Updated buyers guide, MacBook Pro & MacBook Air
Wednesday, January 11, 2023 10:52 AM
Update Jan 2023,
MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Buyers guide.
We can now instal macOS Ventura 13.2 on unsupported Macs from 2012 to 2016, (better to wait till the end of the update cycle 13.6)
Better to do a clean instal and start a fresh and it has to be on an SSD/Flash drive,
No hard drives and a minimal of 8GB of memory
Time Machine back up all personal data
Erase flash drive
Clean instal of Ventura 13.2
Manual migration of personal data and Apple apps only, no 3rd party apps, All apps have to be 64bit
Prices start from $160 no tax
OR
We can now instal macOS Monterey 12.6.3 (Stable)
On unsupported Macs from 2008 to 2015
Better to do a clean instal and start a fresh and it has to be on an SSD/Flash drive,
No hard drives and a minimal of 8GB of memory
Time Machine back up all personal data
Erase flash drive
Clean instal of Monterey 12.6.3
Manual migration of personal data and Apple apps only, no 3rd party apps, All apps have to be 64bit
Prices start from $160 no tax
Quick guide
A1502 2015
A1708 NO
A1706 NO
A1989 NO
A2159 NO
A2289 Yes
A2251 Yes
A2338 M1, M2 Yes
A2442 M1, M2 Pro, Max Yes
A1398 2015
A1707 NO
A1990 NO
A2141 NO
A2485 M1, M2 Pro, Max Yes
A1466 2015,2017
A1932 NO
A2179 NO
A2337 M1 Yes
A1534 NO
MacBook Pro 13” Retina, Intel,
A1502, 2015 13” Retina Very Good, Tried and tested, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
SSD/Flash drives upgrades to new or larger capacity only
MacBook Pro 13” Retina, Intel
A1708, A1706, 2016 13” Avoid Screen & Keyboard issue, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
A1708, A1706, 2017 13” Avoid Screen & Keyboard issue
A1989, 2018 13” Good screen, OK but they still have potential Keyboard issues
A2159, A1989, 2019 13” Good screen, OK but they still have potential Keyboard issues
New report, Possible Touch Bar issues
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
Prices are depreciating fast
MacBook Pro 13” Retina, Intel
A2289, 2020 13” Retina, Good New keyboard, New Screen,
New report, Possible Touch Bar issues
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
Prices are depreciating fast
MacBook Pro 13” Retina, Intel
A2251, 2020 13” Retina Very Good New keyboard, New Screen,
Purchase used
New report, Possible Touch Bar issues
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
Prices are depreciating fast
MacBook Pro 13” Retina M1, M2
A2338, Late 2020, Apple silicon M1 chip, 13” MacBook Pro,
A2338, Mid 2022, Apple silicon M2 chip, 13” MacBook Pro,
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
M1 Purchase used
M2 Purchase New from Apple with the Apple care+
Recommended minimal spec 512GB flash drive, 8GB of Memory
MacBook Pro 14” Retina M1, M2 Pro, Max
A2442, Good, 2021, MacBook Pro 14” M1, Pro up to 32GB
A2442, Good, 2021, MacBook Pro 14” M1, Max up to 64GB
A2442, Good, 2023, New MacBook Pro 14” M2 Pro up to 96GB
A2442, Good, 2023, New MacBook Pro 14” M2 Max up to 96GB
No hardware upgrades after purchase
M2 Purchase New with the Apple care+ Recommended minimal spec 512GB flash drive, 8GB of Memory
M1 Refurbished now available
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MacBook Pro 15” Retina, Intel
A1398, 2015 15” Retina Very Good Tried and tested, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
SSD/Flash drives upgrades to new or larger capacity only
MacBook Pro 15” Retina, Intel
A1707, 2016, 15” Retina Avoid Screen & Keyboard issue, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
A1707, 2017, 15” Retina Avoid Screen & Keyboard issue,
A1990, 2018, 15” Retina Good screen, OK but they still have potential Keyboard issues,
A1990, 2019, 15” Retina Good screen, OK but they still have potential Keyboard issues updated but still on the recal list? , T2 Kernal panics)
New report, Possible Touch Bar issues, 2019 Logic board fails for no reason
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
Prices are depreciating fast
MacBook Pro 16” Retina, Intel
A2141, 2019 16” Retina Avoid, New keyboard and Screen
i7, Better,
i9 Thermal throttling, Update GPU Panics, i9 Hot & Noisy Fan running external monitors, Don’t buy a laptop to do desktop work,
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/16-mbp-gpu-panics.2221004/
New report, Possible Touch Bar issues, 2019 Logic board fails for no reason.
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
Prices are depreciating fast
MacBook Pro Retina 16” M1, M2 Pro, Max
A2485, Good, 2021, New MacBook Pro 16” M1, Pro up to 32GB
A2485, Good, 2021, New MacBook Pro 16” M1, Max up to 64GB
A2485, Good, 2023, New MacBook Pro 16” M2 Pro up to 96GB
A2485, Good, 2023, New MacBook Pro 16” M2 Max up to 96GB
No hardware upgrades after purchase
M2 Purchase New with the Apple care+ Recommended minimal spec 512GB flash drive, 8GB of Memory
M1 Refurbished now available
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MacBook Air 13”, Intel
A1466, 2015 8GB Memory Good, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
A1466, 2017 8GB Memory Very Good, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
SSD/Flash drives upgrades to new or larger capacity only
MacBook Air 13” Retina, Intel
A1932, 2018 Avoid Logic board issue, keyboard issue,
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
New report LCD’s very thin and break easily.
Prices are depreciating fast
A1932, 2019 Avoid keyboard issue,
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
New report LCD’s very thin and break easily.
Prices are depreciating fast
A2179, Early 2020 Avoid, New Keyboard, Not true i5 or i7 processors, Thermal throttling,
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
New report LCD’s very thin and break easily.
Prices are depreciating fast
MacBook Air 13” Retina M1, No active cooling NO FAN
A2337, Late 2020, Apple silicon M1 chip, 13” MacBook Air,
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
New report LCD’s very thin and can break easily.
Purchase new or used
MacBook Air 13” Retina M2, No active cooling NO FAN
A2681, Mid 2022, Apple silicon M2 chip, 13” MacBook Air,
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
Purchase new from Apple with the Apple care+, Recommended minimal spec 512GB flash drive, 8GB of Memory
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12” MacBook Retina, Intel
A1534, 2015 Avoid, Logic board issues, Keyboard issues, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
A1534, 2016 Avoid Logic board issues, Keyboard issues, Apple support up to macOS Monterey 12.6.2
A1543, 2017 Avoid Logic board issues, Keyboard issues
No hardware upgrades after purchase,
Prices are depreciating fast
Apple Recalls on the links below
13-inch MacBook Pro Display Backlight Service Program
Keyboard Service Program for MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro
13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Solid-State Drive Service Program
Keyboard Service Program for MacBook and MacBook Pro
13-inch MacBook Pro (non Touch Bar) Battery Replacement Program