Think it's time to dump the 2012 MBP Retina, what year replacement?

[jasonfodor]

Have an M1 I use for more intense/work stuff, but spend 90% of my time on the 2012 Pro Retina. Had it ten years. Looking to replace it with a older year 13'' pro.

What's the oldest year with the latest OS?

Any year ya'll would recommend?



FYI on the 2012, I've replaced the battery 3x, keyboard once. Currently the "r" key some times doesn't work unless you press it a few times. Tried cleaning it. Hinge looks fine. Not worth the time to replace the keyboard and looking to up the 128GB.

 

[UltimateSyn]

I mean... the 2015s were pretty good? I wouldn't actually recommend buying any Intel Macs in 2022, though. That ship has sailed.

 

[wilberforce]

One problem is that the 2016 through 2019 had the butterfly keyboard - best to avoid.
MacOS Monterey is not supported on MacBooks earlier than 2015.
2015 models are prone to having swollen batteries, so need to find one with a battery replaced by (preferably) Apple.

 

[Fishrrman]

Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!

DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.

Also:
MacBook Pro 14" or 16" -- 2021

 

[Seanm87]

Have an M1 I use for more intense/work stuff, but spend 90% of my time on the 2012 Pro Retina. Had it ten years. Looking to replace it with a older year 13'' pro.

What's the oldest year with the latest OS?

Any year ya'll would recommend?



FYI on the 2012, I've replaced the battery 3x, keyboard once. Currently the "r" key some times doesn't work unless you press it a few times. Tried cleaning it. Hinge looks fine. Not worth the time to replace the keyboard and looking to up the 128GB.

Just curious, why are you looking for a new MacBook when you have an M1? Why not just use that one for everything?

 

[fwmireault]

What's the oldest year with the latest OS?

The oldest that supports macOS Monterey is MacBook Pro early 2015. But if you want the oldest model with the latest OS, it's almost certain that in a year or two, Apple will drop support of the latest OS on your computer.

I also don't recommend buying an Intel at this point, except if you're on a budget. Is there a reason why you don't use your M1 MacBook Air most of the time?

 

[jasonfodor]

Just curious, why are you looking for a new MacBook when you have an M1? Why not just use that one for everything?

Just kind of split it into work/play I guess. Don't mind a cheaper that will serve basic functions - emails, ebooks, youtube, movies, basic photoshop. cook a lot from ebooks, don't mind a cheaper one I can use in the kitchen, have damp fingers on, etc

The oldest that supports macOS Monterey is MacBook Pro early 2015. But if you want the oldest model with the latest OS, it's almost certain that in a year or two, Apple will drop support of the latest OS on your computer.

I also don't recommend buying an Intel at this point, except if you're on a budget. Is there a reason why you don't use your M1 MacBook Air most of the time?

macbook pro not air, but I guess don't want to put tons of hours on a higher end one that a basic one will serve

 

[jav6454]

I mean, why not shift to the M1 MBP? It's almost as light and thin as an Air.

 

[zackkmac]

I would say if you're absolutely looking to use two separate machines and want the 2012's replacement to be small and cheap - go with a 2015 13" model. I sold my M1 14" and am considering getting one of these as honestly the price is great and I have my desktop for larger tasks.

 

[UltimateSyn]

Just kind of split it into work/play I guess. Don't mind a cheaper that will serve basic functions - emails, ebooks, youtube, movies, basic photoshop. cook a lot from ebooks, don't mind a cheaper one I can use in the kitchen, have damp fingers on, etc


macbook pro not air, but I guess don't want to put tons of hours on a higher end one that a basic one will serve

Perchance an iPad would be a good device for those use cases? The iPads are great for media consumption, eBooks, YouTube-viewing, that sort of stuff - it's a more casual device. I'm not sure if it would check all the photo-editing boxes for you, maybe someone else could chime in on that, but it would do the rest. It would be more distinct from your laptop and allow you to have a unique experience when using it, too.

I just personally don't understand the desire to have an old, crappy Intel laptop if you've already got a fast, new M1-based laptop that you can use. I'm not sure how many of the failure reasons on your M1 would be exacerbated by increased usage, and certainly I don't think the cost analysis of you buying a second laptop to protect your primary laptop from depreciation / need for repair works out. You using your M1 isn't like putting thousands of miles on a pristine, classic car and losing thousands of dollars in depreciation. If that's your only reason then just invest the money you would've bought a second machine with to save up in case your primary laptop needs repair.