M1 Max 16" usability in 2026?

[GeorgeRussell]

In the market for a used laptop and there seem to be some good deals on eBay for M1 Max Macbook Pro 16s, for example 1TB and 32GB RAM for about £900. Are they still good in 2026 considering they're about 5 years old now? I'll be learning code and data analytics. Newer models have much higher single core scores which I've read will improve the "snappy-ness" of the OS, will the M1 Max feel slow? Thanks!

 

[surferfb]

In the market for a used laptop and there seem to be some good deals on eBay for M1 Max Macbook Pro 16s, for example 1TB and 32GB RAM for about £900. Are they still good in 2026 considering they're about 5 years old now? I'll be learning code and data analytics. Newer models have much higher single core scores which I've read will improve the "snappy-ness" of the OS, will the M1 Max feel slow? Thanks!

I have a M1 16" Pro (not max) with 16GB of ram and I am only JUST starting to notice I can be RAM constrained if I have a ton of stuff going on at the same time. It doesn't feel slow at all. I don't do (heavy) coding, but I often have multiple apps open and am driving a 5k 27" screen as well as the internal screen. I imagine a Max with 32G of ram would be great for.

That said, shouldn't you be focusing on racing rather than learning code 😉 😂

 

[GeorgeRussell]

I have a M1 16" Pro (not max) with 16GB of ram and I am only JUST starting to notice I can be RAM constrained if I have a ton of stuff going on at the same time. It doesn't feel slow at all. I don't do (heavy) coding, but I often have multiple apps open and am driving a 5k 27" screen as well as the internal screen. I imagine a Max with 32G of ram would be great for.

That said, shouldn't you be focusing on racing rather than learning code 😉 😂

Haha, no I think I have this year in the bag already. Ferrari is the only competitor and they'll likely take themselves out.

 

[kasakka]

The only real fault with the M1 is the lack of HDMI 2.1. So it will run only at 60 Hz over the HDMI port into e.g 4K+ monitors. But you can use USB-C to Displayport adapters to get around this if you care about external monitor support.

Otherwise they're fine machines.

 

[Bigwaff]

Otherwise they're fine machines.

Totally agree. Have MBP 14” M1 Max 1TB 64GB RAM and it tackles everything I throw at it. Incredible value on the used market.

 

[nucl30us_m]

Just passed the 2-year mark with my 16" M1 MBP and still have had no issues with it. It could last me another 5 years, I won't upgrade until something really new comes out, maybe the M6. But even then I'll stick with my M1 a few more years until I can get a cheap M6 refurb. You may want to check out refurb deals on Newegg and Amazon, in addition to used on ebay. (don't know if Newegg ships to UK.)

 

[conmee]

Haha, no I think I have this year in the bag already. Ferrari is the only competitor and they'll likely take themselves out.

C'mon George, I saw how you looked at Kimi when he was on the top step of the podium. HE'S your only real competition with that rocketship (18:1 compression is the new party mode).

 

[RashyIsBack2]

I still own the 24C/32GB M1 Max, and yes it is fine - except in anything with 3D or AI/LLMs, where it shows limitations. Would I still buy one in 2026? No, as the M2 generation is not much more expensive, but got noticeable improvements, doubling the efficency cores, having more GPU cores, larger L2 Caches, an overall better GPU scaling of the Max chip (noticeable in Blender for example, where the speed improved by 2x even without Raytracing cores), next to HDMI 2.1 and better Wifi and Bluetooth. And one year longer software support.

Personally, I will sell my M1 Max this year and either go for a 2nd-hand M3 Max or wait a bit longer to the M6-release and get a discountent M5 Pro/Max model.

If you do coding/CPU focused task, a M2 Pro will fit you very well. And you can get them rather cheap nowadays, especially since the cooling of the 14" model is fine for the Pro chips. If you want GPU = Max Chip, go for a 16" model.

 

[TAJones99]

I'm not having any issues with my M1 Max and I plan to keep it for a while, I have been neglecting my for a few months. Never really used it for the reason of getting it. I wanted to to learn programming as well.

 

[thepyrate]

I have an M1 Max 64Gb and honestly this thing is still such a performant machine. I am an editor by trade, and am editing/doing motion graphics on it every day. I am looking at my M5 Max upgrade path right now because I need to consider the risk of the laptop giving up one of these days as it gets older, but honestly it's such a trooper. Without hyperbole I'd probably say it's the best computer I've ever owned.

 

[GeorgeRussell]

Thanks for the comments. I'm now the proud owner of a new (to me) 16" M1 Max 32GB/1TB. Got it for £825 on eBay, that's $1100 for y'all in the states. Fantastic condition too - 56 cycles and 96% battery health and not a scratch. Must've been plugged in all the time as a work computer.

Screen is a real upgrade over my M1 Air, and moving up from 8GB to 32GB RAM is much more comfortable.