Which 14” should I buy?

What would you do?

Both are brand new

14” m1 base model for $1599

Or

14” m2 base model for $1849

All depends on what you're happy to spend on and your use case.

Personally I went with a refurbished MBP 14" M1 Pro base model and not regretting it as I don't stress the CPU enough with my use case to justify spending more.

M1 is showing age, I personally would go for M2 if I had to pick one up today.

I would get the M2 for more cores in the CPU and better cores in the GPU. Much better battery life on M2 as well.

I assume since you want a Pro that you are going to push it and since no Mac is cheap you probably want to keep it a while. Since the difference in cost is $250 I don't think that is a lot more to get a device that is more powerful and should last you longer.

From a performance standpoint the M2 is better and from a longevity standpoint the M2 is better. If you average the extra cost over 3 years that is $83 a year or just less than $7 a month.

But ultimately it is your money and you know what your needs are. As another poster has said the M1 is getting a little long in the tooth but it is still a very capable chipset. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

TechnoMonk said:

M1 is showing age, I personally would go for M2 if I had to pick one up today.

It depends on what you are doing, for me M1 Pro is more than enough for me to do web dev, python, some photography works. Not really much in video except converting my old family DV videos to HEVC lol.

M1 is still pretty amazing. I'd say save your money, but I don't know what your workloads are.

TinyMito said:

It depends on what you are doing, for me M1 Pro is more than enough for me to do web dev, python, some photography works. Not really much in video except converting my old family DV videos to HEVC lol.

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I should have clarified, it’s not about use case for me, 15 months after launch. It really depends on how long I am gonna keep the MacBook Pro. I see folks buying older models, and in a year or more after purchasing the laptop; Apple releases features for newer hardware. Some upgrade again or throw tantrums online, rinse and repeat.

Geert76 said:

what an absolute joke

It’s 15 months old. Never said anything about capabilities. It will likely be obsolete 15 months earlier, the time I didn’t use from the day it was purchased. The joke is people buying older models and complaining when Apple releases feature for newer hardware.

TechnoMonk said:

The joke is people buying older models and complaining when Apple releases feature for newer hardware.

And it is these people who are never content with whatever they currently have.

Again, it's all down to each individual person. Nobody can really tell you what you need or want. The real question is why do you want it.

TechnoMonk said:

I should have clarified, it’s not about use case for me, 15 months after launch. It really depends on how long I am gonna keep the MacBook Pro. I see folks buying older models, and in a year or more after purchasing the laptop; Apple releases features for newer hardware. Some upgrade again or throw tantrums online, rinse and repeat.

Those are the same type of people buy new car on yearly (because they like new shiny things to spend on). I drive my car 15+ years until it break down.

Then why do you need a new laptop if there is no use case? A simple MacBook M1 would just browse the internet fine. Why do you require the upgrade for? What is the use case? Want to buy things for no purposes and just to have one? 🤨

TechnoMonk said:

M1 is showing age, I personally would go for M2 if I had to pick one up today.

How is a fairly new CPU that is still amazingly fast showing its age?

TechnoMonk said:

It will likely be obsolete 15 months earlier

That sounds completely ridiculous imo.

Most consumers don't worry, care or consider that the a given computer model will be obsolete X months before another. Fun point, your computer doesn't stop working when apple considers it legacy, you can still use it.

TechnoMonk said:

The joke is people buying older models and complaining when Apple releases feature for newer hardware.

I think you're projecting. Most people understand that their older computer may not receive new features. There are not a major features being rolled out on the software or hardware anyways. The maturity of laptops and operating systems are such that the current version of macOS will not be hugely different then a newer version that apple announces.

Camarillo Brillo said:

Both are brand new

14” m1 base model for $1599

Or

14” m2 base model for $1849

Food for thought, the base model M2 has a slower SSD. Is that important to you? I don't know, but its good to be informed so that you can make the best decision for your needs.

If it were me, the 250 dollar price difference is kind of minor, and I'd opt for the M2, given the superior GPU performance of the M2

Base M2 have neutered SSD since Apple is cutting cost by using less NAND chips. FYI.
I would go with M1. Sure, M2 showed higher numbers on the benchmarks. But then is your usage scenarios will really take advantages of the M2 power? You might, so that's something to think about.

For me, even the regular M1 chip is sufficient for all my computing needs. What matters more will be RAM and storage, and I wouldn't want to spend that much money for a neutered SSD. My vote will go for the M1 model.

ian87w said:

Base M2 have neutered SSD since Apple is cutting cost by using less NAND chips. FYI.
I would go with M1. Sure, M2 showed higher numbers on the benchmarks. But then is your usage scenarios will really take advantages of the M2 power? You might, so that's something to think about.

For me, even the regular M1 chip is sufficient for all my computing needs. What matters more will be RAM and storage, and I wouldn't want to spend that much money for a neutered SSD. My vote will go for the M1 model.

If you go with more storage than the base spec, you get faster SSDs in the process, so the "neutered SSD" argument becomes moot at that point.

TinyMito said:

Those are the same type of people buy new car on yearly (because they like new shiny things to spend on). I drive my car 15+ years until it break down.

Then why do you need a new laptop if there is no use case? A simple MacBook M1 would just browse the internet fine. Why do you require the upgrade for? What is the use case? Want to buy things for no purposes and just to have one? 🤨

OP didnt ask if he needed regular or pro, or simple macbook with different specs. His question was similar specs of new and older model. Biggest consideration here is age, given he already decided on the specs.

Car comparison is a logical fallacy, my 2008 Lexus runs at same speed on the freeway as my newer car, and relatively smoother for its age, and can get all parts and services. Luckily, unlike some new cars it doesnt need software updates. Cars have max speed capped on the streets, unlike computers. I can live with lack of lane keep assist or blind spot monitoring.
Back to Macs, I can barely do anythin on my 2014 MacBook Pro, other than use it as a file server or for streaming media. laptops dont come with speed or performance cap. Folks look at the sticker price and think they are getting the best deal. I usually look at total cost of ownership and ROI.

Breaking it down on price for M1 and M2, assuming trade off or keeping for longer time.
1. Trade in 3-4 years: M1 will mostl ikely be worth less in trade off by 300-400$. I dont usually trade in my devices, but if I do, I use third party services like itsworthmore. Apple doesnt give good trade in value.
2. Keep Longer: Your computer wont be osbolete, and also get newer features compared to the older one. Yeah, I know some guys dont care if they get security patches, or take risks with security vulnerabilities.
Anyways, if you want to run obsolete computers without security patches or run custom non-apple firmware, go for it.

maflynn said:

That sounds completely ridiculous imo.

Most consumers don't worry, care or consider that the a given computer model will be obsolete X months before another. Fun point, your computer doesn't stop working when apple considers it legacy, you can still use it.


I think you're projecting. Most people understand that their older computer may not receive new features. There are not a major features being rolled out on the software or hardware anyways. The maturity of laptops and operating systems are such that the current version of macOS will not be hugely different then a newer version that apple announces.

Click to expand...

I never said it will stop working, you are projecting here. Be it trade in value, going obsolete, the 15 month old laptop is gonna come on the negative side of the equation. OP could buy M2 today, trade in at much higher value than M1 for same condition.

Most consumers may not care, but I dont run obsolete computers without outdated security patches or non-apple firmware. Most consumers dont care how to install a custom firmware to get latest updates. Heck, if they dont care why buy m1, go by an Intel Mac for cheap.

Obsolescence is relative and totally dependent on your use case and your mindset about it. Upgrading laptops because of the fear of it being obsolete is a bit unhealthy, especially if it's still being supported by the manufacturer with software and security updates. It's true that the OP can buy an M2 today but if I have this mindset, this time next year it'll be "obsolete" with a newer spec one. Of course, if money is not a problem and you like to show off the latest gadgets to your friends, then nothing should stop you from upgrading every year.

Tbh, posts that ask for recommendations of what to buy tend to invite contention because we don't know (and we will never know) what the OP will use their computer / laptop for (or what they will do with it) in the short, medium and long term.

RedOctober said:

Obsolescence is relative and totally dependent on your use case and your mindset about it. Upgrading laptops because of the fear of it being obsolete is a bit unhealthy, especially if it's still being supported by the manufacturer with software and security updates. It's true that the OP can buy an M2 today but if I have this mindset, this time next year it'll be "obsolete" with a newer spec one.

Tbh, posts that ask for recommendations of what to buy tend to invite contention because we don't know (and we will never know) what the OP will use their computer / laptop for (or what they will do with it) in the short, medium and long term.

It’s not relative, fact is M1 is 15 months old chip. It will be most likely obsolete for critical security patches and OS upgrade before M2, in the future. I never talked about M3, nor did I say M1 was obsolete after M2 release. Apple is better in supporting laptops much longer than other vendors but they do have to cutoff at some point.
And those who trade in, should know M1 Pro would likely have 300-400$ less value compared to M2 pro of Similar condition, irrespective of the purchase date.

dmccloud said:

If you go with more storage than the base spec, you get faster SSDs in the process, so the "neutered SSD" argument becomes moot at that point.

The options OP provided we’re base models, so discussion would be for base models, not upgraded or BTO.

OK I'm beginning to see where the signals are crossed. Seems to be a different perspective of the term 'obsolescence' here. You're talking about a hard obsolescence, ie tangible one, where the equipment is not supported by the manufacturer any more. I'm talking about a different kind of obsolescence, one that is intangible, that is in the mind of a person when they want a reason to upgrade. This kind of intangible obsolescence is decided by the person, not decided by the manufacturer.

maflynn said:

How is a fairly new CPU that is still amazingly fast showing its age?

lol it's not

M1 is still a revelation in computing.