MacBook Pro 2015 15" Model - Still Worth It to Buy in 2020?

• 

  dust on 08/03/2020 - 09:24

  -1

  Not worth it. Better non Apple options at that price.

  • 

    stephendt on 19/03/2020 - 19:30

    +1 agree, run Linux if you can in your environment. PopOS on a Lenovo Thinkpad with an SSD would run great and would be much better value.

• 

  jimbobaus on 08/03/2020 - 09:38

  If you are set on Apple then depending on the price Macbooks can last many years (many more than the same PC of its age)
  Saying that the Butterfly keyboard was not as big a problem as many say, i have one on my MBP and have had zero issues, Apple also has an extended keyboard replacement program if it does give you issues.
  I would be looking at a 2017 model if you are wanting to get second hand and are set on an Apple.
  a 2017 model will continue to get updates etc for much longer than a 2015 model will and as such will end up being a far better value proposition.

  • 

    Mechz on 08/03/2020 - 10:44

    +1

    I really don't think you're right there. Any windows laptop with an SSD runs the latest win10 perfectly fine. I repurposed some 2013 Dell latitudes for my brothers new business 2 years ago and they are still running strong for office work and diagnostic apps. Also windows is more widely compatible with software and hardware. So I'd take a $200 windows laptop from 2015 well before any mac. Also, my wife's 2013 macbook air chugs because it only came with a tiny ssd and ram which is typical of apple, charge much more for a lot less.

    • 

      jimbobaus on 08/03/2020 - 10:46

      +5

      Its a matter of opinion i think and a debate i wont be entering into ;)
      My personal experience with Mac vs PC laptops has been i get many more years from a Mac than i do from a PC which in my case has always resulted in the mac being a far better value proposition

      i am also yet to encounter hardware or software that i need for my daily life that can not be used on a mac.

• 

  garetz on 08/03/2020 - 09:46

  +7

  $1200 for a 5 year old pc even if its made by apple, seems abit ridiculous.

• 

  Numlock on 08/03/2020 - 10:50

  what a rort. I'm gonna fork out the $2500 for the 14.1" macbook pro coming soon

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  rompastompa on 08/03/2020 - 10:57

  Is 5 years old MacBook worth it?

  Will it do the job? yes, they're solid (CPU, SSD, GFX, MEM) and will do the job running a local vm for most cases.

  Is it worth $1200? I'd say not for the hardware, but it'll be worth it to be in the environment that your team is using rather than having to learn your role + trying to be compatible with the infrastructure.

  Ask your team if they have any spare, as they may have leased units you can use while in the office.

• 

  Kangal on 08/03/2020 - 14:12

  +3

  I paid $1,600 for the same specs, but on a Brand New 13" MBP-Retina 2015.
  Even if I had the money, or didn't care about the cost, I wouldn't "upgrade".
  Why?
  The new "Jony Ive" models have no ports (USB, HDMI, SD card, MagSafe), much worse keyboards, and smaller batteries.
  Not to mention the new models cost way way more, have worse fan/thermal properties, AND have a very annoying TouchBar instead of the more user-friendly Function Buttons. So the three huge negatives are not enough to overcome the slight improvements over the last "Steve Jobs" models : 4core, 6core, 8core processors, slightly better performance RAM/SSD/iGPU, increases in efficiency, smaller thickness/dimensions, lighter weight, webcam/mic quality, speaker loudness/quality, display brightness/quality.

  And this last one isn't exclusive to the latest Macs, but OS X 15 (ie macOS 10.15 Catalina) is hot garbage. They introduced compatibility with iPad Apps, whilst removing support for old OS X Programs (32-bit). It's caused so many issues for many users, and many modern programs NOT just legacy ones. Besides there's really no good or must-have iOS App for the MacBook, so its sort of like an empty trade. Not to mention they also removed Dashboard, and have made the update quite buggy and less efficient. So yeah, Apple's not just failing on the hardware front.

  In the future:
  I would upgrade if they came out with a 2020 MacBook Pro, but replaced the TB2 ports with a TB3, and upgraded the specs to the best/latest (AMD Ryzen 4800U processor, 32GB LPDDR4X-4200, Samsung nVme SSD). Then did a light refresh for the screen, speakers, mic, webcam, and then managed to fit all that in a slightly smaller dimension (eg 13" laptop in a 12" laptop profile). And perhaps include a Paid App for a Compatibility Layer for some Legacy OS X Programs. However, that will not happen, as it is "consumer friendly" and not good for extending profit margins. So I won't hold my breath.

  But I've sort of noticed things go in waves. There was the disjointed Windows 98 against The iMac. Then things got much better with Windows XP as Apple was plagued with the issues behind IBM's PowerPC architecture. Then things got bad with Windows Vista, whilst Apple teamed up with Intel to offer a very competitive MacBook and Mac Desktop. Then MS improved things drastically with Windows 7, Apple was busy making constant UI changes and offering support for legacy PowerPC executables. MS released the Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 systems, and had a rocky start with touchscreen controls… whereas Apple doubled-down on improving the OS (Mavericks) and introduced their new policy of free updates. At the end of 2015 was when Windows 10 went into full-swing and Apple ditched their previous "Jobs design" to a more "Ive design".

  So either I will upgrade to a proper Windows10 machine, or MS will stuff it all up with Windows20-or-something whilst Apple improves the Mac line now that Jony Ive is no longer in-charge. In any case, I don't need to spend the money, so I am good for now.

  • 

    Numlock on 08/03/2020 - 14:55

    and smaller batteries

    They still have longer battery life than the old macbooks.

  • 

    fantoo on 09/03/2020 - 08:51

    Thanks for your great comment. Atm I want to get a macbook and I think with the same price there are better non-apple laptops with the latest tech.

    Well for now, I will keep hunting or else get something similar but latest non-apple laptop.

  • 

    SlartiBartFozz on 09/03/2020 - 19:10

    FWIW: Microsoft has stated in the past that Windows 10 is 'it' for the foreseeable future, much like OSX (10) has been 'it' for Mac for almost 20years. They both offer periodic upgrades automatically, Gratis, to all users. This obviously has advantages in having most all users on the same OS platform, and reduces risk of security holes and compatibility.

• 

  mrend55 on 08/03/2020 - 17:17

  I just bought a 2015 macbook pro last week with the same specs that you listed and I am really enjoying it. The new macbook pro's with 16gb ram are far too expensive. My only issue with my macbook is that I need to get a new battery for it.

  • 

    rompastompa on 08/03/2020 - 19:38

    +2

    Check your serial number here. You may be able to score a new battery under recall.

    • 

      mrend55 on 08/03/2020 - 22:39

      +1

      Already checked when I got it, not eligible unfortunately.

  • 

    fantoo on 09/03/2020 - 08:49

    Hey mate, how much did you spend?

    • 

      mrend55 on 09/03/2020 - 20:11

      +1

      Around $950 on ebay

• 

  DoctorCalculon on 08/03/2020 - 19:58

  Now my question is : Is 5 years old MacBook worth it

  For $1200, definitely not considering it will not come with AppleCare.

• 

  redone555 on 09/03/2020 - 08:23

  +3

  Ok, so I’ve just gone down this path, I bought pretty much exactly the machine you’re considering. 2015 variant of the retina 15 - specs 256gb 16gb i7.

  Something not commonly known is that they (the 2015 retina series) were sold new until 2018 in parallel with the 2016 version - as a superseded model (presumably for people still addicted to ports). You can check online timelines to confirm this; it’s just like the 13 inch with CD drive was sold for many years after it was superseded too. The one I bought was actually sold new in 2018, so I bought it with a little warranty left which was nice.

  Why did I buy it? Similar to you - I didn’t want to spend 4K on a new one, I didn’t want the keyboard issues of the last one (that was the reason I sold off my 2017 13” - way too many keyboard issues) and I was more than happy having some port flexibility again.

  You should aim to pay less than $1200*. I paid $1k for mine, which was 2 years old and literally immaculate. If you see the actual 2015 ones - they should sell for a bit under a grand based on my bargaining experience - maybe around $900.

  *If you specifically hunt out a larger HDD or a fast-end i7 then I suppose up around $1200 may be where things end up. There are, of course, people selling them for more. Interestingly, the 15” versions sell for almost identical money to the 13” despite their much bigger screen and usually much higher specs.

  One thing to note is “screen gate” - the Retina series had issues with screen delamination. Some were fixed under warranty, some were not affected, and some ended up looking crap. Google to learn more and guide your purchase away from ones looking affected. Most (all?) will have passed the timeframe that apple will fix.

  Finally - impressions. I have owned a lot of macs, and I am very happy with my purchase. It’s quite fast, relatively light for the screen size and just does everything it should. It’s been my experience - as noted by others - that macs keep on doing their thing way longer than PCs, and this applies even more to laptops.

  Happy to answer any specific questions if you have any.

  • 

    fantoo on 09/03/2020 - 08:48

    +1

    Thanks for a detailed guide mate.
    I have been hunting and trying to get it around $800.
    Have found couple of people but on other state. Some didnt wanted to ship and some didnt provide full details like serial number and battery cycle count.

    Anyways, I am still looking.

    "Screen Gate"

    I didnt know about this term before. Thanks for this.

    • 

      redone555 on 10/03/2020 - 19:58

      You're welcome.

      Definitely agree - anyone selling should be willing to provide serial & battery cycles for sure. If they're not willing to do that they are clearly hiding something.

      On battery: try to get any seller to also send you a photo of the "power" screen from the specs. I saw one for sale that had a non-extreme cycle count, that the owner told me that the battery was still holding Ok charge, but when I saw the photo it told me that despite the low cycle count it was in "service battery" mode. If my experience from my old 17 inch is anything to go by, in that mode the battery life is pretty much halved at best. I assume an older battery could go into such a state despite having a lower than expected cycle count.

      Something else I've learned since buying: iFixit rates the SDD change in them as "easy". Looking at the price of new, brand-name 1TB compatible SSDs, and the price used genuine apple SSD's sell for, I'm very tempted to go down that route and head for some serious inbuilt storage in mine too.

      Good luck with the search!

• 

  MontyMacaw on 09/03/2020 - 14:37

  Ok bear with me. I have the equivalent 27 inch desktop but with the i5 - late 2015. Last year I was so frustrated with it I was going to upgrade. But before I did I thought I’d get it serviced by Apple because it was slow at doing many things. They did tests on it and found nothing wrong with it. I argued with them that it wasn’t performing how it should and simple things like file transfers were taking up to 24 hours to complete - tv series and so forth, not PDFs. In the end they sent me away with one more option to try and it was so simple that it blew me away. Just set it back to the as new state. So I backed up everything b to my time machine hard drive, did the disk utility disc repair and check (found no errors), reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled MacOS from the recovery screen which comes from Apple over the internet. Then I dragged all my data from my time machine (DID NOT DO A RECOVERY OF EVERYTHING) then just reinstalled my programmes that I wanted, which was a hell of a lot less than I had. My computer was humming like a new one then. It was unbelievable! I have done this to my daughter’s even older 21 inch and had a similar result.

  So in summary I think the 2015 technology with a quad core i7 is plenty good enough for what you say you need. Everybody should do this before upgrading and probably they won’t bother.

  • 

    fantoo on 24/03/2020 - 19:00

    +1

    Thanks mate. Ended up getting one for 1k including the shipping charge.

• 

  ilove on 22/03/2020 - 20:05

  I bought a 2015 model 15 inch 16gb ram new for 2200 hardly used to this day. Is a great laptop

  • 

    fantoo on 24/03/2020 - 19:01

    Thanks mate. Got one now. Its great laptop.
    Just a quick question, did you use to get smudges and keyboard marks on the screen. That's one thing that really annoys me
    atm.

    Rest is all good. I really like it

    • 

      MontyMacaw on 25/03/2020 - 12:29

      Old t-shirt!!! I have an old t-shirt that is exclusively for my screens and my glasses. No soap or cleaning products required. I wet a sleeve and ring it out then wipe the entire screen with that part then use the huge dry part to dry off. Once you do it a few time’s the screen will sparkle. Same for keyboard but make sure not too wet just slightly damp.

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  cauilfield on 02/04/2020 - 13:01

  not worth it. i7 in 2015 is so different to i7 in 2020..