Why I'm not buying the most powerful MacBook Pro anymore

Antonio Villas-Boas

Jul 2, 2017, 18:18 IST

In 2012, I bought the most powerful model of the 15-inch MacBook Pro because I knew its Core i7 processor would keep up for several more years than a MacBook Pro with a less powerful Core i5 processor.

The concept is called "future-proofing." Basically, I buy a device that's way more powerful than necessary for my current needs in anticipation for the future when operating systems and apps will require more horsepower.

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Antonio Villas-Boas/Business Insider

My trusty 2012 MacBook Pro won't let me upgrade because it's still too powerful.

And this machine is truly a monster, especially after I replaced its slow old hard drive with an incredibly fast SSD drive and upgraded its RAM from 4GB to 16GB. My plan worked. My five year old laptop still runs incredibly well, even by today's standards, and I have no need to spend a couple thousand dollars on a new laptop. In fact, I could probably squeeze out another couple years out my trusty old 2012 MacBook Pro.

But future proofing has one big drawback.

You see, I don't really want my five year old MacBook Pro anymore; not when I see all the cool new and improved features on newer models.

Here's everything I'm missing out on because my old MacBook Pro is too powerful to upgrade: