Planning to buy M1 MacBook Pro 16

[maverick786us]

I am planning to buy an M1 MacBook Pro 16 inches during this black Friday Sale. Its a wonderful piece of hardware, I plan on keeping this MacBook for 8-10 years and want it to be completely intact. With my old MacBook 15 (2015 Model) which is still in good shape, there are few dead pixels and the left speaker cracking even after replacing it thrice from apple certified repair. I always handle my gadgets with extra care and safety. I never keep my MacBook on sleep mode, because I fear that it might reduce the life of its SSD. I bought a dedicated stand for my new MacBook, to provide good air flow. I don't know what caused its left speaker to crack and dead pixels. I don't want to feel the same experience with my new MacBook, is 3 year apple care the solution?

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

Hard call to make I'd think. Really depends on your usage, do you often take it out or does it sit at home, and are there any additional hazards there (e.g., kids, pets), etc. Dog knows AppleCare ain't cheap.

FWIW, AppleInsider is very good at tracking sales on all the Mac models (and occasional AppleCare bundles as well). Amazon currently has the base MBP 16 on sale for -$500.

And there's no risk of harm to the SSD or any other component from putting a Mac to sleep.

 

[Zepher]

My 2014 13" MacBook Pro Retina has a perfect screen and speakers. I did have to replace the battery earlier this year since it was bulging, found that out when I opened it up to install the 512GB SSD I bought from a member here to replace the stock 128GB SSD.
It looks like it's possible to keep buying Apple Care after the 3 years to keep the unit covered,
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT2...enews,current AppleCare+ Terms and Conditions

 

[UnknownSouljer]

I will put out there for you that yeah, you'll be able to buy this model for less with all of these sales, but the Macbook Pro's are expected to get refreshed to M2 chips in Q1 next year (as well as the release of the new Mac Pro Desktop). That stuff drives me nuts (I want to have the top product for at least a little while if I just dropped the cash). If that doesn't bother you, fire away, will be a good machine for a long while.

I'll also note that Apple has a very defined support cycle for all of its computing products. They do 5 years of full support, counted from when they "stopped" selling that product new, after which the computer enters vintage status. Then another 2 years of extended bug support. After the full 7 years are up there is no software or hardware support for whatever that particular model is and it becomes what Apple refers to as "Obsolete". The 2013/2014 Macbooks all have just entered into Obsolete status. Your 2015 will enter into that status at some point either next year or the following year depending on when they stopped selling that model "new".
While it's of course more than possible to keep a piece of hardware longer than Apple's support window, it's something to consider if security matters at all to you.

All that said, to answer your question, getting AppleCare+ is always a good idea if you are wary and want to ensure having full support for those first 3 years. It is for sure good piece of mind and I have both bought it and needed repairs through it. I think it's less of an issue now with their machines made since 2019, but all the same I think if you want a policy that will give good service, it is a good one. I think it's unlikely you'll have mechanical issues on the new models or electronic ones either.

 

[maverick786us]

Hard call to make I'd think. Really depends on your usage, do you often take it out or does it sit at home, and are there any additional hazards there (e.g., kids, pets), etc. Dog knows AppleCare ain't cheap.

FWIW, AppleInsider is very good at tracking sales on all the Mac models (and occasional AppleCare bundles as well). Amazon currently has the base MBP 16 on sale for -$500.

And there's no risk of harm to the SSD or any other component from putting a Mac to sleep.

My MacBook mostly sits home. I don't have kids. I do have a cat. He never touches the MacBook with few exceptions when I am watching Netflix on the bed, he might sit on the keyboard or trackpad rarely. I Know there is no risk or harm to SSD component from putting a Mac to sleep. But SSDs have limited write cycles, and when, Mac is in sleep mode, some worker threads continues to perform background operation

 

[maverick786us]

I will put out there for you that yeah, you'll be able to buy this model for less with all of these sales, but the Macbook Pro's are expected to get refreshed to M2 chips in Q1 next year (as well as the release of the new Mac Pro Desktop). That stuff drives me nuts (I want to have the top product for at least a little while if I just dropped the cash). If that doesn't bother you, fire away, will be a good machine for a long while.

I'll also note that Apple has a very defined support cycle for all of its computing products. They do 5 years of full support, counted from when they "stopped" selling that product new, after which the computer enters vintage status. Then another 2 years of extended bug support. After the full 7 years are up there is no software or hardware support for whatever that particular model is and it becomes what Apple refers to as "Obsolete". The 2013/2014 Macbooks all have just entered into Obsolete status. Your 2015 will enter into that status at some point either next year or the following year depending on when they stopped selling that model "new".
While it's of course more than possible to keep a piece of hardware longer than Apple's support window, it's something to consider if security matters at all to you.

All that said, to answer your question, getting AppleCare+ is always a good idea if you are wary and want to ensure having full support for those first 3 years. It is for sure good piece of mind and I have both bought it and needed repairs through it. I think it's less of an issue now with their machines made since 2019, but all the same I think if you want a policy that will give good service, it is a good one. I think it's unlikely you'll have mechanical issues on the new models or electronic ones either.

My MacBook is still in a running smooth and looks brand new. In fact if I ignore the left cracky speaker (something that I can replace for less than 100$) and few dead pixels, it will look as good as a new. Talking about Apple Care, how frequently are MacBooks prone to dead pixel and speaker cracking

 

[pendragon1]

just because one unit gave you issues doesnt mean that the new one will. if you are worried, then yes, cough up for apple care.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

My MacBook is still in a running smooth and looks brand new. In fact if I ignore the left cracky speaker (something that I can replace for less than 100$) and few dead pixels, it will look as good as a new. Talking about Apple Care, how frequently are MacBooks prone to dead pixel and speaker cracking

just because one unit gave you issues doesnt mean that the new one will. if you are worried, then yes, cough up for apple care.

Basically this. But the answer is pretty low. Apple QC is generally pretty good. But they get a lot of press when they do have issues, not necessarily because their incident rates are high but more because there will be a lot of users for any given product.

I've personally never seen a laptop with a dead pixel, period. And the last time I saw a Macbook with a speaker problem was a 2008 15". I bet if you worked in an Apple repair shop, you'd see every problem in every model though. Sooooo. Not sure what sort of answer you want here.

 

[maverick786us]

Basically this. But the answer is pretty low. Apple QC is generally pretty good. But they get a lot of press when they do have issues, not necessarily because their incident rates are high but more because there will be a lot of users for any given product.

I've personally never seen a laptop with a dead pixel, period. And the last time I saw a Macbook with a speaker problem was a 2008 15". I bet if you worked in an Apple repair shop, you'd see every problem in every model though. Sooooo. Not sure what sort of answer you want here.

I replaced that speaker twice from apple certified repair and in couple of months that speaker left speaker started cracking. So i decided not to spend money on another replacement. The guy from apple repair shop said that MacBook Pro models from 2015 - 19 had faulty motherboards and butterfly keyboards.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

I replaced that speaker twice from apple certified repair and in couple of months that speaker left speaker started cracking. So i decided not to spend money on another replacement. The guy from apple repair shop said that MacBook Pro models from 2015 - 19 had faulty motherboards and butterfly keyboards.

Interesting? My personal machine is a 2019 15.4" MBP. It hasn't had either of those issues. It did suffer from a swollen battery that required an entire top-case replacement, but Apple ruled that as a defect and replaced all of it for free. Now that macOS has smart charging, I doubt I'll see that problem again.
I also owned a 2015 MBP as well. And didn't have either of those problems.

The butterfly keyboard is a hotly debated topic. I'm not a fan because I don't like the key travel, but I've had zero issues with it getting jammed up. I have no doubt that it's a real issue of course, however Apple stated that that was around a 2%(I think?) incidence rate. When I finally move to ARM, the keyboard will be a nice upgrade. Who knows, now that the M2 iPad exists and Resolve is getting developed on it, I may move to an iPad Pro. I've yet to decide if that workflow will be sufficient though.
I've owned multiple MBP's throughout the last 15 years, and I can say some have had minor problems. Others major. But each was fixed by Apple without issue (the 2008 MBP with speaker problems I did myself though). And all of the major repairs were done for free.

 

[maverick786us]

just because one unit gave you issues doesnt mean that the new one will. if you are worried, then yes, cough up for apple care.

I don't know but I heard many other horror stories about MacBooks released between 2015-20 having faulty motherboards, butterfly keyboards.Those who were lucky enough to catch the problem within the warranty they got their entire MacBook replaced. I wasn't that Lucky.

Whats the primary reason for dead pixel? My MacBook was the first laptop to have that. Before this I had HP Envy 15, which started having dead pixels, but within the warranty period so i got the screen replaced. But 2 years after the warranty there were dead pixels again and I decided not to spend $ for replacing the screen.

But I am one of those few people who take extra care of my gadgets as if I am worshipping with them.

 

[maverick786us]

Interesting? My personal machine is a 2019 15.4" MBP. It hasn't had either of those issues. It did suffer from a swollen battery that required an entire top-case replacement, but Apple ruled that as a defect and replaced all of it for free. Now that macOS has smart charging, I doubt I'll see that problem again.

The butterfly keyboard is a hotly debated topic. I'm not a fan because I don't like the key travel, but I've had zero issues with it getting jammed up. I have no doubt that it's a real issue of course, however Apple stated that that was around a 2%(I think?) incidence rate. When I finally move to ARM, the keyboard will be a nice upgrade. Who knows, now that the M2 iPad exists and Resolve is getting developed on it, I may move to an iPad Pro. I've yet to decide if that workflow will be sufficient though.
I've owned multiple MBP's throughout the last 15 years, and I can say some have had minor problems. Others major. But each was fixed by Apple without issue (the 2008 MBP with speaker problems I did myself though). And all of the major repairs were done for free.

Good that you discovered those problems within the warranty period. Something that I really appreciate about Apple is their support.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

Good that you discovered those problems within the warranty period. Something that I really appreciate about Apple is their support.

Some of them weren't. I didn't get Applecare on my 2019, which is an entirely different story. They replaced and repaired everything without any form of warranty.

 

[maverick786us]

OK guys I am about to purchase this MacBook in a couple of days. One last question. Is it worth spending nearly 250$ for 1TB storage? Or will 512 GB serve the purpose. I can buy a passport SSD for storage purpose. But I am generally lazy when it comes to storing videos.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

OK guys I am about to purchase this MacBook in a couple of days. One last question. Is it worth spending nearly 250$ for 1TB storage? Or will 512 GB serve the purpose. I can buy a passport SSD for storage purpose. But I am generally lazy when it comes to storing videos.

If you think you'll eventually have use for it and can afford the upgrade, then yeah, go for it.

 

[maverick786us]

If you think you'll eventually have use for it and can afford the upgrade, then yeah, go for it.

That part is something that's actually hurting my pocket

 

[UnknownSouljer]

That part is something that's actually hurting my pocket

We can’t determine your exact needs and how you’ll use this system. It’s up to you.

Some people spend $2000 on getting 8TB and think it’s “worth it” for their use case. Do you need 1TB? I don’t know. Neither does anyone else but you. I personally think it’s worth it, but that’s a determination based around what I use my laptop for.

 

[maverick786us]

We can’t determine your exact needs and how you’ll use this system. It’s up to you.

Some people spend $2000 on getting 8TB and think it’s “worth it” for their use case. Do you need 1TB? I don’t know. Neither does anyone else but you. I personally think it’s worth it, but that’s a determination based around what I use my laptop for.

2000$ just for storage . If i had that much extra cash. I would buy the top end variant of that MacBook which contains M1 Max Processor and 32GB RAM.
Do I need 1TB? I don't know, my only concern is after couple of years of usage, if I have good collection of videos, I don't want to run into dilemma, which file to remove so that I can have enough space for OS upgrades and other multi tasking operations

 

[Algrim]

My corporate imaged M1 16” MacBook Pro used just over 256 GB with no user files. For reference, corporate image was Office 365 with all the trimmings, Adobe Creative Cloud (After Effects, Media Encoder, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and a couple other programs I don’t remember because I don’t use them), Cinema 4D (installed on all M1 Macs due to deal with Maxon), and some of the Apple default apps. If you had a 512 GB drive and had a similar load out, you’d only have about 256 GB of direct storage.

What you intend to do with the laptop will determine if you need more that 256 GB. If you’re doing a lot of raw audio, photo, or video work, you’d probably want more storage as using a connected drive will add latency to your processing. If you can do all of your immediate work in 256 GB and save the results to an external, then you can get by with a 512 GB drive.

For what it’s worth, I had corporate procure the 2 TB model as I do a lot of video products with a relatively bad upload connection so I have to store a lot of files before I can load them up to S3 efficiently.

 

[maverick786us]

Finally

 

[maverick786us]

Is screen guard or a tempered glass protection needed for this Model?

 

[Dreamerbydesign]

Is screen guard or a tempered glass protection needed for this Model?

I use neither on my Pro 14. And have never used them on any of my numerous previous models. I use mine at home and occasionally in an office environment.

 

[pendragon1]

Is screen guard or a tempered glass protection needed for this Model?

not really, it is glass already, i thought. my air is...

 

[maverick786us]

I use neither on my Pro 14. And have never used them on any of my numerous previous models. I use mine at home and occasionally in an office environment.

I never used it in any of my previous laptops either. But after my first MacBook came across the issue of dead pixels i thought screenguard or tempered glass protection might protect it. But i think I will not go for it

 

[maverick786us]

Thank you everyone for your valuable suggestion, I got 1TB version of this M1 MacBook Pro 16, I got it at a very good discounted price of 2500$. The dealer was offering Apple care for another 1 year for 215$ with this purchase. But I was out of $$ so couldn't avail that offer. I still have 60 days so I will save some money and get apple care, though I won't get it with that offer price. But one thing that hurt my pocket most was, that MacBook didn't come up with a bag. I had to spend 105$ to but a laptop bag from Samsonite.

 

[Algrim]

I use screenguards on my phones and tablets but I’ve never used one on a laptop; I can see where you’d use one on a laptop with a touchscreen, though. I’ve only had dead pixels on a standalone monitor.

 

[pendragon1]

got a reminder(broken screen at work) to remind you, never put anything between the screen and keyboard when you close this or the air. there is next to no gap when closed, a staple or a friggin hard cookie crumb can crack the screen.

 

[maverick786us]

Thank you everyone I won't go for a screen guard. I know it sounds stupid looking into my old MacBook that has dead pixels (though its not noticeable unless someone pays close attention using white screen background), I did research on internet and found out the primary reason for dead pixels is some foreign particles that gets inside the screen. With my new MacBook i don't want a single dead pixel throughout its life. I thought screen guard could be the solution that will prevent any foreign particles causing dead pixels, but after getting suggestions from you guys I won't go for screen guard or tempered glass protection. What kind of extreme measures do i need to take to prevent dead pixels.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

Thank you everyone I won't go for a screen guard. I know it sounds stupid looking into my old MacBook that has dead pixels (though its not noticeable unless someone pays close attention using white screen background), I did research on internet and found out the primary reason for dead pixels is some foreign particles that gets inside the screen. With my new MacBook i don't want a single dead pixel throughout its life. I thought screen guard could be the solution that will prevent any foreign particles causing dead pixels, but after getting suggestions from you guys I won't go for screen guard or tempered glass protection. What kind of extreme measures do i need to take to prevent dead pixels.

I use a screen protector unlike I guess everyone else in here. I just found that for whatever reason the keys on my previous Macbooks would eventually create a bunch of imprints on the display. And I'm referring to permanent etching, not just "key-shapped oil spots". I don't have a response for you. And frankly no on really does outside of a best guess. There is no way to mitigate all problems. There is no best solution for everyone. And every machine has a maximum useful life and it's not really possible to know what that is without knowing the future.

Similarly it's impossible to know with any certainty what issues a given car model will have 10 years down the line or what it will operate like with 100k miles on it. Every version of Honda Accord has been different. And that is ignoring process variation on individual cars inside the same model year or treatment by individuals.

 

[somebrains]

I just can’t deal with only a laptop display all day.
I’m on a 24” Ultrafine in clamshell most of the time using a Mac at home.
I could grab one of the 5k Ultrafine from the office but the overhead on a limited Air is annoying if I’m using Adobe or ML tooling.
My partner Dev uses a 14” M1 Pro base model.
Kinda of a waste of power for applications we work on, yet not quite enough for the emerging ML or workflow documentation as content flow.
He’s still on his 14” as his main coding display.
I don’t know he squints at it all day.


I use a hard shell, and haven’t cracked a Mac screen.
Dead pixels or white zones are common with Macs, could even just be display defects which are more common than reported.
Screen protectors or cam covers were never something I considered, they cause more problems on Macs from what I’ve seen.


Dinging a corner with a naked laptop is a usual thing for me, I probably should use the issued laptop bags but I prefer a thin messenger bag.
My last HP looks like I hammered on the edges and ports, those cases are made of some really junk metal.

I have cracked a lower end Lenovo screen with a bunch of junk pressing on it in my bag in an unusually full train.
So a metal lid, even a flimsy one, helps.

M1 Air with 16gb is the bare minimum I need with 1 VS Code instance, browser tabs, Docker running a modest set of images.

A dedicated creative needs to think about their storage needs, luckily I’m not one of those.
Ram and local virtualization performance are tied.
I’ll use my other laptop if the Air starts the choke.

 

[maverick786us]

I just can’t deal with only a laptop display all day.
I’m on a 24” Ultrafine in clamshell most of the time using a Mac at home.
I could grab one of the 5k Ultrafine from the office but the overhead on a limited Air is annoying if I’m using Adobe or ML tooling.
My partner Dev uses a 14” M1 Pro base model.
Kinda of a waste of power for applications we work on, yet not quite enough for the emerging ML or workflow documentation as content flow.
He’s still on his 14” as his main coding display.
I don’t know he squints at it all day.


I use a hard shell, and haven’t cracked a Mac screen.
Dead pixels or white zones are common with Macs, could even just be display defects which are more common than reported.
Screen protectors or cam covers were never something I considered, they cause more problems on Macs from what I’ve seen.


Dinging a corner with a naked laptop is a usual thing for me, I probably should use the issued laptop bags but I prefer a thin messenger bag.
My last HP looks like I hammered on the edges and ports, those cases are made of some really junk metal.

I have cracked a lower end Lenovo screen with a bunch of junk pressing on it in my bag in an unusually full train.
So a metal lid, even a flimsy one, helps.

M1 Air with 16gb is the bare minimum I need with 1 VS Code instance, browser tabs, Docker running a modest set of images.

A dedicated creative needs to think about their storage needs, luckily I’m not one of those.
Ram and local virtualization performance are tied.
I’ll use my other laptop if the Air starts the choke.

That's why I spend 100 to buy a good laptop bag for my MacBook from Samsonite, 100$ for just a bag hurts my wallet but I felt that's the only way to keep my MacBook intact. Now I am going to buy a good stand / Doc but that's going to be next month, after getting my paycheck.

 

[somebrains]

That's why I spend 100 to buy a good laptop bag for my MacBook from Samsonite, 100$ for just a bag hurts my wallet but I felt that's the only way to keep my MacBook intact. Now I am going to buy a good stand / Doc but that's going to be next month, after getting my paycheck.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=incase+backpack&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15

I see these all over San Francisco as the default issued bag.
They’re nice, I’ve had to set enough forgotten bags aside.

I don’t use them bc I grew up here.
Little else makes you instantly a good target than logoed work bags.
Getting my car broken into or some transplant stepping up to me is something take very personally.

It’s insulting.

I’d bartend at the neighborhood corner bar to blow off steam, and would have to stop some scum bag from reaching thru the front window or trying to speed walk thru the crowd snatching valuables. That’s the blowing off steam part.

 

[maverick786us]

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=incase+backpack&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_sop=15

I see these all over San Francisco as the default issued bag.
They’re nice, I’ve had to set enough forgotten bags aside.

I don’t use them bc I grew up here.
Little else makes you instantly a good target than logoed work bags.
Getting my car broken into or some transplant stepping up to me is something take very personally.

It’s insulting.

I’d bartend at the neighborhood corner bar to blow off steam, and would have to stop some scum bag from reaching thru the front window or trying to speed walk thru the crowd snatching valuables. That’s the blowing off steam part.

No, not a Backpack, for my old MacBook I have the backpack, I will be carrying it in my office and sometimes for presentations, so I selected something that gives look and feel of a business bag.

This one doesn't looks like a premium laptop bag but I felt it provides good protection for my MacBook and has plenty of space for other accessories.

 

[somebrains]

No, not a Backpack, for my old MacBook I have the backpack, I will be carrying it in my office and sometimes for presentations, so I selected something that gives look and feel of a business bag.

View attachment 533932


View attachment 533933


This one doesn't looks like a premium laptop bag but I felt it provides good protection for my MacBook and has plenty of space for other accessories.

Those work.

I live in a city where 3 buses, a cable car, street car, subway is normal in the course of a day to avoid rideshare traffic.
Messenger bags and backpacks are easier if you’re packed in with 1000s of people each leg of your short hop errands 7 days a week.