Some interesting responses here. My own reason for going brand new when I buy my iMac at some time in the future is because I want it to last for a decade if possible, or even longer. Buying new is my attempt to help future proof. However, that doesn’t always work out, and it is true that I have had some issues, which from my point of view were minor.
I would otherwise, if I could find one, buy a refurbished macbook pro made BEFORE the butterfly keyboard. Just like the one I have now, which is the best machine I ever had, and I supect might be the best I EVER have.
I would replace it, if I could, with the same thing, it works, and perfectly, for everything I do, I had a free screen on it as it had that notorious ‘peel’ problem, there is that strange ding on the border now after two years of the new screen but it is not on the visible screen and some patchy but very faint whiteness visible sometimes behind the screen. I use it hours a day and pound the keys, I also replaced the battery recently and have had one new charge cable.
Mine is hammered and has had heavy use for over 4 years now and is still going strong though, I would still argue despite the above, with few problems. Touch wood I guess .
I suspect though that owners of a machine exactly like mine, will, like me, be likely to hang on to them as long as possible. It is likely if I decide to upgrade that I won’t trade this one in but keep running it for something, writing maybe. Normally I would trade in for however little I got and have done that with ever other computer I ever had. Without regret too mostly. It would be interesting to see factually whether that is the case with this model? Anybody know for sure rather than guessing like I am? Mid 2014 MacBook Pro is what I have
I will add I am finding the upgrade cycle regarding the operating systems too quick. I hardly feel I am used to one when it upgrades. I am thinking of only doing every other one or something as a matter of routine.
I have seen no productivity gains since Mavericks: outside ones supplied by my power apps especially Keyboard Maestro and DEVONthink. With those I don’t think, for the first time in my life and I am 67, I have no tech bottlenecks at all at the user end anyway. Not many anywhere else really. Only some firewalls for some obscure journals sometimes, usually well outside my real field too, sometimes a link drops to some place or library I use. I need to catch up with Aleh Cherp sometime on this too.
One of the best episodes of MPU and still relevant was the one with him.
that episode really upped my game in itself.
I know my needs are light really from some points of view, text manipulation and production of pdf’s, email and that stuff. All my storage is text and pdf, web links that kind of thing.