Should I sell my Intel MBP 16 while I still can for a M1?

[jerryk]

I had the same concerns as the OP. I sold my 2019 16" and 2020 13" MBPs and replaced them with a MB Air M1 for now. I got good prices for both. And as a bonus no more fan noise in a much more responsive system.

If the rumored 14" with a more powerful M1 or M2 SOC and Mini-LED display appears next year I will likely get one of those also.

 

[Chompineer]

The only question that you need to answer here is which model will depreciate less in the next 2 years. The answer is the M1. Do the deal and be happy!

If you decide to upgrade to a newer 16" when the M2 or whatever version comes out, you'll still be ahead trying to sell the M1 MBP instead of your old 16". Intel Macs are DEAD in the resale market.

No they aren't, lol. Check eBay, plenty of auctions going for intel machines that are selling for the same as they were prior to the M1.

Joe average consumer has no idea what an M1 is, nor do they care. They know they want a Mac and will buy whatever Mac they can afford.

 

[KShopper]

No they aren't, lol. Check eBay, plenty of auctions going for intel machines that are selling for the same as they were prior to the M1.

Joe average consumer has no idea what an M1 is, nor do they care. They know they want a Mac and will buy whatever Mac they can afford.

I damned near lost my shirt trying to sell my 2020 Intel MBA this month. Market totally cratered as soon as the M1 came out. Whatever strength remains in the Intel Mac resale market will evaporate swiftly over time, esp. once the new M* based 14 and 16" MBP models are announced.

My point is that the OP should sell the Intel model now to maximize resale value and shift that to the M1 model. There is no way the Intel model won't depreciate more than the M1 over time.

 

[JeepGuy]

I damned near lost my shirt trying to sell my 2020 Intel MBA this month. Market totally cratered as soon as the M1 came out. Whatever strength remains in the Intel Mac resale market will evaporate swiftly over time, esp. once the new M* based 14 and 16" MBP models are announced.

My point is that the OP should sell the Intel model now to maximize resale value and shift that to the M1 model. There is no way the Intel model won't depreciate more than the M1 over time.

I agree, it's better to take a small hit now, than a bigger one later for sure. I've been checking resale values and so far it seems to be holding steady, but lots of people are not aware of the M1 yet.

 

[robotica]

Personally I would just stick with what you have got. Its still a great computer and we have yet to see whats going to come out next year.

 

[FNH15]

I did this. I sold my i9 16” and bought a MBP M1.
The new machine is amazing. Don’t regret it at all.

Do you miss the larger screen, the extra TB3 ports, and better speakers? I’m in a 15” 2018 i7 and I hate how much the fans spin up.

 

[deeddawg]

Your MBP16 will never be worth more in the future than it's worth now.

IMHO unless the existing M1's don't do what you need to do, now's the time to make a switch.

Check offers from MacMeAnOffer.com and CashForYourMac.com -- I've used both and received very competitive offers on my 2018 MBP15 and early2020 Intel MBA. Selling was easy with no surprises.

 

[VitoBotta]

Yes I would sell it and upgrade to an M1. Your Intel Mac will lose value very quickly and the performance of the M1 is better in most cases. Also software support is improving at incredible speed.

 

[maxsquared]

I am in exactly the same dilemma as you, I brought my 16 inch last year with upgraded VRam and 64 GB ram hoping to use it for a few years.

But now I really wish that I didn't upgrade.... And thinking of selling it for a M1. If the M1 that's out now is mid or high end MBP, I would buy it without blink of an eye, but it's entry, and worse, it only maxed out 16 GB ram.

My mind telling me that I should hold out to at least mid range MBP then do the motion of upgrading, but I fear the price of my 16 inch will plummet then... It's tough decision to make.

 

[pugxiwawa]

I took a $200 loss on selling 1 month old 16" i9/1TB to switch to M1 MBA 16GB/512GB. No regret. this thing is FAST and silent and light. The only thing I miss is the bigger screen. If Apple comes with out 16" MBA it would be the perfect machine.

 

[Argon_]

I took a $200 loss on selling 1 month old 16" i9/1TB to switch to M1 MBA 16GB/512GB. No regret. this thing is FAST and silent and light. The only thing I miss is the bigger screen. If Apple comes with out 16" MBA it would be the perfect machine.

An M1 16MBA would be fantastic. And now with a powerful enough chip to comfortably drive the display, it'd be viable. They could also use a higher thermal mass passive heatsink.

 

[redcaptrickster]

I got rid of my 16” for an M1. Couldn’t wait to dump that abomination.

Intel Macs are DEAD in the resale market.

Got rid of mine for $1700. You can’t get that now, 60 days later. The resell price is dropping fast.

 

[ADGrant]

I damned near lost my shirt trying to sell my 2020 Intel MBA this month. Market totally cratered as soon as the M1 came out. Whatever strength remains in the Intel Mac resale market will evaporate swiftly over time, esp. once the new M* based 14 and 16" MBP models are announced.

My point is that the OP should sell the Intel model now to maximize resale value and shift that to the M1 model. There is no way the Intel model won't depreciate more than the M1 over time.

Well the 2020 Intel MBA was never a particularly good MacBook. It was underpowered and undercooled. A 16MBP is an entirely different class of machine. Yes the fan is noisy and it runs hot but it has a more powerful GPU than an M1 Mac twice as many TB3 ports and can be configured with a lot more RAM.

If your workloads require access to virtualized Windows or x86 Linux VMs or containers, the MBP16 is suitable, the M1 MBA not so much. That said, when choosing between the MBP16 and a 20-2 27" iMac, I went with the iMac which is more powerful and has better cooling.

 

[Argon_]

Well the 2020 Intel MBA was never a particularly good MacBook. It was underpowered and undercooled. A 16MBP is an entirely different class of machine. Yes the fan is noisy and it runs hot but it has a more powerful GPU than an M1 Mac twice as many TB3 ports and can be configured with a lot more RAM.

If your workloads require access to virtualized Windows or x86 Linux VMs or containers, the MBP16 is suitable, the M1 MBA not so much. That said, when choosing between the MBP16 and a 20-2 27" iMac, I went with the iMac which is more powerful and has better cooling.

Fair point.

Additionally, the i3 Intel Air was possibly the best one, it ran warm, compared to the burning hot quad core models.

 

[turbineseaplane]

As they say..... "Abandon ship!!"

I'd get all the money you can from an Intel Macbook - stat!