Have a 14" Pro and don't plan on buying a new Mac until after the next Presidential Inauguration.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is m1 MacBook Pro 14 already “outdated” to be bought now?
- Thread starter Observerxx
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I stock up foods in my fridge and cabinets.
Rugged is probably the wrong word because most people understand not to drop their batteries or do anything that could physically damage it through force. I meant that batteries are much more fragile than most people realize and just because you're not causing blunt force trauma to your battery, doesn't mean that you're not running it hard. People don't realize that batteries are rather prone to the elements.
A few years ago, I bought an old stock MBA from B&H for an absurdly low price. It looked pristine physically, but was DOA. A quick search on MacRumors revealed other people who bought into that deal with the same experience. They got a beautiful new MBA that looked indistinguishable from any other unit, but wouldn't turn on. Rumor has it that B&H stored a palette of MBA's in poor conditions for 2 years, exposing it to elevated heat 24/7, which would explain why that batch of MBA's had such a high failure rate.
People interested in Alder Lake should buy a pc now that is fresh in the market.
It is not difficult to understand the meaning of the thread: is M1pro going to be replaced soon or next year?
If you like to buy a full price product with the incoming iteration good for you.
I’m giving value to my money so I’d like to ask.
You're being a bit obstinate here but i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and break it down for you...
1. The M1 Pro/Max are in no way "outdated" as evidenced by their excellent performance/battery life and the Mac Studio just being announced with the exact same chips (Apple isn't going to release laptops that embarrass the Mac Studio a few months after release)
2. The replacement for the M1 Pro/Max (the M2 Pro/Max) isn't coming until (likely late) Fall 2022 at the earliest)
3. The M2 will most likely be introduced in the lower end machines first, the MacBook Air/Mac Mini.
4. The "base" M2 featured in these Macs will likely at best trade blows with the base M1 Pro in some limited scenarios as it will have:
4a. An updated CPU and GPU design but fewer (P) cores and GPU cores
4b. Waaaaaaay less memory bandwidth even if it doubles the base M1 (M1 has 68.25GB/s M1 Pro is 200GB/s M1 Max is 400GB/s)
4c. Less thermal headroom (than the MBP)
4d. No media engine (or at best a media engine that matches the base M1 Pro)
TLDR - The M1 Pro/Max MBP are smack dab in the middle of their life cycle. Neither brand new, nor on the verge of being replaced. If you can wait until the end of the year then by all means do so. If you have to have the latest and greatest and can wait. Wait. If you need something now the 14" MBP (Pro or Max) will serve you well)
I agree with @Malus120 here and whilst we see this kind of question all-too-often this is the first time I have ever seen the word 'obsolete' used when a screaming new product line has not even finished its initial launch!
Many are still waiting for an M1 Studio (Max) to be delivered having ordered BTOs at launch and the M1 mini (Pro) and the M1 Mac Pro (Max/Ultra/Ultrax2) are still glints in Tim's eyes.
So yeah, I'm pretty stunned that you opened this thread and then failed to open your mind when the answers came back.
Many are still waiting for an M1 Studio (Max) to be delivered having ordered BTOs at launch and the M1 mini (Pro) and the M1 Mac Pro (Max/Ultra/Ultrax2) are still glints in Tim's eyes.
So yeah, I'm pretty stunned that you opened this thread and then failed to open your mind when the answers came back.
There is nothing outdated about the 14" MBP. The M2 will not change that or outperform it. The M2 looks, by all rumors, to be a mild upgrade performance wise to the M1 (not the M1 Pro or M1 Max).
A very successful attention getter. I know I have helped it too - 5 pages and counting.I agree with @Malus120 here and whilst we see this kind of question all-too-often this is the first time I have ever seen the word 'obsolete' used when a screaming new product line has not even finished its initial launch!
Many are still waiting for an M1 Studio (Max) to be delivered having ordered BTOs at launch and the M1 mini (Pro) and the M1 Mac Pro (Max/Ultra/Ultrax2) are still glints in Tim's eyes.
So yeah, I'm pretty stunned that you opened this thread and then failed to open your mind when the answers came back.
A very successful attention getter. I know I have helped it too - 5 pages and counting.
@BigMcGuire - You think we have all been had by an attention troll?
You could be right but giving someone the benefit of the doubt helps keep the forum a little more friendly. It does wear a little thin by page 5 though, as you have noted.
[edit: following a quick check of posting history]
Looks like we have someone who will definitely not be a user exploring the very margins of the performance delta between an M1 Pro-equiped MBP14 and any potential future M2 Pro.
I've been had by a troll; wonderful.
☕️
Such as?
It's an A14 on steroids. Which isn't 7 years old. This information is publicly available.
If its a 7 year old design and getting the performance it is, how far behind is everyone else?
?
It's the best overall laptop that money can buy. Will it be surpassed by another generation in the next 6-12 months that's ~20% faster with slightly better battery life? Probably. But does that matter enough to you to wait until the next generation is released?
I would still definitely recommend it. It's only six months into its release cycle, which could very well be an 18 month cycle. It's phenomenal and I LOVE mine - don't wait if you want a laptop now.
I would still definitely recommend it. It's only six months into its release cycle, which could very well be an 18 month cycle. It's phenomenal and I LOVE mine - don't wait if you want a laptop now.
Outdated? The thing hasn't even been out for a Year?
The easiest way to answer is, do you need it now? Do you need a Mac specifically? If you don't need it now and you can wait however longer then there no point asking those types of questions.
The easiest way to answer is, do you need it now? Do you need a Mac specifically? If you don't need it now and you can wait however longer then there no point asking those types of questions.
The Samsungs had problems because of manufacturing problems. Their batteries were easy to short circuit because their design. That had nothing to do with swelling or them being Li Ion batteries.
Just to clarify things.
I’m sorry but I think you may need to improve your reading comprehension skills and, in general, in this forum everyone should relax a bit before spitting anger to new users.
However, I do appreciate every suggestion.
This “troll” is not going to buy the 14” because still not sure when M2 PRO (and not the vanilla M2) is going out. Not because of the iPhone (if you read carefully I wrote “for my NEW job”).
Have a nice day and take it easy. Bullying is bad even online.
Last edited:
But my memory is PERFECT. What were we on about again....??
You can intuit this using some basic logic, though. There was a lag between the M1 and the Pro/Max releases. The M2 base isn't out and likely wont be until fall. That puts the Pro in Spring 2023.
If you NEEDED the power of a Pro or Max, you'd be silly to wait an entire year. Thus you either don't, aren't sure what you'll need or are willing to live with an underspecced machine. Any of those are perfectly fine but worrying about tech being outdated is silly. Tech is always on the way to becoming outdated when the next thing is released. The question is whether it's the best choice for your needs when you're buying.
On how the forum treats new people.... you have a point but realize that we see a LOT of these kinds of questions and aside from fairly objective criteria, "what should I buy" threads of which this is a subtype, all really have the same answer - buy for what you'll need for the next 3-5 years and what you can afford.
You also keep asking "when is the M2 coming out" and "Is the M1 going to be replaces this or next year" and while we can give you informed speculation based on rumor and past experience, you're not getting a definitive answer because no one knows for sure. If you're really worried about the M2 being a big boost over the M1 and feeling that you'd be silly to buy now because you don't need a new machine ASAP, then wait. Just be aware that if the M2 Pro/max machines are really next Spring, you'll be waiting a year.
EDIT: "But what if they're all released at WWDC!?"
I doubt this since I imagine they'd want the Mac Pro announced first, but it's a reasonable question. The answer is as easy as it is obvious... WWDC is in 5 weeks. It's perfectly reasonable to wait a few weeks just in case. So, in your shoes, I'd wait until WWDC happens. IF they're released then, excellent. Now you know.
The thing is, as you approach the 12 month mark after a release it's always possible to say "I don't want to buy right now in case the new version is out shortly" The only way to avoid that is to buy right at or shortly after release.
Last edited:
Lemme call Tim, we'll know in a minute ?
Jokes aside, I'm 100% with @clevins here, over 5 pages, responses are kinda the same, based on ppl that follows the timelines and the rumours emerging. I also replied to you twice with similar information others gave you in a polite manner, but I can understand how others can be more irritated since this question is being answered in similar threads that are maybe a search away, that's a point of consideration.
It's very unlikely that M2 Pro pops out this year, but nobody except Tim Cook and the board of directors knows 100%. So don't expect us knowing it, and even if we knew, we couldn't tell.
And as many other ppl told you, myself included, even if it gets announced in WWDC, there are high chances that other computers will introduce M2 Pro before it hits the 14" ... and even if they do, they're having serious problems delivering first generation 14/16 and other products such as iPhone/iPad, and this is expected to remain also during Q3 and possibly Q4.
Need the M1 Pro power now? Get it now. That's what I'll do with all the data over the table we gave you, waiting 6 to 12 months to get a machine I'd need would be out of my mind, I needed it and I had to wait 2 months for a M1 Max, it was kinda harsh, not to mention I was a lucky bastard, if I had ordered 1 week later, my MBP would be stuck in Shanghai as many others are and expected to be delivered late June/early July.
Again, this is a forum regarding rumors, all we can do is guess so nobody has the absolute truth or knowledge of what will happen upon Apple's timeline/roadmap. Could we be wrong? Of course, but past data and other timelines can show us a hint of what to recommend you, and I think that's what most of the people did.
Good luck!
edit: spelling
Incidentally, if OP is wondering why i said Spring... it's because Apple has a schedule for events that they seem to hold to closely. These are:
Spring. Usually early April.
WWDC. First week of June. Rarely sees new hardware over the last several years.
Fall, split into two events:
September. New iPhone and other iOS related things.
October. New Macs and, if they didnt make it in the Sept event, sometimes iPads.
While they can do offcycle events, they rarely have . They won't announce new Macs at the September fall event, so they'll either announce at WWDC or, more likely October. They could update the entire Macbook line here, but the keys are the Air and Mini since they're older. If they don't announce Pro/Max updates here, those are Spring '23.
The thing is, the longer you wait, the closer to the next update you are. So, while it's reasonable to wait until WWDC, it's not reasonable to wait longer unless you're going to definitely wait until the M2 Pro release.
EDIT: Thing is, OP, I understand your thinking. I bought the M1 Air last fall. I was wonder if they'd update the Air in the spring and should I wait and... but I had a 2016 MBP and it was workable but getting long in the tooth. Even if I update this fall, I'll have had a better, productive machine for a year.
Spring. Usually early April.
WWDC. First week of June. Rarely sees new hardware over the last several years.
Fall, split into two events:
September. New iPhone and other iOS related things.
October. New Macs and, if they didnt make it in the Sept event, sometimes iPads.
While they can do offcycle events, they rarely have . They won't announce new Macs at the September fall event, so they'll either announce at WWDC or, more likely October. They could update the entire Macbook line here, but the keys are the Air and Mini since they're older. If they don't announce Pro/Max updates here, those are Spring '23.
The thing is, the longer you wait, the closer to the next update you are. So, while it's reasonable to wait until WWDC, it's not reasonable to wait longer unless you're going to definitely wait until the M2 Pro release.
EDIT: Thing is, OP, I understand your thinking. I bought the M1 Air last fall. I was wonder if they'd update the Air in the spring and should I wait and... but I had a 2016 MBP and it was workable but getting long in the tooth. Even if I update this fall, I'll have had a better, productive machine for a year.
Last edited:
This. It bears repeating. For all those expecting another sea-change like the M1 series has been, you'll wait forever maybe.
Intel to M1 series was the transformational leap. Going forward (for a long long time) we'll be back to incremental improvements.
This notion that you'll be 'missing out' by not waiting for an M2 is absolutely silly.
Last edited:
I can feel you, I purchased a refurb MBP 13" M1 16GB/512GB on early June 2021 right after WWDC ended and they didn't anounced the new MBP's we were expecting there, at least myself mainly for the 32GB RAM, but my MBP 2012 couldn't last any longer, so I got it. I thought due to the pandemic situation, maybe even neither at the Fall event they will present them.
Luckily they did, and also my GF had to renew its laptop short after the new MBP's emerged in October (the universe coincidences and maybe some hype from my side ?) so I took the bait and replaced finally the 2012 with the one it had meant to be and gave the M1 to her, but if that hadn't been the case, I will be holding that M1 for a couple years more, or at least, till memory usage was really on the verge due to VMs/Docker before thinking to swap it.
edit: Thing is I got it when I needed it, and even at that point, I waited a couple more months that I shouldn't have waited due to the "what if" so at the end as you say, I lost some previous time of that performance the M1 could offer me since the beginning but as John Lennon said "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans"
Last edited:
I am not repeating myself again. I have already said some issues. Rene Ritchie also stated while it’s on an A14 it has been in design for 7 years which explains why some stuff just isn’t there or as good as it could be.