Should I upgrade to m2pro or wait m3pro?

[kchew]

Hello, yall.

So a little background, I am going into college and was considering buying a new MacBook. I use Lightroom Classic and Photoshop for editing. I also plan on doing some coding in college, but I am entirely not sure if that is the path I want yet.

I currently have the MacBook Air from 2019 with the Intel Core i5 and 8GB of Ram (Ik, not a whole lot of specs). It has been really difficult to run Photoshop and Lightroom on this laptop so I use my desktop to get most of my photo editing done.

I was thinking about buying the new MacBook Pro M2Pro Chip (CPU - 10GB) w/ 32 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD. I have heard a lot of suggestions for buying the M1Pro, but I plan on not buying a new MacBook for the next 4 years. And while no new M3 MacBook will come until the rumored beginning of 2024, I feel like I will not be able to do the things I need to do.

Any help would amazing! Thank you so much.

 

[petsk]

Base MBP M1 would be fine, especially if you find a good deal on a 14" or 16". I don't see M1 getting outdated in the next 4 years.

 

[ilikewhey]

m1 pro will last you way more than 4 years, m2 is only 10-15% improvement over the m1. the biggest difference i see is the battery life m2 pro offer over m1 pro since m2 has more efficiency cores. however the m3 is a huge upgrade since its finally moving away from 5nm down to 3nm, but no one knows the exact release date. at the end it really depends on your budget, if you getting a BTO with 32gb ram it won't be cheap, however yesterday there was a deal for 64gb m1 max 14inch for 2500. so theres always a deal if you look around.

 

[forever_music]

Recent Mac Mini M2 pro is a great machine. which you can use to work with Photoshop and Lightroom

 

[gpat]

M1 Pro and M2 Pro will last about the same.
M3 Pro will be a significant bump but I'd expect it only for summer of 2024.
I bought the M1P for the second time after the first one got stolen with some other personal belongings, and the M2P had just came out back then. No regrets.
Don't hesitate to choose a M1 Pro (or Max) if you can find a good clearance deal.

 

[Graham Caracas]

Faster and slower mean little at the speed of light. You won't notice any performance difference in any of them. Buy what you need to get the job done and stop agonizing over marketing tricks.

 

[uiop.]

I went with M2 Pro only because of wifi 6E. Not really much of a thing now, but will become more prevalent in the coming years. As for waiting for an M3, I see no reason to.

 

[ilikewhey]

I went with M2 Pro only because of wifi 6E. Not really much of a thing now, but will become more prevalent in the coming years. As for waiting for an M3, I see no reason to.

wifi 6E already outdated on the mac when wifi 7 exist 😂

 

[Arid]

There’s really no good reason to get the M2 over the M1 with the usage you described especially when the M1 can be found with the current discounts. But it’s your money.

 

[Nbd1790]

I think you'll get the same amount of time out of an M1 model as you would and M2 at this point. There's a slight bump in speed, but in your use case I don't think it will be noticeable (and quite honestly, it won't be in most workflows - even intense ones).

You can get various M1 configurations at massive discounts from several retailers (well known ones that are official Apple retailers). B&H is notorious for carrying various BTO configurations and sell the older models at a discount. Take a look. If I were to buy a new model again this year, I'd probably go with the M1 series because of the discounts.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/

 

[dmccloud]

wifi 6E already outdated on the mac when wifi 7 exist 😂

But where is WiFi 7 even available? Most consumers are still using WiFi 5 or 6 routers (not even 6e), so 7 is really irrelevant at this point, especially when you don't see any WiFi 7 devices in stores or online...

 

[abbeybound]

Agree with the M1 pro. 10% less power for way less money. Then you can put that towards your replacement fund and have the M6 a year sooner.

 

[ilikewhey]

But where is WiFi 7 even available? Most consumers are still using WiFi 5 or 6 routers (not even 6e), so 7 is really irrelevant at this point, especially when you don't see any WiFi 7 devices in stores or online...

Wi-Fi 7 Routers - Best Buy

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[Mr. Dee]

Because the lithography going from M1 to M2 Pro/Max models, either one would be good. If cost is a factor, definitely go for the M1 Pro or Max. If your heart is setup on a high tier MacBook Pro model, you could in the interim go with a 13 inch MacBook Pro M2 then trade it in to get the M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro in 2024 which will be on the 3 NM lithography.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Hello, yall.

So a little background, I am going into college and was considering buying a new MacBook. I use Lightroom Classic and Photoshop for editing. I also plan on doing some coding in college, but I am entirely not sure if that is the path I want yet.

I currently have the MacBook Air from 2019 with the Intel Core i5 and 8GB of Ram (Ik, not a whole lot of specs). It has been really difficult to run Photoshop and Lightroom on this laptop so I use my desktop to get most of my photo editing done.

I was thinking about buying the new MacBook Pro M2Pro Chip (CPU - 10GB) w/ 32 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD. I have heard a lot of suggestions for buying the M1Pro, but I plan on not buying a new MacBook for the next 4 years. And while no new M3 MacBook will come until the rumored beginning of 2024, I feel like I will not be able to do the things I need to do.

Any help would amazing! Thank you so much.

How much is your budget? How long are you planning to keep the MBP?

 

[TechnoMonk]

But where is WiFi 7 even available? Most consumers are still using WiFi 5 or 6 routers (not even 6e), so 7 is really irrelevant at this point, especially when you don't see any WiFi 7 devices in stores or online...

It depends on how long the OP keeps the computer. If OP is gonna keep it for 5-8 years, it sure will be more common in next 2-3 years.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Hello, yall.

So a little background, I am going into college and was considering buying a new MacBook. I use Lightroom Classic and Photoshop for editing. I also plan on doing some coding in college, but I am entirely not sure if that is the path I want yet.

I currently have the MacBook Air from 2019 with the Intel Core i5 and 8GB of Ram (Ik, not a whole lot of specs). It has been really difficult to run Photoshop and Lightroom on this laptop so I use my desktop to get most of my photo editing done.

I was thinking about buying the new MacBook Pro M2Pro Chip (CPU - 10GB) w/ 32 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD. I have heard a lot of suggestions for buying the M1Pro, but I plan on not buying a new MacBook for the next 4 years. And while no new M3 MacBook will come until the rumored beginning of 2024, I feel like I will not be able to do the things I need to do.

Any help would amazing! Thank you so much.

I will argue against the folks who say buy M1, claiming M2 is only slightly faster on some benchmark. Apple engineers spent tens of thousands of hours improving M2 over M1, and M2 consequently is that much more competent. Sure buy M1 if your finances demand it and you can save a huge amount (>$1k, not $300) but otherwise it is bad decision making to intentionally buy into two-generation-back older M1 tech. The evolution to WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 plus the unseen engineering differences M2 over M1 will present over the 3-5 year life of any box bought today.

32 GB RAM should be the minimum you should consider A) because RAM needs always increase over time, B) because you want to have flexibility as you look in different directions at uni and C) because Apple's Unified Memory Architecture will change things.

Just my $0.02 after decades of making purchase analyses and buying Macs.

P.S. I just upgraded my MBP to an M2 Max and it is a very sweet computer.

 

[TechnoMonk]

I will argue against the folks who say buy M1, claiming M2 is only slightly faster on some benchmark. Apple engineers spent tens of thousands of hours improving M2 over M1, and M2 consequently is that much more competent. Sure buy M1 if your finances demand it and you can save a huge amount (>$1k, not $300) but otherwise it is bad decision making to intentionally buy into two-generation-back older M1 tech. The differences M2 over M1 (including WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3) will present over the 3-5 year life of any box bought today.

32 GB RAM should be the minimum you should consider A) because RAM needs always increase over time, B) because you want to have flexibility as you look in different directions at uni and C) because Apple's Unified Memory Architecture will change things.

Just my $0.02 after decades of making purchase analyses and buying Macs.

P.S. I just upgraded my MBP to an M2 Max and it is a very sweet computer.

Well said. I usually get most RAM and latest processor I can afford. I usually keep my MBP 5-8 years. Usually 5 years for work and 3-4 years as home server. Lot of folks who recommend m1 and skimp on RAM will be justifying an upgrade in 2-3 years.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Because the lithography going from M1 to M2 Pro/Max models, either one would be good. If cost is a factor, definitely go for the M1 Pro or Max. If your heart is setup on a high tier MacBook Pro model, you could in the interim go with a 13 inch MacBook Pro M2 then trade it in to get the M3 Pro/Max MacBook Pro in 2024 which will be on the 3 NM lithography.

Buying a low-spec 13" MBP would be a bad decision in every possible regard. A) The OP needs to deal with uni, not with buying and selling laptops and dealing with changeover issues; B) although it is a good box, the 13" is under-spec'd for the OP's likely usages, especially RAM; C) M3 is as of yet unknown, but since M2 WiFi is at 6E and Bluetooth is at 5.3, the OP is not likely to need something worth waiting for that only the 2024 M3 generation can provide.

 

[HDFan]

wifi 6E already outdated on the mac when wifi 7 exist

1. For internet purposes 7 would only be useful if you have much greater than gigabit internet speeds. I get 1.4 gb 6E speeds with 6E which is limited by my internet modem bandwidth.

2. Wifi 7 routers do exist but are quite expensive. Of the 4 listed on Best buy 2 are over $1K, the cheapest is $600. It may be years before prices become reasonable.

3. Apple is only now slowly running out 6E to its devices. Wifi 7 is years out.

4. WiFi 6 is more than most people need as I assume that relatively small proportion of internet users have speeds > 1 Gbs.

Didn't know that Wifi 7 routers were now available. Thanks.

 

[ilikewhey]

claiming M2 is only slightly faster on some benchmark. Apple engineers spent tens of thousands of hours improving M2 over M1, and M2 consequently is that much more competent.

m2 is slightly faster on some benchmark, its build on the same 5nm die and there is only so much more performance one can squeeze out. apple engineers also spend thousands of hours on homepods and that all in one wireless charger and had nothing to show for. effort doesn't guarantee results.

Sure buy M1 if your finances demand it and you can save a huge amount (>$1k, not $300) but otherwise it is bad decision making to intentionally buy into two-generation-back older M1 tech.

it is not a bad decision, plenty of folks love the taper design of the m1 mba, even now i would gladly pick a m1 mba over the m2 cause its cheaper and it does the exact thing. architecturally the m1 mba is only 1 gen back, not 2, last i check the newest mba has a m2, not a m3.

The evolution to WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 plus the unseen engineering differences M2 over M1 will present over the 3-5 year life of any box bought today.

no it won't, the m1 will most likely have the same shelve life as the m2 aka apple will label it a legacy product, around the same time. wifi 6E is already outdated since the inception of wifi 7, and even then, you will most likely be connected to a wifi G or AC due to better distance and wall penetration.

 

[ilikewhey]

1. For internet purposes 7 would only be useful if you have much greater than gigabit internet speeds. I get 1.4 gb 6E speeds with 6E which is limited by my internet modem bandwidth.

2. Wifi 7 routers do exist but are quite expensive. Of the 4 listed on Best buy 2 are over $1K, the cheapest is $600. It may be years before prices become reasonable.

3. Apple is only now slowly running out 6E to its devices. Wifi 7 is years out.

4. WiFi 6 is more than most people need as I assume that relatively small proportion of internet users have speeds > 1 Gbs.

Didn't know that Wifi 7 routers were now available. Thanks.

1, i have verizon fios that taps out at 1gig, even with my current wifi 6 i'm hardly on the fastest spectrum due to the square footage of my residence.

2. yes, but they do exist, and will only get cheaper sooner rather than later, lg oled used to be couple grand easy, now you can pick one up at costco for 800 bucks.

3. wifi 7 might be years out, but given how fast wireless standards dominate markets based on historic precedent, wifi 7 will be more mainstream faster than you might think.

4. i agree, wifi 6 is more than most folks need, hell most folks are more than fine with even wifi G and AC. when i go 2nd floor at night i have to switch to 2.4ghz just because it has better wall penetration.

 

[tuc]

You could look at a non-pro M2 macbook air. I think it would do fine with your work case, and easier to lug around at school.

The thing is, once you bump up the RAM and SSD to where you want it, its price starts to rival that of the MBP.

 

[Mr. Dee]

Buying a low-spec 13" MBP would be a bad decision in every possible regard. A) The OP needs to deal with uni, not with buying and selling laptops and dealing with changeover issues; B) although it is a good box, the 13" is under-spec'd for the OP's likely usages, especially RAM; C) M3 is as of yet unknown, but since M2 WiFi is at 6E and Bluetooth is at 5.3, the OP is not likely to need something worth waiting for that only the 2024 M3 generation can provide.

Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a M1 Pro/Max to do coding or even Photoshop. You can max it out with 24 GBs of DDR5 RAM and the Apple silicon is so powerful as it is already, it could surely meet the OP's job. In fact, I think the M1 Pro/Max models are overkill for school. But if money is not burning a hole in your pocket, they are more than welcome to spend it. When you take into account, a base model 13 in MBP is more powerful that high specced 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro, I don't see why can't meet their needs in 2023.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

m1 max machines are on sale right now.