MacBook Pro Retina - When to buy

[Poisonousric]

Hello!

I'm planning to move to Mac with my first paycheck so I'm pretty excited but because I'm new to Apple and it's a significant amount of money for a student I want to make sure I buy the right notebook at the right time.

My original plan was to get the MacBook Pro 13' retina at some point over the summer but then I heard there would be some chances Apple released a 2014 model in September/October and that made me doubt whether if I should wait or not. My current laptop works OK, I've been using it over 4 years now so it overheats sometimes but nothing too serious or urgent.

So far it seems that waiting and buying the new model with an UK student discount seemed to be the best thing to do BUT now a Spanish chain is going to have a big promotion selling them fairly cheaper (it only happens once or twice per year). What would you guys do? Wait till September or October hoping they release the 2014 model (if they do!) or getting the cheaper, late 2013 MacBook?

Prices are:
Spain: MBPr 13' 158GB+4GB 1329€ & 256GB+8GB 1529€
promotion 1098€ 1263€

UK: 1370€=£1099 1557€=£1249
student 1179€=£946

 

[960design]

I just bought a fully loaded MBPr 15". It will be here Monday.

Don't play the 'new tech around the corner' game. Get it if you need it, don't if you don't.

 

[Kevclark1985]

My advice is to get the mid range 13" retina (256gb/8gb ram/i5) from apple directly.

I got mine with UK student discount last year and it came to £1074. I'd suggest it for the following reasons:

1) Buying direct from apple online with UK student discount gets you 3 years applecare (3yr hardware and 1yr telephone support) - For me this is a major plus

2) the 256gb SSD has faster read/write speeds than the 128gb and is also a much more comfortable size in my opinion. I can keep a fair amount of movies etc on there for general use and use an external hard drive for storing most of the movies I won't watch often.

3) In my opinion, the mid range model will hold its value much better if you wanted to sell in a few years. May not be a major factor to you, but def worth considering.

4) No point waiting for 2014 model, it doesn't look like it will be a major spec bump due to Broadwell chips not being released yet. I'd expect a minor bump towards the end of the year, then a more significant upgrade next year. Also worth noting, that unless you are a power user (does not sound like you are) then will you really notice any difference? The spec of the mid range model is really good! Also still gets about 8hrs battery life!

So in summary, I would get the late 2013 model direct from apple uk, using the student discount. The 3 year applecare cannot be overstated to be honest, makes it a very desirable package at £1074.

 

[jg321]

My advice is to get the mid range 13" retina (256gb/8gb ram/i5) from apple directly.

I got mine with UK student discount last year and it came to £1074. I'd suggest it for the following reasons:

1) Buying direct from apple online with UK student discount gets you 3 years applecare (3yr hardware and 1yr telephone support) - For me this is a major plus

2) the 256gb SSD has faster read/write speeds than the 128gb and is also a much more comfortable size in my opinion. I can keep a fair amount of movies etc on there for general use and use an external hard drive for storing most of the movies I won't watch often.

3) In my opinion, the mid range model will hold its value much better if you wanted to sell in a few years. May not be a major factor to you, but def worth considering.

4) No point waiting for 2014 model, it doesn't look like it will be a major spec bump due to Broadwell chips not being released yet. I'd expect a minor bump towards the end of the year, then a more significant upgrade next year. Also worth noting, that unless you are a power user (does not sound like you are) then will you really notice any difference? The spec of the mid range model is really good! Also still gets about 8hrs battery life!

So in summary, I would get the late 2013 model direct from apple uk, using the student discount. The 3 year applecare cannot be overstated to be honest, makes it a very desirable package at £1074.

Agree with all of this. And I own a 256gb/8gb ram/i5. Excellent machine.

 

[Baytriple]

MacBook Pro Retina - When to buy

I've just bought a 2.6 i7 1tb retina mbp. It's blazingly fast. Read and write speeds of 930mbs/sec. Can play BF4 I boot camp and obviously do all the design tasks I ask of it.

I still have my 14 day return, so if something turns up in the next 2 weeks I'll be returning it for the newer.

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

I just bought my rMBP 2.6/8/512 about a week ago. I was hoping (but not expecting) an update of either the rMBP or MBA at WWDC, and when that didn't happen, I just went ahead and ordered. I'm glad I did. No more stress of waiting.

 

[Kryckter]

I just bought my rMBP 2.6/8/512 about a week ago. I was hoping (but not expecting) an update of either the rMBP or MBA at WWDC, and when that didn't happen, I just went ahead and ordered. I'm glad I did. No more stress of waiting.

Agree here. We've passed some major points and don't foresee any upgrades until September at the earliest. Buy now and enjoy, don't worry about when or if an upgrade is coming.

 

[Poisonousric]

Thanks everyone for your replies!

I think I'll get a MBPr 13' i5 2.6Ghz 512GB 8GB for 1396€(= £1117) from that Spanish store on Monday. The Spanish laws give you 2 years warranty so I'll get AppleCare at the end of the first year.

I wasn't looking for 512GB but the store only offers base model or this one and 128GB is probably not enough so...