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Why did you buy a new MBP?


  • Total voters
    143

macminv

macrumors member
Aug 29, 2019
39
79
I've been working on a 2013 since...well, 2013. I recently (during COVID) started doing audio and video editing as a hobby and I want to turn it into a side gig. It's a nightmare on my current machine. Really looking forward to my shipping date so I can start pursuing my goals.
 

fakestrawberryflavor

macrumors 6502
May 24, 2021
423
569
Needed the ability to drive 3 external displays with one computer, was previously using a mac mini and windows laptop to do what this one machine can do now. Very happy. 16 MAX 32GB
 

Pro Apple Silicon

Suspended
Oct 1, 2021
361
426
I need Pro level Apple Silicon a year ago. This is the first one they came out with, so I bought it. I would prefer a desktop. But I can't wait for Apple to get around to it. Pro work doesn't stop just because Apple takes forever to do anything.
 

zakarhino

Contributor
Sep 13, 2014
2,611
6,963
I just wanted one honestly. I can justify it because of the work I do on it and it's always nice to have a faster machine which actually has usable battery life but it's not like I couldn't get my work done on my older machine.
 
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Killbynumbers

macrumors 6502a
May 29, 2019
578
565
Two weeks ago I bought a Canon camera and some nice lenses to go with it. When the new MBPs were announced and I saw they had SC card readers, I kind of thought I was gonna get one just for that reason. I still have to find something to read a CF card but for now just the SD card reader will work.

I also will use the SD card reader for transferring stuff to and from my Samsung phones card.

I'm not a pro photographer or anything, just always dreamed of being able to buy a pro camera one day and I was able to afford one. I kept my old 2012 MBP around just because it had the SD card reader.
 

Grohowiak

macrumors 6502a
Nov 14, 2012
768
793
I was curious how it compares to the M1 Mini and... mini is listed for sale now.
Need? not really but it will save me some time and adds mobility.
 

Flyin Ryan

macrumors member
Jun 16, 2010
88
40
Florida
I’ve been making a living off of my computer since 2005 from composing music, graphic design, web design and Salesforce consulting. So I never feel guilty when buying a new machine. It pays for itself pretty quickly.

I upgraded from a 2018 15” i7 that was a powerful machine but I wasn’t a fan of the Touch Bar, ultra slim design, size, etc. 13” has always been too small so 14” is a sweet spot for me.

I don’t do anything too intensive aside from data migration work (excel), photoshop, logic and some light video editing (training videos & such). So the base 14” model was perfect for my needs. More than enough power.
 

Mikael H

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2014
864
539
I needed a personal machine as the line between personal and professional use for work laptops has grown more defined as our company has grown: They used to be tools-as-a-perk, but now they're decidedly fully managed tools.

Also I haven't properly splurged on a hobby in several years, so while the price I paid was eye-watering for something that doesn't earn me money it's actually not bad compared to what I used to pay just to keep a motorcycle legal and in good shape before I had my kid and got anxious about not getting dead. ?
 
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PikachuEXE

macrumors member
Jul 20, 2010
38
12
I want one.

And then I got my 2018 15" MBP failed to boot twice in 2 years without AppleCare.

I guess I might "need" one.
 

Suxamethonium

macrumors member
Jun 19, 2014
86
104
Well I would like to say it was all need, and there will clearly be benefits, but there clearly was at least a bit of want in there.
 

contacos

macrumors 603
Nov 11, 2020
5,473
20,817
Mexico City living in Berlin
I used my first retina MacBook Pro from 2012 until last week and it actually still worked very well on BigSur with a battery cycle count of only 500 and battery health at 92%

I still thought it was time to finally upgrade after so many years. I was just waiting for a redesign and ironically Apple decided to go back to the roots and it is basically an upgraded version of mine ? at the end of the day I decided to upgrade since we will probably sticking to this design for a while and I wanted to take advantage of a friends education discount which would have expired in January
 

spiderman0616

Suspended
Aug 1, 2010
5,670
7,499
Still haven't 100% decided. It would definitely be a want, as the M1 Air already has way more power than what I need a laptop to do, even for my resource intensive tasks.

Common sense tells me I should just keep my M1 Air and upgrade to the Mwhatever Air next year. I don't always listen to common sense though. :)
 
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PeterJP

macrumors 65816
Feb 2, 2012
1,136
896
Leuven, Belgium
A little bit of both? I'm sure my 16-inch intel would have been fine, but the fact it turned into a jet engine every time I turned it on was annoying. That and also I wanted a smaller form factor with faster specs.
Exactly this. I installed Monterey on my Intel 16" after ordering and LPM works pretty fine to eliminate the jet engine. But hey, I already ordered, nothing I can do now ?
 

jbachandouris

macrumors 603
Aug 18, 2009
5,928
3,087
Upstate NY
I didn’t actually upgrade…yet.

Apple trade in is $740 and I can get a partial refund on Apple Care.

I want my ports back and mag safe.
 

buyusfear

macrumors 6502
Dec 30, 2007
344
71
I've been rocking a 2010 15" MBP with an SSD that I'd added a few years back just to buy me some time. I definitely need this, lol.

Once I saw the M1 reviews when it first came out, I knew that a MBA was going to be the perfect laptop for my needs. But I'd waited so long! and to then just spend so much less than I had been mentally saving up for?

But, knowing a pro chip would be coming next, and a more than likely redesign of the MBP with it?...
Best wait ever.

I know it's more power than I'll even be able to begin to scratch the surface of, and I like knowing that.
So , actually my answer is "because I wanted one".
 

telaviv

macrumors newbie
Oct 18, 2021
11
6
I’m using a late 2013 15.4 screen. I need ports. My wife accused me of being a Luddite like my brother in law who uses a 2006 core2 duo running a wimpy version of linux. My MBP needs a new keyboard, new battery and will no longer run the most current system. Apple considers it OBSOLETE. Affinity Photo runs ok but some things are kind of slow, and I cannot load more than 6 photos before it bogs down.

So... I ordered a M1Pro basic model. I have 256gb now and rarely use more than 180gb. I have 16 gb and it works fine if the processor was better.
Using the same Late 2013 machine. SSD is upgradable.

Arguably one of if not the most durable MacBook for a decade, with virtually no design flaws.
 
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TrueBlou

macrumors 601
Sep 16, 2014
4,531
3,619
Scotland
You always seem to have the best questions ;)

I went with needed one, and there is no doubt whatsoever that my workflow will benefit greatly from the increase in performance.

But then I came to write this, and honestly, I think want probably had more to do with it.

I’m coming from an 8GB M1 MBA, and I want a 16” screen again. I want that gorgeous display, I want the built-in ports, I want MagSafe, I want more memory and I want better performance.

But when I’m being completely honest with myself, that humble little 8GB MBA has handled everything I’ve thrown at it.

Yes, some things have taken a little longer than perhaps I’d like. But really, it’s not as if I’ve been pulling my hair out, shouting that it’s too slow. Because it’s not.

For what it is the MBA is actually amazing and I could have probably lived with it for a couple of more years before I felt an upgrade was truly necessary.

As much as my workflow will definitely benefit from the new MBP, I suppose I’d grudgingly have to admit that want, probably drove my decision more than need.

That however, did influence my purchase. With utter excitement, my initial order was to be for an M1 Max, of course.

But when I thought of how well that wee MBA has performed over the past year. I shocked myself by deciding to save a grand and just go with the M1 Pro.
 
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rezwits

macrumors 6502a
Jul 10, 2007
838
436
Las Vegas
Absolutely needed one. 2017 15” MacBook Pro i7 quad core 16GB 2TB with butterfly keyboard, Touch Bar, and overheating CPU and random shutdowns - photoshop lag! Probably my least favorite MacBook and held off as long as possible before updating but man what a pain it was ?

Used for 4 years and waited for the ARM cpu to come out before updating: 16” M1 Max MacBook Pro 10 CPU 32 GPU 64GB 4TB.

Programs I Use: Photoshop, Clip Studio Pro, Affinity Suite, SketchUp, Zbrush, Blender, FCP X, and Motion.
Dude that was Adobe's fault with a little "Intel Salty Sprinkle". I abandoned Adobe and now have to spend 3-6 months mastering Affinity. I might go back to Adobe "In like 5 years" but they slogging so far behind... But maybe by then we won't have SSDs and it'll be like 2TB of RAM and the thing runs from RAM no booting no nothing always on with a RAM Battery? "\_(ツ)_/"

Adobe Apps are TOO Big, they are like Microsoft Products...

 
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Fomalhaut

macrumors 68000
Oct 6, 2020
1,993
1,724
As the replies show, there is a spectrum between "want" and "need".

I would bet that a large majority of buyers do not "absolutely need" a given specification, especially at the higher end. I suspect a lot of people just need a new computer, some for work or study, and want to get something better than a Windows laptop or M1 Air or MBP.

In my own case, I'm a little bit dissatisfied with my MBP16 because:
1) It gets quite hot, and the fans can be quite loud
2) Battery life is quite poor when under load (sometimes only 2-3 hours) - I have some "range anxiety" when unable to plug in.
3) It's a little bit heavy and large for travelling
4) Performance is a bit underwhelming for some tasks - my M1 Mini feels significantly faster most of the time. Video editing performance is OK-ish, but not great.

I though about an M1 Air or MBP, but really wanted 32GB because I do consistently use it.

So, I definitely don't need a new computer, but I want one so that I have a better experience than with my current one.
 

sillycyber

macrumors member
Oct 30, 2016
57
30
The Great Northwest
I ordered a 32Gb Max w/2Tb drive, to replace the M1 Mini I'm trading in (for a whopping $950 from Apple).
Reasons are, it supports more than 2 monitors, which I need. it's also approx 70% faster w/XCode, and that's important for me, and the rare times I would be doing 3D rendering or video processing, it will be pretty snappy and restrain urges to spend even more on a Mac Pro which I probably could not justify getting.
 
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ls1dreams

macrumors 6502a
Aug 13, 2009
665
266
Mostly don’t need but bought up from air because:
1. 13.3” screen too small
2. i plan to keep this laptop 5-7 years and don’t know what I might need it for
3. I do dabble in a bit of code
 

ls1dreams

macrumors 6502a
Aug 13, 2009
665
266
I've been rocking a 2010 15" MBP with an SSD that I'd added a few years back just to buy me some time. I definitely need this, lol.

Once I saw the M1 reviews when it first came out, I knew that a MBA was going to be the perfect laptop for my needs. But I'd waited so long! and to then just spend so much less than I had been mentally saving up for?

But, knowing a pro chip would be coming next, and a more than likely redesign of the MBP with it?...
Best wait ever.

I know it's more power than I'll even be able to begin to scratch the surface of, and I like knowing that.
So , actually my answer is "because I wanted one".
You gonna go 14 or 16?
 
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