You shouldn't upgrade. Sure, buy whatever you want if you have the money and you like it but, come on, you 2019 does all of that perfectly well.
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Need honest advice, should I upgrade to the 14" MacBook Pro Space Black?
- Thread starter Hieveryone
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You shouldn't upgrade. Sure, buy whatever you want if you have the money and you like it but, come on, you 2019 does all of that perfectly well.
This!
However, one needs to be happy that some folks came up with ways to prolong the possibility to run more recent OSs on those older HW. Admittedly, there's always some struggling with SW falling behind.
But: Went from a MBP9,1 (2012, 15") to a M2 MAX and still surprised that for common day-tasks (internet, office SW) the difference is marginal. Of course, I do believe that when you do real computing, the difference will be enormous ...
... but whom does?
And battery time: That indeed is another world now!
Invest the money instead! You can buy one late with the gains and still have your original investment.
If you can afford it, why not? People have purchased more expensive vehicles to drive to the mailbox.
Many times a computer purchase is not necessarily needs, but wants. I barely use the resources on my M4 Pro. But I wanted one, so I got one. I am flying 1st class in May, not because I need it, but because I want it. I am flying Premium Select to Europe this year. Coach would work but I want something better and can afford it.
No it’s useless to spend 1000%+ more the price an actual car that you might need but in his case it’s just a around a 50% upgrade…
I mean yes he can safe money but the MacBook Pro screen, speakers, color, battery… are many things people can enjoy! (Even if they don’t need extra pro performances)
in similar boat. have a 2011 macbook pro 13". need to upgrade. considering new m4 16 ram/1 tb storage for $1600, or shopping around for a used m1 (not sure where is safest to buy that).
So the 2019 MacBook Pro is missing MANY MANY MANY THINGS BRUH…
- 10+ times more faster on M series chips
- Full day battery life
- Compatible with more apps such as some iPhone or iPad apps and apps like ChatGPT which requires the M1 chip
- All Apple Intelligence features
- Other features like effects while using FaceTime which requires a M1 chip…
That’s only M series advantages but upgrading to a MacBook Pro M4 will give you even more advantages!
- Brand new design
- Much better screen/more bright and more
- Better speakers
- More ports
- Better connectivity for example with WiFi 6E
- And even more…
So yeah many reasons to upgrade!
Um why not : bad purchase… instead give your money to poor people or spend it on something good for the population!
I would suggest the M4 for sure… M4 MacBook Pro is faster than M1 (even M1 Pro and Max I think) + it’s brand new so no used battery which you may want to replace… no scratches or things like that… space gray! Brighter screen, better cam, better battery…….. definitely m4 MacBook Pro!
Um, no. I was dirt poor at one time, barely had enough to eat. No one gave me anything and in fact did their best to take more from me. I have offered money to others and they just waste the money and most certainly don't appreciate the effort. It is well beyond time that I spend the money on myself. And I will.
A macbook pro would be way overpowered for that. There‘s the M4Air around the corner, which is lighter, smaller and fanless - and probably 50 times faster than you‘d need to run those kind of tasks without a hiccup. So, unless you appreciate the better screen, more ports and a better speakers, but don‘t mind the added wright, size, noise and dust intake, I‘d go for the air and buy something else for the rest of the money.
Um do not pretend the MacBook Pro is noisy… I am a MacBook Pro user and unless it’s pushed to the maximum… it will be completely silent so you won’t hear any noise by watching videos or things like that…
In 2025, some people agree with me that fanless isn’t a real advantage!
I agree with everyone that it's your money & do what you want. If you feel like a new Mabook would add value or joy to your life, then certainly get one.
I was running a 2017 12" Retina MacBook until mid-last year & it still did everything I needed it to do just fine. The battery went bad & I upgraded to an M2 15" MacBook Air. While it is nice & I'm certain it is faster, I don't really notice it in day to day usage. The 12" was plenty fine for my average usage (although I do enjoy the Touch ID).
I doubt you'll see a big improvement in speed with your use case.
If it were me, I would not upgrade. But if you like the color and have the money, it's your call.
I was running a 2017 12" Retina MacBook until mid-last year & it still did everything I needed it to do just fine. The battery went bad & I upgraded to an M2 15" MacBook Air. While it is nice & I'm certain it is faster, I don't really notice it in day to day usage. The 12" was plenty fine for my average usage (although I do enjoy the Touch ID).
I doubt you'll see a big improvement in speed with your use case.
If it were me, I would not upgrade. But if you like the color and have the money, it's your call.
You know the 14” M4 Pro MBP 14/20 models are faster geekbench then a M2 Ultra? It’s like you only denying yourself the magnitudes better laptop usage by delaying this decision. Also the mini-LED display is quite superior to the 2019 MBP.
Agreed, I only used that example over the more reasonable priced M4 base models that between both processors one can opt for just what you need without even considering the more expensive models of the past that raised prices considerably. The M4 base model list is $1599 M4 10/10/16GB/512GB, the $1999 M4 Pro base configuration is 12/16/24GB/512GB is not that much more. Obviously check online prices for latest discounts (USD prices shown).
I mostly edit videos, and I make some music where "fan could speed up" vs. totally silent does make a difference. So it depends on the perspective - and it will collect more dust on the inside if it has a fan opening, so it will run hotter eventually (and need more fan).
For very light tasks - like OP mentioned - a MBP is just silent. But we all know, it's not going to stay that over the way of it's lifespan when software becomes more demanding. For sure, the air will not be as futureproof - but otoh I can still do all of those tasks on my 2009 mbp, albeit with a few gpu-glitches due to unsupported OS-updates - and a pro is double the price for virtually no speed advantages in those kind of tasks (talking about the plain M4pro) So why waste more ressources and and have another point of failure and more weight created by a fan?
The MBP could last longer, but in reality it will be cut off from software support long before doing numbers and websurfing would need those ressources.
Well, if you want to buy a new laptop in the near future, I would order one right now to avoid the massive price increase that will inevitably result from the Trump tariffs. That's why I ordered my M4 Pro MBP 16 inch on the first of the year, knowing the tariffs were coming. Now they are here and prices will inevitably rise as the cost of everything from China will be going up by 10%.
FWIW, I'm very pleased with the M4 Pro MBP, but I knew I would be, since it was a want much more than a need.
FWIW, I'm very pleased with the M4 Pro MBP, but I knew I would be, since it was a want much more than a need.
Take the $1600 was going to pay for a new MacBook and use the existing MBP until it’s dead. Keep investing and it the money multiplied. Even starting with $500 would be amazing to start. Then keep investing. Stop spending and start investing. Not saving. Investing.
MBA remains the Mac laptop low end. MBP is not about just the added power; a MBP is better in every way except weight. Much better display, much better speakers and more ports/bandwidth/available RAM are the most obvious things.
Noise and dust intake are bogus issues raised by someone who does not use M-series MBPs but wants to tout the lower end MBAs. Fans never even kick in unless one works a MBP harder than an MBA is even capable of, and even then fan noise is negligible.
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Any 15 inch M2 or M3 MacBook Air would do all this quite easily with triple the battery life of your current Mac. No need to go all the way to MacBook Pro unless you want the super nice HDR display and don't mind the added weight and cost.