Let's talk about Intel MacBook Pro and buying them in 2025

[Aoligei]

TLDR: I think there are still plenty of life left with Intel Mac and if one is looking to purchase an Mac on a budget, Intel MacBook Pros are still offers values that can't be matched by Apple Silicon Macs.

So the writing is on the wall now, macOS Tahoe is the last release for Intel and Apple is done with Apple. Whether or not this is good thing or if Apple dropped Intel too soon, it is up to debate and I don't think there will ever be agreement. So this left two questions:

1. Should Intel MacBook Pro users abandon ship and upgrade.
2. Should anyone purchase Intel MacBook right now.

I have every generation of Intel MacBook Pro from 2009 with exception of 2018 and 2020 version. For Apple Silicon Macs, I have M1 MacBook Pro, M1 MacBook Air, M2 MacBook Air, M1, M2 and M3 Mac mini. So I have plenty experiences with Intel Mac and Apple Silicon Macs.

So let's talk about the two questions, at least in my opinion:

1. Should Intel MacBook Pro users abandon ship and upgrade?

The short answer is yes, if you have the budgets. Apple Silicon MacBook Pro offers better performance than Intel MacBooks and it runs much cooler, battery life is certainly better than Apple Silicon MacBook Pro.

But it doesn't mean that every Intel MacBook Pro users should just throw their MacBook Pro and shell out for Apple Silicon MacBook Pros. I am typing this on an 2017 MacBook Pro 15" with Core i7 Processor, 16GB of RAM, 500GB of SSD, brand new battery for little over $250USD. I am able to install macOS Sequoia with OCLP, run BlackMagic davinci resolve for video editing, doing office work, enjoying movies or TV shows without any issues.

In opinion, for Intel MacBook Pro users, if don't need the most updated Mac or your workflow is fine with Intel MacBook Pro, I don't think upgrading Apple Silicon Mac would dramatically improve your experience in meaningful manner (maybe battery life is better). But if you have the budget and/or your workflow requires more powerful hardwares, then by all means upgrade.

Let's talk about support.

I have macOS Sequoia installed on all MacBook Pro from 2013 onwards. I can honestly say, Sequoia runs perfectly fine. This is meanly due to insignificant performance uplifting from Intel's Haswell to Coffee Lake processor. OCLP is very straight forward and requires very minimum amount of maintaining. So for most Intel MacBook Pro users (expect 2019 16" and 13" wth four Thunderbolt ports), there are two more years of software support.

2. Should anyone purchase Intel Macs

Lots of people in this forum or reddit think purchasing Intel Mac in 2025 is not a good idea and they are probably have point. M1 MacBook Air or M1 MacBook Pros have became cheaper in 2025 and some 16" M1 MacBook Pro are less than $1000 USD on eBay. You would be right, for the same amount of money, you should choose Apple Silicon MacBook over Intel.

But it doesn't mean Intel MacBook Pro aren't worth to purchase. Depends on your usage, some 2016-2018 MacBook Pro were selling less than $300 and for regular users, these laptop are sufficient enough for everyday usage.

Intel MacBook Pros also provides more flexibility than Apple Silicon MacBook Pros. Older Intel MacBooks from Retina generations to TouchBar generation, are all compatible with EFI. So installing Windows on these machine is pretty easy. Booting of Linux distribution is also possible. So these machines are cheap enough for kids, regular people who are not need lots of computing needs, or simply looking for a cheap Mac.

But keep in mind, no-one should go buy Unibody MacBook Pros (2009-2012, non-retina), as these machines are very old. Sonoma and Sequoia aren't work well with these machines.

So, as most people in this forum are transition away from Intel MacBook Pros, I still hold on lots of my Intel MacBook Pros. I think there are lots of usefulness and you can do lot with these Intel MacBook Pros.

 

[russell_314]

I think it depends on what you need. If you’re just browsing the web and battery life isn’t an issue then an Intel Mac will work.

As to should someone buy one now? Unless it’s like $200 I would have a hard time recommending buying an Intel Mac for practical purpose. For nostalgia, it’s whatever.

 

[Aoligei]

I think it depends on what you need. If you’re just browsing the web and battery life isn’t an issue then an Intel Mac will work.

As to should someone buy one now? Unless it’s like $200 I would have a hard time recommending buying an Intel Mac for practical purpose. For nostalgia, it’s whatever.

I recently purchased a 16” MacBook Pro with Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB storage for about $650CAD, roughly $470USD.

Considering I am looking for 16” laptop, and 16” M1 MacBook Pro is well over $1300CAD, I think the Intel 16” is well worth the price. Sure, one could buy M1 MacBook Air or M1 Pro for similar amount of money, but the 16” Intel MacBook Pro offers better experiences.

Plus, it will get support from Apple for next 3 years, just not new macOS version.

 

[eyoungren]

My price range to upgrade at any particular time maxes out at around $200. It works out because by the time my current primary Mac can no longer be cajoled to work through workarounds or alternatives, a Mac new enough to continue with current versions of software, etc falls in to my price range.

I was PowerPC from 2001 to 2020, and from 2020 to now I've been solidly Intel. There are two 2015 MBPs in my house, one work issued and the other my wife's. I put Sonoma on it and it works just fine for what she needs. Of my own Macs, my youngest is a 2011 MacBook Air. I anticipate newer Intel MBPs in the next couple years until the first of the M1s fall into my $200 price range.

 

[avz]

The budget will be a deciding factor for most people especially if the rumors of a looming economic crisis within the next 50 days or so are correct.

Recently my 13" M1 MBP(2020) became a brick and requires a Configurator revive/restore. So the downside of having Apple Silicon is that you always must have another recent Mac/official Apple store nearby that will allow you to use Configurator.

My Late 2008 unibody MacBook on the other hand is still going strong so the appreciation for the early Intel Macs can never be overstated.

 

[p33t3r]

I realize that mine is a small use case, but the Intel macs are also the only viable option for those of us who need access to Windows-only programs, especially old ones that won't run on ARM Windows. In that case an Intel mac with Fusion or Parallells (or Bootcamp for that matter) is your only alternative to buying both a (new) Mac and an (old) PC.

I'm very happy with my 2020 four TB MBP and plan to use it for as long as I possibly can, and hopefully by then I can emulate Windows XP at usable speeds on a new M-series Mac.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Obviously Intel Macs are quite capable machines… the fact is that M1 and later are notable for doing everything so much more efficiently in comparison. Even if you ignore the fact that Tahoe (or some earlier version) is a “hard ceiling,” the fact is that an Apple Silicon Mac can do anything an Intel can*, only better.

Keep in mind the known keyboard issues that plagued a lot of the later Intel MacBooks. I ran into it on a company-owned 2017 Pro, which of course was swapped out by my employer so never an issue I had to deal with. I did NOT run into any issues with a 2016 MacBook 12” or three MacBook Airs in the family of similar vintage; all worked fine until replaced by Apple Silicon for other reasons. Avoiding that issue could push you back to early Intel where the technological disparity is even greater.

So - the ONLY way it makes sense is on an extremely limited budget. Under $200, fine. Under $500, you’d better have a VERY good reason. Anything more is just throwing good money away.

* The exception, as mentioned, is Windoze. I also have Windoze apps that I must use to support some hardware I have. When I lost Boot Camp I tried using Windows for ARM and while it “worked”… updates were a hassle every time I updated macOS. My Windoze use is VERY limited (once every few months) so my solution was a $179 Lenovo refurb. But if you have more frequent needs than I do, your decision matrix is different than mine.

 

[chrono1081]

>TLDR: I think there are still plenty of life left with Intel Mac and if one is looking to purchase an Mac on a budget, Intel MacBook Pros are still offers values that can't be matched by Apple Silicon Macs.

Hard disagree. The jump from Intel to M1 is enormous, utterly enormous. There is literally no good reason to get an Intel Mac unless you have some very unique use cases. You're throwing money away for a vastly inferior machine with far worse battery life and performance.

 

[Fishrrman]

If you have an Intel-based Mac that's still working for you... just keep using it.

However...
If you NEED another Mac (for whatever reason), DON'T get an Intel Mac now. Get an m-series Mac instead.

M-series is "the future".
Intel -- at least in Macs -- is now "the past".
(then again, some folks want to STAY in "the past"...)

 

[IJustWannaTalk]

Yeah, I wouldn't buy an Intel Mac right now unless I absolutely needed Boot Camp or some other non-compatible software. The M-series chips are so much more efficient and more powerful.


Curious though, OP...what is it that you do with so many machines?

 

[RashyIsBackV2]

I think there are still plenty of life left with Intel Mac

I don't think so. Certainly not 'plenty'.

Intel MacBook Pros are still offers values that can't be matched by Apple Silicon Macs.

I don't think so either. Why buying an outdated, hot running device with inferior battery life (probably further degraded by usage), limited features and upcoming end of support, when you can get M1 devices for cheap, which run much better?

It's 2025. Rather than buying an Intel Mac now, I would rather look how to get rid of it asap, before they lose on value even further. We are approaching the 5th generation of M-chips soon. It's time to abandon the Mac x86-ship, for good.

The 16" Intel is probably the only semi-exception I would do, as its affordable, has a good dGPU and can run bootcamp, which might be needed for some people. The 2020 iMac with 5500XT/5700 GPU was also good. But for the rest... nah. The 13" devices with their Intel iGPUs were always garbage, while the Intel Mac Pro was way too expensive, and any M2 Ultra Studio smokes it.

 

[SevenTheGamingKitty]

As to should someone buy one now? Unless it’s like $200 I would have a hard time recommending buying an Intel Mac for practical purpose. For nostalgia, it’s whatever.

Is this attempting to say "If it's cheap"? I don't think it's that hard to get an intel Mac for relatively cheap compared to others, I got mine for around $70.

 

[SevenTheGamingKitty]

I don't think so either. Why buying an outdated, hot running device with inferior battery life (probably further degraded by usage), limited features and upcoming end of support, when you can get M1 devices for cheap, which run much better?

I'm personally of the opinion that apple just sabotages older Macs. My MBP was on MacOS Catalina and was extremely slow until I reinstalled OS X Mountain Lion, and it ran way faster.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I have both, having bought an M2 MBP with 96 [max available] GB RAM when my 2016 MBP with 16 [max available] GB RAM just became too slow and unsmooth for my workflow due to RAM limitations.

Both MBPs work [the Intel MBP unacceptably poor for my multitasking], but the M2 MBP is so superior that I find that I never use the Intel box any more, even though it often would be more convenient.

So sure, buy an Intel if it is dirt cheap and/or one requires Boot Camp. But if finances forced cheap, other than some Win requirement personally I would go with lower end M-series MBA display, speakers and performance rather than buying a deprecated or soon to be deprecated Intel MBP. Just my $0.02.

Edit: In reality 2025 I would not go MBA, I would search for a bargain M1 or M2 MBP.

 

[anshuvorty]

TLDR: I think there are still plenty of life left with Intel Mac and if one is looking to purchase an Mac on a budget, Intel MacBook Pros are still offers values that can't be matched by Apple Silicon Macs.

I'm sorry, but the entry level Mac mini at 599 (499 for EDU) is hard to beat in terms of priceerformance. It is an insane value that can't be matched, even with Intel Macs.

Your premise doesn't hold any weight, IMHO...

 

[eRondeau]

I have an embarrassing number of old PPC & Intel Mac’s, almost all of which still run perfectly well. I note that ca. 2022 OS X 10.11.6 “El Capitan” (from 2015) stopped working on many websites because its Safari/Webkit didn’t support modern web standards. Yes there are always workarounds, but for casual users the inability to render popular websites properly is a showstopper. So on one hand yes the old El Capitan machine boots and runs, but on the other hand you can’t reliably go online with it. While maintaining old Macs can be a fun hobby, eventually they’ll hit their end-of-life… practically speaking. And that seems to happen in the 8-10 year age range. YMMV.

 

[conmee]

I have both 2019 15" and 2020 16" Intel MacBook Pros. With the 16", I'll run it for three more years until security updates for Tahoe end, then look to buy an M7 or whatever is new at that time. I still run a number of Win10/Win11 Parallels VMs for work (and XP for vintage gaming). If I didn't have a need for x86 VMs, I would move to Apple Silicon today. I don't think Intel MacBooks are a good value unless you really need VMs or Bootcamp like me (and even then, most are better off just getting a cheap PC for x86 - I just happen to like being able to easily swipe between Win10/11 and MacOS desktops on a single machine - but even when I eventually move to Apple Silicon, I'll have a ThinkPad running x86 if I still need it and use Remote Desktop from the Mac). So unless you are collecting old hardware or have a niche use case, I wouldn't go with Intel MacBooks even if you're just browsing and email (if you prefer MacOS just get a new or refurb Apple Silicon Mac and if you don't care then get a new cheap PC).

 

[azpekt]

Answers to your questions:

1. Yes
2. No

Have a nice day!

 

[winxmac]

If you want to run Windows and macOS on the same machine and not using Parallels or any other VM solution, intel is the only way.

If you want to go beyond what your intel powered mac is capable of while still keeping it, OCLP is the answer.

I have my 15" MacBook Pro 2015 still running macOS 10.15 Catalina and I don't see the point in going beyond that since the performance will be worse even though it is no longer supported. Once I have the purchasing power, I may switch over to an Apple silicon powered mac in the future.

 

[G5isAlive]

Calling an Intel Mac in 2025 a 'good value' strikes me as 'penny wise pound foolish.' Sure, with effort you can make one work today, but it's remaining lifetime is very short unless you really like fiddling with your computers rather than use them. So you can save some money today, but you're just postponing tomorrow. Better to spend the money for a longer remaining lifetime... and you can find good used M series machines.

 

[Aoligei]

Calling an Intel Mac in 2025 a 'good value' strikes me as 'penny wise pound foolish.' Sure, with effort you can make one work today, but it's remaining lifetime is very short unless you really like fiddling with your computers rather than use them. So you can save some money today, but you're just postponing tomorrow. Better to spend the money for a longer remaining lifetime... and you can find good used M series machines.

Maybe true. But not everyone can afford to spend top dollars on M series machine.

For me, fortunately, I got bunch of M series machine, but I can tell lots people aren’t able to drop more or not willing to drop top dollars.

The cheapest 16” MacBook with M1 chip cost well over $1500 here in Canada, if you include taxes, shipping cost. Where you can buy an 16” Intel MacBook Pro for half or more than half the cost.

Take M1 MacBook Air for example, there aren’t any, less than $650 Canadian, where you can get an 2020 or 2019 MacBook Pro for half of MacBook Air.

Yes, I do believe if anyone has the budget to buy Apple Silicon Mac, then they should. But you cannot discount Intel Mac for being worthless.

 

[Aoligei]

I'm sorry, but the entry level Mac mini at 599 (499 for EDU) is hard to beat in terms of priceerformance. It is an insane value that can't be matched, even with Intel Macs.

Your premise doesn't hold any weight, IMHO...

Probably, but you can’t compare Mac Mini with laptop, they serve different purpose.

For $599, you would also need to add cost of monitor, keyboard, mouse etc into account isn’t it. Also, if you need more than merely 250GB, the cost added way up.

You can literally found Intel laptops with 16GB RAM, 500GB-1TB with relative cheaper price. You simply cannot found Apple Silicon Mac with 16GB, 500GB or more within these price target.

 

[snakes-]

A Girlfriend running my old 2016 Macbook pro 16GB/512. Still runs fine, the only disadvantage is the old operating system, Monterey. But the machine fits her needs.
The m series is worth every penny, even you must wait a month longe to afford it. Dont make the mistake i have made and buy 8/256 the best combo is 16/512

 

[G5isAlive]

Maybe true. But not everyone can afford to spend top dollars on M series machine.

For me, fortunately, I got bunch of M series machine, but I can tell lots people aren’t able to drop more or not willing to drop top dollars.

The cheapest 16” MacBook with M1 chip cost well over $1500 here in Canada, if you include taxes, shipping cost. Where you can buy an 16” Intel MacBook Pro for half or more than half the cost.

Take M1 MacBook Air for example, there aren’t any, less than $650 Canadian, where you can get an 2020 or 2019 MacBook Pro for half of MacBook Air.

Yes, I do believe if anyone has the budget to buy Apple Silicon Mac, then they should. But you cannot discount Intel Mac for being worthless.

You keep making the same argument over and over. An old used Intel Mac is cheaper than a new Silicon Mac. No debate there.

You say top dollar, I was talking about smart spending. You can buy a refurbished M1 MacBook Pro on Amazon right now for $500. Sure you can 'save' maybe $200 by finding an old Intel Mac, but where will you be in a couple of years? Spending another $300 on another old Mac ... or... happily using the M1. Sorry, that's where the smart money is.

Continuing to be penny wise is continuing to not save in the long run.

But yes, an old used Intel Mac is cheaper.

 

[Aoligei]

You keep making the same argument over and over. An old used Intel Mac is cheaper than a new Silicon Mac. No debate there.

You say top dollar, I was talking about smart spending. You can buy a refurbished M1 MacBook Pro on Amazon right now for $500. Sure you can 'save' maybe $200 by finding an old Intel Mac, but where will you be in a couple of years? Spending another $300 on another old Mac ... or... happily using the M1. Sorry, that's where the smart money is.

Continuing to be penny wise is continuing to not save in the long run.

But yes, an old used Intel Mac is cheaper.

M1 will probably be out of date next year, which would be the 6th year. Apple seems to drop Mac hardware within 6-7 mark. Even if M1 gets macOS 27, chances for M1 MacBook/Air being dropped in 2027 is very high. So M1 gets other 2-3 years of support from Apple.

So in theory, $500 MacBook Pro on Amazon, let’s assume in perfect condition, you are buying a laptop with 2-3 years left. And you most likely looking at 8+256GB, the entry level.

2020 Intel MacBook probably have similar support timeframe, and finding 16+500GB way less than M1 MacBook Pro isn’t hard.