Trade in 🦋 MacBook Pro for M1 iMac?

[LDF]

So with the new iMacs I unexpectedly thought about getting one. (I had plans on getting an iMac but was expecting next couple of years)

The reason for my thinking, despite the new iMacs feeling more consumer than Pro targeted (based on the buzz from the Verge) I loathe my current MacBook...

Only bought it in 2018, but it is the butterfly keyboard disaster as you'd expect. I clean it so often but without fault the space bar registers twice, the R stops etc.

As a web designer and developer it has been such a nightmare that I got a mechanical keyboard to actually work on.

As my trade in with apple would give me £700-ish I wondered if I should go for it now or wait to see what this year brings.

Processor: 2.7 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
Memory: 16 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 1536 MB

I know the iMac can be configured to 16gb... but for someone that uses things like the Affinity apps, Sketch/Figma, and on occasion Photoshop/Premiere Pro... do you think it would be worth trading in to relieve my keyboard pains?

 

[Biro]

As long as your 2018 MBP is still working, I think you should hold off for a little while yet. That's because you will have a number of additional options in the third or fourth quarter of this year. That includes better MBP's with the M1X or M2 processor... and maybe even higher-end iMacs. But if you simply can't live with your current machine any longer - and you don't require portability - then I'll bet you'd be okay with a 24-inch iMac with 16GB of RAM and enough SDD storage. You can buy one with a 1TB SDD for $2099. But you might be disappointed after seeing what's introduced later this year.

 

[pmiles]

Why did you buy a laptop in the first place for? Most people get a laptop because they want the freedom to just take it anywhere. The iMac isn't mobile. Consider how you actually use your computer before choosing a form factor in its replacement.

Too many new models are going to be introduced this year and next. Now really is a POOR time to buy a new computer when you really don't know what the footprint of Apple's offerings are going to be. Knowing how they intend to address their higher end users will say volumes in regards to the direction of future offerings. Right now, everything Apple has introduced has been the same chip put into different housings. Literally almost identical computers sans form factor. Lots of unanswered questions regrading scalability... can these things really scale up or is the biggest leap they can offer limited to the INTEL to ARM transition?

Waiting gives you options. Gives you time to put a little cash away to buy a new computer. Why look at a new computer purchase as the cheapest one you can get at the time? It's like going to a car lot and looking at the Ferrari then walking over to the used car section and finding the cheapest car on the lot to buy. The cheapest you can afford means, I literally will accept anything as a computer as opposed to get what I need or want.

 

[4sallypat]

OP since you are using the laptop as a desktop, purchase a Magic 2 keyboard and trackpad similar to the iMac.

That way you will get a feel of the "iMac" keyboard and trackpad + mouse to see if moving to the 24" M1 iMac will be good.

I have a 15" 2015 MBP (quad i7 + 16GB) that I use for desktop and will be replacing it with the new 24" M1 iMac that I pre-ordered last week.

iMac is the base model (8GB) but that's all I need because Apple's Unified Memory is not comparable the Intel's DDR RAM (tested my M1 8GB Mini against a 2020 Intel 6 core i7 64GB Mini - and the M1 beats the pants off the Intel - with no heat!)