Hi there,
Just like you, and seemingly many other people, I am also in the market for a new notebook/macbook, so here’s my 2 cents:
Intel just recently changed the names of its processor lineup for marketing reasons - so beware: The Dual-Core Core i7’s aren’t really i7 processors, only slightly faster versions of the mobile Core i5. The “real” i7’s always have 4 cores. Plus, some of the newly branded Core i5’s are actually Core-M model processors.
Be sure to allways check the exact model-number of the processor in question.
Also, I’d suggest you wait just a little bit longer, and the prices for those exact same models are gonna drop even more. The new MacBook-Pro’s and MacBooks with more RAM and Kaby-Lake Processors are gonna be released real soon (“Summer 2017”). Maybe even there will be an update of the Macbook Air lineup (or it might just fade away in silence).
The recent price drops of the new MacBook Pro’s and the MB Air is an indication that the new models will be in store very soon. And it is rumored that baseline RAM of the new MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s will be increased to 16GB + prices for entry models reduced.
Anyway - in the next couple of months we will know for sure, and you can most likely buy either a last generation processor, but ‘new’ MacBook at much better prices, OR there is something totally new and unexpected out, that you will be glad to have waited for.
I will also be shopping for a new MacBook Pro. I had my current one - the one I’m using, for roughly 6 years! (MacBook Pro 13", early 2011). With 16GB of RAM and an SSD upgrade, its still running smoothly, and it being a Mac, I can even still sell it for a respectable price …
Every couple of years, it’s the same procedure when I’m shopping for a new notebook:
My thoughts inevitably start straying away to PC-Notebooks … models such as: Dell XPS/Razer Blade/MS Surface Pro/Lenovo Ideapad 710s,
thinking to myself:
“Hmm … for the same price I could get a ___, with a ___ and even a ___!
Why don’t I get one of those?”
“Some other brands build stylish notebooks, too nowadays. And they offer better technical stats - for the same price”```
“Windows 10 actually isn’t so bad. Compared to earlier Windows versions”
That’s when I keep reminding myself of the reasons why I’m gonna stick to a Mac:
- MacBooks have the BEST, most durable build quality you can buy for money
- They have the BEST design. Competitions models still look like last years MacBooks
- Windows 10 is pretty decent compared to the past. But still - Windows is not macOS and its not Linux either.
- The Internet was built on Unix, and still runs on Linux. Much of the Developer World is using Linux. macOS is the rich world of Linux, but also a consumer OS - with all the benefits
- On macOS you can develop for any Plattform. Its the only OS where you can do this
- The new MacBooks have the best Screen you can find on a Notebook! Its the brightest, the sharpest (Retina-Screen) and the one with the best color-gamut
- The new MacBook keyboards are incredible. Almost feel like mechanical switches
- Accounting for all the details - If it’s well equipped, well designed - a comparable Windows notebook will sometimes not be so much cheaper.
- Since Apple runs its OS on proprietary Hardware, Software and Hardware are optimized for best possible performance. One reason why an Core i5 MacBook might sometimes be faster than a Core i7 Windows notebook (On everyday tasks, not processor intensive stuff)
Alright, so I’ve written a lot more here than I had in mind. But I hope that for the sake of you, me, and all other near-future MacBook buyers: May we get the best-made MacBook out there, to bring us many years of joy without any technical worries …