Getting a 2021 Macbook Pro M1 now - yes or no?

[krixa]

The Internet is full of articles telling that Apple soon will release updated Macbook Pros with M2 chips etc. And that it's a bad idea to get a 2021 model now.

Would you agree?

Will the 2021 models be price dropped after new release or will the newer M2s be more expensive? If the newer ones will be more expensive then I believe it's not a bad deal to get a M1 macbook pro. There won't be any drastic changes to the models design and I don't think the jump from M1 pro to M2 pro will be as prominent as from the Intel CPUs to M1 pros.

[darkinners]

Since M2 is out now, M2 Pro/M2 Max is inevitably coming very soon. Part of the reason that Apple switched to Apple Silicon is that they are all the same chip, same logic board design (more or less) probably just different binning grades. The M2 MBP not dropping yet probably just because of the chip supply issue.

Apple is not a company that will do discounts on their older hardware, they will just discontinue them. Whether the reseller will do a blowout sale to clear the old inventory? maybe

Price increase or any drastic changes? those things I don't think anyone can give you the definitive answer except for higher level Apple staffs and executives, before the announcement they are all just arbitrary guesstimates, my version of guesstimates is price increase is likely but won't be much, drastic change is not likely. Apple just invested the tooling one year ago, I don't see any reason they depreciate them this quickly, that makes no economical sense unless they HAVE to.

[re.mark]

My 2011 Mac mini died a death in early 2020. I've since been waiting for the right machine release to replace it and now find myself in this inevitable circle of doom waiting for each next iteration to 'pull the trigger' at the right point.
First off I waited for reports of the first M1 Mini and reports of how it faired. Then convinced myself that having waited long enough I may aswell wait until a rumoured revision to the machine comes out. An update to the m1 mini didn't come when predicted. But I kept waiting. Low and behind it was apparently due this month, November 2022, which has now been put back to sometime Q1 '23. In that time I'd convinced myself a Macbook pro would suit my needs better and face the same conundrum as yourself; get the soon to be outdated '21 M1 pro or keep holding off until it comes out.
But I've finally resolved I've wasted enough time and not made any music as a consequence of this fear of buying a product that would be "outdated" 6 months down the line.
Im buying a '21 M1 Pro this month - hopefully with some sort of black Friday incentive (though not expecting much) - as I can't wait any longer. If it turns out that in March '23 a new improved M2Pro is out and the M1Pro isnt cutting the mustard for projects I'll trade it in for a decent amount, but I can't just keep putting it off forever.

Probably a conundrum you've found yourself in at times too. Hopefully my resolution can help inform your decision.

[FapFilter]

the newer ones will most certainly be more expensive, at least if you are living outside the US.

i would look for some good prices for the M1 Pros, which can be had.
"My" 16" MBP, with an MSRP of €3000 Euros could be had for €2300 on Amazon just a couple of months ago.
i would guess that it's M2 successor, which was originally rumored to hit the streets around March 2023 will cost between 3200 and 3250 Euros.
So unless you are are desperately in need for the extra ~15% more grunt, i'd say save approx. 1000 Euros and get an M1 Pro on discount

[krixa]

My concern is not that the M1 pro won't be powerful enough and get "outdated" to soon. Only reason I am in the market for a new Macbook Pro now is that Apple recently announced they will now support/update Mac OS on devices older than 2017. I've had my 2015 i7 16GB macbook pro since 2016 and it's still working perfect and suits all my needs. It's just video editing that is kind of slow but it's doable. But now I feel a hurry to get it sold just because soon it will be worth exactly nothing thanks to no updated software.

I guess I waited too long this time. I've kept my current macbook for almost 6 years. I think it's a good thing to change every 4 years. Not that they get too old or sluggish but due to the face Apple stops supporting them.

I will probably go for a 16" Macbook Pro M1 Pro with 16GB and 1TB storage.

[FapFilter]

Apple has established it's ~5 years support of full OS releases + 2 additional years of .x security updates for quite some time now.

it really depends on what you're doing though and you could still be save with an unsupported OS if you are not completely careless.

i never ran into trouble with my Win 7 machine either. Granted, MS is supporting their software for WAY longer (i think Win 7 came out in around 2009 and has been officially "discontinued" in 2020)
but i'm still getting security updates for everything else, except Windows 7 itself, but Office 2010 still does.
Malware removal definitions are still being updated too, same as Windows Defender definitions, and the web browser is still updated aswell.
and i will continue to surf the web on that system too, even if MS will stop updating that thing completely at one point. Same as i did with my XP machine

And MacOS is quite a bit more secure than XP was, so unless you are extremely careless, or simply unlucky, you should be fine with the security of your current Mac as well for a long time too.
if you really want to be safe: maybe do your online banking on your smartphone or tablet (provided that those have current OSes), otherwise have fun with your current system for as long as it is still fulfilling your requirements. or simply run it more or less completely offline, like an instrument on it's own

[.jon]

My concern is not that the M1 pro won't be powerful enough and get "outdated" to soon.

This is just marketing-generated bullshit. Any old computer from the past ten years is powerful enough.

[sqigls]

I bought a 16" with a 500G disk, and one of these which allows at least a 1TB microSD, possibly 2TB...
https://shop.baseqi.com/products/baseqi ... 2391440625

works well

[JockMcRonan]

outta here

[vstdls]

My concern is not that the M1 pro won't be powerful enough and get "outdated" to soon.

This is just marketing-generated bullshit. Any old computer from the past ten years is powerful enough.

I dunno, my 2015 i5 iMac is really starting to struggle with some of the more cpu intense synths...

Apple will most likely drop OS support for the chip before it gets too-long-in-the-tooth, performance-wise, that's really my only (and always) hesitation for returning to the ecosystem.

[JockMcRonan]

outta here

[krixa]

My concern is not that the M1 pro won't be powerful enough and get "outdated" to soon.

This is just marketing-generated bullshit. Any old computer from the past ten years is powerful enough.

I maybe was unclear. I am NOT concerned the performance won't be enough in many years. As I said my 2015 MBP is still working just fine. My concern is Apple dropping support. Both hardware parts and OS / Software updates.

5 years support + 2 years security updates. That's 7 years. I think that is a short time considering how well built Apple computers are and how powerful they are. It's just a waste. This all climate/environment debate is just bullshit. My 2015 MBP which is in absolute great condition is soon just going to the trash can as Apple won't support it anymore. Stupid.

[FapFilter]

option a) keep your current system for as long as it's still fully fulfilling your needs. you will still be safe, unless you're constantly browsing W@r3z or pR0n sit3z!

option b) get an M1 Pro on discount and safe approx. 1k Euros (if you're in Europe, that is), as the M2 Pros will most likely see some "nice" price hike aswell.

option c) wait until around March or so and get an M2 Pro. you will probably get around 2 years of more support, but especially if you are in Europe, you'll be happy if you "just" have to pay around 1000 Euros more than a well discounted M1 Pro.

option d) switch to a Windows laptop. it's supported for WAY longer. downside is that, if you're in for a laptop, nothing atm can match Apple Silicon. If you're getting a stationary system, it's of course the other way around