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14" MBP - what's coming, vs. what we can buy now?

C

cbsnbiker

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 16, 2007
108
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I've been hemming and hawing about buying a new MBP 14" for a while. My laptop is almost a decade old, and my needs have recently become more stringent (e.g. music recording and editing).

I was all set to bite the bullet and order one, until I just saw the "don't buy" rating in the Buyer's Guide today.

So, what do we strongly suspect is coming with the upgraded MPR models?

I am more concerned with storage than with raw processor speed.

So, if waiting for the new model will give me a new processor that's a bit faster than the current one, and not much else, it's not worth the wait.

On the other hand, if waiting will give me a lot bigger SSD for the money, and maybe more RAM for the money, in addition to a faster processor, then it may be worth the wait for me.

What are your thoughts, knowing that nothing is guaranteed?
 
Impossible to give an accurate answer on this one, but from what we know it's just going to be a processor bump to M2 Pro / Max. Looking at the M2 compared to the M1, there is a difference - but it's minimal. Most likely will be less than 10% bump overall.

As far as RAM goes, I wouldn't expect the base to jump beyond 16gb config - which means the upgrades will most likely remain the same when it comes to pricing.

Hard drive - same thing. Base models are equipped with 512 and I don't see them giving out 1TB options in a base configuration so I wouldn't bet on that either.

If you could really use it now, go for it. I ordered a good spec 14 inch M1 Max with 2tb SSD & 32gb of RAM and have no issues / hiccups running large audio sessions at all (primarily in Ableton, occasionally Logic) although I would imagine the optimization for Logic is better than Ableton, but none the less Ableton has been buttery smooth in relatively large audio projects.

I bought it when the machine was first released and ever since it has been a game changer from the 2015 MBP I was using prior. This config probably has even more power than I need, but obviously they're expensive and I would recommend future proofing as much as your budget allows.

Hope that helps.
 
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I agree with the above. I personally would want a M2 MBP if I needed a Pro device but that is me. For you a MBP M1 would be a huge upgrade. Their might also be price increases in the new M2 models while the current M1 MBP 14/16" have been on sale at various 3rd party retailers so you could take advantage of the discount and get a great machine that will serve you well for many years.

From the rumors I have heard there is not going to be any changes to the design and the new chip is the only difference. Of course Apple could make changes but I don't see them upgrading storage or ram as the base models are decent choices.

Who knows what the future will bring. If you are a person who always wants the latest and greatest and gets hung up on having the best specs you might wait but if you don't care about those things and the M1 MBP fits your needs and use case I don't think there has been a better time to buy one. The difference between what you have in terms of processor, ram and gpu are huge. You would get a huge boost in productivity and battery life.

Good luck whatever you decide!
 
It's likely that M2 Pro/M2 Max 14" & 16" MacBook Pro will arrive around this time next month. That said, there will probably be no other new features other than the updated M2 SoC. You may be able to score an M1 Pro/M1 Max at a discount when Apple unveils the new models.
 
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I believe Mr. Hagan has it right in #4 above.

OP:
If you live in the US, and don't have to have the absolute "latest and greatest", you might check to see if the $1,599 sale on the MBP 14" is still on at bestbuy and costco.

Granted, you're buying a MBP that's going to be upgraded in about 3-4 months, but might be worth "living with it" for the $400 savings.

Personal experience:
I waited until AFTER the 2016 MacBook Pro was announced, to buy a 2015 MBP 13".
Best decision I ever made, computer wise. Yes, it was the older model, and YES, I avoided the butterfly keyboard and all its problems...
 
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Thank you for the advice, everyone. I bit the bullet, and ordered a 14" MBP spec'ed basically like Nbd1790's, with Pro Logic installed. I look forward to when it's ready.

Just today I just saw cracks where the hinge is on this laptop, so it's good that I placed the order.

A quick question: I also should get an external SuperDrive equivalent: a DVD/CD/CD-ROM/etc. reader, and at least CD-ROM burner. Any recommendations?
 
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cbsnbiker said:
Thank you for the advice, everyone. I bit the bullet, and ordered a 14" MBP spec'ed basically like Nbd1790's, with Pro Logic installed. I look forward to when it's ready.

Just today I just saw cracks where the hinge is on this laptop, so it's good that I placed the order.

A quick question: I also should get an external SuperDrive equivalent: a DVD/CD/CD-ROM/etc. reader, and at least CD-ROM burner. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
I went with a cheap one off Amazon and works well. Although I rarely ever need it. Not sure if your line of work requires you to deal with it frequently, but if you're looking to just have one on hand just get a top rated one on Amazon and you should be fine.

Most of the audio work I deal with now is all Digital regardless of the client. If they ever want / need something "physical" , I normally just hand them a flash drive with the requested files or use Dropbox to share.
 
Pretty much any old USB optical drive will do, if you still need to read optical discs. Even a BluRay recorder should be quite affordable these days.
 
OP wrote:
"I also should get an external SuperDrive equivalent: a DVD/CD/CD-ROM/etc. reader, and at least CD-ROM burner. Any recommendations?"

I would recommend a USB-based, "tray-loading" (rather than "slot loading") drive.
It should have BluRay burning capacities as well as DVD/CD
It should have M-DISC capabilities as well.

Check reviews and product info to see if you can find one that requires only a single USB cable (rather than a Y-type cable at the computer end).
 
Thanks. I own hundreds of music CDs, as well as various movie DVDs and such. In addition, I am still sometimes asked to burn a CD-ROM, even all these years later.
 
The Pioneer BD-RW drive I have is top-loading like an old Discman. Pop the disc onto the spindle and close the lid and off you go.

I had a couple of 3" audio CDs I wanted to rip recently, so I was glad to not have a slot-loader.
 
Thanks, everyone. I recently picked up the new laptop, and am typing this on it. Thus far I've done only quotidian stuff on it (email, Safari, etc.). It sure is zippier! And the display is far nicer. So far so good. The proof will be in the pudding, when I need to do something high intensity.

A small part of me wishes I'd gone for the 16", but it would have been heavier and bulkier for carrying around. I can always buy a monitor for home use.

I haven't purchased an optical drive yet. The one at the Apple store didn't have enough features, so i'll do some more research online.
 
DO NOT buy the Apple DVD/CD "superdrive".
Compared to 3rd party drives out there, it's not "super"... AT ALL.
 
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