Apple MacBook Pro: M1 8-Core, 13.3" Retina, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD (Late 2020, Gray) Expired

Not a good deal. You're better off spending the extra $200 and get the 14" for $1599 or save $500 and get the base version 13" Pro for $899. This model never made any sense in MacBook lineup.

Recession is confirmed x4.

the deals just keep getting crazier.

ssds are going down to eye popping levels and we didn't even hit Q1 Q2 2023 yet.

long way home.

This is a kind of a deal. Some observations from Apple BF2022 deals;

- No cheap 32GB options. Automatic bump to $3k price point. At that point, better off snagging a $3049 16" M1 Pro Max model from Best Buy with free AppleCare thru TotalTech.
- Deals with 16GB and 1TB are more common. This is the sweet spot when looking for performance with more tolerable prices
- The debate largely comes down to physical size, memory bandwidth, M1 vs M2 vs M1Pro vs M1 Max, webcam, ports


13 Pro w/ M2 + 24GB + 1TB + applecare + $200 apple gift card = 2476.88 w/ tax
14 Pro w/ M1 Pro + 32GB + 1TB + Applecare + $250 apple gift card = 3353.68 w/ tax
16 Pro w/ M1 Max + 32GB + 1TB + Applecare (Best Buy) = $3231.94 (also sold out at this time. Unsure if this is temporary)
14 Pro w/ M1 Pro + 16GB + 1TB + Applecare (best buy) = $2224.94

This deal….
13 Pro w/ M1 + 16GB + 1TB + Applecare = $1746.88

The trade-offs are obvious. 13 Pro w/ M1 having only 64GB/s bandwidth, only 1x external display support, less ports & 720p webcam (both still seen on the 13 Pro M2 model).

The question starts to become;
- is the $500 premium for the 14" Pro w/ same amount of storage and memory worth it? More ports, better webcam, more memory bandwidth, faster processor
- Would you rather have 24GB ram with 100GB/s bandwidth + M2 (great single core performance) and spend $700 more?
- Would you rather spend $3231 to go with a maxed out pre-built 16" Pro?
- Would you rather be stubborn and custom build a 14" model with 32GB ram?

The cheapest config with 16GB + 1TB checks the boxes for a lot of people; the differences in CPU + memory bandwidth + webcam + ports are not going to be worth the price premium. With this model being so attractively priced; it is tempting to grab it, use it until it is frustrating, sell it - and buy a newer model. In 2 years, this thing will still probably be worth $1100-1200…..

A fully loaded 13" Pro M2 seems silly, but it is really silly how much premium Apple is attaching to models with more than 16GB of ram. I am debating fully loaded 13" Pro M2 vs. this deal vs. 14" Pro 1TB/16GB. I know I want more performance. I am probably kidding myself when I say I will be so annoyed by the performance of this deal, that I will regret not spending $500 - $700 more….