Which MBP to buy

[Yurtal]

Hello. My parents are planning on buying a new laptop and would like to get a 13” MacBook Pro. They will primarily be using it to browse the web, watch movies via external monitor, emails, light word processing and have a plan to learn photoshop down the track as a hobby.

One big priority for them is to ensure that the purchase is future proofed as best as possible and I’m a bit unsure as to what to suggest for them.

Are the new M1 chip MBP’s the obvious pick being the newest to come out or will there be software compatibility issues and limitations associated with being so new? Or would purchasing an intel model be a safer bet?

They are in a position to go either way financially and want to invest in something that will last them a number of years. I would really appreciate some guidance as to which path to go down and further more, at what configurations.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Thank you for everyone’s input, I sincerely appreciate the help!

 

[kodabear]

Based on their use you described, the M1 should be fine, compatibility issues with software should not be an issue. I would get an M1 with 16 GB Ram, in fact I would order more of they offered it and I'm sure they will down the road with Pro models with 4-TB 3 ports. I currently have a MBP 13" that I purchased from the refurb store (2020) model before the M1's were introduced and it's about has future proof as I could have ordered, 2.3 ghz, i7 Quad core, 1TB with 32gb Ram. I could have gotten a 2 TB SSD but did not feel I needed it.
Currently on the refurb store a 2020 model year MBP 13" with 512 SSD, 2.3 ghz, i7 Quad core and 16 GB ram sells for $1699 and the M1 with 512 SSD and 16 Gb Ram is the same price so it's a no brainer to buy the M1. The only difference is the older model has 4 TB 3 ports but the M1 is by far the faster computer.

 

[Yurtal]

Based on their use you described, the M1 should be fine, compatibility issues with software should not be an issue. I would get an M1 with 16 GB Ram, in fact I would order more of they offered it and I'm sure they will down the road with Pro models with 4-TB 3 ports. I currently have a MBP 13" that I purchased from the refurb store (2020) model before the M1's were introduced and it's about has future proof as I could have ordered, 2.3 ghz, i7 Quad core, 1TB with 32gb Ram. I could have gotten a 2 TB SSD but did not feel I needed it.
Currently on the refurb store a 2020 model year MBP 13" with 512 SSD, 2.3 ghz, i7 Quad core and 16 GB ram sells for $1699 and the M1 with 512 SSD and 16 Gb Ram is the same price so it's a no brainer to buy the M1. The only difference is the older model has 4 TB 3 ports but the M1 is by far the faster computer.

Thanks so much for your help, I appreciate the info. Do you think 512GB storage is enough long term or would 1TB internal SSD be a safer bet?

 

[JLH81]

Thanks so much for your help, I appreciate the info. Do you think 512GB storage is enough long term or would 1TB internal SSD be a safer bet?

Well, how long do you plan on keeping it for?

 

[smoking monkey]

It seems the M1 do a lot of disk swapping meaning 1TB HD might be the way to go. It seems even with 16GB of Ram they still disk swap. It's not an issue, it's just the way they go about their business.

If def get 16GR and if possible 1TB M1 MBP.

 

[glenthompson]

SSD size really depends on how much stuff they store. Will they be working with a lot of high resolution photos or videos? 512gb can store a lot of photos but if they do video it can get used up quickly. While I use iCloud I l8ke to keep everything on my MBA because of spotty internet when I travel.

 

[nothingtoseehere]

Thanks so much for your help, I appreciate the info. Do you think 512GB storage is enough long term or would 1TB internal SSD be a safer bet?

When I got my MBP 2015, I thought, ok, for futureproofing I will take the then giant amount of 512 GB. As it happened, it ran full. In that machines one could change the SSD, so I installed 1 TB. With the newer Macbooks, this is no longer possible. One can always use an external SSD, therefore storage is not as critical as RAM, but I prefer convenient internal storage.
You write that your parents are interested in keeping the machine for a long time. I would support what already has been written in this thread to go for 16 GB and for 1 TB SSD.
M1 is a very good choice. I have one and recommend it.

 

[Fishrrman]

I agree with the recommendations above for 16gb of RAM.
For SSD size, 512gb should do fine.
1tb SSD only if they want to spend more $$$...

 

[Yurtal]

Well, how long do you plan on keeping it for?

They would be looking at 5 years or around that. Hopefully more.

 

[Clix Pix]

If they plan on keeping their machine for five years or so, then it would be wise to get an M1 MBP with 1 TB SSD and 16 GB RAM, as nothing is user-replaceable in these and we have no idea of what the demands of software will be in five years.

You mention them learning Photoshop -- depending upon the camera(s) that they are using, too, it is best to have more storage and more RAM capability, too.