday.
 
Thanks for all the inputs.

Razor One appears to be very good hardware. But once used to the Mac software, and having utilities and work flows that are software specific, too hard and too expensive (not just in software cost but workflow changes) to switch away from Mac software yet.

So, I went ahead and bought a 2015 Macbook Pro with the Radeon graphics from Apple refurb store. Not the best deal but the confidence of buying from Apple refurb.
 
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