Help! Getting time to consider replacing my Early 2011 13" MacBook Pro

[rwh63]

bought new in 2011. has served me well for my needs. like having the ports and superdrive. even has thunderbolt 1!

however, a number of things are catching ip with it. both usb ports stopped working long ago, making transfers a challenge. software updates have stopped at high sierra, so safari is outdated. bluetooth a little flaky, keypad keys sometimes non-responsive, trackpad not responsive. some of this may be wear/tear, some dirtiness over more than a decade, or just malfunctioning. no airdrop on this model. 320 gb hard drive.

you get the drift. i like the Pro's, but prices are now running around $2k (this one was about $1k). i had been considering a mid-decade 13" or 15" (pre-keyboard fiasco). i believe the 2015 15" model, which kept getting produced for while, was a consideration, even though i'm happy at 13". i know about the Air. do like ports though, which are sparse on that model.

anyway, anyone with brilliant suggestions?

 

[barkomatic]

I'd consider a 2021 MBP which you can still get at a significant discount. That's still more expensive than what you paid for your 2011 MBP--but come on you bought that 12 years ago. Also, you pay more but you get more. You could also get any other Apple silicon Mac you can find. You'll regret it in a few years if you go with an old intel Mac.

 

[rwh63]

i don't like the flat form factor of the new laptops. and the screen metal feels a lot thinner than mine. i'll have to research the best 13 and 15 inch laptops pre-keyboard fiasco (when did that originate, 2017?).

 

[GMShadow]

Have you considered the 13" M1 or M2 MacBook Pro models, if you're fine with the 13" size? Those have four USB C ports at least (but no MagSafe).

The keyboards started in 2016 and continued up to 2020 - anything with a Magic Keyboard is fine.

The 2015 models are already out of support - Monterey was the last update for them, so they have limited security patches for two more years and then nothing.