Please help me with this decision!!!

[shadow_wolf_909]

Hi guys/gals,
(I'm new here so please forgive me if I break any "unspoken rules", thx!)
As you guys probably all know, the new MacBook Pros came out recently. I've looked at them and I think they're pretty good (definitely could be better though...). My question is this: should I upgrade to the new MacBook Pro? If I do I would buy the 15 in model with the following specs (base model):

• 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 16GB 2133MHz memory
• 512GB PCIe-based SSD
• Radeon Pro 455 with 2GB memory
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Touch Bar and Touch ID

Right now, I have a 13 in MacBook Air that was released mid 2012 (base model). It runs perfectly fine (even if it is slow at times) and I don't think it is much of a major upgrade to me but a lot of family members and friends are saying that I should upgrade.

What do you guys think??? It would be helpful if you guys could respond quickly. Thanks!

(P.S. If you guys don't have time to respond, I'll include a poll as well)

EDIT: This would be where ALL of my work would be. I don't use a desktop. I would mostly use the laptop for what you would expect a college student might use it for - writing docs, perhaps some editing of footage, etc.

EDIT: Hello all, I have decide to purchase the base model 15in MBP. Hopefully its worth it!
Have a great day and an amazing Thanksgiving everyone!!!

 

[Chupa Chupa]

From an Air, no brainer. Huge improvement from screen to ports to storage to RAM to GPU to speed there.

 

[thats all folks]

if you don't have a specific and real need to upgrade now, you might want to wait. it is likely there will be a mid 2017 update that will be more powerful, more refined and cheaper than this current lineup.

 

[zhenya]

Uh, this would be an absolutely enormous upgrade.

Do you need the larger device? Even the 13" base model would be a huge upgrade, and you'd keep the same weight as your current Air and the footprint is actually even smaller than what you have now.

 

[shadow_wolf_909]

Uh, this would be an absolutely enormous upgrade.

Do you need the larger device? Even the 13" base model would be a huge upgrade, and you'd keep the same weight as your current Air and the footprint is actually even smaller than what you have now.

I don't necessarily need the larger device but I've used the 13 inch for 4 years so I kind of want more screen real estate if I were to upgrade.

 

[JohnnyGo]

Uh, this would be an absolutely enormous upgrade.

Do you need the larger device? Even the 13" base model would be a huge upgrade, and you'd keep the same weight as your current Air and the footprint is actually even smaller than what you have now.

Agree. You can save some money, get the base CPU and add only RAM (16Gb) and storage (512Gb). No need to go all out on the 15" model.

 

[shadow_wolf_909]

if you don't have a specific and real need to upgrade now, you might want to wait. it is likely there will be a mid 2017 update that will be more powerful, more refined and cheaper than this current lineup.

That's the reason why I'm a little hesitant to upgrade. I don't want to buy a new laptop only to find out that a new version was released a couple months later.

 

[zhenya]

That's the reason why I'm a little hesitant to upgrade. I don't want to buy a new laptop only to find out that a new version was released a couple months later.

An update to these laptops of any meaningful sort is almost certainly a year away. Now is the time to buy.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP wrote:
"should I upgrade to the new MacBook Pro? If I do I would buy the 15 in model with the following specs (base model):"

If you've got the moolah to buy the 15" without worrying about it, then what are you waiting for?

 

[Patron_Saint]

Hi guys/gals,
(I'm new here so please forgive me if I break any "unspoken rules", thx!)
As you guys probably all know, the new MacBook Pros came out recently. I've looked at them and I think they're pretty good (definitely could be better though...). My question is this: should I upgrade to the new MacBook Pro? If I do I would buy the 15 in model with the following specs (base model):

• 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
• 16GB 2133MHz memory
• 512GB PCIe-based SSD
• Radeon Pro 455 with 2GB memory
• Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide
• Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Touch Bar and Touch ID

Right now, I have a 13 in MacBook Air that was released mid 2012 (base model). It runs perfectly fine (even if it is slow at times) and I don't think it is much of a major upgrade to me but a lot of family members and friends are saying that I should upgrade.

What do you guys think??? It would be helpful if you guys could respond quickly. Thanks!

(P.S. If you guys don't have time to respond, I'll include a poll as well)

Edit: This would be where ALL of my work would be. I don't use a desktop. I would mostly use the laptop for what you would expect a college student might use it for - writing docs, perhaps some editing of footage, etc.

What are your needs and what kind of usage do you have? Even the base non-touchbar model will be a massive upgrade for you.

Post your needs and people here can recommend the best model for you. That is, unless you're set on the 15" for a reason already. In that case, if it's what you want? Go for it!

if you don't have a specific and real need to upgrade now, you might want to wait. it is likely there will be a mid 2017 update that will be more powerful, more refined and cheaper than this current lineup.

Do you have a source to prove this claim of Apple releasing an update within 6 months, or are you just making crap up?

I'm going to bet on the latter, since Apple rarely even updates them at the 1 year mark, leaning closer to 15-18 months.

 

[nwcs]

To me this is an easy choice. If you can't find a compelling reason to upgrade, and your current system works pretty well, and you're asking a bunch of random internet people then you're trying to convince yourself to spend money. Just stick with what you have until you really know you need to move to something better.

 

[koyoot]

I will always say the same thing. Go for base model, but upgrade the GPU to Radeon Pro 460. You will get it for 100$ less, than the second tier model.

 

[darkside flow]

I went from a 13" retina MacBook (2012) and the 15" base model of the 2016 is a dream. Coming from a 13" Air, you're going to be extremely impressed with how compact it is while providing a much bigger screen and overall impressive user experience.

The 13" Pro 2016 is also an excellent option but if you have found yourself desiring more screen space, the 15" is the one especially given its light weight (4 pounds) and serious power compared to an Air.

 

[kevinkyoo]

Why do you want the 15"? Just the screen size? The increase in power?
What did you like the MacBook Air? The battery? The size/weight? Do you still like it?

IMO, if you need the power, get the 15" without question.
If you like the MBA's battery, maybe get the 2015 MBA, and use the extra money for something else.
If you like the size/weight, the battery, and want more power, the 13" MBA looks good.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

if you don't have a specific and real need to upgrade now, you might want to wait. it is likely there will be a mid 2017 update that will be more powerful, more refined and cheaper than this current lineup.

Update to what? MBP won't be updated for another year. Bank on it. Air is an all but dead line and will never see another update. Also, don't count on Apple lowering price points. It's deliberately been raising prices in the face of lower component pricing. It's raising prices to compensate for lower unit sales a la iPad Pro 9.7.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

That's the reason why I'm a little hesitant to upgrade. I don't want to buy a new laptop only to find out that a new version was released a couple months later.

Why would you care about future specs your use case can be done fine on a 3 year old iPad for pity's sake. Just moving from your current dual core to the new quadcore on a 15 inch is massive overkill for you, you would never notice any difference between a 13 inch and 15 inch speed wise for your usage.

More importantly the MacBook pros won't be updated until June next year at the earliest and having a far superior computer for 6months is a much better choice than a possible spec upgrade that will make zero difference to you in the future.

 

[shadow_wolf_909]

Why do you want the 15"? Just the screen size? The increase in power?
What did you like the MacBook Air? The battery? The size/weight? Do you still like it?

IMO, if you need the power, get the 15" without question.
If you like the MBA's battery, maybe get the 2015 MBA, and use the extra money for something else.
If you like the size/weight, the battery, and want more power, the 13" MBA looks good.

Mostly because of the screen size and the fact that that the 13 in model only has 2 usb-c ports which I find a little hard to believe. The power is also a plus.

 

[protoxx]

If you don't feel the need to upgrade, don't.

It would be a sgnificnt upgrade,but if you don't need it, it's an unnecessary expense. You can always upgrade later.

 

[thats all folks]

Update to what? MBP won't be updated for another year. Bank on it. Air is an all but dead line and will never see another update. Also, don't count on Apple lowering price points. It's deliberately been raising prices in the face of lower component pricing. It's raising prices to compensate for lower unit sales a la iPad Pro 9.7.

update to the 7th generation 28 and 45 watt parts (Kaby Lake) when they are released, sometime late Q2 2017.

 

[koyoot]

BIggest difference you will see with either Zen APUs or with Coffe Lake.

15 and 28W CPUs with GT3e will be Quad Core CPUs.

In theory, the refresh of MBP's with Kaby Lake would also provide new GPU. The problem is that Vega stack will offer only two desktop GPUs - 250 and 175W TDP designs. They cannot be used in MBP.

Vega GPUs can, and will be found in Zen APUs on the other hand, and that alone will be massive difference in performance.

As for CPU: From first reviews of Kaby Lake CPUs: 7% higher performance due to higher core clock, zero improvement in IPC, 3% higher power consumption. No difference in GPU performance.

If you ask me, there are two possibilities: There will be Kaby Lake refresh. With no real world improvements whatsoever. Or there will be Zen APU based 13 and 15 inch, with different APU design(35W, quad core CPU, and 12 CU design, without HBM2 - for 13 inch, 65W design, with Quad core CPU, and 16 CU design GPU, with HBM2).

 

[Mr. Dee]

I would wait until they add Kabylake and a price drop and potentially support 32 GBs of RAM. You can never have enough RAM. In fact, the Rev B. might even get Cannonlake instead of Kabylake which might feature significant performance.

 

[zhenya]

Mostly because of the screen size and the fact that that the 13 in model only has 2 usb-c ports which I find a little hard to believe. The power is also a plus.

The base model 13" has two ports. The 13" model with the touchbar has 4 ports just like the 15". If you are ok with a 2012 Air for your workflow, you will not benefit one bit from the added power the 15" brings. You might also, depending on how large you like screen elements to be, get more workspace on the 13" Pro than you get on your 13" Air because of the Retina screen. Your Air has a resolution of 1440x900, but with the 13" Pro you could set it to be 1680x1050.

 

[koyoot]

Yep, the biggest advantage of Kaby Lake refresh would be reduced price.

 

[Cvx5832]

Right now, I have a 13 in MacBook Air that was released mid 2012 (base model). It runs perfectly fine (even if it is slow at times) and I don't think it is much of a major upgrade to me but a lot of family members and friends are saying that I should upgrade.

The retina screen on the previous MBP would have already been upgrade-worthy from the Air screen. As you by now have determined the 2016 models even more so, especially with the Air as a baseline.

 

[thats all folks]

Do you have a source to prove this claim of Apple releasing an update within 6 months, or are you just making crap up?

I'm going to bet on the latter, since Apple rarely even updates them at the 1 year mark, leaning closer to 15-18 months.

I am making crap up, just like everyone else here trying to understand what Apple is doing. Apple has several times before done multiple updates within a one year cycle. the recent slowdown in updates has to do with Intel as much as Apple. Apple didn't time this latest release to use year old CPUs so either these machines were meant to come out earlier (delay on Apple's part) or they were waiting for the appropriate Kaby Lake parts (delay on Intel's part). within 6 months we should have those Kaby Lake parts and ideally a mobile 470 and even 480 from AMD. it would make sense for Apple to update at that time. they don't have to but they should.