Should I "downgrade" to a 2015 MBP?

[mviscito]

Hi,

I have a 2018 MacBook Pro and I really don't like it. I find it frustrating in many ways, the lack of ports, the keyboard glitches, the touch bar, and the icing on the cake for me is now screen has something akin to "screen burn"on OLED devices.

I'm looking to purchase the last model of 15" MacBook Pro before the design change, I'd get the most powerful one available, i7, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and an AMD GPU (I believe?) to replace it, as they are now available at a lower price.

Is this worth the potential downgrade in performance as it's a now an older machine, even though in my opinion it is a better computer! I mainly use Logic Pro X with various plugins and sounds, though this is more RAM intensive than CPU intensive mostly, and only some light Python coding which isn't too strenuous either.

Thanks in advance,

MacBook Pro 13" Touch Bar (Mid 2018), Quad-Core i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD

 

[Donnation]

We have both in our home and you aren’t going to notice a major difference between the two models. It’s marginal at best and the 2015 MacBook Pro is still, in my opinion, the best Apple laptop currently out there.

 

[PROFESS0R]

Whether or not the downgrade is worth it is entirely up to you... no one can answer that for you. You will lose overall performance and will notice the change in responsiveness, and you will lose money. You gain a keyboard you like better, get rid of the Touch Bar (I don't understand this one because if you do not like the Touch Bar, do not use it), and get a screen without OLED-like "burn-in". Personally, there is no way I could go back to 2015 CPU/GPU performance. I'd buy an external keyboard, ignore the Touch Bar, and have apple correct whatever is going on with your screen.

Additionally, if your complaint regarding the Touch Bar is the escape key, assign the esc key to another physical key you do not use.

Joe

 

[mviscito]

Awesome, glad to hear performance isn't a big issue. What do you think about the lack of thunderbolt 3 on the older one? Do you think that will become an issue?

 

[mviscito]

Whether or not the downgrade is worth it is entirely up to you... no one can answer that for you. You will lose overall performance and will notice the change in responsiveness, and you will lose money. You gain a keyboard you like better, get rid of the Touch Bar (I don't understand this one because if you do not like the Touch Bar, do not use it), and get a screen without OLED-like "burn-in". Personally, there is no way I could go back to 2015 CPU/GPU performance. I'd buy an external keyboard, ignore the Touch Bar, and have apple correct whatever is going on with your screen.

Additionally, if your complaint regarding the Touch Bar is the escape key, assign the esc key to another physical key you do not use.

Joe

I think you've talked a lot of sense there, you're right, I am taking my laptop to Apple as I'm still covered under my one year warranty just about, and I get what you're saying about losing money too, I'd be selling the newer MacBook Pro now, and so when I come to sell the old one in a few years time it definitely wouldn't be worth as much, so I understand where you're coming from.

I have heard MacBook Pro screen replacements are expensive though so if it does cost money then I'm definitely getting rid of it, albeit at a lower price.

 

[knightwrangler]

I downgraded to the 2015 with dGPU and have no regrets. A more reliable laptop overall, with a better keyboard, mag-safe and usable ports. The newer MacBook pros are "pretty" but come with a higher cost and reliability issues.

 

[The Mercurian]

Only if you don't plan on flying with it:

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/08/29/macbook-pro-some-airline-restrictions/

 

[smetvid]

There are benchmark speeds and then there are tasks that utilize hardware instructions. Plus Apple tends to obsolete computers at some point and they can no longer upgrade the OS. All important factors to consider when getting an older MBP. Plus there is the whole 2015 battery issues with some airlines banning them all together since they have no way of knowing if the battery has been replaced.

How do you tend to use your computer for music production? At a desk or on the road? If you use it a lot at a desk you can always add an external keyboard. I'm an app develop that types a lot and all the other developers I know with newer MBP models don't like the keyboard very much either but they tend to use an external keyboard all the time anyway so it is only really an issue if they decide to work from a coffee shop or in a meeting away from their desk. Even when we work from home we have our own keyboards around so we don't have to use the MBP keyboard very much. It just isn't a huge issue really.

Touchbar. Nobody likes it but it is there and we don't have to use it. Again not really an issue for the frequency we would actually use it.

Ports. This is an easy solution to solve with cheap adapters. You can get a pair for $7.00 on Amazon. Buy a bunch and never worry about the ports again. I understand it is an extra thing to do but Apple did this so the MBP is more future proof since those ports can be adapted to just about anything. It literally takes seconds to plug in an adapter and they are so small you can likely leave them plugged in. Things like SD card readers and HDMI ports will require more expensive adapters but it is far from a problem. It is a minor inconvenience and nothing more. An inconvenience offset by the bandwidth and expansion potential the MBP has over older models.

The 2015 model is now 4 years old. Still a solid machine but it is going to start to show its age a lot sooner than a 2019 model will. If you plan on upgrading again in a few years then maybe it isn't an issue but if you need to keep this machine for 5+ years you may want to reconsider.

Then there is the warranty to consider. A 2015 will have zero warranty and more likely to face problems in the future. Problems that will be very expensive to fix assuming apple still has parts to actually fix it.

Finally there is the resale potential. In five years that 2015 will be 9 years old and much harder to sell. A 2019 model will only be 5 years old and still have value to a potential buyer. I have a 17" 2011 MBP I can't sell anymore since it cannot upgrade past High Sierra and the base 2019 13" MBP is faster.

 

[bobnugget]

2015 15" is a still perfectly capable high performance laptop. I have one as my work machine. My home machine is a 2012 15" - which is still great and very usable for everything I need it for.

I would expect you'll get a good 3-4 years life out of a 2015, but don't be surprised if Apple stop supporting it in the latest OS in 2-3 years (you'll then get 1-2 years security patches).

 

[jerryk]

15" 2015 MBP is a relatively powerful machine in comparison to a 13" 2018 MBP. I don't think you will lose much in performance. But the screen is not as clear or bright. And the SSD is slightly slower.

I kept my 2015 15" MBP for several months after getting my 2018 15" MBP. I was concerned about the keyboard and lack of USB-A ports. But after a month or two I realized the handwriting was on the wall for USB-A ports as more and more devices came out with USB-C. And I adapted to the different feel of the new keyboard. But, truth be told, I was never a huge fan of the 2015 keyboard anyway, having been spoiled by using mostly mechanical keyboards with MX Brown switches.

So today I am pretty happy with my 2018 15" MBP. It runs faster and quieter than my 2015 15". Less fan noise when really hammer it. And the screen is gorgeous! I even find the touchbar pretty useful for things I do often like adjusting brightness and volume. And seeing apps like PowerPoint use it for showing mini previews and reviews of your slides while you present is very cool.