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