Would I be insane to replace a 1-year-old Intel MBA to get M1?

[srbNYC]

I have an almost-year-old MBA (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) with a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 512 GB storage, and I'm happy with it.

And, yet, all the talk about the amazing speed and battery of the M1 MBAs has me tempted. I could get $540 in an Apple Gift Card for my trade-in (to use for my current Apple TV subscriptions), and pay no sales tax with my B&H credit card. I'm eyeing the 16GB RAM/512GB MBA for $1698 (with AppleCare).

I'm so tempted, I but I also think it would be insane to swap out such a new machine that's behaving well. Can anyone help save me?

 

[ADGrant]

I have an almost-year-old MBA (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) with a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 512 GB storage, and I'm happy with it.

And, yet, all the talk about the amazing speed and battery of the M1 MBAs has me tempted. I could get $540 in an Apple Gift Card for my trade-in (to use for my current Apple TV subscriptions), and pay no sales tax with my B&H credit card. I'm eyeing the 16GB RAM/512GB MBA for $1698 (with AppleCare).

I'm so tempted, I but I also think it would be insane to swap out such a new machine that's behaving well. Can anyone help save me?

I think it would be questionable to swap a loaded MBP 16" for an M1 MBA but you have an Intel MBA which is at the other end of the MacBook spectrum and if it is a year old, has the butterfly keyboard.

If you are just using the MBA to browse the Web and edit word documents then you might want to just keep it. OTOH if you are trying to do anything demanding, the new MBA would be so much better I think it is worth upgrading.

 

[KShopper]

I would say if you are happy with your existing MBA, and the keyboard and fans, etc. aren't an issue for you, keep it!

 

[4sallypat]

If you are happy with the Intel MBP, keep it and continue using it - don't lose the huge depreciation...

OTOH my friend has the similar 2019 Intel MBA (i5, 16GB, 512GB) and her laptop heats up, fans spin up to the maximum and her development program lags.

She is taking a $600 hit on her 2019 to trade into the M1 MBA.

 

[Zahni]

I had swapped from MBP Pro 2020 to an MBA M1 16GB an love it. Very fast and I don't miss the touch bar.
Battery stays very long, etc.

 

[MPclk2006]

I have an almost-year-old MBA (Retina, 13-inch, 2019) with a 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM and 512 GB storage, and I'm happy with it.

And, yet, all the talk about the amazing speed and battery of the M1 MBAs has me tempted. I could get $540 in an Apple Gift Card for my trade-in (to use for my current Apple TV subscriptions), and pay no sales tax with my B&H credit card. I'm eyeing the 16GB RAM/512GB MBA for $1698 (with AppleCare).

I'm so tempted, I but I also think it would be insane to swap out such a new machine that's behaving well. Can anyone help save me?

It's insane to me to try and upgrade a Macbook after one year, but that is my opinion and decision for me. If you want a new device and seems you can afford it, go for it. I upgrade phone/ipad about every 3 years or so and laptops even longer. I have a 2017 Macbook that I do not plan on upgrading until its starts crapping out, for a while my go-to laptop was a 2011 Macbook pro but it got stolen so I got this one.

 

[pldelisle]

Apple shoud give you quite a good amount in exchange, so I’d do it.

 

[4sallypat]

It's insane to me to try and upgrade a Macbook after one year, but that is my opinion and decision for me. If you want a new device and seems you can afford it, go for it. I upgrade phone/ipad about every 3 years or so and laptops even longer. I have a 2017 Macbook that I do not plan on upgrading until its starts crapping out, for a while my go-to laptop was a 2011 Macbook pro but it got stolen so I got this one.

Yes, it's insane that a huge depreciation would bother me too.

My 2019 16" MBP that was $2500+ does not compare to my M1 at 1/3 the price!

Handed down the 16" MBP to my wife who loves the touch bar (I never used it) and loving my M1 that is ice cold all day long!

 

[4sallypat]

Apple shoud give you quite a good amount in exchange, so I’d do it.

Wrong, Apple trade offers about 50%.
Selling privately, you can get about 75% on resale...

 

[TrueBlou]

You answered your own question in your first paragraph. You’re happy with the one you have.

My general advice is always, if you have a system which does everything you ask of it, then why replace it, you don’t need a new one.

Yes, the M1 makes a mockery of every MBA that precedes it in power and battery life. But that isn’t going to change, nor has its appearance suddenly made every other computer obsolete.

My advice would be to keep your current system until you actually need a replacement. Just imagine how much more powerful Apple Silicon will be by then.

Of course, I rarely follow my own advice and there’s a world of difference between need and want. So if you’re anything like me, the want itch won’t go away until you buy the thing you want. In that case, ditch the old Air and get a new one now. It’ll also last you for years, probably longer than your Intel one ever would. But that’s not my official advice

 

[Deliro]

What are you use cases? How will exchanging it, and losing a couple hundred bucks, make your day to day use of it better? If it's just to get caught up in having the best, it's more for bragging rights than any actual real world performance if you use your MBA for web browsing and some productivity.

If you're one of the fortunate few that losing a couple/few hundred bucks on an exchange means little, by all means go for it. But just be honest with yourself on your current and intended uses for it are, because an intel powered MBA is also a very fine computer.

 

[srbNYC]

This year, I should probably give the money to charity instead.

 

[VideoFreek]

Normally, such a move would be "insane", but this is not a normal situation. "Normal" model updates boast modest improvements in features and specs; in this case the new M1 machines offer a step change in performance and battery life, particularly for the MBA. That said, be aware of what you'd be getting into as an early adopter--the machines seem to be doing extremely well--I am writing this on an M1 MBP and am loving this machine. However, there is still much to be done in porting software over to the new architecture; while Rosetta 2 performs brilliantly, the experience will be much better when everything is native. There are also glitches with bluetooth, external monitors, etc. that you can read all about in this forum; whether these matter to you depends on your usage. In my case, the M1 is a secondary machine--I still rely on an iMac as the primary. So, I can afford to cope with a few growing pains.

 

[pldelisle]

Wrong, Apple trade offers about 50%.
Selling privately, you can get about 75% on resale...

I thought it was more.

 

[neinjohn]

The 2019 Air MAY develop keyboard problems as it has the faulty from-birth butterfly keyboard. IF it does it MAY take some days to fix it on your zone leading to downtime or be a chronic, continuous problem.

My advice would be to make a list of 5/10 apps you absolutely need to work well on the M1 for your work/entertainment that you're already accostumed on your Intel Air and seek every problem or limitation with actual use on Rosetta 2 or native if alpha/beta/preview state. The closer to how you use the app (if it's a very extensive app as Photoshop) the better. There are some problems reported with non-Apple Bluetooth acessories and intermitent problem with some external display.

Other matters are an emotional and/or an accountant problem I think.

 

[LED]

It's probably insane, but having said that, I traded in an early 2020 so I'm even more insane. I still had my 2015 rMB so I decided to just traded in both. I got $620 and $280 at the Apple store towards the base M1 Air so I pretty much got out with an even exchange. My early 2020 was refurb so the hit I took on it was a little less. I usually keep my MacBooks for at least 5 years but in this case, the M1 is such a different animal, I said what the heck...

 

[srbNYC]

Wrong, Apple trade offers about 50%.
Selling privately, you can get about 75% on resale...

I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but here goes: Best sites for private selling?

 

[pldelisle]

I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but here goes: Best sites for private selling?

FaceBook Marketplace. I sell everything there. It’s crazy.

 

[satcomer]

If you need any Windows stuff (manually install Window 10 ) in Intel Boot Camp with your 16 inch! It’s still early days so wait a few months for the second generation chip before you jump! Plus over the years I say most Mac laptops can update Mac systems software two version about the installed version to keep the speed of your Mac!

 

[darngooddesign]

There is nothing wrong with upgrading just because you want to.

 

[srbNYC]

There is nothing wrong with upgrading just because you want to.

Everyone on the forum has just made the M1 sound so freaking cool.

 

[darngooddesign]

Everyone on the forum has just made the M1 sound so freaking cool.

If you spend your time on an M1 forum, lots of people will say that are great...which they objectively are for most use cases. The main benefits are faster speed, much better battery life, instant on, and runs cooler despite no fan. Those are nice things to have even if you don't need them.

 

[Deliro]

I thought it was more.

Apple trade ins are horrible. Especially on devices like the watch. I always sell privately. It’s a hassle but I get top dollar for the market.

 

[Buck987]

You are thinking this much about it...sounds like its something you really want. Go for it.

 

[4sallypat]

I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but here goes: Best sites for private selling?

For local meetup, I use phone app: OfferUp - it's a bit safer than Craigslist as it requires some verified identity checks. Plus OfferUp users typically won't low ball you...

For online, I use eBay - the seller fees are a bit high (13-15%) but if you factor that in plus the seller protections selling only within the USA - you gain a larger audience...