Was this a crazy idea? I don't think so, here's my OP, updated.
I've posted a thread under MacBook as I was going back and forth between a 12" MacBook or a 13" MacBook Pro TB. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2017-macbook-12-too-similar-to-2013-macbook-air-11.2111217/
I was holding out for the education event late March 2018 in Chicago, to see if they'd release a 13" or 14" MB, but nothing mentioned, maybe it'll appear in WWDC but there are pointers indicating otherwise, more likely Q3/Q4.
To summarise my other thread, I compared the current MB to the MBA and found that it was a bit lacking in terms of upgrade, not to mention the significant reduction in ports, worse webcam, so overall, a lack of an upgrade to my currently ageing 5 year old machine. I wanted to use whatever device I went with as a heavy web browsing, video content watching machine. I also want to use it to cast via AirPlay, connect over thunderbolt to 4K TVs when there's no Apple TV, write documents on and occasional spreadsheet work (not heavy number crunching), and be my travelling computer as my trusty MBA has been.
My 11" MBA is still going, I dropped it on its corner the other day, no appreciable damage only cosmetic which I'm still sad about, but it's had its time, it's done its bit for me, 12-18 months and that'll be it I reckon.
All I wanted to do was spec 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, $600AUD more for an additional 512GB (1TB) didn't make sense to me, I know by the end of its life 512GB won't seem so large, but it'll make do, and on my MBA it could've honestly been a 256GB, I've barely gone past half way.
The price difference of the MBP vs the MB when using the minimum (possible) CPU + 16GB and a 512GB SSD on both machines was just $650 AUD, and the main thing for me is its a significant investment either way, so I want it to last a long time, and my 11" MBA vs the 12" MB hardly seems like a jump, where as the much faster ram, superior GPU, screen (both are better, but the 13" is quite a bit better than the 12"s in my opinion), makes the Pro seem like an upgrade, while the MacBook seem like a slight iteration.
To spend $2669AUD (~$2050USD) for a retina screen, larger and new battery with 1/3 the power consumption cpu in a great form factor, which is a factor for me, just didn't seem worth it otherwise, I'm rebuying much of the same thing, not to mention it has a worse webcam (which I never use) no magsafe still, and even if I buy an adapter I'll be plugging it in and taking it out all the time because it only has 1 port, which I currently use just magsafe for anyway.
$3319AUD (~$2550USD) is a heap of money for a new toy, I'd really need to keep it until the next redesign for it to make sense, but I love the space grey, a 1600p screen destroys the 900p I've been using, touch ID sounds cool, and the GPU increase is something I think I'd benefit from, and really, I do use my MBA almost every day, so this is why I'm considering it.
No the nTB doesn't even come into consideration for very long, too many tales of the single fan not kicking in early enough or hard enough to cool down the PC under heavy load.
I've posted a thread under MacBook as I was going back and forth between a 12" MacBook or a 13" MacBook Pro TB. https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2017-macbook-12-too-similar-to-2013-macbook-air-11.2111217/
I was holding out for the education event late March 2018 in Chicago, to see if they'd release a 13" or 14" MB, but nothing mentioned, maybe it'll appear in WWDC but there are pointers indicating otherwise, more likely Q3/Q4.
To summarise my other thread, I compared the current MB to the MBA and found that it was a bit lacking in terms of upgrade, not to mention the significant reduction in ports, worse webcam, so overall, a lack of an upgrade to my currently ageing 5 year old machine. I wanted to use whatever device I went with as a heavy web browsing, video content watching machine. I also want to use it to cast via AirPlay, connect over thunderbolt to 4K TVs when there's no Apple TV, write documents on and occasional spreadsheet work (not heavy number crunching), and be my travelling computer as my trusty MBA has been.
My 11" MBA is still going, I dropped it on its corner the other day, no appreciable damage only cosmetic which I'm still sad about, but it's had its time, it's done its bit for me, 12-18 months and that'll be it I reckon.
All I wanted to do was spec 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, $600AUD more for an additional 512GB (1TB) didn't make sense to me, I know by the end of its life 512GB won't seem so large, but it'll make do, and on my MBA it could've honestly been a 256GB, I've barely gone past half way.
The price difference of the MBP vs the MB when using the minimum (possible) CPU + 16GB and a 512GB SSD on both machines was just $650 AUD, and the main thing for me is its a significant investment either way, so I want it to last a long time, and my 11" MBA vs the 12" MB hardly seems like a jump, where as the much faster ram, superior GPU, screen (both are better, but the 13" is quite a bit better than the 12"s in my opinion), makes the Pro seem like an upgrade, while the MacBook seem like a slight iteration.
To spend $2669AUD (~$2050USD) for a retina screen, larger and new battery with 1/3 the power consumption cpu in a great form factor, which is a factor for me, just didn't seem worth it otherwise, I'm rebuying much of the same thing, not to mention it has a worse webcam (which I never use) no magsafe still, and even if I buy an adapter I'll be plugging it in and taking it out all the time because it only has 1 port, which I currently use just magsafe for anyway.
$3319AUD (~$2550USD) is a heap of money for a new toy, I'd really need to keep it until the next redesign for it to make sense, but I love the space grey, a 1600p screen destroys the 900p I've been using, touch ID sounds cool, and the GPU increase is something I think I'd benefit from, and really, I do use my MBA almost every day, so this is why I'm considering it.
No the nTB doesn't even come into consideration for very long, too many tales of the single fan not kicking in early enough or hard enough to cool down the PC under heavy load.
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