Not sure what to do

[DevPreach]

Hi All,
I'm a little unsure of what to do. I want to get a new 16" MBP, but with no certain launch date in sight I don't know whether to wait for one of the M1 Mac chips to be put into the 16" form factor or to pull the trigger on one of the last Intel based 16" MBPs. I'm an avid photographer(hobby) so I use a lot of Photoshop and Lightroom and various other softwares, I also use my MBP a lot for web development(work), and I do a lot of word processing/web-surfing for my other job as a pastor. During all of those tasks I usually listen to music of some sort from my Apple Music library. While I enjoy my 13" MBP(Intel-based) I should have configured it differently than I did because I often get interruptions in my Lightroom to Photoshop workflow due to RAM getting overused. I just got 1 of the base model MBP 13" with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD storage. What has anyone heard of any new Macs being revealed during WWDC? Has anyone heard of the timeline for the availability of a 16" MBP with M1 chip etc? Any recommendations?? I will say this that in the next year to few years I would have the money to replace this machine that I buy depending on how long the courts/state of NJ takes to process the civil suit I'm part of(waiting for a mediator to hear the case so we can settle). Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

DevPreach

 

[Apple_Robert]

Unless you absolutely need a new machine this moment, wait until after WWDC in June, and see if more details about the alleged rumors of a 14 & 16" being released in early fall are true. If nothing is revealed, it might be prudent to make a purchase, especially if you need Intel based programs.

 

[deeddawg]

If I were in your situation I'd wait, while perhaps inconvenient it seems your current system is largely doing what you need it to do.

See if anything is announced at WWDC.

If you have your eyes set on a 16" sized model, wait for that rather than buy another computer that isn't an exact fit to your needs.

 

[Fishrrman]

It looks like the redesigned 14" and 16" m-series MacBook Pro's aren't going to arrive (in quantity) until late this year or early next year. They may be announced sooner.

Whether you can wait that long is up to you.
Would not the pastor admonish his flock that patience is a virtue...?

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Your best bet might be to sell your current MacBook Pro 13" and buy a used 15 or 16". A quick search on eBay suggests that you can get a 2018 15" MacBook Pro for not much more than you could sell your current laptop for. That would likely be significantly better at the tasks that you want to do than your laptop right now due to more RAM, dedicated graphics, larger screen and potentially faster processor. Or a used first gen 2016 model if you want to spend a little extra. Either way, you'll be spending way less than what a *new* 16" model costs now or is likely to cost when the M1 model comes out. I'm all for the M1 chips but if you need better performance *now*, that would probably be the most cost effective route to get it and would mean you could get an M2 MacBook Pro in a year or two.

 

[deeddawg]

Your best bet might be to sell your current MacBook Pro 13" and buy a used 15 or 16". A quick search on eBay suggests that you can get a 2018 15" MacBook Pro for not much more than you could sell your current laptop for. That would likely be significantly better at the tasks that you want to do than your laptop right now due to more RAM, dedicated graphics, larger screen and potentially faster processor. Or a used first gen 2016 model if you want to spend a little extra. Either way, you'll be spending way less than what a *new* 16" model costs now or is likely to cost when the M1 model comes out. I'm all for the M1 chips but if you need better performance *now*, that would probably be the most cost effective route to get it and would mean you could get an M2 MacBook Pro in a year or two.

I do agree on used if the trigger must get pulled prior to an Apple Silicon 16" model being available, but I'd recommend avoiding the butterfly keyboard equipped models, especially used ones outside the four-year repair program.

(I owned a 2018 MBP15 - never much liked the keyboard, new ones are much better IMHO. Plus I replaced both a swollen battery and a failed touchbar under AC)