Would upgrading be a waste of money??

[flat6pilot]

So basically I made a sweet little setup in my bedroom for my 2012 Macbook Pro 15 Unibody. Bought it during Covid for $200 and upgraded with an SSD and 16GB. It works perfectly fine other than the fact it recently started dropping connection with my AirPods every few minutes. My bedroom is a nice size with four big windows so it's a fun hangout with a view. I have a 27" 2020 iMac and gaming PC downstairs but the glare in the morning and afternoon can make them uncomfortable to use, so I'll often be upstairs during those times on the 2012 Macbook.

Basically use it for web browsing, YouTube videos, music, streaming, maybe light photo editing but that would mostly be done on the iMac.

My only motivation to upgrade is that I want to enjoy new tech. It would also be nice not to lose my AirPods connection if I walk into another room and I won't rule out gaming with Apple going down that path.

I originally had my sights on an M2 MBA Air 15, but with the configuration I'd want (16/512) I could grab an open box deal on an M2 Macbook Pro 16 with the same specs. I don't care about portability so may as well grab the better computer for the same price.

For years in the 2000's and 2010's I would buy some mediocre PC and monitor and run them into the ground for 7 or 8 years. I got back into Apple products a few years ago and am really enjoying the experience. I was a tech nerd as a kid in the 90's and it's fun getting back into it.

Coincidentally I'm getting about 2k in backpay from work this month. I can get the M2 MPB 16 I want for around $1700. It would kinda feel like a complete was of money lol but at what point do you live a little?

 

[raythompsontn]

Only you can answer that question. No one here knows your financial situation and where that $2K can best be spent. If you want to upgrade, then opinions here are worthless for your situation.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I could grab an open box deal on an M2 Macbook Pro 16 with the same specs. I don't care about portability so may as well grab the better computer for the same price."

That's the better choice.
But the "open box" may have sold before you get there! (sigh)

 

[saudor]

Basically use it for web browsing, YouTube videos, music, streaming, maybe light photo editing but that would mostly be done on the iMac.

An ipad might another idea to consider since it can handle those things really well.

Gaming on apple will likely never be a thing unless it's one of those free to play/match 3 clones with lootboxes, but pretending to be something else.

 

[smirking]

My only motivation to upgrade is that I want to enjoy new tech. It would also be nice not to lose my AirPods connection if I walk into another room and I won't rule out gaming with Apple going down that path.

If you think you'll enjoy it and you can afford it comfortably, why not?

The M-series Macs are indeed quite enjoyable and you'll have a second machine that can do anything you want. That M2 is gonna smoke your iMac so you may not be using that iMac as much as you have been.

Also that 2012 Unibody isn't going to last forever, it doesn't get OS support anymore, and you've already gotten your money's worth from it. I have a 2012 Unibody myself, but it no longer works.

 

[dizmonk]

"I could grab an open box deal on an M2 Macbook Pro 16 with the same specs. I don't care about portability so may as well grab the better computer for the same price."

That's the better choice.
But the "open box" may have sold before you get there! (sigh)

You can get an M1 16" 16gb/1tb refurb on numerous E-bay/Amazon reputable resellers for $1500-1600. That's what I would do.