Bought refurb M1 Pro MBP instead of M2 15”

[DTphonehome]

My wife needed an upgrade from her intel MBA, and I was about to get her a 15” M2 MBA when I found a refurbished deal on a 2021 M1 Pro MBP 16” for about $1250. An MBA with 16GB RAM was only a hundred bucks or so less. I figured for the larger, better screen and other features of the Pro, it was worth going for refurb rather than new, and for an M1 Pro instead of the newer M2 (although the benchmarks seem to deem the M1P as good or better than the m2). Weight doesn’t matter to her as it usually lives on a desk.

Anything I’m not considering, or was this the right move?

 

[theorist9]

Sounds good to me, especially if she's using the laptop's screen instead of an external display. I have the 16" M1 Pro MBP, and the screen is stunning. Plus she gets better speakers, a more powerful GPU, more ports, and, in theory, a better microphone.

Functionally, all she gives up is portability and a bit of single-core speed (which she probably wouldn't notice). [Yes, the Air is fanless and thus silent, but the 16" M1 Pro is pretty quiet unless you push it hard.]

The only practical downside I can think of is that the refub probably doesn't come with AppleCare+, and that is a nice thing to have, particularly for laptops.

 

[MrGunny94]

I'd do the same really, plus later down the line if she uses more displays she's covered.