Need Laptop Next Year - Buy this winter?

[rhino89]

So I have an opportunity to snag a brand new, mid-2014 MacBook pro with retina display with 8gb ram and 256gb ssd for only $1180 (rather than the full price of $1499 plus tax I believe) from a friend who received one and has no interest in the Mac. Now my question is this:

I currently have an iMac and an iPad, and don't "need" a MacBook at the moment since I live in an apartment and can just walk 5 feet to the iMac. However, next year (summer and beyond) I will be moving into a house and would need a computer downstairs since the iMac will be in the upstairs office. So despite really not "needing" the Mac until another 6 months or so from now, should I just buy it since the price next year will likely not be this good? I mean even if there's a new MacBook introduced and they drop the price $100, that would still be only $1299 or $1399, and that's before taxes...

Thoughts anyone? Any input is much appreciated.

 

[phoenix78]

You should wait.

You don't know what the new base specs will be if a machine is released later on. Or there may be a new screen size that you may want to consider.

I wouldn't say that cpu performance will be better, but it may be that you have even better battery life than what you get now. Maybe a retina macbook air... who knows... Id wait and see if you are in no hurry.

The current ones will likely be discounted when new machines arrive, so you wouldn't necessarily be missing out on a discounted price for a current config if you were to wait.

 

[rhino89]

I took a look at what last year's rMBP (late 2013) are going for, and see that a comparable model (2.4ghz, 8gb ram, 256gb ssd) is/was going now for the "reduced" price of $1299 and sold out recently at apple resellers. And that's what I'm hoping to avoid - I'll be kicking myself if I wait a year and pay more for it than the $1180 I can do this month, and at the same time I'll be kicking myself if there's some kind of update that pushes prices down a lot. I don't have an interest in the Air model since I don't need portability and instead want to future-proof while keeping it very affordable.

 

[phoenix78]

8gb and 256gb ssd are hardly considered future proof.

But it is up to you really. I would wait personally, just to see what spec is out.

If this price, and spec, is good for you in the foreseeable future for your usage, then you should get it.

Maybe someone else can chime in re: their experiences with prices etc... (i haven't sold my slightly old gear or ever bought older gear so I'm not so good with that kind of advice.)

 

[maflynn]

I guess it all boils down, do you want to pay less right now, or more in the future?

If the computer is just going to be sitting there unused, I'd save the money. I think the 8GB of ram and 256 SSD is a fine configuration, and will last most people for several years.

 

[mcarling]

Macs generally hold their prices very well. You very may well not be able to get the same machine for $1180, even used, next summer. If the Broadwell MacBook Pro models have not yet been introduced when you need a laptop, you'll have to pay much more than $1180 for the configuration at hand.