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Is now the best time to buy an M1 Pro / Max?
- Thread starter Fomalhaut
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i meant could i ask you several questions about how you feel between devices ,so i could get a bit of wise advices
I'll bet there's a smattering of 'refurb' models - at least of the 'in store' options within a few months. Especially before any M2 chips ship.
Those prices are 15% off retail. It would be nice to find a nicely equipped 32GB 14" version up there.
Those prices are 15% off retail. It would be nice to find a nicely equipped 32GB 14" version up there.
If you spec the MBA with the same SSD and RAM as the $2000 MBP 14", the price difference is only $500.
Yes there are two "timings" that I consider best time to buy:
First is newly released, which is now but since the stock is low and lead time is long, also adequate reviews are only starting to surface, maybe some time this to next month before the holidays is the best time when stock is stablized, and there may even be Black Friday / Holiday deals.
Second is when Apple Refurb Store starts selling them, particularly not just the base / stock models but ones with BTO upgrades like RAM. For individuals / freelancers not qualifying for Business Accounts or Education pricing, that 15% is a considerable amount especially for higher configs.
True, the MBP 14 would be about twice as fast as the MBA when converting video to h265, which I do about twice a week, overnight.
Apart from that, I guess I wouldn’t notice much if any speed increase in Nova, BBEdit, Codekit, LocalWP etc.
Oh, and comparing used MBA to new MBP pricing might feel skewered to you, but to me it didn’t: I actually spent the money, and quite a bit less of it, too
It's interesting. I'm trying to buy the new MBP 14" in the UK and there just aren't any about. I spoke to one of the Apple sales reps online and he flat outright told me (and this is a direct quote):
"There's little units available in any of the UK branches, I realize the new model has just launched which often results in some shortages but this year feels different. From what I can see it may well be down to the chip issues occurring worldwide. We just aren't getting the laptops in-store to meet demand, only a few units arrive here and there."
"There's little units available in any of the UK branches, I realize the new model has just launched which often results in some shortages but this year feels different. From what I can see it may well be down to the chip issues occurring worldwide. We just aren't getting the laptops in-store to meet demand, only a few units arrive here and there."
You failed to mention one of the primary drivers of the global supply chain shortage: a huge increase in demand for things over services (travel, dining out etc) due to the pandemic; a demand for which we were not prepared and did not anticipate. This should be temporary once the pandemic recedes as it appears to be doing.
Right now is an absolutely stellar time to buy a MacBook Pro. These are fantastic products at a great price. The best value ever.
It's implied with the advice, the recovery will take 2-3 years. See below:
Maybe but as I've got an Apple Store 5 mins away from my house it's my preferred option (each to their own).
PS: I wouldn't buy a £20 toaster from Curry's (PC World) if my life depended on it, let alone a £2.5k laptop. They are by far the shadiest retail organization in the UK - and that's coming from someone who's got relatives who work at WH Smith. The amount of illicit up-selling, violating consumer rights, and downright ingrained terrible behavior that goes on in that place, I could probably make myself a millionaire in helping people bring claims against the place in small claims court.
My point is that there's plenty of stock about in the UK. They're only 2 of many places. But if you'd rather wait weeks for a specific Apple Store to get stock, good luck with that.
I'm suspecting 18month ~ 2 years refresh cycles from now on on any mac product given how Apple is introducing their product up to this time so far. Based on my assumption, I'd say this is a terrific time to buy a newly introduced M1 Pro and Max.
Considering resources and times to develop chips and how much lead AS has on x86, I see no need to refresh chips yearly. M2 for Air & 20 core and 40 core based on M1 in 2022, and M2 Pro & Max and iMac M2 2023.
Considering resources and times to develop chips and how much lead AS has on x86, I see no need to refresh chips yearly. M2 for Air & 20 core and 40 core based on M1 in 2022, and M2 Pro & Max and iMac M2 2023.
I think you may be right, and even if there is a small update next year, it would probably be to include some of the core improvements from the A15 design into the M1 Pro and Max. We don't yet really know what Apple's 1-2 year cadence will be for A-series, M-series and M-Pro/Max series, and the current order, i.e. A15 iPhone/iPad before A14-based M1 Pro/Max may not apply in the future. Or it may; we don't know!
In any case, I doubt we will see the huge jumps that we saw from "entry-level Intel -> M1" and M1 to M1 Pro/Max again...at least not with the current lineup. Even the jump to 3nm Silicon is unlikely to shift the performance dramatically - it might be a 30-50% jump for some metrics.
Getting on the train at the first station gives you a longer journey to maximize the benefits on an upgrade 3-5 years down the track. I made the "mistake" (unknowingly) of buying an upgraded i9 MBP16 at one of the last "stations" before the launch of Apple Silicon which means I'll be upgrading much sooner that I planned for.