2014 MBP in 2020? Is it worth it?

[AverageGuy]

• #1

I am looking for a laptop to run Catalina and to buy some time before the new generation of ARM based Macs hit. I have a 4GB 2011 MBA that is now not OS supported beyond Yosemite. Use mostly for office tasks and web surfing. I found a mid-2014 MBP 13” 2.8 i5 16GB 512GB 80 Battery Cycles for about $375. One or two small dings, but mostly clean. Battery change if necessary is a little bit of a pain compared to non-retina, but this seems like a deal! What do you all think? Would I get a few years before Apple makes this processor obsolete? Or should I look for a 2015 or a newer used non-retina Air? Can I run Catalina on this as compared to Mojave? Thanks.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

As chrfr stated in the MacRumors Forums, the 2009 MBAs were the last to have the OS X limit of 10.11.6 Yosemite. All MBAs from 2010-2011 can run up to 10.13.6 High Sierra.

That said, the Mid-2014 MBA will be good for a couple of years, and that is not a bad price. But as TravelsInBlue stated, make sure the seller is legit, as that price is actually a little low.

Personally, I would probably lean towards upgrading the MBA you have to Sierra or High Sierra for now, which would buy you another year or two. I am currently still running a iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2009) with High Sierra as my primary Mac.

C

 

[AverageGuy]

Thanks for your reply Cory. I actually have 2GB of Ram in that Air, not 4. Will 2GB even run High Sierra? Should I perhaps try to sell that and buy the 2014 MacPro to buy a couple of years? I can upgrade storage in that Air! That’s a plus .

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK...so it is an 11-inch 2011 MBA? The 2011 13-inch came with 4 GB. The 2010 13-inch did come with 2 or 4 GB.

The minimum for High Sierra is 2 GB, so it would run, but may be a bit slower. You can upgrade the SSD storage, but not the RAM in most MBAs.

You could do that, but that is totally up to you. Again, make sure it is legit and that there is a return policy.

C

 

[AverageGuy]

It is a 2011 11” 2GB Ram 64GB SSD! Sorry, I should have been clearer! What would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[AverageGuy]

Oh, I think you answered my question! Will have to see if the 2014 MBP is still available. Wish I had bought a 2015 11” 8GB 512GB i7. They are at a premium now!

 

[AverageGuy]

I am actually looking forward to how ARM will shake things up . To run OS X off of iPad! Doesn’t get better than that!

 

[Cory Cooper]

No worries...

Let us know if you find something and post a link if you would like us to check it out.

I am looking forward to the future convergence of macOS/iOS and Macs/iOS devices as well.

C