I recently had the chance to get my first MacBook. So far, I only had iPhones and iPads but never a Mac. I also have an amazing iPod colour, the one with the touch wheel. It still works! Anyway, until one month ago I had never seen how macOS works and why there is all this hype about Mac computers. I was also searching for a Mac in order to be able to create the mobile app of the project that we are preparing. So, by luck I was given a MacBook Pro 2015 with 13” Retina screen.
The laptop is in an amazingly good condition with just a few marks on the body but nothing major. It has an i5 processor, 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD which are the same as my other Windows laptop I have (a HP Envy 13” with i5 from 2019).
Searching eBay I found that this model costs around £200. Mine was free but it needed an SSD as it was having trouble waking up from sleep mode, and it was restarting every time I opened the lid.
Since I got this laptop, I am using it 90% of the time want to use a computer. I really like macOS, although there are some minor things that are missing. The whole experience is very positive and this made me to come to a conclusion: MacBook Pro 2015 13” is the best used laptop that someone can buy in 2023. And there is a huge list of arguments to support this opinion.
First of all, it is the price. Once M1 MacBooks were released, the old Intel laptops lost their value and dropped in price massively. Today, a brand new 2020 MacBook Air with an M1 processor starts from £850. This means that an older used MacBook cannot cost more than £650-£700 and the older the cheaper becomes.
This MacBook can also run Windows using Bootcamp without any problem, unlike the new ARM based processors that need the ARM version of the Windows. It means that even if macOS is not supported anymore you can still have Windows or Linux running on this machine without any problem at all. That said, Apple still supports those laptops, and I literally had an OS update last week. It runs macOS Monterey which is one version behind the latest Ventura but it will probably get updates from Apple for the next 1 to 2 years. There is also the option to update the laptop unofficially by using OpenCore Legacy Patcher which can update the MacBook 2015 to the latest OS without any major problem as I researched.
The performance of this computer is not bad at all for an 8 year old machine. The i5, even if it is an old model, can keep up quite good with day to day tasks. I have used VSCode, MS-Office, Luminar (photo editor), VLC, Garage Band, XCode, Excel and all the chatting apps like WhatsApp, Viber and Signal without any problem at all. Of course, compared with newer models it is slow, but we compared with other £200 used laptops it is just unbeatable.
This specific machine came with a relatively new battery, and I was surprised how long it lasts unplugged. We are talking about 5-7 hours of medium to lite usage but with lots of apps open (especially the chatting apps). The power management is so efficient in macOS that I am not sure if Windows will ever catch up. I didn’t have 5 hours of battery life on my HP laptop even when it was brand new! Amazing work from Apple here.
Another reason why I like this machine so much is its keyboard and screen. The keyboard is the old and much loved “scissor switch” which has an amazing feeling and sound when pressed. It was the last keyboard before the “butterfly switch” was introduced, that also introduced a lot of problems for the users and lawsuits for Apple.
Retina screen is also amazing. It offers accurate colours, superb clarity and details, high pixel density and is also bright with 300 nits! Although, one thing that disappointed me is the camera. It is really bad compared to the newer models but we are talking for a decade old technology.
The body is the classic robust aluminium chassis which never disappoints and it offers lots of ports. Like lots. It has a normal size HDMI, 2x USBs, 2x Lightening Ports, an SD card reader (handy if you are doing photography and want to transfer photos) and a MagSafe! The designer of the MagSafe should be proud! The speakers are on the bottom of the body and the sound they produce is way above the average.
Talking about the laptop’s body I must mention that it is one of the easiest laptops I have opened. I literally unscrewed a bunch of screws and I had instant access to the SSD. Unfortunately, it is this and the battery are the only upgradable parts. The RAM is soldered to the motherboard.
One thing I also like when using this Apple computer is the integration with other Apple devices. I can make phone calls, send messages and move from one device to another very smooth. Apple has done an amazing job here which I believe is a big reason for someone to stay into the ecosystem.
I mentioned earlier that I was mainly interested in having a MacBook because I wanted to create a mobile app. This MacBook can get one of the latest XCode that comes with Monterey which means that you will be able to create apps using the latest phone features.
Not bad for a £200 computer heh?
One last thing
This is the last MacBook that had a light up Apple logo!
Do I recommend buying this laptop in 2023? Definitely!