Whenever you're shopping for a new Mac,
there's always a little bit of uncertainty.
How much RAM do you need?
Will those extra CPU cores really make a difference
or should you shell out for a larger SSD?
Well, these are all questions and decisions
that you will have to make
while also taking into consideration your budget
and how long you plan to use your Mac.
And like most companies, Apple has figured out the best way
to squeeze as much money out of you as possible.
And I've seen some people either rightly or wrongly
refer to it as a sort of scam.
I mean, just take a look at all the upgrade options
for the 14-inch MacBook Pro.
It can get really confusing.
And you kind of feel like you're missing out
if you don't upgrade anything,
and that's exactly how most laptop manufacturers
want you to feel.
And this is where the concept of future-proofing comes in.
Just because that slightly more powerful
or capable upgrade exists
doesn't necessarily mean you should get it.
And in my opinion,
future-proofing is one of the biggest mistakes people make
when buying a new Mac,
and can end up wasting hundreds of dollars.
So in this video, I'm going to explain a couple of things,
including, will the apps and software you use
become harder to run in the future,
what upgrades should you actually get,
and why does Apple give you
so many often confusing upgrade options now?
Are they just after your cash?
Well, I mean, yeah,
but it's a little bit more complicated than that.
So first of all, what is future-proofing?
Well, the easiest way I can explain it,
is the practice of ensuring your Mac
can handle new technologies, software and requirements
that it may encounter in the future.
The key word in that sentence is may.
The basic logic behind this strategy
is that your computer will be able to run programs
and software in the future
even if they become more demanding
or at least experience less of a performance drop.
Now, future-proofing can take several forms.
For example, choosing a more powerful CPU,
or buying the latest model of a certain Mac product line
rather than the previous year's model.
For example, an M2 MacBook Air instead of an M1,
or even something as simple as a slightly bigger SSD
in case apps take up more storage space in the future.
Future-proofing is often seen as an alternative
to buying a new Mac every few years,
and it's particularly popular
with those who intend to keep their device
for a long time.
However, future-proofing, in my opinion, is a flawed concept
and may actually turn out to be a poor strategy
and waste of money for many people.
So let's find out why.
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Now, to preface what I'm about to cover in this video,
I'm certainly not saying that CPU, GPU, RAM
or SSD upgrades are useless,
I'm specifically talking about upgrading these things
just in case,
where you'll likely never take advantage of them.
So let's start with the first point I want to make here.
Let's be honest, most people only use their Mac
for very basic tasks.
These usually include things like web browsing, emails,
Word documents, or the occasional video call.
And these tasks aren't really that demanding.
In fact, I have a decade old base model 2013 MacBook Pro
that can do all of this with zero issues.
Sure, it's not as fancy or snappy
as the latest Apple silicon MacBooks
with their new screens and better webcams,
but for actually doing these simple everyday tasks,
you'll barely notice a difference.
And this brings me to my next point.
A common argument I hear in favor of future-proofing
is that the programs and websites you frequently use
become more demanding and difficult to run over time.
Now, this is only partially true,
so let me break down each area.
Starting with web browsing, as the internet evolves
and becomes larger and more advanced,
does make sense
that computers correspondingly find it harder to load
and browse webpages, right?
Well, this is an argument I frequently hear
when people are deciding between 8 or 16 gigabytes of RAM
for their Mac.
But is there any truth to this argument?
Well, to put it into perspective,
I was able to browse the internet
using that same 2013 MacBook Pro with zero issues.
This decade old device is so old
that it's officially classed by Apple as obsolete,
yet I really didn't notice much of a difference
between it and my 2022 M2 MacBook Air.
The reality is that, on average,
the internet is becoming more and more optimized
as time goes on.
Web developers need to ensure their websites are efficient
so they load quickly,
and are compatible with a wide range of devices,
many of which are very old like grandma's 20 year old PC,
or outdated, or are mobile devices
with limited internet speed.
A website that doesn't load or work well
on anything other than the latest and greatest device
is a website doomed to have low traffic.
And I have personal experience with this on our own website.
There's something called Google PageSpeed Insights,
and its purpose is to essentially rank websites
in several factors, particularly speed and compatibility.
As a result, developers are incentivized
to make websites load as fast as possible
while using minimal resources.
For example, bloated code is cut down and streamlined,
and images are compressed.
The result is that the web browsing experience
continues to improve,
and doesn't exactly slow down if you're using older hardware
or a device with only 8 gigabytes of RAM instead of 16,
for example.
By the way, if you want a full breakdown
on how much RAM you should get,
I made a really detailed video
comparing all the M2 RAM options
that you can watch via a link in the description.
Spoiler alert, if you think there's a good chance
you need 16 gigabytes of RAM, you probably do.
But getting back to performance,
what about the apps and programs
you have on your actual Mac,
like Word, Spotify or Photoshop, for example?
Surely they become more demanding
and require a more powerful system
to run in the future, right?
Well, again, this is only partially true.
For your everyday apps like Spotify or Word,
there won't be much difference.
All of these things still work perfectly even on older Macs.
And sure, professional and demanding apps
like the Adobe Suite video editors
and 3D modeling programs, for example, become more demanding
with frequent updates and new features,
not to mention often the data and files you work with
become more complex, for example,
when 4K footage started to become more popular than 1080p
just a few years ago.
But will those extra two CPU cores, for example,
make a difference?
Or are you better off simply saving that money
you would've spent on future-proofing upgrades
and simply upgrade your entire system after a few years?
Well, firstly, depends what you want.
I mean, some people like to keep their devices
for a long time,
and some prefer to upgrade every two to three years
to stay on the cutting edge.
Both strategies have pros and cons.
If you're like me
and use demanding apps on a day-to-day basis,
a good strategy is to buy the exact upgrades you need
and will fully utilize for the next two to three years,
if you actually need any upgrades in the first place,
then sell and move to a new system.
And I always sell my used Macs on a second hand market,
and typically I can recover about 60%
of the total cost I spent on it brand new
due to the high resale value of Mac products.
It also helps reduce e-waste
because I'm not just throwing my computer in the bin
every few years.
And I think this strategy is a good middle ground
for people who use their Macs
for more than just everyday tasks
like web browsing and emails.
You're able to use the Mac for a few years,
and just before you start seeing a significant decrease
in performance versus new tech,
you can sell it to someone who doesn't care about that
and just wants a decent laptop
at a discounted second hand price.
For example, look at the performance differences
between just one generation of chips, the M1 and M2.
Sure, it's not a huge amount,
ranging from about 10% to 25% in real life tasks.
But fast forward five years in the future
and make the same comparison,
this time between the M1 and the M4
or whatever Apple ends up calling it.
And if you're a professional editing videos
or compiling code, for example, time is money.
And don't forget, new tech is constantly being released
that can have a massive impact on your workflow.
A great example of this
are the built-in hardware footage encoders and decoders
on Apple's silicon chips.
This made a huge difference
to video editing workflows in particular,
and is only something you can unlock with a new Mac.
Just imagine if you bought a fully future-proofed
and upgraded 16-inch Intel MacBook Pro in 2020,
intending for it to last about five years,
only for it to be completely demolished
by the Apple silicon version released just one year later
with a ton of new features.
I know, I know, this is a bit of an extreme example,
but hey, it does happen.
Luckily, this is really only something
that users who use demanding or pro apps
have to worry about.
If you're just browsing the web,
answering emails or writing Word docs,
get whatever you want,
and it's going to be good for many years.
This brings us to the final question.
What should you upgrade?
Well, just answer these two questions.
Will you take advantage
of this particular upgrade immediately
or in the near future?
And, does it make financial sense?
Because you don't want to go spending money
that you don't have.
If you answered yes to both questions,
hey, maybe that upgrade is a good choice.
For example, if you're doing CPU intensive tasks all day,
get those extra CPU cores.
Are you a hardcore web browsing multi-tasker?
Upgrade the RAM to 16 gigabytes or maybe even 24 gigabytes.
Are you pretty sure
that 256 gigabytes of storage won't be enough?
Well, get the 512 gigabyte upgrade.
But whatever you do, just make sure you buy something
that you'll actually take advantage of and use every day,
and not something that you might use or will come in handy
a couple of of years down the track.
And if you need help figuring out
which upgrades are the best bang for your buck,
well, check out videos from channels like this.
I go into detail on pretty much everything.
And you can watch videos from other channels out there
to make sure the results are consistent
and you're making the most informed decision.
And if you're wondering why
there are now so many different upgrade options
for the CPU and GPU on Apple's silicon Macs,
the answer is simple.
During the process of manufacturing these chips,
something called chip binning occurs.
Basically, the chips with the least amount of defects
become the more powerful chips,
and the chips that might have slightly more defects
get some of their CPU or GPU cores disabled
and are marketed
as an 8-core CPU instead of a 10-core, for example.
So don't think that by not getting an upgraded chip
you are getting an inferior product.
Apple offers all these chip variants on their Macs
for two reasons.
Number one, so they're not wasting silicon,
and number two,
it gives customers more options to choose from,
which also gives Apple a little bit more money.
One thing I also want to talk about
are those people who intend to keep their Mac
for a long time, like 10 years, for example.
There is nothing wrong with that.
I know it might seem like this video is saying that
getting a new system every few years is the best option,
but that option isn't the best choice for everyone.
For example,
even if you sell your used Mac on the second hand market,
buying a new one every three to four years
is still expensive.
All I'm trying to say in this video
is that don't waste money buying or upgrading things
you know you're not going to need
or won't make a difference even 10 years in the future.