I said "obsolescent" not "obsolete", i.e. becoming obsolete, and part of a continuous trend at the end of which the item is definitevely replaced by something newer and better. It is entirely correct to describe Intel Macs as obsolescent because within a few years' time, they will have been replaced by Apple Silicon Macs.
Most technology products spend the vast majority of their lifetimes on the road towards becoming obsolete. That said, that road is a LONG road, and it'll be PLENTY long for a 16" MacBook Pro. I can understand that bothering you, but honestly, that's still an amazing Mac. And unless you need to maintain maximum value of your Macs (a losing battle, by the way), the fact that M1 is even a thing doesn't diminish that. By the time that Mac has limitations that will annoy you, it will be naturally be time to buy an Apple Silicon Mac that will ultimately be better than any Apple Silicon Mac that launched in 2020.
On the timing of my purchase - I bought the MBP16 in November 2019; AFAIK, there only vague rumors about Apple Silicon Macs coming up in 2020, and given the fact this had been talked about more many years, it was not something we could have reliably predicted.
The writing was on the wall for a long time. I'm not saying that should've affected whether or not you went out and bought a 16" MacBook Pro. I firmly believe that it shouldn't have, especially seeing as we're still a ways off from that Mac model's Apple Silicon replacement.
As for my comments being "utter silliness", don't take them too seriously;
I mean, I don't. Hence the "utter silliness" remark.
I merely tried to express my subjective feelings on the matter. It's pretty normal to have mixed feelings when you realize that circumstances have reduced the perceived value of your earlier purchase decisions - i.e. Intel Macs will most likely depreciate more quickly than if the M1 had not been released.
The resale value of the three Macs that got replaced with M1 models (the 2020 Intel MacBook Air, the 2020 Intel 2-port 13" MacBook Pro, and the 8th Gen quad-core Core i3 model of 2018 Mac mini) are all only going down in value relative to not being the current model anymore. They're not dropping in resale value all the more due to M1 being so much better than the Intel CPUs being replaced in those Macs (which, let's be real, were the worst of what Apple was putting out there). They're only dropping in value proportionately to them no longer being the newest shipping models. I say this as I'm regularly eying the 2020 Intel 2-port 13" MacBook Pro and 2020 Intel Airs specifically (more the former than the latter).
Again, I'm not saying that it isn't normal to feel like you don't have the latest and greatest when what you have is no longer latest and greatest. But the notion that what you have is not still an amazing machine just because it isn't the newest anymore is...well...silly. I'd say that the only people that may want to run out and sell their Macs in favor of an M1 model are 2020 Intel Air owners (because thermal and performance issues really are THAT bad) and 2020 Intel 2-port 13" MacBook Pro owners (because 8th Gen ULV U-series Intel was never a good value proposition to begin with and the cooling system on that machine was noticeably weaker compared to its 4-port counterpart running Ice Lake). I won't say that about a 16" MacBook Pro as, some GPU quirks aside, that machine is still an incredible value and, again, the pinnacle of the Intel era of Macintosh.
Similar to when you change money or buy stocks thinking that you've chosen the best time in the market, and then it gets better shortly afterward....the regret of missing the opportunity for more gain for less cost.
There's always going to be something newer down the road. If you bought an M1 2-port 13" MacBook Pro, you'd regret it when the 4-port 13" MacBook Pro makes the jump to Apple Silicon to become an Apple Silicon 13" or 14" 4-port MacBook Pro, or when the Apple Silicon 16" MacBook Pro comes out. And it's not like there won't be another refresh that following year thereafter that beats out those initial versions.
I understand the buyer's remorse, but you'll be much happier owning tech if you psyche yourself out of it. The 2019 16" MacBook Pro will be viable for at least the next five years (most likely longer), and by the time you're ready to replace it, the Apple Silicon MacBook Pros will be lightyears better than even M1.
In my case, it's also the realization that I probably don't need an Intel Mac at all - I don't need to run Windows, and haven't found any significant problems running the software I need on an M1 Mac. This is, of course, a good thing for me, because it means my needs align to what Apple will produce in the future. If I had some application that only worked on Intel Macs or needed the discrete GPU, then the MBP16 would retain its utility - but I don't...with the possible exception of Docker, which looks like will be fully available on Apple Silicon quite soon.
I totally understand that other people's needs and feelings are different to mine.
The fact that you don't need anything Intel-based is enviable. I wish I was in that position, myself. Though, with Apple's declining quality control on their OSes and with most of the things that I need requiring Intel (Boot Camp, x86 OS virtualization, select games that likely will never be ported to Apple Silicon because even getting them to 64-bit Intel was challenge enough), my only need for Apple Silicon is to familiarize myself with troubleshooting Apple Silicon Macs for my users. Past that, it doesn't matter much to me personally.
My whole point is that your 16" MacBook Pro didn't drop in value just because you're bummed that it's not the latest and greatest anymore. But if that's how you like to roll, sell it and get the M1 2-port 13" Pro (and use the difference to save up for when you inevitably sell the M1 2-port 13" Pro in favor of the Apple Silicon 16" Pro. As much as I think the practice of buying and selling every refresh is silliness, it will scratch your particular itch and actually be cheaper over time (just a hassle in terms of migrating data over).
Was there any need for me to get an M1 system? No, I had no immediate need... just a burning curiousity to find out what all the fuss was about
. It lives up to a lot of the hype.
I can empathize with this curiosity. Supposedly it does live up to the hype. But, at the end of the day, it's still a Mac. I don't have any personal need for an M1 beyond familiarizing myself with the new boot and recovery options and with whatever any of my users will have to go through when using an M1 Mac for the first time (as I'm the person they usually call). But it's still very early in this transition. Many high-end third party accessories won't work for a while, and many apps will take a good while to become Apple Silicon native. By the time the transition is safely complete on the third party support side of things, you will naturally be wanting to replace your 2019 16" MacBook Pro.
That said, I expect to be spending more time travelling or in customer offices in the new year (Covid-19 restricitions permitting), so will need a laptop. I like to cycle to work and where possible leave my laptop computer in the office to avoid carrying it, so need a home computer as well. Currently the only other Mac I have is a 2011 Mac Mini, which is a bit too slow these days, and the M1 Mini is a great replacement for this.
A 2020 M1 Mac mini to replace a 2011 Mac mini is a FAR more sensible upgrade to be making right now than a 2020 M1 2-port 13" MacBook Pro to replace a 2019 16" MacBook Pro. Jus' sayin'.
Plus, I'm sure it will minimize the buyers remorse for the 16" MacBook Pro (because psychology is silly like that sometimes).
But again, if you don't want your 16" MacBook Pro anymore, I can give you my address!
