M1 MacBook Air & Intel MacBook Pro Dilemma

[symphony]

I own the 16” Intel MacBook Pro & bought the M1 MacBook Air in hopes of having enough to earn back what I sell my 16” MBP for, and have some extra cash to go towards a desktop iMac Pro. The device I will always use at home.

the reason I downgraded was because I just wanted a laptop dedicated for school. And my 16” seems unwieldy and heavy. I also stopped using it because I have an M1 Mac mini & I learned desktops are more superior since there’s so much free space. I also own an iPad Pro and makes my MBP redundant. Not to mention it’s Intel… it gets hot and I wanted better battery for school.

but now I just think that no one will buy my MBP because it’s an Intel. I haven’t found a buyer yet either. And what’s holding me back is the screen size, the Air is too small, which I really shouldn’t care since this was supposed to be just a computer for school.

what do you guys think? Do you think no one will buy my MBP? Should I just stick with the 16” for school because of screen size and great specs (besides the processor) when compared to my baseline MBA?

I can’t make up my mind. At the end of the day it’s supposed to just be a school computer. I don’t intend on getting the newer MBP with the supposed 14”. I wanted something cheap just for school. But I already own a good computer, I just wanted to earn some extra money to go to an iMac. But I feel like no one will buy my MBP. I won’t be earning much from Apple’s trade in either. I love the compactness of the MBA, but the MBP screen is so much more better.

 

[Serban55]

The device I will always use at home.

If you already have m1 mac mini...you should sell your Intel one..ofc the value will drop if you wait until the new 16" to drop this year

 

[leman]

All I can tell you that if you plan to sell your 16", you'd better do it ASAP. Once the new prosumer laptops are announced (and there is a good chance it will happen within a month), the value of the Intel Macs will plummet rapidly.

 

[symphony]

All I can tell you that if you plan to sell your 16", you'd better do it ASAP. Once the new prosumer laptops are announced (and there is a good chance it will happen within a month), the value of the Intel Macs will plummet rapidly.

I think they already have… I have like zero offers. Whereas I had plenty last year with my 2016 15 inch…

 

[jdb8167]

I think they already have… I have like zero offers. Whereas I had plenty last year with my 2016 15 inch…

Decluttr.com will give you $1260 for a 2019 16” i7 MBP with 32 GB. You didn’t specify so I went with moderate specs (for a 16”). That might be the best you can do if you can’t find someone to buy it.

 

[za9ra22]

If you benefit from having a 'school computer' then the portability of the M1 MBA is pretty much unbeatable, and while the 13-inch screen may look a bit small, part of that is because you're also routinely looking at and comparing it to the 16-inch.

I move several times each day between a 27-inch iMac (soon to be 24) and 13-inch MBA, and the first thing I discovered is that they need radically different workflows to get the best out of both of them.

So, for what its worth, my advice would be to sell the 16-inch MBP, simply because based on what you say about it, it is not the portable you need. And yes, being an Intel system the value of it will be dropping, but if the people who post on MacRumors are anything to go by (which I doubt, personally, but that's the cynic in me) there will be a market for Intel devices for a while yet - though not necessarily at the price you'd prefer as a seller.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I think they already have… I have like zero offers. Whereas I had plenty last year with my 2016 15 inch…

Maybe your asking price is too high. Consider selling to Macmeanoffer.com Very good people to do business with.

 

[thekev]

I think they already have… I have like zero offers. Whereas I had plenty last year with my 2016 15 inch…

They're going to drop a lot more within a few months of the new ones hitting, particularly on that one. Most of the people buying the large ones probably buy them for work reasons. Those guys are going to heavily skew in favor of the newer ones at this point, since they have been out just long enough and there doesn't seem to be a major lag in software compatibility.

 

[symphony]

If you benefit from having a 'school computer' then the portability of the M1 MBA is pretty much unbeatable, and while the 13-inch screen may look a bit small, part of that is because you're also routinely looking at and comparing it to the 16-inch.

I move several times each day between a 27-inch iMac (soon to be 24) and 13-inch MBA, and the first thing I discovered is that they need radically different workflows to get the best out of both of them.

So, for what its worth, my advice would be to sell the 16-inch MBP, simply because based on what you say about it, it is not the portable you need. And yes, being an Intel system the value of it will be dropping, but if the people who post on MacRumors are anything to go by (which I doubt, personally, but that's the cynic in me) there will be a market for Intel devices for a while yet - though not necessarily at the price you'd prefer as a seller.

I agree. I really really wanna sell my MBP, I hate having to carry heavy textbooks and a computer around. No ones buying it, my mom might pity buy it for me if I don’t sell it.

Maybe your asking price is too high. Consider selling to Macmeanoffer.com Very good people to do business with.

what’s a good price? Currently it’s $1900. Barely used and absolootely no damages. Not even any debris under the keyboard or marks on the keyboard from normal use

They're going to drop a lot more within a few months of the new ones hitting, particularly on that one. Most of the people buying the large ones probably buy them for work reasons. Those guys are going to heavily skew in favor of the newer ones at this point, since they have been out just long enough and there doesn't seem to be a major lag in software compatibility.

typically I get so much more from selling to someone than using Apples trade in. It sucks I closed to get a MBP last year at Feb, only for them to announce M1 at June WWDC

 

[ascender]

I still think eBay is the best place to sell laptops if you want to get the best offer as the audience is so big. Ideally wait for a promo weekend where its free-£3 max listing fees and get it on there. It will definitely sell.

 

[thekev]

typically I get so much more from selling to someone than using Apples trade in. It sucks I closed to get a MBP last year at Feb, only for them to announce M1 at June WWDC

I understand that, but it's always a risk. I always encourage people to buy what they need and not hedge too much on resale value, because it's not entirely reliable. I would end up with 16GB/512 on any model today, simply because anything less is difficult to impossible for me to use on some things today. Those upgrades tend to depreciate harder than base models though, due to Apple's markup. The upgraded models often see deeper discounts than base models around Black Friday and on refurbished units.

 

[Gregintosh]

I sold my 2017 15 inch with 1TB and upgraded graphics (which I paid $3k for) for about $1200 last November and got the M1 pro. Already as I was selling a few people pointed out the M1's and tried to low ball.

While the value will always drop as new stuff comes out, I think the Intel models have dropped a bit more/the M1's are kinda getting factored into the pricing and interest even today.

My advice is if it is possible to sell now you should do so, don't wait.

If you are really going to remain in the home only, I would get the iMac over a laptop. If I didn't have travel needs, I would go iMac in a heartbeat. The extra screen size is going to be way more comfortable.

 

[ADGrant]

I suspect the price of late model used Intel Macs might recover a bit once Apple no longer sells Intel Macs. Right now with everyone upgrading, there is a glut of Intel Macs on the Market.

 

[Gregintosh]

I suspect the price of late model used Intel Macs might recover a bit once Apple no longer sells Intel Macs. Right now with everyone upgrading, there is a glut of Intel Macs on the Market.

That does normally happen with iPhones and other products. When new ones launch there’s a rush to upgrade and the market is flooded. Then the prices creep up a bit, but only a bit.

I think this time it won’t be the case though or it’ll be very short lived. Because the change is so massive and even lower end units will vastly outperform the high end late Intel Macs, it won’t make cost sense to pay more for worse performance.

If the M1X turns out to be 50% faster than M1 (possible since new products often leap upwards fast at first before they settle into gradual improvements), even base level units will outperform the highest end ones of Intel.

And when next year M2 comes and even base level Airs at $999 will perform better (in multi core since they already perform better in single core!) or almost as good as $3500 Pros from Intel, the value will plummet even more.

People with the entry level or cheaper Intel Macs will lose less value percentage wise than high end users. That’s because there’s some floor price for sure. But high end unit owners are royally screwed.

 

[jdb8167]

People with the entry level or cheaper Intel Macs will lose less value percentage wise than high end users. That’s because there’s some floor price for sure. But high end unit owners are royally screwed.

I think that the slow progress of Intel Macs over the last few years has kept the resale artificially high. If I can buy a used 3 year old Mac that is only 15% slower than the current model, then as long as it is in good shape, the value is much closer to the current model. The value of extra storage and RAM is probably higher too since performance is so close. Now with the Apple Silicon Macs, performance of last year's Mac is 50% slower or maybe more making extras less valuable if the main feature you are buying is CPU & GPU performance.

Right now, if you have a Mac with a decent discrete GPU, your best bet would be to promote the performance difference compared to the M1 integrated GPU because the CPU speed is not going to be impressive even compared to an i9 16" MBP.

 

[thekev]

I suspect the price of late model used Intel Macs might recover a bit once Apple no longer sells Intel Macs. Right now with everyone upgrading, there is a glut of Intel Macs on the Market.

Only if people need to run software that won't be supported on the new ones. Otherwise the natural depreciation beyond that point might just keep it steady.

I sold my 2017 15 inch with 1TB and upgraded graphics (which I paid $3k for) for about $1200 last November and got the M1 pro. Already as I was selling a few people pointed out the M1's and tried to low ball.

If it was around 3 years old, this hardly seems that far off, given that it has probably seen significant use during that time, and you were around halfway through the typically supported time (5 years past model replacement). If people really pay closer to 60% on something of that age, they're paying too much, given the higher risk of being out of warranty and well into the device's life.

 

[roxygal9]

So I have the 16 MPB with 1 TB SSD, and I love this device. You should consider keeping it if you aren't going to get your money's worth from it. It will also a ling time, and is a great computer. I love the screen size and the battery life is really good when not used for Zoom calls or browsing with Chrome. I had left Mac for a few years as I didn't like the butterfly keyboards. Having said that, I just ordered a M1 MacBook Pro to accompany the 16 inch. With almost double the battery life and a slightly smaller form factor, I am willing to try it for those days Im on the go more.

Does anyone else have both sizes and/or intel and M1 devices? Do you think it is overkill? Does macOS sync as well as iOS on different devices? Appreciate the feedback.