Buyer advice

Hello everyone,

I am not a Mac user but I want to be one. I am saving up to buy a pretty good (hopefully the best i7 15"), MacBook Pro. Now, I know Apple has regular updates. I would like to know when is the next hardware on MacBooks are expected? Next year April? I will make my purchasing decision accordingly because I don't need it right now. I will need it around March-April however.

Thanks.

Buy the best one that's available then. Trying to beat the "update game" is a fool's errand. There is ALWAYS something new "just around the corner."

I bought my BlackBook three years ago and have been utterly delighted with it ever since. It's starting to get on a bit and so I'm looking around, but I certainly don't time my purchases to Apple's (secret) schedule unless it's bloody obvious the specific new model of the type I'm looking at is coming out next Tuesday.

Plus I don't think there are any new Intel CPU's planned to come out soon, just refreshes with slightly faster clock speeds. The faster clock speeds are faster synthetically, but in real world performance, if you get the i7, you would be fine for a few years down the road. Plus you can always add more RAM or replace your HDD with a SSD, or get an optibay and throw in a second HDD/SSD. Honestly, technology moves so fast that chas is right, if you don't pull the trigger eventually, you will always be waiting.

bittenapple said:

Hello everyone,

I am not a Mac user but I want to be one. I am saving up to buy a pretty good (hopefully the best i7 15"), MacBook Pro. Now, I know Apple has regular updates. I would like to know when is the next hardware on MacBooks are expected? Next year April? I will make my purchasing decision accordingly because I don't need it right now. I will need it around March-April however.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Also remember when new models are first released you will pay top dollar for them. Usually after a model is out for a while...Apple may reduce the price $100-$300 dollars.

So when new models are released it's best to either:

- wait at least 3-6 months for the prices to be reduced slightly
- buy the previous models that were just superseded by the new models

Other purchase options are:

- buy a refurbished Apple laptop almost anytime is always a good deal
- or buy a used Apple laptop

HTH,

- Nick

You'll be happy with the i7 as it is now, if you bought one today. My iMac has the i7 processor, and it literally screams. It's absolute overkill for anything I do personally. So, I have no doubt that it will be plenty good for years to come, especially seeing as from what people experience here, Macs can be several years on and still handle basically anything one needs to do... Will there be advances by that time next year? Of course. But like has already been said, if you wait for those, when the time comes you'll want to wait for the next, and so on

That's one of the attractive things about Apple, to me. Looking around, reading people's experiences, and my own so far with this one, they are a big purchase, but unlike PC's which are cheaper, it'll likely be the last purchase you "need" to make for years. Even if your demands are high, they are built to last a long time, and run well for a long time.

bittenapple said:

Hello everyone,

I am not a Mac user but I want to be one. I am saving up to buy a pretty good (hopefully the best i7 15"), MacBook Pro. Now, I know Apple has regular updates. I would like to know when is the next hardware on MacBooks are expected? Next year April? I will make my purchasing decision accordingly because I don't need it right now. I will need it around March-April however.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

No one can tell you the time until Apple announces it.

schweb said:

No one can tell you the time until Apple announces it.

Click to expand...

True but usually happens around July. It's worth checking the refurbished section on the store as you can get stuff a fair bit cheaper.

Ultimately though as soon as you buy technology it's bound to be bettered immediately afterwards.

clive12 said:

True but usually happens around July.

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Since when? In all the years I've been using Macs, the refresh dates seem to be pretty sporadic. There's not a "set time" that they happen.

schweb said:

Since when? In all the years I've been using Macs, the refresh dates seem to be pretty sporadic. There's not a "set time" that they happen.

Click to expand...

Last few I have seen have been in July. I don't think it matters though as any recent Mac will provide a great experience and you are never going to buy something and find they don't release something better.

clive12 said:

Last few I have seen have been in July.

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They've never refreshed Macbook Pros in July:
Mac Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy Your Mac, iPod or iPhone

I just want to make sure we're not setting false expectations here.

schweb said:

They've never refreshed Macbook Pros in July:
Mac Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy Your Mac, iPod or iPhone

I just want to make sure we're not setting false expectations here.

Click to expand...

Cool my mistake.

As has already been stated over and over, only apple knows. Rumors fly, but they're almost never true. I had been looking to buy the latest and greatest since last December, and people kept saying "next Tuesday," for months. I eventually bought mine, I believe in February, and I don't think they updated them until April.

You'll be playing that waiting game forever, and who knows how long apple wants to drag out the update cycle (look at the mac pros). Get what you want, when you want it, and everything will be good. I love the specs of the new macbook pros, myself, but I'm perfectly happy with my late 2009 MBP, and I have no reason to even consider replacing it or have any regrets for not waiting an extra couple of months.

clive12 said:

Last few I have seen have been in July.

Click to expand...

If you look at all of the Macbook Pro new model releases:

- The "mid-2010" models were released in April, 2010
- The "mid-2009" models were released in June, 2009
- The "Unibody" models were released at varous dates October 2008, January 2009, and March 2009
- The "early 2008" models were released February, 2008
- The "Santa Rosa" models were released June, 2007
- The 1st generation Macbook Pro models were released October, 2006
- The initial Intel "core duo" Macbook Pros were released April, 2006

As you can see...July hasn't been a release date for new Macbook Pro models. The last 7 releases were:

- April
- June
- October, January, March
- February
- June
- October
- April

- Nick