Getting a base MBA now, then trading to 14" MBP later?

[digitalbreak]

too small. I am 55 and my eyes aren’t what they used to be

Question: Though M1 is great and all, for your use case, why not stick with Intel and get the 16” MBP? It is by no means a bad laptop and you should be covered until we all here beta test the M1!

 

[Zazoh]

Don’t go out to eat for two weeks and you’ve made up the difference. I don’t understand the tough decisions that are invented in this forum. Computers are disposable devices. If you either need one or want one, get one.

 

[thekev]

I've never really purchased computers this way before, and I'm trying to decide whether it will be throwing money away. Maybe if I go with the current M1 MBP with 16GB RAM, rather than the base MBA, it will be good enough for 7-8 years? I can't decide.

You cannot count on 7-8 years. It's completely ridiculous to assume you can even predict this before purchasing. Apple doesn't even support things for 8 years. At around 7, they're marked obsolete and ineligible for any kind of hardware service through Apple, including a new battery. They go on the vintage list at about 5, although this is influenced by when something stops being the current model. They often stop getting security updates around 5 years out.

Personally, I would buy based on your needs beyond 2 years out, due to the uncertainty of it. It's a good way to avoid overbudgeting. I don't think the additional dollars buy you additional longevity unless you have specialized requirements.

 

[Ocnetgeek]

Question: Though M1 is great and all, for your use case, why not stick with Intel and get the 16” MBP? It is by no means a bad laptop and you should be covered until we all here beta test the M1!

Because I can make do with the M1 Mac Mini for now at a much lower price than the 16 inch Macbook Pro. I don’t need a laptop I would just prefer one. My use case is my personal Mac and the Mini is working fine for now

 

[smoking monkey]

OP. I’m in the exact same position... almost.

my 2013 mbp 15” is finally starting to show issues of ram degradation and a few other small things like you mentioned. The writing was on the wall. So I got a new base air (but with 1tb HD) to hold me over until the 16 arrives.
The reason I got the 1tb is I will give to the wife who has a crazy large photo library and 512 was on the edge.
I got it yesterday and it’s working great. Size is an issue but I can put up with that for 5-9 months. So much faster than my 15

 

[MacManTexas56]

I'm trying to decide whether to max out an M1 MBA or MBP and try to make it last as long as possible, or get a base model and "trade up" to a specced out 14" or 16" ARM once they're available.

I'm in dire need of a new laptop. My 2012 MBA can no longer hold a charge, and seizes up when trying to handle medium tasks. I have a maxed out 2019 5K iMac for heavy tasks, but my work requires that I use a laptop fairly frequently.

Normally, I max out whatever model computer I get to future-proof it. For the first time, I'm considering going with the base model as a stopgap until the new models are available.

Anyone else doing this? If I were to get the very cheapest M1 MBA now, then trade in through Apple in June or October of 2021, does anyone have a rough estimate of how much they'd offer? I really want a theoretically more powerful 14" or 16," but I need a laptop yesterday, so I'm trying to game out my options....

if you haven't upgraded since 2012, I doubt you'll upgrade again so soon after getting an M1.....