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It Is Worth to Upgrade from MBP Late 2013 to the Current Model?
- Thread starter seasurfer
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It’s subjective. What does “worth it” means for you? The new MBP is significantly faster, sure, but will that make a difference in your case? I changed from a 2016 15” to a 2018 and for me, the difference is staggering since my code prototypes run much quicker. If your computer usage is mostly office and web, chances are that you won’t even notice a difference...
Honestly, my 2012 15inch is pretty much as fast in everyday tasks as my new maxed out 2018, on some it's even better. The difference in speed isn't really noticeable unless you're doing something heavy. It surprising how little the old retinas have slowed down over the years.
I wonder what you're looking for in an Apple replacement, because their direction of travel has been made very clear, including by the latest refreshes. Probably we all want to see the most muscular processors, although I for one don't want to hear fan noise, but what else do we want? If I, an old-fashioned boy, want to see a silent Thickbook boasting a full-travel keyboard, festooned with ports, equipped with the superb magsafe power connector, and adorned with the illuminated logo, then I rather think the Cupertino crew have no plans to excite me.
Well I don't think Apple will be releasing that within my lifetime (though to be honest I don't give a damn either way about illuminated logos, that's just cosmetic stuff).
I just need more RAM, more storage, and a faster processor (though I'd have uses for a touchscreen, even if Apple, who would rather I buy an iPad as well, will not provide this either).
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You do not want to know about my usage: typically 11 virtual desktops ("spaces" in Apple talk), devoted to different ongoing tasks, and a large number of windows open in many of them. I don't do video editing or stuff like that, so it's not single, intensive processes (though some data analysis tasks take a long time), just enough stuff generally going on to impact responsiveness.
Plus I'm running out of disc space and the battery, while not critical, isn't what it once was. All in all enough for me to push the update button.
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I was very much on the fence about moving from my late 2013 15" i7 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD MBP to a 2018, as it seemed that the late '13 was handling my needs pretty well, and the 2018 pricing was/is $$$$.
The trackpad on the 2013 needed to be replaced, the screen coating was looking a bit tired, and the SSD was down to a little over 100GB (after cleaning-out) so I knew was going to have to put money into the machine if I was keeping the late 2013 (a lot less than buying a new 2018, though!). So the real question was: Do I put the money into the 2013 for another ~+/-3 years of life or a 2018?
Ultimately, I ordered a "trial" 2018, i7 1 TB, 32 GB RAM, so that I could experience it first-hand in my daily use, knowing I could return it within the free return period. The 32 GB of RAM was specified to give me a bit more room for an instance of Win 10 under Parallels that I frequently need to run.
I kept the 2018. While not a "stunning" upgrade over the later 2013, I was pleasantly surprised how all of the upgraded bits contributed to a smoother, somewhat faster experience, and actually found I liked the (now membrane-covered) keyboard on the 2018 better than the 2013's. Even the much-maligned touch bar has proven much more usable and convenient that I expected (I was anticipating hating it).
Note that the decision was made after my late 2013 MBP was repaired (at surprisingly low cost) into essentially "like new" condition -- new top/screen, new bottom case (body, trackpad, keyboard and battery), new bottom cover, and replacement headphone jack -- so I was really comparing a "new" later 2013 to a new 2018.
This all worked out well for my son, who just completed his Masters degree and wanted/needed a new machine for personal use (does classified work on his office machine; personal stuff on that is a no-no) -- he's now using the late 2013.
The trackpad on the 2013 needed to be replaced, the screen coating was looking a bit tired, and the SSD was down to a little over 100GB (after cleaning-out) so I knew was going to have to put money into the machine if I was keeping the late 2013 (a lot less than buying a new 2018, though!). So the real question was: Do I put the money into the 2013 for another ~+/-3 years of life or a 2018?
Ultimately, I ordered a "trial" 2018, i7 1 TB, 32 GB RAM, so that I could experience it first-hand in my daily use, knowing I could return it within the free return period. The 32 GB of RAM was specified to give me a bit more room for an instance of Win 10 under Parallels that I frequently need to run.
I kept the 2018. While not a "stunning" upgrade over the later 2013, I was pleasantly surprised how all of the upgraded bits contributed to a smoother, somewhat faster experience, and actually found I liked the (now membrane-covered) keyboard on the 2018 better than the 2013's. Even the much-maligned touch bar has proven much more usable and convenient that I expected (I was anticipating hating it).
Note that the decision was made after my late 2013 MBP was repaired (at surprisingly low cost) into essentially "like new" condition -- new top/screen, new bottom case (body, trackpad, keyboard and battery), new bottom cover, and replacement headphone jack -- so I was really comparing a "new" later 2013 to a new 2018.
This all worked out well for my son, who just completed his Masters degree and wanted/needed a new machine for personal use (does classified work on his office machine; personal stuff on that is a no-no) -- he's now using the late 2013.
I wonder how much of the decline in MBP sales has been due to the evil keyboard reputation. They're not a cheap mistake to make.
I think the saying should be, "If you need it now, wait awhile after it's released for Apple to get all the bugs out. Then buy it"
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