What made you stop playing the waiting game? I'm trying to decide between waiting for the supposed 2019 16" MBP and just getting the 2018 one. Here's my dilemma: when my 2011 MBP needed replaced, I decided to switch to the Dell XPS 15 because it was literally $1000 less for the comparable specs even with two student discounts on the MBP. However, I've been badly missing macOS, it's creative software, and integration with my iPhone and iPad ever since. At this point, I'm just ready to sell my XPS and switch back to macOS.
The 2018 mid-range 15" MBP (2.6/512GB/560X) Apple Certified Refurbished model is going for $2000 off at Micro Center. That's $800 off the original price, still with a 1 year Apple warranty, and will perform just as well as a brand new non-refurbished model. However, it's also been 9 months since the 2018 MBP was released and WWDC is coming up which means we can expect a new model soon. The new model is supposed to have a larger screen (maybe small bezels too?) which I'd like and it'd make me feel better about spending so much money if they made a change to the keyboard.
However, I've already been wanting a new MBP for 2 years now. Do I really want to wait another 2 months (assuming WWDC is even the earliest it would be released), and then another 3 months for refurbished models to come out, and then still not be able to get a MBP for as good of a price as this option at Micro Center? I could be waiting another 6-12 months and get a worse price. But also, I've already been waiting for 2 years now and have finally decided I'm going to get one. Am I going to regret my purchase in a few months when I see a (slightly?) redesigned model released, especially after waiting so long before finally buying one? Probably.
Who even knows if a 16" MBP will even come to fruition? Who even knows if there will be a new model this year? Sigh.
Here is the problem with waiting, You waited two years already. And now you'll wait for WWDC. Now, just suppose for a second that no new MBP is announced at WWDC. At that point, we will be 11 months into the 2018 model. That alone will convince you to wait a little longer. I waited 7 years to get a new MacBook Pro. The reason is simple. The normal cycle said to wait after all the average wait is just over a year. And it got more and more insane.
I had a Dell M4800 and later upgraded to a Dell M6800. The first is 15.6 inches, the other is 17 inches. I can hardly tell the difference. The current 15.4" vs a 16" is going to be just as you described. Slightly thinner bezel.
Another issue which you didn't describe but was on my list of waits was the GPU. The Vega 16 and Vega 20 are BTOs and I thought that the Vega 20 would be a new standard, not a BTO.
The main thing I was waiting for is Intel to shrink the chip down a little more to give Apple better thermos in this thin device. But Intel's roadmap looks to be a year or more away from that. And that assumes Intel delivers at all.
Then there is the keyboard. It is flawed and we all know it. Apple is trying to lessen the flaw but the flaw is a bonafide flaw. Better to get rid of it and put into place something flawless.
So image a 16" thinner bezel, a 10nm Intel CPU with better thermos, vega20 standard GPU, and a new keyboard. If that released tomorrow I'd feel like, dang I just paid $4,500 ($5,500 after tax, warranty, and other goodies) on the laptop I have now. But look again. A better thermos would be great, but I don't hear my fan screaming at me now. I bought Vega20 graphics. 15.4" vs 16"? If it weren't for the thinner bezel, you wouldn't know it. And the new keyboard would be gen 1 of a new design. That can be good or bad. The first gen butterfly keyboard sounded awesome and turned out to be a bonafide flaw. In reality, the only thing I really want is a flawless keyboard. Everything else I can totally live with. My main fear is that the keyboard will cause me grief and I might have long periods of sending in the laptop for repair. I doubt that happens to 50% of the users. I doubt it happens to 10% of the users. Let's assume it happens to 5% of users. That means 5 in 100 will have the issue. In reverse, that means I have a 95% chance of being totally fine. Let's assume we're playing poker. I have a straight flush. I have calculated I have a 95% chance of winning this hand. Do I bet the farm on this hand? Absolutely. Now I could be wrong. It could be 10% or 20% of people having keyboard issues. I don't know. But if that many people are having this issue, then Apple will have to support it on their own dime as it will be declared a flaw and not normal wear and tear. It all goes back to my experience. Will I have a bad experience? I sure hope not. I really think Apple had completely damaged their reputation with the flawed keyboard. They are sending the wrong message to their customers. It is this fear along which worries me. Apple should project that will take care of us and we will have a good experience. Deception does not help the situation. It makes it worse.
You could be waiting forever. That's the problem with rumors. Maybe Apple postpones the 16" for some unknown to us reason. Maybe intel misses their roadmap. Maybe the next MBP is nothing more than a 4th gen butterfly keyboard...
