Buy MacBook Air now or wait?

[ab225]

I had my M1 MacBook Air that I bought in January stolen last week and need a replacement. I know the Air is "Approaching End of Cycle". I'm trying to weigh up if it's worth buying a cheap old MacBook that I can resell again to hold me over until an update, or if it's not worth the effort and a new Air won't be that much better anyway. Anyone got any thoughts on this?

 

[KaliYoni]

You could look at your decision in terms of time and how much you value your time.

If the current M1 MBA fits your needs well and you felt comfortable using it, you wouldn't have to spend much time buying it and adjusting your workflows. In contrast, buying a used machine requires looking at listings, vetting sellers, cleaning out all traces of the previous owner, and possibly troubleshooting software incompatibilities.

So, would the monetary savings from a used machine be large enough to justify the effort? And how would you feel if you bought an old Mac and the (rumored) announcement of the "2022 MBA" was delayed or was mostly cosmetic changes?

 

[jaceapoc]

wait tbh

 

[James_C]

Rumours suggest that new MacBook Air’s are not due until next year. It is likely that they will have a complete redesign, so if that is important to you you may want to wait. New MacBook Pro’s are due to be released this year in 14” and 16” variants. However with the expected M1x processors these are likely to have more GPU cores, and support more ports and external displays than the current M1 macs. However I also expect these will come with the Pro price premium, as at the moment the current M1 13” Pro is pretty close in performance to the MBA.

So in summary, if you want a more expensive M1x Pro then you should not have too long to wait, if you want an upgraded Air then April next year is more realistic, are you happy to wait that long?

If the current MBA M1 is fast enough for you, is it really worth waiting until next year, the main performance jump is likely to have been from Intel 13” MBA to M1 MBA. The jump to next generation Apple silicon processor is likely to be smaller.

That is my take on it anyway.

 

[macintoshmac]

As everyone has stated: If you were satisfied, just buy another. You would likely be able to buy one at a discount now and offset some of the loss.

 

[ab225]

These are good points.

I'm happy spending a bit of time doing resetting and reselling work. I've done it a bunch of times and turned some profits from buying good deals and selling on eBay.

Another factor is I can get access to the back to school promotion right now, so that would mean at least another £100 off the price if I sell some AirPods. Which makes me lean towards buying a new one now maybe.

But, I would be interested in a new 14" MBP if the base config still sat at the same price as the current 13" MBP. Do we have an idea if the 14" is more likely a higher price point?

 

[James_C]

But, I would be interested in a new 14" MBP if the base config still sat at the same price as the current 13" MBP. Do we have an idea if the 14" is more likely a higher price point?

Of course nobody knows what the price is going to be, my take with a larger screen and a next Gen processor, additional ports, the price is going to be more than the current 13" MBP Model. If they do not increase the price there will not be enough price differential to avoid people ditching the MBA and going for the Pro (Unless they reduce the price of the current MBA which is already widely discounted by £100). It is possible they will keep the existing M1 13" MBP as the base model.

 

[ab225]

Of course nobody knows what the price is going to be, my take with a larger screen and a next Gen processor, additional ports, the price is going to be more than the current 13" MBP Model. If they do not increase the price there will not be enough price differential to avoid people ditching the MBA and going for the Pro (Unless they reduce the price of the current MBA which is already widely discounted by £100). It is possible they will keep the existing M1 13" MBP as the base model.

I think you might be right. It could be case they keep the same M1 13" MBP with moderate spec bumps in place around the same price as the air, kind of like they did with the unibody non-retina 13" MBP.

 

[trevpimp]

You could look at your decision in terms of time and how much you value your time.

If the current M1 MBA fits your needs well and you felt comfortable using it, you wouldn't have to spend much time buying it and adjusting your workflows. In contrast, buying a used machine requires looking at listings, vetting sellers, cleaning out all traces of the previous owner, and possibly troubleshooting software incompatibilities.

So, would the monetary savings from a used machine be large enough to justify the effort? And how would you feel if you bought an old Mac and the (rumored) announcement of the "2022 MBA" was delayed or was mostly cosmetic changes?

I would also add are you familiar or comfortable with the current design of the M1 MacBook Air. It's most likely due for a cosmetic change so if the current design Air is up to your taking then I would purchase now.

I love the current design in my take

 

[ab225]

I would also add are you familiar or comfortable with the current design of the M1 MacBook Air. It's most likely due for a cosmetic change so if the current design Air is up to your taking then I would purchase now.

I love the current design in my take

Yeah I'm not a fan of the Touch Bar so I'm happy with the Air design. I would feel sore if a new updated spec or something came out for the Air a few months after buying, but maybe that won't be for a while and it would probably be minor.

I'm thinking I might just buy a new one now and use the back to school promotion before it ends in a month or so.

 

[meson]

I don't think you are likely to be able to get your hands on a new Air much before April '22. I would expect bumps to those machines, entry level iPads, and other tech that finds its way pretty heavily into education around that time of the year as educational technologists start planning for the upcoming academic year.

If you liked the M1 Air that you had, I would get another one. Plain and simple.

It's a damn fine machine (I just got a set for my lab at work). Additionally I just took advantage of the back to school sale to get one for my wife as she starts a new job and scored myself a bonus in my first set of AirPods. My tech update from work is an M1 MBP 16/1TB. After I had my hands on the Air while testing for the lab machines, I would have been happy with one of those for my daily driver. Like many, I can take or leave the Touch Bar.

Even if you sell off the Air in 7 or 8 months, you will likely have gotten enough use out of it to justify the return on your investment, especially if you can take advantage of the back to school promo and sell off the AirPods along the way.

 

[scottish]

Yeah I'm not a fan of the Touch Bar so I'm happy with the Air design. I would feel sore if a new updated spec or something came out for the Air a few months after buying, but maybe that won't be for a while and it would probably be minor.

I'm thinking I might just buy a new one now and use the back to school promotion before it ends in a month or so.

Currys has got a really good deal at the moment. Trade in old laptop, tablet, phone and get a bonus £150 to put towards a new MacBook. Their standard pricing is the same as the Apple edu pricing. And if you're lucky you might get them to price match.

I did the following:
trade in broken iPhone 4 (£0 value) for £150 voucher
asked them to price match itechs.uk who are selling MBA for £795
purchased £645 of Currys vouchers from my workplace discount scheme at 7% off (£600)
bought MacBook
total cost: £600 and a broken iPhone

 

[James_C]

Currys has got a really good deal at the moment. Trade in old laptop, tablet, phone and get a bonus £150 to put towards a new MacBook. Their standard pricing is the same as the Apple edu pricing. And if you're lucky you might get them to price match.

I did the following:
trade in broken iPhone 4 (£0 value) for £150 voucher
asked them to price match itechs.uk who are selling MBA for £795
purchased £645 of Currys vouchers from my workplace discount scheme at 7% off (£600)
bought MacBook
total cost: £600 and a broken iPhone

Well done, a great saving. Your forum name says it all really

 

[ab225]

Currys has got a really good deal at the moment. Trade in old laptop, tablet, phone and get a bonus £150 to put towards a new MacBook. Their standard pricing is the same as the Apple edu pricing. And if you're lucky you might get them to price match.

I did the following:
trade in broken iPhone 4 (£0 value) for £150 voucher
asked them to price match itechs.uk who are selling MBA for £795
purchased £645 of Currys vouchers from my workplace discount scheme at 7% off (£600)
bought MacBook
total cost: £600 and a broken iPhone

Dang, I already ordered now. That is a savvy deal!

 

[Bazooka-joe]

Currys has got a really good deal at the moment. Trade in old laptop, tablet, phone and get a bonus £150 to put towards a new MacBook. Their standard pricing is the same as the Apple edu pricing. And if you're lucky you might get them to price match.

I did the following:
trade in broken iPhone 4 (£0 value) for £150 voucher
asked them to price match itechs.uk who are selling MBA for £795
purchased £645 of Currys vouchers from my workplace discount scheme at 7% off (£600)
bought MacBook
total cost: £600 and a broken iPhone

Yes it is a good deal but only if your laptop is less than seven years old. My MacBook Pro is 2011 so I doubt I will get £150 for it

 

[Macwishful]

Yes it is a good deal but only if your laptop is less than seven years old. My MacBook Pro is 2011 so I doubt I will get £150 for it

I did the same but had a MacBook white from 2008 which still worked, if you enter the serial number online in the Get Trade in valuation as long as that comes up with an acceptance and you print a copy they accept it in store.

old white MacBook was valued at £25 + £150 trade in allowance, then price match to online retailer got the MacBook Air for £620

 

[Bazooka-joe]

I did the same but had a MacBook white from 2008 which still worked, if you enter the serial number online in the Get Trade in valuation as long as that comes up with an acceptance and you print a copy they accept it in store.

old white MacBook was valued at £25 + £150 trade in allowance, then price match to online retailer got the MacBook Air for £620

Nope didn’t work. i tried the online trade in for my late 2011 pro and value was zero. I took it to my curry store and they refused to take it in as it was over seven years old

 

[kp98077]

yeah hard decision but from what I can tell the new Air wont be out until late Q1 2022 at the earliest, you could always monitor when they come out and sell the new one ahead of time a little bit?
is the M1 MBA performance much less than the MBP base M1 model? trying to decide between the two, on a budget - knowing as well, may have to sell it next year....

 

[kp98077]

yeah hard decision but from what I can tell the new Air wont be out until late Q1 2022 at the earliest, you could always monitor when they come out and sell the new one ahead of time a little bit?
is the M1 MBA performance much less than the MBP base M1 model? trying to decide between the two, on a budget - knowing as well, may have to sell it next year....

Any ideas on this? thanks

 

[JahBoolean]

Any ideas on this? thanks

The performance difference is negligeable DYOR

 

[meson]

Go ahead and get the Air, you won't be disappointed. It's an incredible value right now.

 

[kp98077]

The performance difference is negligeable DYOR

DYOR? Really? What a non helpful passive aggressive comment …

 

[kp98077]

Go ahead and get the Air, you won't be disappointed. It's an incredible value right now.

Thanks for the helpful advice -

 

[James_C]

yeah hard decision but from what I can tell the new Air wont be out until late Q1 2022 at the earliest, you could always monitor when they come out and sell the new one ahead of time a little bit?
is the M1 MBA performance much less than the MBP base M1 model? trying to decide between the two, on a budget - knowing as well, may have to sell it next year....

Get the MBA, on the MBP you are mainly paying for the touchbar, which has no impact on performance and is likely to be designed out in the next iteration of the MacBook Pro due out in the next couple of months. The current 13" M1 MBA and MBP have the same processor and architecture, and preform exactly the same unless you are rendering long video projects as the MBP has a fan to aid cooling, but it rarely comes on due to the efficiency of the MBA M1 Chip. Use the money saved on the MBA to upgrade the SSD or the Ram if you like.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

Okay so this is what I did. After Currys couldn’t take my late 2011 MacBook Pro in exchange. I took it to CEX and sold it to them for £110. I had a £20 voucher and used that to buy an iPad mini version 1 for £20. I then went back to Currys, they then price matched Itechs at £798 with no issues and they gave me £9 plus £150 trade in for the iPad mini 1. I then applied 7% discount through my employer discount scheme. So in total a new MacBook air cost me less than £500.