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Buy a Refurbished MacBook Pro or New?

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If you need a new MacBook Pro, there’s no better time than now: lots of chances to catch the 14- and 16-inch on sale, and even better chances to get them refurbished from Apple. Why go refurbished when brand-new deals are great? There are good reasons for both.

What you get from Apple Refurbished

Apple gives limited details, but the gist: you essentially get a brand-new device. Everything you might see or touch has probably been replaced, with no scratches or dings and a rigorous cleaning. Refurbished iOS devices get a brand-new battery and outer shell. Every device comes with all the accessories and cables, as if you bought it new, and Apple verifies that everything works as intended, repairing or replacing anything that doesn’t. Not all of them were defective: a lot are just returns from people who used one for a day or two and decided it wasn’t for them, or had buyer’s remorse on the price. You get steep discounts.

When to buy new instead

Only one reason: when you can get a good deal. Right now, you can, depending on where you look (as of this recording):

  • Amazon / Adorama: the base 14-inch at $1,935, sold by Adorama (Amazon had no stock), not much below the $1,999 Apple price.
  • B&H Photo: $1,799, $200 off, in Space Gray only (silver is $200 more and was out of stock).
  • Best Buy: $1,599, $400 off the base 14-inch. That’s a steep discount; I paid more than that for a refurbished one six months ago, so you probably can’t beat it.
  • Apple Refurbished: the base 14-inch (8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 16 GB, 512 GB) at $1,709, about $90 less than B&H but $110 more than Best Buy.

A better-than-base spec

I wanted the M1 Max with the 24-core GPU, 32 GB and a 1 TB SSD. New from Apple, it’s $3,099.

  • Amazon: one listed a couple of hundred dollars below that.
  • B&H: the standard $3,099.
  • Best Buy: nothing with 32 GB in the 14-inch.
  • Apple Refurbished: that configuration (14-inch, 1 TB, 32 GB) starts at $2,479, and with the 24-core GPU it’s $2,649, a savings of about $450.

Unboxing a refurbished 14-inch MacBook Pro

I just took delivery of one. The only difference you’ll see is the box: plain white on all sides, labeled Apple Certified Refurbished, instead of a picture of the MacBook. The unboxing feels the same as new (I love opening Apple hardware). You get a new MagSafe cable, a power brick (the 96 W with the 10-core CPU; I think it’s 67 W with the 8-core), and the black “Pro” Apple stickers.

The silver MacBook Pro looks absolutely perfect, stunning and brand new: no scratches or dings, no marks around the USB ports (the case may have been replaced, or it wasn’t used), and a keyboard that looks like it’s never been touched, when Apple keyboards usually pick up oils after a short while. The trackpad, keyboard and screen all look like a new Apple device. The only difference from a brand-new one is the box.

It comes with the full warranty like a new laptop, and you can add AppleCare. The battery cycle count is a very low 17, out of the 1,000 cycles Apple says a MacBook battery lasts while retaining up to 80% of its capacity.

My experience

I’ve bought many refurbished devices from Apple: MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Studios, iPads and iPhones, and have had only one issue: a refurbished 2019 iMac with an i7 whose graphics card essentially had a meltdown in the first couple of days. I called Apple and wanted the same model, but they wouldn’t, because refurbished stock changes constantly: the version you want this hour may not be there in the next hour or day. So if you find what you want, move fast. I had to send that iMac back and buy something different, but that’s the only problem I’ve had.

Buying a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro refurbished from Apple is a no-brainer for me: essentially a new device at a fraction of the cost. Have you bought from Apple’s refurb store, and was it good or bad?

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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