Trade in my 2020 Intel MBP and get the M1 Air instead?

[rock15478]

So I got the 2020 13" Macbook Pro (16GB/512GB) w/ TouchBar and 4 ports about 5 months ago...it cost $1699 I believe.

I love this computer but obviously the M1 announcement got me thinking about things.

I currently could trade in my 2020 for $920 through Apple and get the baseline M1 Macbook Air instead (and gain lots of performance).

I'd lose 250GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM (who really cares on this though as the M1 is a totally different animal). I'd also lose 2 ports and the touchbar (I'm not crazy about the touchbar anyway).

Anyone think I'm crazy for considering this? Yes it was about $700 of QUICK depreciation on the 2020 MBP but I really think I'd be happier with the M1 Air. Thoughts? Things I'm not thinking about? Thanks!

 

[idmean]

What do you hope to gain really? Sure, benchmarks and all these YouTubers' tests look great, but would it really make a difference in your daily work? I would doubt it, but this depends a lot on what you use your Mac for. If the answer is a clear yes, then go for it, otherwise I wouldn't do it.

 

[rock15478]

(Deleted)

 

[rock15478]

What do you hope to gain really? Sure, benchmarks and all these YouTubers' tests look great, but would it really make a difference in your daily work? I would doubt it, but this depends a lot on what you use your Mac for. If the answer is a clear yes, then go for it, otherwise I wouldn't do it.

Logic Pro, Final Cut Pro, Handbrake encodes, lots of things that I'd see performance improvements on. Just hard to believe the baseline Air is such a capable machine now. It's almost too good to be true.

 

[jerryk]

I sold my 2020 10th gen MBP 13" (16/512GB) and got the base M1 Air. No regrets.

Air is snappier at most of the tasks I do, and I prefer the wedge-shaped design since it slopes the keyboard to a more comfortable angle.

 

[MacManTexas56]

i don't have a comparison that's apple to apple. but my dad had a 2020 i5, 16gb ram, 1tb ssd Macbook Air and from the get go it was always kinda slow, was always hot and the fan was always running. I sold it for him on ebay and got him the base M1. the M1 just absolutely flies in comparison. Now he doesn't do anything crazy intensive....but even his old air had difficulty with just basic stuff. It's the complete opposite of his intel MBA. i'd see how much you could sell it for over trading in. Trade in they wanted to give only $720. I sold it for $1,200 on ebay...of course the net was lower, but it still beat $720 by a lot.

 

[lambertjohn]

i don't have a comparison that's apple to apple. but my dad had a 2020 i5, 16gb ram, 1tb ssd Macbook Air and from the get go it was always kinda slow, was always hot and the fan was always running. I sold it for him on ebay and got him the base M1. the M1 just absolutely flies in comparison. Now he doesn't do anything crazy intensive....but even his old air had difficulty with just basic stuff. It's the complete opposite of his intel MBA. i'd see how much you could sell it for over trading in. Trade in they wanted to give only $720. I sold it for $1,200 on ebay...of course the net was lower, but it still beat $720 by a lot.

I'd trade it into Apple if anything. Yes, you take a hit, but it's guaranteed cash with no chance of you losing the payment. The problem with selling an Intel Mac on eBay right now is the likelihood that the buyer will get buyer's remorse (due to the M1 being out) and send it back to you. Sure, it may not happen, but if it does, get ready for a big refund hassle. Even if you tell the buyer, no refunds, they'll find a way to dispute the sale and screw you. Of course, that's my opinion only. It may not happen at all and you'll walk away with a decent chunk of cash in your pocket.

 

[MacManTexas56]

I'd trade it into Apple if anything. Yes, you take a hit, but it's guaranteed cash with no chance of you losing the payment. The problem with selling an Intel Mac on eBay right now is the likelihood that the buyer will get buyer's remorse (due to the M1 being out) and send it back to you. Sure, it may not happen, but if it does, get ready for a big refund hassle. Even if you tell the buyer, no refunds, they'll find a way to dispute the sale and screw you. Of course, that's my opinion only. It may not happen at all and you'll walk away with a decent chunk of cash in your pocket.

and the risk you take when trading it in, is they lie about the condition and you don't get all the cash they've quoted to you. I've had that happen with Amazon trade in's before. I only trade in physically at the apple store since they give you a gift card right then. but you can't do that right now.

 

[jerryk]

I'd trade it into Apple if anything. Yes, you take a hit, but it's guaranteed cash with no chance of you losing the payment. The problem with selling an Intel Mac on eBay right now is the likelihood that the buyer will get buyer's remorse (due to the M1 being out) and send it back to you. Sure, it may not happen, but if it does, get ready for a big refund hassle. Even if you tell the buyer, no refunds, they'll find a way to dispute the sale and screw you. Of course, that's my opinion only. It may not happen at all and you'll walk away with a decent chunk of cash in your pocket.

The hassles of eBay are one reason I don't buy or sell there.

I sold my 2020 13" MBP and 2019 16" MBP to Mac of All Trade. They sent me a higher offer than Apple with a UPS shipping label. They inspected the units when they got them and sent me a check the next day.

 

[RoundaboutRider]

I thought of the same thing as I have the new 2020 MBP 13 as well that cost me $3,000 but I just bought the high end Air to replace it. I expect speed gains to be marginal but the battery life improvement and no fan noise is the big plus for me. I hate the i7's fan would just spin up even for a simple thing like a FaceTime call while browsing.

Downsides for me is the loss of Boot Camp and x86 virtualisation but I can live with that as I have an X86 Surface. I will miss the Touch Bar though!

 

[Infinitewisdom]

I'm about to do the same. Easy choice. No more annoying fans, much faster performance, much better battery life. It's a no brainer for me.

 

[kevjen888]

i'm in similar boat, i have a 2018 15" MBP with i7 6 core 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM. bought it for over $3k including applecare+ and tax 2.5 years ago. i'm tempting to trade it in to Apple for a M1 MBA. currently my MBP is quoted for $1080 trade in to Apple. the only thing holding me back is the exterior design of the MBA isn't any different than the previous gens. i don't upgrade laptop often, unlike my iphones. there are rumors about a huge exterior design of the 2021 MBA and MBP plus possible a matte black color which i'd absolute love. decision decision.

 

[kevjen888]

I thought of the same thing as I have the new 2020 MBP 13 as well that cost me $3,000 but I just bought the high end Air to replace it. I expect speed gains to be marginal but the battery life improvement and no fan noise is the big plus for me. I hate the i7's fan would just spin up even for a simple thing like a FaceTime call while browsing.

Downsides for me is the loss of Boot Camp and x86 virtualisation but I can live with that as I have an X86 Surface. I will miss the Touch Bar though!

if you want touch bar then why not get the M1 MBP?

 

[RoundaboutRider]

if you want touch bar then why not get the M1 MBP?

Because I don't want the noise, weight, and bulk penalty for what is essentially the same performance as the Air with not even two more ports. Also, having used a fan-less Surface Go I really like the notion of a fully silent Mac. If the Pro came with a more powerful chip I would have got it but the price difference is not worth the minor bump in sustained performance that I don't need 90% of the time.

 

[lambertjohn]

and the risk you take when trading it in, is they lie about the condition and you don't get all the cash they've quoted to you. I've had that happen with Amazon trade in's before. I only trade in physically at the apple store since they give you a gift card right then. but you can't do that right now.

Apple's pretty honest about the value they'll give you, if you're honest with them, that is. Tell the truth about your computer and you'll get what they promise. But if they shoot you a lower price, just have them send it back to you and go ahead and sell it on eBay or Craig's List or whatever. You don't have to take their lowball offer, you know.

 

[Apple_Robert]

If you can trade in person at your local Apple store, you will get an instant gift card etc. If you send in, you are at the mercy of Phobio, which is known to not honor quotes with terribly low follow-ups.

 

[lambertjohn]

If you can trade in person at your local Apple store, you will get an instant gift card etc. If you send in, you are at the mercy of Phobio, which is known to not honor quotes with terribly low follow-ups.

Unfortunately, here in Dallas, no stores are open to take trade-ins, they just process online orders. Gotta FedEx it off.

 

[ls1dreams]

I'd personally hold out for the higher tier 4-port MBP probably coming out in 6 months or so and then sell.

You don't want to hold the old intel model too long though because eventually Apple is going to stop supporting intel and the value is gonna depreciate really hard.

 

[rdavis41]

I sold my 2020 10th gen MBP 13" (16/512GB) and got the base M1 Air. No regrets.

Air is snappier at most of the tasks I do, and I prefer the wedge-shaped design since it slopes the keyboard to a more comfortable angle.

This exactly! Did the same and the Macbook Air is noticeably faster than MBP for a fraction the cost.

 

[muziq]

Sold my 16" MBP, 1TB 16GB i.9 and went for the Air M1.. It was about $1000 cheaper and honestly blew me away. I didn't realize how much the constant running of the fans annoyed the hell out of me. Yes, I may be lacking some performance, but I feel that the M2 is the one to wait for, in terms of a 16" MBP. I can wait on it, let them sort the bugs out, and get a way better machine. The bottom is falling out on resellers of Intel's now. I honestly feel like everyone is jumping ship, so it's a buyers marker out there. I got $2000 on a $2300 investment after a few months of use. So definitely happy about this M1 purchase.. My advice to anyone on the fence, cut your losses now, before it gets really bad out there. Never going back to Intel.

 

[j_in_tx]

Sold my 16" MBP, 1TB 16GB i.9 and went for the Air M1.. It was about $1000 cheaper and honestly blew me away. I didn't realize how much the constant running of the fans annoyed the hell out of me. Yes, I may be lacking some performance, but I feel that the M2 is the one to wait for, in terms of a 16" MBP. I can wait on it, let them sort the bugs out, and get a way better machine. The bottom is falling out on resellers of Intel's now. I honestly feel like everyone is jumping ship, so it's a buyers marker out there. I got $2000 on a $2300 investment after a few months of use. So definitely happy about this M1 purchase.. My advice to anyone on the fence, cut your losses now, before it gets really bad out there. Never going back to Intel.

where did you get $2k from? ebay?

 

[muziq]

where did you get $2k from? ebay?

Swappa.

 

[ghanwani]

i'm in similar boat, i have a 2018 15" MBP with i7 6 core 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM. bought it for over $3k including applecare+ and tax 2.5 years ago. i'm tempting to trade it in to Apple for a M1 MBA. currently my MBP is quoted for $1080 trade in to Apple. the only thing holding me back is the exterior design of the MBA isn't any different than the previous gens. i don't upgrade laptop often, unlike my iphones. there are rumors about a huge exterior design of the 2021 MBA and MBP plus possible a matte black color which i'd absolute love. decision decision.

The most recent rumor reported by MR was redesigned MBA in 2022.