Should I return 14" MBP M3 Pro and get by with iPad/work PC until M4s come out?

[mneidin]

I recently upgraded my personal MacBook M2 Air to a MBP 14" M3 Pro. The Air was great but I shouldn't have gone with 8GB ram. My work computer is a PC. Sometimes, when I travel I just take my MB and use Citrix. My work is not graphic/video intensive and I certainly don't need the MBP, but I have lots of things I don't need.

I'm still within the 30 day return period. I have an iPad Air with the Magic Keyboard. For my use, I probably can get by with an iPad, at least until the M4 series MB Airs and MBPs come out. I will probably upgrade the iPad Air when they come out. I have tested it and I can use my iPad with my external monitors, keyboards and mice, for times when I may need a bigger screen.

Thoughts? Should I return the MBP and see how I can get by? There is probably nothing to lose.

Thanks

 

[Onimusha370]

I recently upgraded my personal MacBook M2 Air to a MBP 14" M3 Pro. The Air was great but I shouldn't have gone with 8GB ram. My work computer is a PC. Sometimes, when I travel I just take my MB and use Citrix. My work is not graphic/video intensive and I certainly don't need the MBP, but I have lots of things I don't need.

I'm still within the 30 day return period. I have an iPad Air with the Magic Keyboard. For my use, I probably can get by with an iPad, at least until the M4 series MB Airs and MBPs come out. I will probably upgrade the iPad Air when they come out. I have tested it and I can use my iPad with my external monitors, keyboards and mice, for times when I may need a bigger screen.

Thoughts? Should I return the MBP and see how I can get by? There is probably nothing to lose.

Thanks

I don't see what you gain from returning based on what you've said. Sounds like you don't need the MBP but enjoy having one, I don't think thats going to change when the M4 comes out? There's talk of AI capabilities with M4 but a lot of that is going to be marketing and it should all be possible on the M3. If the M4 Pro and M4 Max do come out this year I wouldn't expect big gains over M3 given you're only getting 1 year of improvements on 3nm.

 

[mneidin]

I don't see what you gain from returning based on what you've said. Sounds like you don't need the MBP but enjoy having one, I don't think thats going to change when the M4 comes out? There's talk of AI capabilities with M4 but a lot of that is going to be marketing and it should all be possible on the M3. If the M4 Pro and M4 Max do come out this year I wouldn't expect big gains over M3 given you're only getting 1 year of improvements on 3nm.

I don't see what you gain from returning based on what you've said. Sounds like you don't need the MBP but enjoy having one, I don't think thats going to change when the M4 comes out? There's talk of AI capabilities with M4 but a lot of that is going to be marketing and it should all be possible on the M3. If the M4 Pro and M4 Max do come out this year I wouldn't expect big gains over M3 given you're only getting 1 year of improvements on 3nm.

I’d get my full purchase price back though and would then trade in my current ipad and get a new one, which may either tide me over until I get a new MacBook (air or pro) or prove to me that I don’t need a full size laptop computer just for personal use.

TBH, even though the MBP is only a little bigger than my old M2 Air, it feels a lot bigger and a lot heavier. Maybe I’d get a M4 air with better base RAM next time.

 

[Onimusha370]

Yeah sounds like an Air might be more up your street - unless you want the HDR capabilities of the Pro I'd say a 13 or 15 inch M3 Air with 16gb ram sounds pretty perfect. They've only just released so I think it's very unlikely we'll see an update to M4 before next spring, and either way M3->M4 will likely be a minor step.

 

[mneidin]

If I go without a MB for a a significant length of time (9 months), will I have a hard restoring from a backup if the OS changes and my backup is from an older version of MacOS?

 

[Onimusha370]

I think that should be fine

 

[Onimusha370]

I do think chasing the latest processors is always a losing game though - M3 is still very current and is only a few months old. Based on the latest rumours it sounds like the M series chips might be becoming more annual in nature, which means that you’re always going to be out of date after a year of ownership. if the M3 pro does what you want it to do, I’d keep it and enjoy it. These laptops are insanely powerful and should last 5-7 years easily

 

[mneidin]

I do think chasing the latest processors is always a losing game though - M3 is still very current and is only a few months old. Based on the latest rumours it sounds like the M series chips might be becoming more annual in nature, which means that you’re always going to be out of date after a year of ownership. if the M3 pro does what you want it to do, I’d keep it and enjoy it. These laptops are insanely powerful and should last 5-7 years easily

I don’t know that I’d be chasing it. I’m saying maybe I don’t even need it and at this point I can get $2k back and it might be worth the experiment.

 

[mikethebigo]

Honestly sounds like a recipe for frustration, I'm sorry to say. iPad just is not the same as a MacBook when it comes to getting things done on the go. If the MacBook Pro is too big and heavy, I would agree with the poster above that suggested just going ahead with the M3 Air w/more RAM. You don't know when the M4 is coming, and you don't know if it will even be a meaningful upgrade for you. I really doubt it's worth waiting for.

Figure out what the best computer is for work right now and go with that.

 

[Icehart]

I think you can do more with an Air rather than the Macbook Pro, judging from what you stated. Perhaps 15" M3 with 16GB RAM will go a long way.

 

[Torty]

I’d get my full purchase price back though and would then trade in my current ipad and get a new one, which may either tide me over until I get a new MacBook (air or pro) or prove to me that I don’t need a full size laptop computer just for personal use.

TBH, even though the MBP is only a little bigger than my old M2 Air, it feels a lot bigger and a lot heavier. Maybe I’d get a M4 air with better base RAM next time.

Who knows if or when there will be an M4 air. It could also get an A18 Pro or Max. Or it could skip next chip gen.

 

[mneidin]

I have the latest iPad Air with the Magic Keyboard. For when I want a really light laptop, I'll use that. I'll probably keep the MBP. Thanks everyone.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I have M1 Max MBP16, and a Linux workstation as my work horses. When I travel I take my MBP and iPad Pro. I could have gone with MBA but I like iPad Pro. I can remote in to my Mac or workstation and use it. I personally would use iPad as an additional device to go with your main computer.

 

[johannnn]

What's so much better with the M4? I feel that the M4 MBA will only be slightly better than the M3 MBA.

If you want a computer, use your 30 day return window and get get a 16GB MBA.

If you dont want a computer, get an iPad.

 

[Teletypewriter]

The only hardware Apple commits to on a schedule is iPhones, everthing else is up in the air.