13" vs 15" & Wait to buy MPBr?

David Erato

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1) While walking around a best buy last weekend, I stopped to show my wife the MBPr I want to get in the near future. We have a 13" MBP from 2010, but the current 13" model looks tiny. And the 15" current model did not seem as massive as we thought. Her mom had a 15" 2010 MBP (but maybe it was 17", I'll check), that seemed huge. So any thoughts on getting the 2 extra inches? The base price on 15" is considerably higher, but I think you get more too. We use it mostly around the house, and i do find myself wanting more screen.

2). Should we wait for next update? We are in no immediate need, though this will trickle other models down our line. The new one will replace the 2010 MBP, and that one will go to my work to replace a very tired 2007 black Macbook. Thoughts?

Thanks much.

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qbnkelt

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Mar 17, 2012
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1) While walking around a best buy last weekend, I stopped to show my wife the MBPr I want to get in the near future. We have a 13" MBP from 2010, but the current 13" model looks tiny. And the 15" current model did not seem as massive as we thought. Her mom had a 15" 2010 MBP (but maybe it was 17", I'll check), that seemed huge. So any thoughts on getting the 2 extra inches? The base price on 15" is considerably higher, but I think you get more too. We use it mostly around the house, and i do find myself wanting more screen.

2). Should we wait for next update? We are in no immediate need, though this will trickle other models down our line. The new one will replace the 2010 MBP, and that one will go to my work to replace a very tired 2007 black Macbook. Thoughts?

Thanks much.

Sent from my iDevice using Tapatalk. Please excuse typos and brevity.

I'm in the same position as you. I'll be going to a 15" MacBook Pro but I'm going to max out on storage and chipset so I'm saving now. As long as there is no urgency, I'd wait for the next.

That said, if we all wait for the next update, we would never buy anything!!!!:rotfl:
 

Wreckus

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1) While walking around a best buy last weekend, I stopped to show my wife the MBPr I want to get in the near future. We have a 13" MBP from 2010, but the current 13" model looks tiny. And the 15" current model did not seem as massive as we thought. Her mom had a 15" 2010 MBP (but maybe it was 17", I'll check), that seemed huge. So any thoughts on getting the 2 extra inches? The base price on 15" is considerably higher, but I think you get more too. We use it mostly around the house, and i do find myself wanting more screen.0

2). Should we wait for next update? We are in no immediate need, though this will trickle other models down our line. The new one will replace the 2010 MBP, and that one will go to my work to replace a very tired 2007 black Macbook. Thoughts?

Thanks much.

Sent from my iDevice using Tapatalk. Please excuse typos and brevity.

From what I can read above, the 15inch model would be the one to get for you.

As for when the macbook pro's will be upgraded (new model), no one really knows. But, I can see Apple not putting broadwell in their macbook pros and waiting for skylake later on in late 2015/early-mid 2016.
 

David Erato

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Yeah, I'm starting to lean towards the 15". I didn't realize how much beefier it really is. Probably should take our 13" in just to see the footprint difference.

We can wait a few months (and save), maybe there will be a quiet Broadwell bump when the watches come out. And either get that one, or 2014 haswell cheaper. I sure hope they don't wait 2 years to update. I feel it is disingenuous to loyal customers to delay these updates (macpro, Mac mini, Apple tv) for what I would guess would be either redesign or extending profit margin life of a product. They have a great supply chain where at least a yearly bump on most products shouldn't affect the profit margin much.


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Wreckus

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Yeah, I'm starting to lean towards the 15". I didn't realize how much beefier it really is. Probably should take our 13" in just to see the footprint difference.

We can wait a few months (and save), maybe there will be a quiet Broadwell bump when the watches come out. And either get that one, or 2014 haswell cheaper. I sure hope they don't wait 2 years to update. I feel it is disingenuous to loyal customers to delay these updates (macpro, Mac mini, Apple tv) for what I would guess would be either redesign or extending profit margin life of a product. They have a great supply chain where at least a yearly bump on most products shouldn't affect the profit margin much.


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Apple would love to upgrade their macbook pro line sooner. Unfortunately, they are currently at the mercy of Intel. I wouldn't be surprised if Apple has a new design look for the Macbook Pro's, but (IMO) they are going to wait until skylake to implement those new models/design.
 

Algus

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15'' rMBP is a high-end production machine that's in an entirely different league from the 13'' rMBP so hopefully you're considering it because you want/need the extra computing horsepower and not just because you want the larger screen. As a rule, I don't like larger laptops (I'm on a 14'' right now and I find it a bit big compared to my 11'' which is currently charging) because if I want the extra screen size, I can just plug it into an external monitor but if you like a desktop replacement size computer, the rMBP certainly isn't going to let you down.

Laptop sizes have shrunk significantly over the past several years. My first college laptop was an 8 lb monster, probably three times as big as my current 14'' and even the Dell I used in grad school was pretty big. A new 15'' rMBP is thinner and lighter than the older models.

As to your second question - if you don't need it go ahead and wait. Macs are expensive purchases, especially if you're looking at a 15'' rMBP. Take some time, toss a little extra money aside for the purchase and make sure your budget allows for all the features you want. The one thing that sucks about waiting with Apple though is that they tend to be pretty hush hush about upcoming product releases. Even with for instance the 12'' MBA that is coming we pretty much know what it will look like, etc. but we probably won't know when it will be available until it actually is available.
 

David Erato

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I compared the footprint of the 2010 models to the current ones, they are indeed smaller by maybe half inch in most directions. Going 15" would be mostly for the screen, but the stock 13" we would need more ram and storage anyways. And since we can wait and save, might as well.

Has Apple ever skipped an Intel chip generation on their MBP line? I'm sure it's happened on the mini and pro, but I think they don't skip a gen on the iMac or MBP line.


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David Erato

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I thought I would give this a bump, since new updates happened. I hope all the recent news doesn't totally crowd put what I think is an interesting discussion.


These new updates make the decision of 13" vs 15" MBPr more difficult.

13" has newer processor, 15" does not, but it is a quad core i7. Processor means little to us. At most light video editing of iPhone footage may happen on occasion.

13" now has 8gb of faster ram, but 15" comes with 16gb. We have 8gb in our 2010 and it seems enough, though my wife leaves every app/tab open and we use fast user switching.

13" has better battery life, but that means little since it's primarily a home machine.

256gb should be enough storage. Most media is stored on a drobo, hooked up to an iMac.

So comparing the $1500 13" MBPr vs the $2000 15", the main differences are the processors, screen size (I would like more), and the intel iris 6100 vs iris pro graphics. I'm not a gamer, but I would enjoy picking up simcity again.

Thoughts on the new 13" vs now older 15" MBPr would be appreciated. Thanks!


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Bifurcated

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I have the original 15" MBPr (from 2012) and the power still holds up today for software development, gaming and video editing. I've got to imagine the current model is going to meet all but the most advanced needs. Of course if you wait, the new Broadwell refresh will come along, probably later this year. And then of course you could wait for the Skylake update beyond that, which may come with a redesigned chassis. There's unfortunately never a time to buy when there isn't something better on the horizon.
 

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