we just got an extra notebook for the family, didn't realize until I got it home (from Best Buy) it says 2017, is that simply due to the face It wasn't updated and NOT the year of the actual computer? a little confusing, please advise...
Yes the machines were last updated in 2017 and are still being manufactured now - you can get some idea of the specific manufacture date just by what OS it shipped with - if it's Mojave - 10.14.3 or something similar it was made earlier this year, but if it was high sierra it might be an older machine that's been sat in a stock room for months. You can also get the exact date of manufacture by looking up the serial number, but a general idea of it being manufactured in the last few months is probably as good as for your purposes.