Macbook Pro purchase

BobbyT28

Hi,

I am.considering getting a macbook Pro soon. Would I be better waiting to get one as the new one is gonna be announced soon and I maybe able to afford the new one, also the Macs now will be cheaper.

Reason I'm looking now is the sterling is much better now. Just a few questions. I would preferably like a 15' screen

I'll be using it for the following:

Browsing
Movies
Photoshop and maybe final cut pro the odd time.
I would also like to have a VM running on it.

What would your recommendation be?
Would I be better buying online in UK as sterling is better?
Any recommendations for online stores (not apple store )?

I would also consider a refurb.

Thanks in advance
BobbyT28

Paulw

When Apple release a new MBP, the current version will be gone. They stop production so that stock is reduced to minimal. There will be probably 2-3 days of an overlap, so there will be almost no price drop.

I too am waiting for the new release. But that could be Aug/Sept before it's done. Who knows what sterling will be like by then. Usually though, Apple has a very similar price across the board (US, Euro, Sterling) so you may save very little.

I've yet to find an online retailer selling it for much cheaper than an Apple store. Apple price control is strong. So, you may not save much, if anything, from buying from anywhere other than Apple.

BobbyT28

Thanks for the reply.

Will the new MBP be in line price wise with the current MBP or more expensive do you think?

Would you think about getting a 2nd hand MBP when they do release tghe new one as prices would drop for 2nd hand ones.

Out of curiosty, what MBP are you looking at and for what reason?

Thanks,
BobbyT28

Paulw

The new MBP will probably be the same price as the current model.

I have a late 2011 MBP 15" currently.

Use it for photography mostly. Sometimes a little video editing and web development.

I'm in no rush, so will wait for the new model. Nothing at all wrong with refurbish models though, if it suits your needs.

Greentree_uk

FYI apple always price on the Dollar rate not the Sterling rate. so the fact that the dollar has strengthened against the euro could mean prices will actually go up.... :eek:

Clodz6

Hi,
Was considering purchasing a refurbished macbook on the us store from here in Ireland and shipping it to my family in New York. They're coming home for a holiday in August and was hoping they'd bring it back for me?

I saw an earlier post on here saying that I'd still be hit with taxes and customs, if this is true is there any way to avoid it? Is there any other possible problem I would encounter if i did this?

Thanks for any help

Creamy Goodness

They'll be liable to pay customs and Irish VAT on it unless they can prove it's not a new purchase. There are ways to avoid paying customs/VAT but we can't talk about them here as they're against the rules. Sure why would you want to join the club of avoiding paying taxes? Bono's not that great :pac:

Paulw

Clodz6 wrote: »

Hi,
Was considering purchasing a refurbished macbook on the us store from here in Ireland and shipping it to my family in New York.

Is there any other possible problem I would encounter if i did this?

Warranty and faults would be my biggest concern. US warranty is 1 year. European warranty is longer. Your contract would be with a US company, based on US consumer law.

Sad Professor

Yeah, buying from the US isn't a good idea if you're worried about running into problems down the road. You could always get AppleCare, that will give you an extra year of warranty, but it's not exactly cheap.

I wouldn't personally let the current state of Sterling influence when I'm going to buy. Even if it works out worse for you by waiting, you can just pick up one of the previous models from the refurb store or from a reseller at a discount. Even the current refurbs will be cheaper.

But I think it's in everyone's interest to wait and see what the new models have in store.

BobbyT28

Yeah I think i am going to hold on and wait. It's gonna be a long bloody wait until Sept/Oct!

Hope the price falls in line with the current Macbook Pro or Apple shock everyone and drop the prices slightly (Not likely)!

Creamy Goodness

Apple will probably raise the price as they account for currency fluctuations throughout a products life at its release. With the £ dropping they revise the price.

justmyself

I'm guessing some of you are using older MBP's ?


Anyone out there using a MacBook Pro 13" Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 8GB ?

I believe they came out around 2010-ish.

Just wondering what the lag/ freezing etc... is like when using PS & AI ?

I've been offered one for 400euro... with the option of upgrading the RAM to 16gb... so I'm assuming it will be able to handle PS & AI being opened at the same time?

I realize the screen is small, but i will hook it up to a monitor. I've been using a PC todate to carry out my work, but this iPad Pro has me hooked for illustrating... so i need a Macbook or iMac to connect it too (for an easier life)... but was hoping to avoid spending a grand or two.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

BobbyT28

Anymore rumours?

I'm starting to get itchy feet!! Come on apple

evolving_doors

justmyself wrote: »

I'm guessing some of you are using older MBP's ?


Anyone out there using a MacBook Pro 13" Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz 8GB ?

I believe they came out around 2010-ish.

Just wondering what the lag/ freezing etc... is like when using PS & AI ?

I've been offered one for 400euro... with the option of upgrading the RAM to 16gb... so I'm assuming it will be able to handle PS & AI being opened at the same time?

I realize the screen is small, but i will hook it up to a monitor. I've been using a PC todate to carry out my work, but this iPad Pro has me hooked for illustrating... so i need a Macbook or iMac to connect it too (for an easier life)... but was hoping to avoid spending a grand or two.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Ya I have one of those 2010's (only 4gb though).. They're grand esp if you can upgrade to 16gb.. Brother was telling me to consider upgrading to newer harddrive as it overheats a bit (SSD I think it was)... Check out the lower spec option and see if you'll save a few quid upgrading yourself on crucial.

One thing though is the OS version, I was thinking of installing el capitan but read loads of reviews from folk on older systems like mine whod advised against it.. Might be ok with a brand new refurbished though!

I'm on lion at the moment and there increasing amount of apps that won't run on this older system.

Sorry, don't know what PS or AI are!

BreadnBuddha

Gebgbegb wrote: »

Sorry, don't know what PS or AI are!

Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator

evolving_doors

BreadnBuddha wrote: »

Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator

Ok gotcha, dunno what the ram demand on those would be

BreadnBuddha

Gebgbegb wrote: »

Ok gotcha, dunno what the ram demand on those would be

Well, let's just say that this was the polar opposite mindset when it comes to RAM and image processing...

BobbyT28

Was away in holidays for a week or so and had no access to the www! Any word on new Macbook ??

Sad Professor

BobbyT28 wrote: »

Was away in holidays for a week or so and had no access to the www! Any word on new Macbook ??

Nothing official yet but expected early October.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-29/apple-said-to-prepare-ipad-upgrades-and-refreshed-mac-lineup

Losty Dublin

Sad Professor wrote: »

Nothing official yet but expected early October.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-29/apple-said-to-prepare-ipad-upgrades-and-refreshed-mac-lineup

Make what you want out of this update.

http://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/09/tim-cook-very-committed-mac-email/

BobbyT28

Still patiently waiting!! :(

Still nothing. Was talking to one of the lads in CompuB and he said its unlikely that they will release a Macbook this year. I think he's wrong.

BobbyT28

BobbyT28

OSI wrote: »

Currys are currently offering cash back on Apple laptops. The only time you see offers like that are when new ones are due.

But when. 😞😞

Sad Professor

New Macbook Pros and probably Airs should be out in the next few weeks. The "MacBook One" will probably be next year.

Hope the Pro update is good and includes a price cut. I need a new Mac badly but not if it's 1500!

Albert_Camus

Sad Professor wrote: »

New Macbook Pros and probably Airs should be out in the next few weeks. The "MacBook One" will probably be next year.

Hope the Pro update is good and includes a price cut. I need a new Mac badly but not if it's 1500!

How much would you be thinking of spending?

I guess it's not gonna be cheaper than an iPhone 7 plus 256gb though is it? Would be strange..

Sad Professor

Albert_Camus wrote: »

How much would you be thinking of spending?

I guess it's not gonna be cheaper than an iPhone 7 plus 256gb though is it? Would be strange..

MBPs used to be a lot cheaper. Part of it is that the Euro crisis has absorbed a lot of the price cuts Apple have made to the Retina models. I'd be hoping for 13-1400 but it's very unlikely if the Air is sticking around.

I may wait and get a refurb or an iMac instead. But I'm also seriously considering a PC laptop for the first time...

Albert_Camus

Sad Professor wrote: »

MBPs used to be a lot cheaper. Part of it is that the Euro crisis has absorbed a lot of the price cuts Apple have made to the Retina models. I'd be hoping for 13-1400 but it's very unlikely if the Air is sticking around.

I may wait and get a refurb or an iMac instead. But I'm also seriously considering a PC laptop for the first time...

Oh yeah, just couldn't see them going too far under 1500 if people are paying 1139 for a phone.

But if you'd be happy with 1400 you'll probably be OK? Didn't think when you said not at 1500 that 1400 would swing it for you

Royale with Cheese

Is there anything different between the Air and Pro apart from the screen? I know the specs don't match up currently, but let's say they release a new Air next month with an option to upgrade to the latest i7 processor and 16gb of ram. Would it perform any worse than a Pro with the same processor and ram?

I'm looking at getting a macbook for live music performance, so need something fairly high spec. But also want it as portable as possible (13 inch), I've played in bands for years and I really hate carrying shít. I guess with these rumoured USB-C ports the pro could come down in weight a bit?

Sad Professor

^ No Force Touch trackpad. And even after a refresh the specs won't match. The Air is no longer Apple's ultra portable laptop, it's now their low-end laptop, so I'm sceptical they're going to do much if anything for it. If they keep it around it'll be because it still sells and they'll want to cannibalise as much of those sales as they can.

I have a similar dilemma re: balancing performance and portability. The new Pro is expected to be quite a bit slimmer, though, so I'm hoping that will make the decision for me.

Albert_Camus

Sad Professor wrote: »

I have a similar dilemma re: balancing performance and portability. The new Pro is expected to be quite a bit slimmer, though, so I'm hoping that will make the decision for me.

What kind of performance demands do you have? I find the MacBook great for all my needs and then with that portability and battery life, it's perfect!

Royale with Cheese

Surely they'll refresh the Air properly? The latest processor and an option for more ram is all I'd want (anything else a bonus). Unless the Pro is coming down in size enough to be considered ultra portable, then I guess the Air might not have much of a place anymore.

The 12" macbook, while a nice looking device is of no use to me. Real time audio processing is all about processing power so anything with a Core M processor is a no for me. 12" also slightly to small for me I think.

Sad Professor

Albert_Camus wrote: »

What kind of performance demands do you have? I find the MacBook great for all my needs and then with that portability and battery life, it's perfect!

I need something that can comfortably handle video and raw photo editing for several years. As much I'd love a 12-inch I'd probably end up replacing it in 2 years.

Part of my problem though is I'm trying to replace two Macs with one.

Sad Professor

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Surely they'll refresh the Air properly? The latest processor and an option for more ram is all I'd want (anything else a bonus). Unless the Pro is coming down in size enough to be considered ultra portable, then I guess the Air might not have much of a place anymore.

The 12" macbook, while a nice looking device is of no use to me. Real time audio processing is all about processing power so anything with a Core M processor is a no for me. 12" also slightly to small for me I think.

I'm expecting a stop-gap refresh. Good enough to last the next 2-3 years until they drop it but not enough to convince anyone who was considering a Pro or 12inch that they should get an Air.

Albert_Camus

Sad Professor wrote: »

I need something that can comfortably handle video and raw photo editing for several years. As much I'd love a 12-inch I'd probably end up replacing it in 2 years.

Part of my problem though is I'm trying to replace two Macs with one.

Ah cool, and is your current Pro struggling?

I don't do any video editing, but depends what your doing, i think people think they are "power users". I' be more than willing to process a video you are working on to give you an idea of the MacBook's power.

But raw photo editing, as in edit a RAW file from a camera? do it all the time (through Lightroom), you could prob do it on your phone? What camera do you plan on using over the next two years that you think will have an impact on the MacBooks ability to process them?

It's my development machine too (at home), so edit a photo, hope into IntelliJ for java dev, not a bother to it.

I'd love to see the stats on people who own MacBook pro's and use them to their limit daily.

Sad Professor

My current MBP is 7 years old and struggles with most things, but I got 5 years of solid usage out of it. I also have an Air, which was never able for much and spins its fans through anything intensive so I've given up. I consider it a bad purchase in retrospect. I loved the portability but it was underpowered and the 11-inch model is a compromised design. Still it's basically my primary Mac at the moment and is grand for most things. A MacBook One would probably be able to manage what I need currently, but it would start to struggle after 2 years. Mac OS updates would see to that even if the video editing didn't. It would end up being a secondary Mac for me when what I really need now is a primary Mac that can handle anything I can throw at it. Also who I'm kidding, I need something with ports! I'm still considering it because I love the design but it's really not what I need.

Albert_Camus

Sad Professor wrote: »

My current MBP is 7 years old and struggles with most things, but I got 5 years of solid usage out of it. I also have an Air, which was never able for much and spins its fans through anything intensive so I've given up. I consider it a bad purchase in retrospect. I loved the portability but it was underpowered and the 11-inch model is a compromised design. Still it's basically my primary Mac at the moment and is grand for most things. A MacBook One would probably be able to manage what I need currently, but it would start to struggle after 2 years. Mac OS updates would see to that even if the video editing didn't. It would end up being a secondary Mac for me when what I really need now is a primary Mac that can handle anything I can throw at it. Also who I'm kidding, I need something with ports! I'm still considering it because I love the design but it's really not what I need.

Yeah fair enough. I think I've just officially become a MacBook 12" fanboy!

Elessar

More rumors that it will be a late October launch of the new Macbooks. Apparently they are finalising the software in the betas. But I wonder if the wait was more to do with getting the first shipments of Intels Kaby lake H series 45W processors, which are due to start shipping towards the end of the year. It would be really odd for them to go with Skylake, only to have Intel launch a new processor a few weeks later.

BobbyT28

Elessar wrote: »

More rumors that it will be a late October launch of the new Macbooks. Apparently they are finalising the software in the betas. But I wonder if the wait was more to do with getting the first shipments of Intels Kaby lake H series 45W processors, which are due to start shipping towards the end of the year. It would be really odd for them to go with Skylake, only to have Intel launch a new processor a few weeks later.

Me hopes so! Either way I just want them to launch it already so I can buy my first Mac.

WhiteMemento9

Dell are already shipping computers with the new Kaby lake chips so hopefully if that was the hold up the announcement should come pretty soon. Still not sure I will be buying one but like to see what they are offering before splashing on something.

Doodah7

Possibility that these soon-to-be-released Macs might be the last with Intel CPU's before a move to ARM...

https://www.macobserver.com/columns-opinions/particle-debris/evidence-mounting-apple-will-convert-macs-arm-cpus/

Elessar

WhiteMemento9 wrote: »

Dell are already shipping computers with the new Kaby lake chips so hopefully if that was the hold up the announcement should come pretty soon. Still not sure I will be buying one but like to see what they are offering before splashing on something.

They're only shipping the low power chips which are the only ones available ATM. The 45w high end notebook cpus won't be available until late 2016 at the earliest, probably 2017 realistically.

BobbyT28

So, 11 days before the alleged Apple event to unveil the Apple Macbook Pro and air lineup.

I am seriously losing faith. :-(

What do you all think, do you reckon we will see a Macbook Pro launched before the end of October?

Sad Professor

I still say yes, absolutely. Even if the MBP isn't ready for another few months, Apple will have to come out and announce it. They can't stay silent for another 4-5 months. So ready or not I expect an event by the end of the month. However, it almost certainly is ready.

BobbyT28

Sad Professor wrote: »

I still say yes, absolutely. Even if the MBP isn't ready for another few months, Apple will have to come out and announce it. They can't stay silent for another 4-5 months. So ready or not I expect an event by the end of the month. However, it almost certainly is ready.

:):):):):):):)

Sad Professor

More rumours say new MBPs on track for release end of October. 11-inch MBA being discontinued.

http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/17/macbook-pro-still-coming-in-october/

If true invites will have to go out this week.

Update: October 27th event confirmed.
http://www.recode.net/2016/10/18/13323264/apple-new-macs-october-27

BobbyT28

Sad Professor wrote: »

More rumours say new MBPs on track for release end of October. 11-inch MBA being discontinued.

http://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/17/macbook-pro-still-coming-in-october/

If true invites will have to go out this week.

Get in there! :):):):):)

BobbyT28

Looks like apple have an event on the 27/10. Just announced

whiterebel

BobbyT28 wrote: »

Looks like apple have an event on the 27/10. Just announced

You'd need to be up fairly early to beat the Prof to this kind of news....:pac:

Apple event