Worth waiting for 2021 MBP?

[RoadHousePiano]

My late 2011 MBP died at the very beginning of quarantine. I had upgraded to 16 gig RAM and put in a SSD. I was able to do just about everything I wanted to do with it (running Gigperformer with various plug ins) with a 128 buffer. Only compromise I needed to make, to keep at 128, was to eliminate Amplitube from my EP patches. I was considering the 13" M1 MBP with 16 gig ram with a powered USB hub. It seems like this would be quite an upgrade from what I've been used to. Of course now I'm once again on the fence, given the news that a faster 14" model is on the horizon. Anyone have one of the M1 Macs that they have used for Gigperformer or Mainstage? If I was mostly happy with a late 2011 model, would I be very happy with the current M1 or should I wait on the next big thing? Screen size isn't super important to me and the lure of extra ports is nice, but I can live with using a hub.

[dongna]

My philosophy is there will always be the next model on the horizon, the next big thing.

 

Just about any computer you buy today will be crazy-fast.

[drawback]

My philosophy is there will always be the next model on the horizon, the next big thing.

 

Just about any computer you buy today will be crazy-fast.

 

True! Usually I'd just jump on. But after reading that Apple may be abandoning the touch bar and reverting to mag-safe might be worth an extra three or four month wait for the new one, at least in this case.

[Stokely]

I'd do it simply because 13" is too small for me, and I don't want to buy the last Intel model.

[ElmerJFudd]

Hell yes. It"s going to be a beast.

[Josh Paxton]

Just about any computer you buy today will be crazy-fast.

 

[Non-music-related tangent] That was the assumption I made last year when I bought a very basic model MacBook Air â not for music or video, but just for day-to-day word processing, email, social media-type stuff. I have since cursed it every day for how underpowered it is, and how often I get the spinning beach ball and the "This web page is using significant energy and may be slowing down your computer message" while browsing sites like Facebook. I'm debating whether my next move will be going back to a Pro, or switching over to the biggest, baddest iPad and foregoing a laptop entirely.

[OB Dave]

My 2015 MBP is holding up fine (2TB OWC SSD, 16 GB RAM) so I can hold off for awhile. Two USB-C ports is pretty stingy. The rumor is the M2 version will bring back magsafe, the SD slot, have more ports, and support more RAM. To me that's well worth waiting for.

[GovernorSilver]

I don't really care about getting the fastest possible Macbook Pro.

 

I am however, enticed by the return of more ports... and no TouchBar. I briefly used a 2019 Macbook Pro for work and always had to carry a dongle/hub to plug in a bigger monitor, plug in a cable to charge my phone, etc. So for me personally, waiting for the 2nd half of 2021 is bearable.

 

https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/08/buyers-guide-dont-buy-macbook-pro-now/

 

If you, however, have greater urgency then you already know what you need to do anyway.

[drawback]

I'm debating whether my next move will be going back to a Pro, or switching over to the biggest, baddest iPad and foregoing a laptop entirely.

 

I have a late 2015 iMac 21" that I'll evenually replace and was thinking of going back to a MBP, but now I'm leaning toward getting a Mini and using the iMac as a display, and going all out on an iPad.

[dongna]

[Non-music-related tangent] That was the assumption I made last year when I bought a very basic model MacBook Air â not for music or video, but just for day-to-day word processing, email, social media-type stuff. I have since cursed it every day for how underpowered it is, and how often I get the spinning beach ball and the "This web page is using significant energy and may be slowing down your computer message" while browsing sites like Facebook. I'm debating whether my next move will be going back to a Pro, or switching over to the biggest, baddest iPad and foregoing a laptop entirely.

 

Josh, I really don't know what to say in response to this. My wife and I gave both our children basic Macbook Airs as high school graduation gifts to use for college and beyond. That would make my daughter's a 2016 model and my son's a 2020. They're both used for exactly what you describe, and in my son's case, for online college coursework. They also both use them for music (Spotify) and for streaming TV and movies-- oftentimes in the background while doing something else in the foreground. Both of them are as happy as can be with them.

 

If you say yours is not powerful enough to browse Facebook, I can only suggest that there may be some other bottleneck in your overall setup?

 

Otherwise I guess the old adage is true that your mileage may vary.

[Reezekeys]

Normally I would be in the camp saying 'don"t sweat this, there"s always going to be a better model.' Maybe not this time though. I do a lot of photography and video and having an SD card slot is a nice feature. Of course I can afford to wait since my current eight year old MacBook Pro is handling things just fine, albeit a little slow at times.

[MoodyBluesKeys]

My 2011 MBP died a few months ago (the usual video problem - not bootable, and it did corrupt the 1TB SSD). I looked at other older ones (so I could max RAM and change to a big SSD). Wound up buying a 2012 Mac Mini with the fastest (at the time) quad i7, 16GB RAM, a new 1TB SSD, and the existing 1TB "Fusion" drive. When I looked at how I used it, I really didn't need the portability. I have a very high power 17" HP Zbook G2, quad i7, 32GB RAM, 256GB M2 SSD, 1TB SATA SSD, and the shipped 1TB HD as a third drive for internal image backup for carrying around. With my eyesight, I need the bigger screen.

 

I almost always used the MBP with an external 32" monitor anyhow, and I've been very pleased. I did consider the later Intel Mini (2018, IIRC) that takes up to 64GB RAM, but the price on the other was a lot lower. Also considered the new M1 Mini, but I use Parallels for hosting various VMs in my business, and at the time it didn't yet run on the M1 (very recently it now does).

 

Then the church gave me back the original 2011 Mini (similar specs), they bought a newer one, so now I have the newer one in the shop, the older in the home.. and a 2015 Macbook AIR 4GB RAM on the workbench feeding a second monitor (screen is broken, but my cost on it was $0) for quick web looking while servicing stuff. Can also access any powered on machine I have, Windows, Mac, or Linux remotely using a cool little program called NoMachine that does most of what TeamViewer does, but is totally free for use.

[zxcvbnm098]

Similar story in that I had a 2009 MBP the finally died, and I moved up to the new M1 MBA with 16gb RAM and 1TB storage. I don't use MainStage, but GB and Logic and this thing smokes. It's a great computer and I'm super pleased. I too was contemplating waiting for a MBP, but needed something quickly. I'm a teacher, so I got the Apple discount of around 10% + 12 month interest free financing. It's a lot of computer for that price.

 

The only drawback for me personally was the mag safe connection coming on the upgraded MBP, but the MBA has such a long life on its battery, as well as running super cool that it's not really an issue. YMMV.....

[ElmerJFudd]

On recent tests with Mac Book Pros. The 13' M1 smokes the Mid 2020 13' Intel Mac Book Pro, however the 2020 Intel i9 is faster (if not as power efficient and hotter running). I"ve no doubt the M1 Mac Book Pro that replaces the i9 model will similarly be a significant jump in performance.

 

Fastest

16-in MacBook Pro = 2020 MacBook Pro 16-inch, 8-core 2.4GHz i9 CPU, 16GB RAM, Pro 5600M GPU, MacOS Catalina

 

Second Fastest

13-in M1 MacBook Pro = 2020 Apple M1 MacBook Pro, 8-Core CPU, 16GB RAM, 8-core GPU, MacOS Big Sur

 

Third Place

13-in MacBook Pro = Mid 2020 MacBook Pro 13-inch, Intel Core i7-1068NG7 2.3GHz Quad-Core processor, Iris Plus integrated Graphics, MacOS Catalina

 

https://barefeats.com/

 

I still get a lot done on my 13-in Mac Book Pro late 2013. It has a 2.4ghz Dual-Core i5 and 8gb RAM. But performance on a recent M1 Mac Mini I setup for a friend is noticeably better in every way.

[Marzzz]

The next update is going to be a big one, so wait if you can. Like most I usually advise 'there will always be something better' but in this case it will a significant step up and worth it.

[Fleer]

Hell yeah. Monster MBP with an full 8-core M1X or M2 chip and 32 or 64 GB RAM.

[mauriziodececco]

Yes, as other said, i would usually suggest buy whatever you need know, because you'll get incrementally better model every 6/12 month, so there always be a good reason to wait.

 

But this time is different; what is going on is not an incremental change in the lineup, but a kind of revolution, with Apple Silicon and other rumored changes, like the 14" screen or different connectivity.

 

Up to now, Apple moved the entry level products to the M1 Apple processor, in all the product lines (Mac Book Air, Pro and iMac). Now they have to start moving the middle products, and the new high end Mac Book Pro may bring a substantial progress in term of computing power, thermals/fan noise, and as being more future proof, so it may be worth waiting.

 

My personal bet is that they will use the WWDC keynote (7th of june) to announce these products; WWDC has been often used to announce pro level products, that is what developers like to use; last year they annonce the Apple Silicon transition, the year before the Mac Pro; i think the iMac Pro was also announced in a WWDC (but i am not sure, double check needed). This is also coherent with the rumours about the start of mass production of the next M series chip.

 

But you never know, it may be later :-) ...

 

Maurizio

[nursers]

A related thread worth checking out

 

[RoadHousePiano]

Very helpful link, indeed.

[RoadHousePiano]

Some great responses, thanks everyone. I've decided to wait. As a few of you have pointed out, it seems like the next model is going to be more than an incremental upgrade. Most of my summer gigs will be outdoors and I usually don't use my macbook for those so i can suck it up and wait another 2-6 months.