My original plan was to wait until 2023 before I upgrade from my early 2015 MBP 13 inch. The fact is, I just can't wait that long for the type of Mac I wanted. Is it is a need or want? More of a want, since the current Mac I have works just fine.
There is some excitement for this new generation of Macs and a little trepidation, too. My original plan was to purchase a M1 Mac Mini and accessorise it with everything else. But the cost just started ballooning, so I took that decision off the table. My other option was the current generation Intel iMac, which might actually still be in the game depending on my test run at the Apple store and YouTube reviews. Its just that, I am locking myself into an EOL platform even though Apple promises years of macOS updates.
Also, with M series iMacs more than likely arriving before summer '21, it probably would make sense to wait and see what those look like. Although, I am suspecting Apple is holding out the redesigns for a couple years after. The iMac was really what I wanted, which is why I was going for the desktop setup with the Mac Mini thinking I could budget it cheaper.
Ultimately, rethought my decision and decided that a laptop would be a better choice. I have been a bit torn between do I downgrade to a Air in this generation or go with the Pro. The Pro ultimately won because the relatively small price difference. Since I would be paying for it over 12 months using my Apple card, I thought, might as well go with the Pro. But an attractive aspect of the Air that keeps eating at me is the fanless design. That in itself really brings it inline with the rest of my iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone.
But the nicer display on the Pro, studio quality mics and speakers, touch bar (yes, its a selling point) in addition to touch ID kinda seals the deal. On top of the 20 hour web browsing on battery life really make it enticing. I'm going with 512 GBs this time too, out of the 256 GBs remaining on my 2015 MBP, there is only 19 GBs. Thats exactly the same amount I understand the Big Sur install uses for all its various system partitions.
Another part of my need to upgrade sooner than originally planned 2023 is that, I need a more modern Mac while I keep the 2015 MBP on Mojave for the rest of its life. The reason why I'm doing that, I am not forsaking my Adobe CS6, yes, its kinda ridiculous. But I refuse to buy a Adobe CC subscription based on my needs. Also, I have been holding back my Apple device upgrades so they work better with Apples other devices. So, iOS 14 integration that might require the latest release of macOS, I am not getting it at the moment because my current Mac is a couple versions behind.
I do have a few Office 365 subs I bought at the MS company store on the cheap while I was able to go on campus. So, those will last me a few years, although I do plan to transition to iWork based on how limited my Office usage has been over the past year. I also plan to purchase Affinity Photo as my replacement for the Photoshop on my M1 Mac.
Its a big purchase for me; I haven't splurged on tech since spring 2018 when I bought my iPhone X, iPad Pro and the 2017 MBP for my brother. With the world economy suffering right now, its probably not something I really need to have and I probably could put the 1,400 in my investments, but seriously, I can't just live to eat, sleep, work, read Macrumors, watch MKBHD and iJustine have all the fun.
2023 will be three years from now and I'm sure, Apple will have 16 inch MBPs and 32 inch iMacs on M4 and they will super fast. By then, I will have a little more disposable income (hopefully, nothing is promised these days) saved up and I can start replacing more again.
There is some excitement for this new generation of Macs and a little trepidation, too. My original plan was to purchase a M1 Mac Mini and accessorise it with everything else. But the cost just started ballooning, so I took that decision off the table. My other option was the current generation Intel iMac, which might actually still be in the game depending on my test run at the Apple store and YouTube reviews. Its just that, I am locking myself into an EOL platform even though Apple promises years of macOS updates.
Also, with M series iMacs more than likely arriving before summer '21, it probably would make sense to wait and see what those look like. Although, I am suspecting Apple is holding out the redesigns for a couple years after. The iMac was really what I wanted, which is why I was going for the desktop setup with the Mac Mini thinking I could budget it cheaper.
Ultimately, rethought my decision and decided that a laptop would be a better choice. I have been a bit torn between do I downgrade to a Air in this generation or go with the Pro. The Pro ultimately won because the relatively small price difference. Since I would be paying for it over 12 months using my Apple card, I thought, might as well go with the Pro. But an attractive aspect of the Air that keeps eating at me is the fanless design. That in itself really brings it inline with the rest of my iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone.
But the nicer display on the Pro, studio quality mics and speakers, touch bar (yes, its a selling point) in addition to touch ID kinda seals the deal. On top of the 20 hour web browsing on battery life really make it enticing. I'm going with 512 GBs this time too, out of the 256 GBs remaining on my 2015 MBP, there is only 19 GBs. Thats exactly the same amount I understand the Big Sur install uses for all its various system partitions.
Another part of my need to upgrade sooner than originally planned 2023 is that, I need a more modern Mac while I keep the 2015 MBP on Mojave for the rest of its life. The reason why I'm doing that, I am not forsaking my Adobe CS6, yes, its kinda ridiculous. But I refuse to buy a Adobe CC subscription based on my needs. Also, I have been holding back my Apple device upgrades so they work better with Apples other devices. So, iOS 14 integration that might require the latest release of macOS, I am not getting it at the moment because my current Mac is a couple versions behind.
I do have a few Office 365 subs I bought at the MS company store on the cheap while I was able to go on campus. So, those will last me a few years, although I do plan to transition to iWork based on how limited my Office usage has been over the past year. I also plan to purchase Affinity Photo as my replacement for the Photoshop on my M1 Mac.
Its a big purchase for me; I haven't splurged on tech since spring 2018 when I bought my iPhone X, iPad Pro and the 2017 MBP for my brother. With the world economy suffering right now, its probably not something I really need to have and I probably could put the 1,400 in my investments, but seriously, I can't just live to eat, sleep, work, read Macrumors, watch MKBHD and iJustine have all the fun.
2023 will be three years from now and I'm sure, Apple will have 16 inch MBPs and 32 inch iMacs on M4 and they will super fast. By then, I will have a little more disposable income (hopefully, nothing is promised these days) saved up and I can start replacing more again.
