Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

[KPOM]

There is always some risk with a redesign. The 2016 MacBook Pro featured the short-lived Touch Bar and infamous butterfly keyboard, for instance. If you aren’t interested in an OLED touchscreen and are OK with the current design, then buy the M5 if you need a new MacBook Pro next month.

 

[CptnJustc]

I'm an early adopter, but with so many significant new-to-MBP technologies, might want to wait out the next two MacBook Pros.

 

[Umacga]

There's always a new computer right around the corner. If you need one now, buy one now.

If you truly NEED one, sure. But it makes sense to wait when there’s one right around the corner (vs. 6-12 months). Otherwise, unless you get a deal, you’ve paid full price on something that’s a generation old. That you probably could have gotten on significant sale if you’d waited a month or two for the prior generation to be marked down.

 

[rjp1]

But what if I don’t want a touchscreen monitor or laptop as the idea of tapping on my laptop screen to get smudges on it sounds horrible ?

And I prefer my QLED Samsung 43” over my LG 55 OLED the vast majority of time for the better brightness ?

What author assumed everyone wants a touch screen OLED laptop ?

This is going to sound wild… but, maybe don’t touch it then?

 

[Luftkopf]

I used my 2012 11” i7 MacBook Air for over a decade until I upgraded to my M3 Pro. Now I’m hoping I get the same sort of longevity out of this one so I can skip the touch screen nonsense, just like I missed out on butterfly keyboards and Touch Bars.

 

[Jeeve Stubbs]

My iPad Pro with OLED is almost 2 years old now and used for several hours a day. No sign of burn in on the tandem OLED as you would expect knowing something about how OLED work. I would expect an OLED screen on a MBP to be at least as good.

Phones/tablets are one thing, desktops/laptops are another thing. The latter are likely to be used for longer hours straight and with more static elements on screen, whether at the studio, at the office, or at home.

 

[joeblow7777]

There's always something better coming if you just keep waiting...

 

[ProbablyDylan]

If you truly NEED one, sure. But it makes sense to wait when there’s one right around the corner (vs. 6-12 months). Otherwise, unless you get a deal, you’ve paid full price on something that’s a generation old. That you probably could have gotten on significant sale if you’d waited a month or two for the prior generation to be marked down.

The individual just has to weigh what's more important to them. One in the hand two in the bush or whatever.

If you're able and willing to wait then go right ahead.

 

[TEG]

I don't want OLED or Touch Screen. I have yet to see a real benefit for OLED. And Touch Screens have no business on a traditional computer interface, unless you are going to totally redesign the OS to look like iOS (or LCARS). And even then, it is much easier to do what I want with a keyboard and mouse.

 

[Scipster]

After the butterfly keyboard fiasco, who knows what next generation might bring...

Why not go with a tried and true design?

 

[lazyrighteye]

MacRumors has advised against purchasing the next rumored machine.

Ha! And I don’t think, in the 25 years of reading these posts, I can recall them not recommending upgrading to the next thing. Unusual.

 

[transpo1]

I really hope they don’t make oled exclusive to the 16 inch

They won't-- economies of scale requires high end 14 MBP

 

[poematik13]

i think im sticking to my m3 pro 16” on 15.7 for as long as possible

 

[transpo1]

^^This.
A computer is a tool to do a job, if it doesn't do that job anymore, replace the tool.

If the past 40+ years have taught us anything in technology, there is always something new and better in a year from now.

If you need it now, buy it and enjoy it.

If you don't, wait for OLED because it's going to be awesome. 🤣

I really hope they don’t make oled exclusive to the 16 inch

They won't-- economies of scale probably require high end 14 MBP

My wife once said to me "Never buy the first generation of a new model or technology." At the time, she was referring to my Honda Pilot, which was a brand new design (2016-17 model), and had bugs aplenty in the AV system, which was not upgradeable.

I'm in agreement I'll grab the new M5 as the most tested of the current generation, before they move to a new platform that hasn't hit the field yet. (My current one is the last Intel model, so it's getting long in the tooth.)

As a long time Apple BETA hardware tester (buying 1st gen), my hats off to you for your purchasing philosophy, which is definitely wiser but not as much fun 😛

Not all of us want an OLED screen.

But many of us really, intensely want it. 😀

 

[kepler20b]

they will raise the price and put it in a new product line.


go buy the m5. itll be good.

 

[ezf]

My 16-inch M1 Pro has been “holding me back” for a while, and I don’t have any intention of upgrading anytime soon.

 

[ikramerica]

Not all of us want an OLED screen.

Exactly. This is your last chance to buy a non-OLED, non-touch MPB with an HDMI and SD card slot. I have a strong suspicion both of those will be removed in a redesign.

 

[transpo1]

Exactly. This is your last chance to buy a non-OLED, non-touch MPB with an HDMI and SD card slot. I have a strong suspicion both of those will be removed in a redesign.

Not again 🙄

 

[ikramerica]

This. Cellular is way overdue for the Mac and would be a great new feature.

Because hotspot from your phone doesn’t work? You want to pay for a subscription for your computer for no reason?

It’s an edge use case in 2026.

 

[ikramerica]

Yup, sitting around a table at an employer meeting 20 years ago and a guy with a Windows PC was showing off how he can spin and fold the screen down to turn it into a tablet. 20 years ago, and Apple laptops still can't do that. It's time that Apple avoids the "forced buy" model, because nothing technically stops their devices from transforming into the best form factor for the moment.

My wife bought one of those 18 years ago. Never used the feature. Never used touch. She thought it would be a great thing. But as a software engineer there was no use.

 

[Dahkoht]

This is going to sound wild… but, maybe don’t touch it then?

Why pay for a feature I don’t want that also adds more possible problems ?

 

[ikramerica]

This is going to sound wild… but, maybe don’t touch it then?

My sony OLED is an amazing TV for the bedroom. No need for a soundbar, completely black blacks at night.

I don’t need that for a computer. I work with the lights on, so blacks on a good LED backlit LCD screen are just as black with the lights on.

 

[ikramerica]

Yeah I don't see a problems with 1st gen too (unless it's a new keyboard 😀). Still happy with my 14" M1 Pro.

But it's different. Personally I had few laptops (Dell XPS I believe) with touchscreens and never used them. OLED - just no. Good for media consuming, bad for non-media work.

So this "don't buy" signal is kind of nonsense anyway because it's not better - it's different. So it's more like If you would like to have OLED screen then you should not buy this non-OLED model and wait for OLED model.

I love my first Gen MBP M1. But that was a quantum leap forward and the alternative (sticking with my hot running, battery bulging i7) was not ideal.

I don’t think it’s the same situation comparing the pending M5 and the OLED M6.

 

[ikramerica]

There's always something better coming if you just keep waiting...

And that’s why some people die alone.

 

[germinator]

This model is an evolution of a proven design. All the kinks have been worked out. It may have some limitations compared with the new generation, but the new model IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND. Who know what kind of bugs it will have (remember the faulty keyboards, anyone?). And I bet that there WILL be issues. So you have the choice between buying something that will be outdated relatively soon, but is reliable and you can have it now, and waiting for something that may have issues. None of those choices is ideal.