UK 14"/16" M1 Pro/Max MacBook Pro (2021) Pre-release, Orders and Dispatch Thread

[Piplodocus]

I love your avatar! Do you think Apple will ship the new 14" with RiscOS? Or at least an advanced BASIC interpreter!

Haha! Most won't get my avatar, but those who do should find it somewhat amusing! The 80s/early 90s was an interesting time in British computing history with Sinclair vs Acorn, the BBC micro, then ARM coming from Acorn RISC Machines with Apple investing a lot in them, then Apple selling off their shares, them becoming the ubiquitous ARM of today in low power devices, then finally coming full circle and back to ARM-based high-spec computers (with my intention to buy one next week!). I presume you've watched this gem, Micro Men:

 

[Braddrum]

Hello all from the UK iPhone thread, I’ve been waiting for this!

 

[GarethR]

Haha! Most won't get my avatar, but those who do should find it somewhat amusing! The 80s/early 90s was an interesting time in British computing history with Sinclair vs Acorn, the BBC micro, then ARM coming from Acorn RISC Machines with Apple investing a lot in them, then Apple selling off their shares, them becoming the ubiquitous ARM of today in low power devices, then finally coming full circle and back to ARM-based high-spec computers (with my intention to buy one next week!). I presume you've watched this gem, Micro Men:

That’s a great watch. I grew up with a Beeb, B+, Master then onto the Archimedes. It’s what I learnt to code on. RISC OS was so much more advanced at the time compared to everything else out there. Anti-aliased fonts weren’t even a thing for PC users back then

 

[streamtech]

That’s a great watch. I grew up with a Beeb, B+, Master then onto the Archimedes.

A blast from the past for sure. I have fond memories of school break time playing Lander / Zarch on the Archimedes. Artisan was pretty good too.

 

[drcrane]

Just sold my MBP 16, waiting for an M1X - not sure if I go 14 or 16.
I am sure that I opt of 1TB + 32GB.

 

[GadgetBen]

Now that I cancelled my Watch order I'll upgrade on this with the money.

Hoping these will be a decent update.

 

[Jinjin]

Now that I cancelled my Watch order I'll upgrade on this with the money.

Hoping these will be a decent update.

why the change of mind?

 

[PeterJP]

Haha! Most won't get my avatar, but those who do should find it somewhat amusing! The 80s/early 90s was an interesting time in British computing history with Sinclair vs Acorn, the BBC micro, then ARM coming from Acorn RISC Machines with Apple investing a lot in them, then Apple selling off their shares, them becoming the ubiquitous ARM of today in low power devices, then finally coming full circle and back to ARM-based high-spec computers (with my intention to buy one next week!). I presume you've watched this gem, Micro Men:

I haven't, actually. But it just made it to my shortlist for tonight

I never had an Acorn computer myself. I started out with a Timex/Sinclair 1000, which was a ZX81 upgraded to 2KB RAM. Obviously, I got the 16KB upgrade, though I never really found out if that turned it into a 17K machine or whether the second internal kilobyte was just ignored when plugging in the 16KB brick. Crazy machine, really, and hard to understand why they sold so many. Then I got a C=64 because everybody else had one. I longed for an Archimedes for a long time, having been to a club and all, but never had the money. My dad finally got us a PC for my computer studies in 1991 and that was that.

But I made it a point to get an M1 mini at work as soon as it came out. Being the IT guy, I explained it as a test computer to see if new purchases should be Intel or Apple silicon. But somewhere in my mind, a little voice shouted: finally, the first ARM desktop since Acorn!

 

[Roadster Lewis]

I'm in - I have been waiting for this upgrade for a while! For years my workflow has been to have an iMac and a low powered MacBook, but now that I am WFH and also have my work set up on my desk I am running out of space. I'm hoping that getting a MBP and decent monitor (that I can use for both work and personal) will free up some space.

I am probably going to go for 16GB/1TB as a minimum, and will bump up to 32GB RAM in the unlikely event it comes in under £2k.

I also dread to think how much Apple Care is going to cost...

 

[Jinjin]

I'm in - I have been waiting for this upgrade for a while! For years my workflow has been to have an iMac and a low powered MacBook, but now that I am WFH and also have my work set up on my desk I am running out of space. I'm hoping that getting a MBP and decent monitor (that I can use for both work and personal) will free up some space.

I am probably going to go for 16GB/1TB as a minimum, and will bump up to 32GB RAM in the unlikely event it comes in under £2k.

I also dread to think how much Apple Care is going to cost...

I’m in a similar position. Want a decent monitor (2 Thunderbolt ports) to have my personal and work MacBooks connected. (Eyeing up a Samsung CJ791 unless you know of any better options!)

I think I’m going to end up future proofing and order a 14” 32gb and 1TB machine and expecting that to hit ~£2500. Got £700 in apple vouchers trading in me 2019 13” earlier this year so that should soften the blow

 

[RossMacca]

I’ve never been truly happy with my 2019 13 inch MacBook Pro, mainly because of the keyboard.

I will very likely go for a 14 inch one. I think 16GB will be fine for me as it’s what I currently have and it works fine. Same with 512GB storage as external drives are pretty rapid these days.

Also tempted to take Apples trade in price if £490 on my current one. I could get more privatel, but sending such an expensive item is always a but stressfu.

 

[Ryancgray]

I’ve never been truly happy with my 2019 13 inch MacBook Pro, mainly because of the keyboard.

I will very likely go for a 14 inch one. I think 16GB will be fine for me as it’s what I currently have and it works fine. Same with 512GB storage as external drives are pretty rapid these days.

Also tempted to take Apples trade in price if £490 on my current one. I could get more privatel, but sending such an expensive item is always a but stressfu.

Facebook Marketplace surely is the way to go? you'll get a good couple hundred more that way!

 

[Hendohimself]

I was interested to see what they would announce and how the performance compared to my current MBP (2018 touchbar version) and then see if I could justify it….

But today my Mac seems to have packed in (crazy battery drain, wouldn’t charge, now won’t turn on even after SMC reset) so I may be forced into a purchase.

 

[CD3660]

I was interested to see what they would announce and how the performance compared to my current MBP (2018 touchbar version) and then see if it could justify it….

But today my seems to have packed in (crazy batter drain, wouldn’t charge, now won’t turn on even after SMC reset) so I may be forced into a purchase.

That’s not lasted well!

 

[Hendohimself]

That’s not lasted well!

No, even for a refurb one. Shame, it’s been absolutely brilliant apart from this!

 

[drygioni]

Usually my strategy of putting a MacBook on a 0% card for 12 months has served me well. This time I've left it far too late to arrange one. If I'm ordering on Tuesday or Wednesday, how much added wait/hurt am I in for?

 

[Matthew1605]

Has anyone else started their trade in now just in case the prices go down? If they do, once I receive the gift card I’ll get apple to refund and then pay again using the gift card. If they don’t I’ll just do the trade in as part of the purchase!

 

[PeterJP]

No, even for a refurb one. Shame, it’s been absolutely brilliant apart from this!

Hearing that buying a refurb also got you a dud, I'm definitely not going to buy a refurb ever again. My refurb 16" was the first generation that crashed all the time. "Fortunately," it started happening within a few months. Unfortunately, that's when the trade-in period for refurb expires. Got a trade-in in the end, but never again, thank you!

 

[Jinjin]

Usually my strategy of putting a MacBook on a 0% card for 12 months has served me well. This time I've left it far too late to arrange one. If I'm ordering on Tuesday or Wednesday, how much added wait/hurt am I in for?

there's a LOT of interest in the new machines.. 9to5 saying its expected a third of MacBook users will upgrade.

but that doesn't translate to lots of orders as soon as they go on sale.. its no where like a phone launch, and the number of people ready to spend close to £2k+ will limit the velocity of orders... but... yes my only but is that the reported chip constraints and general logistics issues globally might have limited numbers available.


I'm likely to add the RAM and storage so expecting a longer wait for the BTO options.. I will be ordering as soon as they launch though to minimise any wait.

 

[Jinjin]

Has anyone else started their trade in now just in case the prices go down? If they do, once I receive the gift card I’ll get apple to refund and then pay again using the gift card. If they don’t I’ll just do the trade in as part of the purchase!

haha I jumped the gun way too early and sold mine 13" 2019 in June before WWDC... in hindsight at least I got a decent price from apple!

lock in a price now as they will drop quickly, check out the likes of Music Magpie (sold them my original 12"mabcook before I bought the 13"). don't lose anything locking in now

 

[Jinjin]

Usually my strategy of putting a MacBook on a 0% card for 12 months has served me well. This time I've left it far too late to arrange one. If I'm ordering on Tuesday or Wednesday, how much added wait/hurt am I in for?

the 0% is another thing which might slow down the speed of orders. again unlike the phones, they won't be offering any 0% finance for MacBooks (through apple).

 

[Jinjin]

out of curiosity... anyone ever buy the apple leather sleeve for their previous MacBooks?...




... just me I guesss 😫

hoping the new 14" are not significantly larger than the current 13" models, then I can get some use out of the damn thing!

 

[Hendohimself]

Hearing that buying a refurb also got you a dud, I'm definitely not going to buy a refurb ever again. My refurb 16" was the first generation that crashed all the time. "Fortunately," it started happening within a few months. Unfortunately, that's when the trade-in period for refurb expires. Got a trade-in in the end, but never again, thank you!

It has managed to come back to life, but still going to get it checked out tomorrow. Hopefully it’ll limp through until I can replace it.

 

[jrichards1408]

I'll buy if it has a 3070 rtx GPU so I can also use it to play video games when traveling

 

[jahin17]

I’m in dire need of upgrading my 2016 MBP. Base 14” with 512gb and 16gb ram would be perfect for me. Just hope apple don’t screw us over with a ridiculous price tag like 1800 or higher.