Upgrade or no?

[Airboy1466]

Currently i have a base model MBA '13 (2015) and a base model MBP "15 (2015). Both machines are nearing the ends of their Apple care cycles MBA expiring December 7th of this year and the MBP march 6th of next year. With both warranties expiring i think its time for a new machine but I would like to much rather purchase 1 instead of two this time.

MY Usage

In college I used my MBA as a daily laptop that i carried in my back pack to take notes on campus and do homework assignments on the go. with that said i have a battery cycle count of 450 on this daily machine.

I used my MBP for its bigger screen as it was more relaxing on the eyes with it amazing retina display and it was a great laptop to sit and watch movies or netflix in bed, as well as to sit and continuously type 10 page papers. a battery cycle count of 151 as it never left my apt.

side note neither machine has ever had the fans come on as i do not do CPU or GPU intensive task.

With this information give which Macbook should i go with this go around for the next 3 years?

There isn't really a budget as I will be selling both of these machines to put towards my next one.

 

[1096bimu]

Some people just don't seem to know how to spend their money, Why buy two expensive laptops that are hardly any different? If you wanted a bigger screen just get a screen for the MBA?
And now you want a 2018 MBP, the only real difference being that it's thinner, but you don't even take your 15" laptop out of the dorm so what's the point?

You also seem to have the latest and greatest iPhone which again seems pointless since you have the MBP15 to entertain why did you need such a high-end phone with the biggest screen?

I would've gone for iPhone XR or even cheaper, maybe iPhone 8, with a MB 12" with an external display. Stop wasting your money on things that are hardly any different.

 

[CodeJoy]

Agree with previous comment, you have no case for an upgrade at all. If you just want to burn money for no reason then just point to anything with an Apple on it, doesn't matter which. If you want to make rational decisions, keep the ones you have and forget about upgrading. If you desperately need something new, sell both and get a new MBA or a MBP 13". Either of those will do just fine, the MBP is a bit better value imo, and neither of them will make your computing situation any better at all.

 

[Airboy1466]

Some people just don't seem to know how to spend their money, Why buy two expensive laptops that are hardly any different? If you wanted a bigger screen just get a screen for the MBA?
And now you want a 2018 MBP, the only real difference being that it's thinner, but you don't even take your 15" laptop out of the dorm so what's the point?

You also seem to have the latest and greatest iPhone which again seems pointless since you have the MBP15 to entertain why did you need such a high-end phone with the biggest screen?

I would've gone for iPhone XR or even cheaper, maybe iPhone 8, with a MB 12" with an external display. Stop wasting your money on things that are hardly any different.

Agree with previous comment, you have no case for an upgrade at all. If you just want to burn money for no reason then just point to anything with an Apple on it, doesn't matter which. If you want to make rational decisions, keep the ones you have and forget about upgrading. If you desperately need something new, sell both and get a new MBA or a MBP 13". Either of those will do just fine, the MBP is a bit better value imo, and neither of them will make your computing situation any better at all.

The iPhone X screen just seemed way to small for me and it was annoying coming from a 7 plus which is why i went to the maxed out max to have a good resell value once my apple care on it expires. Yes they both work fine but the apple care is expiring on both and i just like the peace of mind of having a warranty. I was leaning towards the 13 inch models but have never owned any of the new butterfly keyboard devices other than the first retina MacBook which i returned to the store for my current MBA. Was just wanting to sell these two computers while they still have great value in time for the black Friday sales. I really didn't see these as wasting money as I got both computers under at a steal discounted MBA $599 from bestbuy before tax $200 off (student voucher) + $200 off (open box)
rMBP "15 ($1100) Craigslist guy needed the money extremely bad as he had lost his job.

 

[CodeJoy]

The iPhone X screen just seemed way to small for me and it was annoying coming from a 7 plus which is why i went to the maxed out max to have a good resell value once my apple care on it expires. Yes they both work fine but the apple care is expiring on both and i just like the peace of mind of having a warranty. I was leaning towards the 13 inch models but have never owned any of the new butterfly keyboard devices other than the first retina MacBook which i returned to the store for my current MBA. Was just wanting to sell these two computers while they still have great value in time for the black Friday sales. I really didn't see these as wasting money as I got both computers under at a steal discounted MBA $599 from bestbuy before tax $200 off (student voucher) + $200 off (open box)
rMBP "15 ($1100) Craigslist guy needed the money extremely bad as he had lost his job.

The keyboard on the 2018 MBP is fine. Not great, but most people seem to get used to it and accept it. If you really want AC+ then you're of course better off paying for it on just one device instead of two. But if you're in a country where AC+ makes sense, then you probably also have access to refurbished products. I would get those in an instant if I was looking for a deal. I believe they qualify for AC+, no?

The base models MBP are easily the best value. Any upgrades, except possibly RAM, are massively overpriced if you get them new. The only way they can make financial sense is if they directly impact how much extra money you can generate from having the upgrade. That number is zero for most people, because the upgrades deliver close to zero improvement. Either the 13" base or 15" base models are both fine though. AC+ is also massively overpriced from where I'm looking, but many people disagree and that's fine.

 

[tamara6]

it it possible that the credit card that you used when you bought apple care will extend the warrantee for another year or two - so it might not be true that you are about to go out of warrantee. Since this seems to be your main reason for getting a new computer, you might look into it. It could mean that you wouldn't have to get a new computer until next year (or the year after).