Did anyone go from a 2018 MacBook Pro to a 2021 model?

[xxray]

Has it been worth it for you? What are the biggest differences you notice? What is your use case? What was your motivation for upgrading?

Input is especially appreciated if you were coming from a 2018 15" model and going to a 2021 16" model. I have some frustrations with my 2018 MBP and Apple is offering $730 trade-in, which I think is pretty fair. I'm considering using the trade-in value to buy one of the Apple refurbished models.

 

[Diablo360]

There’s no comparison. Aside from having more power, the keyboard is better, no Touch Bar, way better battery life, doesn’t get hot, never hear the fans running, I can go on….

 

[jaymc]

I did ... ordered in mid Jan and received late Feb. Was offered $800 and decided when Affinity Photo went M1 compatible. Love the keyboard, battery life and zippiness. Do miss the Touch Bar (loved the functionality of BTT.)

 

[ssmed]

2019 to 2022 - excellent upgrade although I slightly miss the touch bar (not that much though!)

 

[Sterkenburg]

Did the upgrade last December (2018 15" with i9 and 32GB RAM --> 2021 16" M1 Max). Go for it if you can afford it.

The 2018 model was still working well for me, but having suffered an average of 1 top case replacement per year with the 2016-2019 generation I couldn't wait to get rid of the butterfly keyboard and Touch Bar.

I use my mac for data science, amateur photo/video editing, writing, and everyday run-of-the-mill stuff. The most striking differences I have seen in upgrading:

• Huge bump in battery life
• Incredibly silent and cool operation - Intel 2018: computer takes off the desk as soon as CPU has something semi-intensive to do, Apple Silicon 2021: fans never turn on, full performance even on battery.
• Lovely big screen with high refresh rate, can't go back to plain 60Hz panels now
• More ports (not really using HDMI but SD slot is useful to me), MagSafe is back
• Much better keyboard with full-height function keys and a sane layout with inverted-T arrow keys
• Anecdotal and difficult to quantify as it might be, macOS feels a lot snappier on Apple Silicon
• Big increase in CPU performance, I will have much more power than I actually need for a long time
• Very good GPU performance without needing an external card, a fully legit desktop replacement when docked