Is m1 MacBook Pro 14 already “outdated” to be bought now?

[ian87w]

Good afternoon.
I was thinking about buying the mentioned MacBook Pro (10core version) but I was wondering if it si already outdated for a new buy.
I mean, isn’t M2 series supposed to come in few weeks with the new Air? The m2 pro should follow in few months.

If you don't need one, then wait. Why would you even think of buying one if you have this dilemma? Is it a need or just a want? Just wait.

But the next time Apple refresh the Macbook Pro, buy it right away at launch date. Don't wait months. That way you won't have this dilemma. Apple product announcement and release dates are clear during the keynote, so simply plan accordingly and buy the product at the launch date.

Depending on the logistics, it is possible that Apple would immediately refresh the Macbook Pro at the end of this year, probably October. The case redesign is already set, so it's just a matter of putting a new chip inside.

 

[throAU]

M series is absolutely amazing and disruptive.
Even the A series iPhone 13 pro SoC could be enough for a large number of people.
Talking about pure raw power new Alder Lake do represent quite a match but at a high cost of energy and temperature development (tried a i7 12700h notebook some days ago)

I worked from battery on my m1 pro all day yesterday (IT admin stuff, terminals, outlook, teams, browsers, etc.) and had 35-40% left.

No windows laptop will give me that.

 

[slplss]

They just reinvented the entire laptop like 6 months ago. The only thing they probably update from here on out are the internals (cpu/gpu bumps). I’d buy now otherwise you could be waiting 2-3 years or more for a new platform

Exactly, new chasis, new display, better than M1. What more would one need?

 

[Alfred.Woodden]

Isn’t the M-series on a two year cycle? iow no new mbp 14 for another 1.5 years.

 

[yabeweb]

Good afternoon.
I was thinking about buying the mentioned MacBook Pro (10core version) but I was wondering if it si already outdated for a new buy.
I mean, isn’t M2 series supposed to come in few weeks with the new Air? The m2 pro should follow in few months.

It's a great purchase and one I don't regret a bit, bought last month. I would say one of the best mac i have ever had (started in 2000 buying macs).
Io non mi farei il problema, è una gran macchina! Preso su Amazon a 300 euro in meno.

 

[throwaway572937]

Good afternoon.
I was thinking about buying the mentioned MacBook Pro (10core version) but I was wondering if it si already outdated for a new buy.
I mean, isn’t M2 series supposed to come in few weeks with the new Air? The m2 pro should follow in few months.

Keep in mind the base m2 is not supposed to be better than the m1 pro

There likely won’t be an m2 pro until next year.


now that Apple is in control of their timeline I think it’ll be more like iPads where it’s 1.5-2 years between updates

 

[Green Valkyrie]

Thank you for all the suggestions. Going asap to the shop and making my decision.
(Also aesthethic of the product is still in discussion. In my opinion is not the best Apple product)

I'm having to make the same decision as Apple do their damnedest to make my 2014 MBP obsolete after barely 7 years of ownership. First no Monterey, then no Xcode 13.3 (I'm managing to hack around that for now), now my second official Apple battery is swelling after less than 3 years and needs replacing. Harrumph.

I need portability so for me it's also likely to be an MBP but the 16 inch looks the better bet - bigger screen = less of the screen is the fugly notch. But I agree, compared to my current beauty of a device, they're an eyesore. I'm all for function over form, but form just got chucked out of the window with this iteration. Not just the notch, they're horribly chunky and the keyboard is horrible too. Still, like a car with a dent, I'm sure you get used to it after a while. A bit of beauty for £2,600 wouldn't have gone amiss though.

 

[BroTim52]

I just purchased the 16” version in silver and I have learned you can never get ahead of Apple and their yearly releases on their products so I would suggest get the computer you want and enjoy it for years. These M1 machines are awesome. Best wishes ?

 

[orionquest]

Shoot I must be in greybeard territory now, if the OP thinks a newly release M1 is outdated, what the heck am I doing in front of a 8 year old Haswell, and still get work done. I must be out of my mind.
Add in a 11" Air and 13" MBP from 2015 and they'd think I am nuts...?‍♂️

 

[Ethosik]

Indeed it isn't.

Well might be, but if I was betting I would put my money on October for anything M2.

Agreed. Announced at WWDC? Yes more than likely. Shipping? Not until fall.

 

[clevins]

I'm having to make the same decision as Apple do their damnedest to make my 2014 MBP obsolete after barely 7 years of ownership. First no Monterey, then no Xcode 13.3 (I'm managing to hack around that for now), now my second official Apple battery is swelling after less than 3 years and needs replacing. Harrumph.

I need portability so for me it's also likely to be an MBP but the 16 inch looks the better bet - bigger screen = less of the screen is the fugly notch. But I agree, compared to my current beauty of a device, they're an eyesore. I'm all for function over form, but form just got chucked out of the window with this iteration. Not just the notch, they're horribly chunky and the keyboard is horrible too. Still, like a car with a dent, I'm sure you get used to it after a while. A bit of beauty for £2,600 wouldn't have gone amiss though.

You're using a SEVEN YEAR OLD Mac. The Air will be more than enough for you as it will blow that away.

 

[playtech1]

The potential for an M2 2022 Air is probably the only thing worth holding back on a 14 inch MBP purchase for.

I think that M2 Air will scratch a very similar itch to the 14 inch MBP at a lower price.

 

[Bug-Creator]

Announced at WWDC? Yes more than likely. Shipping? Not until fall.

Announcing a consumer product months before release? Nah.

The only think "M2" we will hear at WWDC is if the MacPro SoC/CPU is build on the same cores as will be used in M2.

 

[Green Valkyrie]

You're using a SEVEN YEAR OLD Mac. The Air will be more than enough for you as it will blow that away.

Two ports though. No use when testing apps on a physical device.

 

[clevins]

Two ports though. No use when testing apps on a physical device.

Ah, sure. In your case I'd wait to see if an M2 Air addresses that or not. I'd bet on No, but assuming the new Air launches in the fall, it's worth hanging on for a bit longer.

 

[clevins]

Not getting in this debate every time I say this one sentence. If there are architectural differences it’s good for developers to be aware of them. It’s why M1 was announced at WWDC. It’s why pro machines have historically been announced at WWDC.

They're not annoucning the M2 and WWDC and then not shipping until fall. And no, devs generally don't need to know each time a chip is reved because for the vast majority, it doesn't matter whether a machine has an M1 vs an M2. They DID announce the AS transition there, but that's a technology announcement and is very different from a product announcement.

What I think we might well see at WWDC is the new Mac Pro. Announce that in June and ship 'this fall' would not be a surprise since it's the height of the line. lets them officially complete the AS transition and it's a small niche, so actual sales impact is tiny.

But they're not going to osborne their M1 line by saying "here are M2 Macbooks! You can't buy them for months, though!!". Historically, they just don't do that. In fact, they rarely announce a lot of new hardware at WWDC.

 

[Green Valkyrie]

Ah, sure. In your case I'd wait to see if an M2 Air addresses that or not. I'd bet on No, but assuming the new Air launches in the fall, it's worth hanging on for a bit longer.

Good shout.

The Air is a beautiful device and I have seriously considered it. I'm largely desk bound so the Mac Mini and Studio also come under consideration but as app development is a (currently unprofitable) side hustle I find myself developing on vacation enough to need portability.

Suspect I'll end up with the 16" MBP and just get used to the aesthetics.

 

[Green Valkyrie]

They're not annoucning the M2 and WWDC and then not shipping until fall. And no, devs generally don't need to know each time a chip is reved because for the vast majority, it doesn't matter whether a machine has an M1 vs an M2. They DID announce the AS transition there, but that's a technology announcement and is very different from a product announcement.

What I think we might well see at WWDC is the new Mac Pro. Announce that in June and ship 'this fall' would not be a surprise since it's both the height of the line and a small niche, so actual sales impact is tiny. But they're not going to osborne their M1 line by saying "here are M2 Macbooks! You can't buy them for months, though!!". Historically, they just don't do that. In fact, they rarely announce a lot of new hardware at WWDC.

Is that a typo or is there a verb "to osborne"? Genuine question!

 

[tlab]

Is that a typo or is there a verb "to osborne"? Genuine question!

Yes, see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

 

[Ethosik]

They're not annoucning the M2 and WWDC and then not shipping until fall.

Had this been confirmed? If not we are both guessing and I’m tired of people jumping on my back when we are ALL just guessing here. I think it will happen. You don’t. We will see.

 

[clevins]

Had this been confirmed? If not we are both guessing and I’m tired of people jumping on my back when we are ALL just guessing here. I think it will happen. You don’t. We will see.

Confirmed? No. But Apple simply does not have a history of announcing product updates and then not shipping for months.* It would also hurt sales while providing no advantage.

So, if you want to argue that this WILL happen, you need to provide some reasoning for why they will do something they almost never have done in the 20 years since Jobs came back. And I'm not jumping on you - but if you can't handle people disagreeing with you, a *discussion* forum might not be the place to post.

*They've occasionally done this for new products, most famously the iPhone and for technology transitions, like they did for the Intel transition and the Apple Silicon one. But they very rarely do it for updates within an existing line. IN fact, I can't think of an example of this.

 

[clevins]

Is that a typo or is there a verb "to osborne"? Genuine question!

Showing my age. There was a moderately successful company in the UK called Osborne Computers in the late 70s/early 80s. They were selling well, then announced a new, better version of their computer... but it woudnt be out for months. Sales of the current thing crashed, and it basically killed the company (it didnt help that the new thing wasn't very good).

After that 'osborning' was the mistake of announcing the new thing and drastically hurting the sales of your current thing because of the announcement.

Osborne Computer Corporation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ethosik]

Confirmed? No. But Apple simply does not have a history of announcing product updates and then not shipping for months. It would also hurt sales while providing no advantage.

So, if you want to argue that this WILL happen, you need to provide some reasoning for why they will do something they almost never have done in the 20 years since Jobs came back. And I'm not jumping on you - but if you can't handle people disagreeing with you, a *discussion* forum might not be the place to post.

I stated my reasons. This isnt established “Intel” or “A series iPhone” processors. If there are significant changes in the design developers prefer to know ahead of time. They have announced and shipped months later at WWDC before.

Once things mature we won’t see this happen. But right now? I say yes.

 

[clevins]

I stated my reasons. This isnt established “Intel” or “A series iPhone” processors. If there are significant changes in the design developers prefer to know ahead of time. They have announced and shipped months later at WWDC before.

Of course it's established. The M2 is an extension of the Apple Silicon line. It's not a new architecture. Do you seriously think each new processor in the AS line will be an architectural change?

 

[Ethosik]

Of course it's established. The M2 is an extension of the Apple Silicon line. It's not a new architecture. Do you seriously think each new processor in the AS line will be an architectural change?

It’s not established? It’s missing quite a bit of standard things since it’s based on the older iPhone and rumors have it that this is a 7 year old design.

As I said. Once things mature we won’t see this happen. But right now? I say yes. We still have Intel apple products available. Apple silicon is not 100% established yet. And the Mac Pro will not be M1 per Apple’s own words. Whether it’s M2 or W1 (for workstation or whatever they call it) remains to be seen. But it won’t be M1.