Help me choose an upgrade from my 2016 MBP Intel i7

Hi all, I am finally coming to terms with replacing my 2016 MBP which I bought new that year...almost lasted me 8 years so I can't complain. Mainly looking to replace due to performance issues/the machine slowing down.


A little background on me: I work in Marketing with a background in Graphic Design. My current job is in Marketing & Events Planning with some light design projects involved.


A typical day consists of working with 30-100MB size files in Adobe Photoshop, working with 1-100MB size files in InDesign, and 10-100MB files in Illustrator (all three of these programs are running at the same time or are "at the ready"). Most consuming is internet use with upwards of 50+ Tabs and/or windows for both work/personal needs. (This is also my personal device). Outlook is also used daily.


I use a single 25" external monitor in conjunction with my 13" MBP.


90% of my files are offloaded to a 1TB Drive that is plugged into my computer while at work. I store very little on the device itself. My current 500 GB SSD is utilizing 81 GB of storage, and in 8 years of files I have, the 1TB drive is utilizing 230GB of space—Current device specs:


MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)

Processor: 2.4 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7

Storage: 500 GB SSD

Memory: 16 GB 1867 MHz LPDDR3

HDGraphics: Intel Iris Graphics 540 1536 MB


Maintenance & Repairs:

[2020] Butterfly Keyboard Replaced

[2021] New Battery Installed

[2023] Diagnostics + "Tune-Up" at Apple Genius Bar - helped speed/performance.


That leads me to what I've narrowed my options to:


Macbook Air M2 15" *Refurbished

16 unified memory | 8 CPU | 10 GPU

512 GB SSD Storage

$1,329


Macbook Air M3 13"

16 unified memory | 8 CPU | 10 GPU

512 GB SSD Storage

$1,499 (not including trade-in value of my mbp)


Macbook Air M3 13"

24 unified memory | 8 CPU | 10 GPU

512 GB SSD Storage

$1,699 (not including trade-in value of my mbp)


Macbook Pro M3 Pro Chip 14" - a bit overkill for current useage perhaps *

Unique color option: Space Black

18 unified memory | 11 CPU | 14 GPU

512 GB of SSD Storage

$1,999 (not including trade-in value of my mbp)


Personally, the lighter weight of the MBA is appealing to me and if it can swing the programs and daily work I do, I'd prefer it, but I am ultimately looking for a machine that will last me 7-8 years just as my 2016 MBP has.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Mar 15, 2024 8:37 AM

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Posted on Mar 15, 2024 2:28 PM

I, too, would recommend the "overkill" option. In fact, there's a good case to be made for bumping the RAM to 36GB, based on the file sizes you're using and the multitasking going on. As jeffreythefrog has pointed out, neither RAM or SSD internal storage can be upgraded on these. The extra RAM is a $400 bump, but I suspect you'd appreciate spending the extra.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 15, 2024 2:28 PM in response to dialwrong

I, too, would recommend the "overkill" option. In fact, there's a good case to be made for bumping the RAM to 36GB, based on the file sizes you're using and the multitasking going on. As jeffreythefrog has pointed out, neither RAM or SSD internal storage can be upgraded on these. The extra RAM is a $400 bump, but I suspect you'd appreciate spending the extra.

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Help me choose an upgrade from my 2016 MBP Intel i7

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