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Should we buy a MacBook Pro 16 inch now?

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1996269

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Original poster
Mar 30, 2015
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6
Looking for advise: we want to buy a new 16 inch MacBook Pro, the i9-configuration, with 32GBs of ram instead of 16. We want to use it for Ableton and AVID Pro Tools with a lot of plug-ins.

Should we wait for the ARM-transition? Or should we make sure we still have an Intel one for compatibility reasons with Ableton and AVID, and so buy one now, before Apple announces the ARM models and it becomes impossible to get a build to order Intel version?

(MacRumor's Buyers Guide suggests there's a new model coming soon)

Thanks in advance!
 
Howdy Eckerr,

There is always something faster/better coming out around the corner. The question boils down to "need." If you need a new system now, you should get one. Waiting on the AppleSI based systems is a gamble. They indicated that they will release one this CY, but it is expected to be one of their lower-performance tier systems, so it is unlikely a new 16" MBP. Even then, if the tools (Ableton and AVID Pro) you want to use are not updated for the new architecture, you won't be getting the best performance out of the system. Granted, it may be "good enough," but who wants to sink that much money into a brand new product and have just "good enough" performance?

So if you need one now, buy it. There is an Apple event next week, expected to be iPhones, and the current 16" MacBook Pro will be hitting a year old (if you don't count the June refresh) next month. It won't hurt to wait until after the event next week, but based on your expected workload, I would suspect that that the 16" MBP would be the way for you to go.
 
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LinkRS said:
Howdy Eckerr,

There is always something faster/better coming out around the corner. The question boils down to "need." If you need a new system now, you should get one. Waiting on the AppleSI based systems is a gamble. They indicated that they will release one this CY, but it is expected to be one of their lower-performance tier systems, so it is unlikely a new 16" MBP. Even then, if the tools (Ableton and AVID Pro) you want to use are not updated for the new architecture, you won't be getting the best performance out of the system. Granted, it may be "good enough," but who wants to sink that much money into a brand new product and have just "good enough" performance?

So if you need one now, buy it. There is an Apple event next week, expected to be iPhones, and the current 16" MacBook Pro will be hitting a year old (if you don't count the June refresh) next month. It won't hurt to wait until after the event next week, but based on your expected workload, I would suspect that that the 16" MBP would be the way for you to go.
Click to expand...
Makes sense, thank you for your help!
 
In your instance, an Intel Mac seems to make the most sense to me IMHO. It seems like any major changes have a big ripple effect to specialized software, and with ARM it just might take time to hammer everything out. Are you currently using macOS Catalina? What audio devices, if any, are you going to connect to the system? (and, if so, how will they be connected?) Do you currently have a Mac with a T2 chip?
 
Expect a bumpy ride for specialist software during transition. You might want to look at a Windows machine or buying now to avoid this. Apple have always been a pain for business as they often haven't supported OS downgrades on new machines. In this situation there will be absolutely no going back. If your business depends on it now then I would go for it now.
 
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If you are not in immediate hurry, at least wait to see if they announce new models.

I would still go for an Intel Mac simply because it will take a long time for Ableton etc to be transitioned to support ARM Macs. Until then you will experience reduced performance due to the x86 translation layer and could have potential issues elsewhere.
 
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Eckerr said:
Looking for advise: we want to buy a new 16 inch MacBook Pro, the i9-configuration, with 32GBs of ram instead of 16. We want to use it for Ableton and AVID Pro Tools with a lot of plug-ins.

Should we wait for the ARM-transition? Or should we make sure we still have an Intel one for compatibility reasons with Ableton and AVID, and so buy one now, before Apple announces the ARM models and it becomes impossible to get a build to order Intel version?

(MacRumor's Buyers Guide suggests there's a new model coming soon)

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

If you're worried about compatibility, I'd definitely buy an Intel 16" MacBook Pro now. Current rumors don't peg the first Apple Silicon variant to be announced or released until the second half of 2021. The only thing I'd pause for right now would be the possibility that we may get one more Intel-based model and, even then, that's not a sure-fire guarantee (certainly not one worth gambling on). The Apple Silicon Macs most likely to make the jump to Apple Silicon this calendar year are the MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro, and 21.5" iMac (in the form of an Apple Silicon 24" iMac). Everything else is presumed to hit next year or sometime prior to WWDC 2022.
 
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I have a mid-2012 MBP 15-inch that I’ve never had a problem with. It has never been in for repairs. I maintain it myself and added more RAM myself years ago. But now the battery is at 55% capacity and drains quickly. Full charge gives me about 30 minutes work time before I have to charge again. I am considering purchasing a new 16 inch, but I see so many complaints on this forum. Maybe I will wait.
 
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Samorap said:
... I am considering purchasing a new 16 inch, but I see so many complaints on this forum...
Click to expand...

Complaints on this forum are difficult to gauge. What we could do with is some industry wide metrics of returns and repairs rather than an awkward mix of genuine concern, angst riddled people and a few trolls.

I suspect the 16" is not a bad machine. I bought a 13 last year and a 15 a couple of years before that so I am not in the market. The keyboard is fixed, it has a decentish graphics card and finally more than 16MB of RAM, the SSD is fast! If it is your current battery you are concerned about you could replace your current machine with a a 13 inch and you would likely be very pleased with the performance. However if you use 'vanilla' software I would just hold out to see what happens over the next 12 months as long as you don't travel extensively without access to power.
 
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ssmed said:
Complaints on this forum are difficult to gauge. What we could do with is some industry wide metrics of returns and repairs rather than an awkward mix of genuine concern, angst riddled people and a few trolls.
Click to expand...

I agree. I check in often to read the latest gripes about the 16 inch models. This has been going on for years. I expect those people will never be happy with an Apple product. Regarding the battery, last year I purchased a replacement battery but I haven't changed out my old battery yet. I'm not sure what I'm waiting for. 😄
 
Samorap said:
I agree. I check in often to read the latest gripes about the 16 inch models. This has been going on for years. I expect those people will never be happy with an Apple product. Regarding the battery, last year I purchased a replacement battery but I haven't changed out my old battery yet. I'm not sure what I'm waiting for. 😄
Click to expand...

I think the 16-inch is a great computer, but it's not perfect. For many users, I advise purchasing one with a 5600M GPU.
 
Samorap said:
I have a mid-2012 MBP 15-inch that I’ve never had a problem with. It has never been in for repairs. I maintain it myself and added more RAM myself years ago. But now the battery is at 55% capacity and drains quickly. Full charge gives me about 30 minutes work time before I have to charge again. I am considering purchasing a new 16 inch, but I see so many complaints on this forum. Maybe I will wait.
Click to expand...
I have the same machine. Two weeks ago I got the dreaded Service Battery, I now use plugged in and will probably get a new battery. I want to buy a 16 also but it seems every week or so there is a new problem. The good news is that three people I know that have them have had no problems. I am spoiled by the 2012, never a problem and I have never bought Apple care. From what I see on this forum the 5600 runs the coolest, but that puts it out of price range.
 
Samorap said:
I agree. I check in often to read the latest gripes about the 16 inch models. This has been going on for years. I expect those people will never be happy with an Apple product. Regarding the battery, last year I purchased a replacement battery but I haven't changed out my old battery yet. I'm not sure what I'm waiting for. 😄
Click to expand...
Where did you get the battery from?
 
Bought a 16 on Amazon during summer. Good discount. It’s made covid and working from home pretty nice. No complaints. Best mbp I’ve had. That said I’m very skeptical if arm macs will work for me later, and if so would probably need 3-5 years anyways so I’d buy now.
 
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I have a feeling it's going to be a long time before Ableton and all your plug-ins are good to go on an ARM Mac.
 
I would wait till November if you can, even if you don't get the 2020 model there will be a discount on the 2019 version.
 
I'm in the same boat, and am thinking I'm not going to be buying an ARM Mac until at least a few years after the transition has started. I also think alot of audio plugins will take some time to transition over, and as a heavy Ableton user I'd rather not deal with that.

How do the discounts usually work on previous years' models? Do they only apply to the base models, or will we be able to spec out a 2019 model at a discounted price?
 
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Just bought a refurbished 16 MacBook pro directly from the Apple store. It's my first time ever using macos as I never used it ever I always used Windows since 95.

I hope I don't have issues reading what some are having problems or are they true. My friend has a 15 model must be about two years old and he has no complaints.
 
It'll be awhile before a ARM based MBP 16 has the GPU capabilities that a dGPU has, this is why I opted out for my MBP 16 with the 5600m GPU. It'll last me for years before needing to make an upgrade, by then Apple's Silicon will have matured and performance should hopefully be on par with a dGPU.
 
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