Looking for Newer Macbook Pro

I'm looking a purchasing a newer? Macbook Pro to replace my macbook running OS 10.6.8
this has been a very reliable laptop for $100.00 dollars. I purchased it through a sale from the local school system about 5 years ago. But I need something newer so my question is this

I'm looking to buy a 2014-2015 Macbook Pro. Should I buy the pre retina model or get the newer Retina model, that is the question. I've found a few places to buy a refurbished, certified updated Pro with 16 gb memory and a 256 or larger SSD hard drive. They have the newer Catalina software already installed, But I'm shocked at the prices. Most are going for 1K to 1.3K or better. Is that a good deal or overpriced. I'm also not sure about the models with the touch bar. I've read some negative things about them So any advice from Mac guru's would be greatly appreciated.

 

@McRib are you a Mac guy?

 

Do some research on the butterfly keyboards. They were put into MacBooks from 2015-2019. I considered used, but bit the bullet last year and decided new was worth avoiding that key design.

 

Nah, I just have an iPhone and Apple TV and a Mac Mini I never use and an iMac I rarely use! Computers are the devil!

 

First - avoid the butterfly keyboard. The thing is dogs breath.
Second - the touch bar is OK. IMO a lot of the complaints are over blown. It has a bunch of whistles and bells I never use. But, it does the job and you'll get used to it.
Third - look at the new MacBook Air with Apple's M1 CPU. The reviews are almost universally good and the performance is on par with the high end MBP's. And, it's $999 for the base model. The new MBA is faster and has way better battery life than any used Intel based Mac. You don't say what your use case is, so be aware there are some instances where an M1 cpu isn't the right choice.

good luck

 

Oh I forgot to say that the newer Mac's only have USB C ports. A design decision that is still stupid years later. So plan on buying a bunch of dongles. It's not just an Apple thing, other makers are doing it too. For those of use that use our computers for more than surfing the web dongles are a pain.

This is just a joke and yet it sums up my feelings about the USB C decision.

 

Just a general all around computer. I worked for the School system here for almost 10 years and have gotten use to a Mac and don't want to return to the windows world. I just use if for browsing, paying bills, email, just the normal daily crap, no gaming, or music editing, nothing hardcore. So you say I should look at the newer Macbook Air. I'd always heard that they were flimsy, but I'll give them a look. Just blows my mind what people want for a 2014-2015 Macbook Pro. You'd think they were made of gold.

 

Sounds like the $999 MacBook Air is right up your alley. You might check and see if you're eligible for the education discount. I had a work MacBook Air for several years and it was one of my favorite laptops. It was just like every other Mac I've used and flimsy isn't a word I'd use to describe it. It was upgraded to a 13" 2018 MBP, with the butterfly keyboard. That machine was fine, but the butterfly keyboard will crap out if the slightest particle of dust gets under a key. We've had lots of problems with them. As to why used Macs are so expensive, my guess is people are willing to pay. Why they're willing to pay baffles me. The good new is if you buy a new one it will keep its value.