Is this a good time to purchase MBP?

[jas5279]

Is this a good time as any to purchase MBP? I don't know when Apple releases new MBPs and all. I'd like to know if this is a good time to purchase a MBP (one model older than touch bar one) or should I wait a bit more cause price is expected to drop or something like that? Will be buying brand new, though.

 

[MSastre]

Buy now if you need now, but it was me, I would wait for the Kaby Lake processors which will allow more ram. Maybe later this year.

 

[macmee]

they just came out with a new macbook pro so yeah

but do NOT buy the regular macbook (not pro) as its outdated

 

[Fishrrman]

The 2016 models did not impress me for the asking price.

I bought a 2015 model instead.

If you don't need one right away, it might be worth your while to keep using what you have now, and wait for the "late 2017 revision", which should address the complaints made about the 2016's...

 

[merkinmuffley]

Yes, if you can find a 2015 MBP in the refurbished store. I wouldn't touch that 2016 model, I'm not into the whole dongle thing and I'm really not into the pricing they put on it.

 

[dacreativeguy]

I get the impression that Apple was planning to release the Touch Bar Macs with Kaby Lake, but the chipset wasn't ready. The next release later in the year should be more impressive for the price.

 

[kohlson]

It would be helpful to know what you plan to use the MBP for. Apple typically releases MBPs in the Fall, and MacBooks in the first half of the year. But they seem to be in a transition now, and they don't talk about futures anyway.

 

[maflynn]

or should I wait a bit more cause price is expected to drop

There is no price drop coming, Apple rarely does that, and for a new product that they've themselves touted as being very popular, I don't see it happening. Why reduce the price on something that it selling well - doesn't make sense.

 

[kohlson]

As maflynn says above, Apple rarely if ever drops prices. They have somewhat stable price points and drop machine refreshes into them periodically. Near the end of a lifecycle you'll see Authorized resellers (not Apple, but Best Buy and such) start doing discounts like gift cards, and perhaps 100-200 off list. This is different than other tech makers, who start dropping prices after a few months to reflect cheaper costs, less value due to aging tech, and perhaps increased competition. One way to get a discount is through the refurb store online. Harder now, as there is still a strong market for the last generation systems.

 

[DevNull0]

As maflynn says above, Apple rarely if ever drops prices. They have somewhat stable price points and drop machine refreshes into them periodically. Near the end of a lifecycle you'll see Authorized resellers (not Apple, but Best Buy and such) start doing discounts like gift cards, and perhaps 100-200 off list. This is different than other tech makers, who start dropping prices after a few months to reflect cheaper costs, less value due to aging tech, and perhaps increased competition. One way to get a discount is through the refurb store online. Harder now, as there is still a strong market for the last generation systems.

The MBA had a premium of around $1000 when it first came out as well as a huge performance hit. By the second gen, there was a huge price drop and performance jump.

Apple seems to have thought the emojibar was worth a $500 premium, but that will disappear pretty fast in newer versions. I also can't wait to see the sales figures for this MBP version, because if you don't care about the emojibar, the 2015 is just a plain better machine at a much lower price.

 

[smirking]

should I wait a bit more cause price is expected to drop or something like that? Will be buying brand new, though.

As maflynn said, don't expect the price to drop. They're strict adherents to pricing strategy, but if you're willing to buy a refurbished unit or take advantage of remaining stock of 2016's in 2017, you'll get a price drop.

The 2016 MBP is a fine machine. I'm typing on one right now. I'm not a fan of the touch bar, but that's not going away anytime soon and the next edition isn't going to suddenly sprout USB ports and an SD card reader. Those are gone. You'll need dongles for the foreseeable future. Period.

My battery life is really good. I can get around 10 hours of casual use out of it or 6-7 hours of intense usage with a dev server running in the background.

The things that might improve about the MBP are actually already pretty good. The other things aren't going to change.

I would wait for the Kaby Lake processors which will allow more ram. Maybe later this year.

If he's asking, I doubt he's one of those people who really need 32GB of RAM.

 

[zaaach48]

There is no price drop coming, Apple rarely does that, and for a new product that they've themselves touted as being very popular, I don't see it happening. Why reduce the price on something that it selling well - doesn't make sense.

in 2012 when the first 15 inch rMBP came it, it started at 2,199 and was down to 1,999 by 2013. iPad prices drop when new models are released. so yea, i am expecting a price drop of no more than $200 by this fall

 

[zubikov]

This is a great time to buy a 2015 rMBP, some retailers are offering discounts, and one is still available to purchase new on Apple's site. Just got one after contemplating getting the 2016 model. The 2015 rMBP is a ridiculously good machine, huge battery life, same processor, still industry-leading 1800/1400MBps r/w SSD, a keyboard that actually feels good, and real, useful ports. With the huge premium for 2016, you're basically getting a touchbar, slightly faster SSD, better GFX card if needed, marginally better display...but the battery is ~75whr, and you lose out on the ports.