First post, so please let me know if any improvements need to be made.
I reckon this is a pretty good price for the Macbook Pro 16-inch, as Apple Certified Refurbished products are known to be indistinguishable from their brand new counterparts. They also have the Intel Core i9 variants starting from $3,739. Usually hard to come by the 16-inch models on refurbished since they're a relatively new model released in November 2019, hence posted as a deal.
$3479 from the education store. A saving of $250 or 7%.
Nice if you were going to buy one anyway, but not enough for others to "hop onto" the deal imo. :)
yeah, thanks for the education discount comparo. Was wondering. Refurbished is usually not greatly discounted from Apple.
wow, that was quick for refurbished. It just got released recently.
Yes, it is indeed. I ordered the entry level i9. I'm hoping they're no issues with it, in terms of superficial scratches or anything, fingers crossed. I'm not sure if it's true but after some googling it seems like Apple replaces the shell with a new one, along with the battery.
nope, it will look and feel like new. Everything that shows wear and tear replaced.
Usually refurbs are just items returned within the 14 day return period too.
Apart from the box you wouldn’t know it wasn’t brand new.
There shouldn't be any scratches. The refurbished macs usually have a new body.
Refurbished also includes new machines returned in the first 2 weeks if people decide Macs or MacOS isn’t for them so it may not have been a repair and just a repack
Just past 6 months, so not too recent.
I would say these are Apple Store examples that they need to flip now, given the stores are closed now. Hmm…
I'd be very surprised if they were selling their demo units off the tables
Potentially Corona infested demo units too.
But Macs don't get viruses
Or these are the customer return for refund during the refund period.
These are what customers returned for refund and Apple refurbished.
Or they could be what the YouTubers did reviews on while exploiting the 14 day return policy on apple devices.
To be honest, this is not a deal. Apple's refurbished store always provides a discount around 15% compared to RRP. Yes, it is a fairly new model but still…
It is a deal because we assume supply is limited.
This happens with every single refurbished product in the Apple Store. They come and go out of stock.
These haven't been available from the refurb store before, nor do they last forever.
I think it's a deal because it's cheaper than the retail price and I didn't know they were available as refurbs yet. I would definitely buy one right now at this price if my 2015 i7 15" didn't still work perfectly sigh
Keep that beauty!
All the ports and magsafe, not to mention a glowing logo.
The best MacBook Pro IMHO
and have a superior port set-up
Is the reason Apple have these refurbished deals to keep an artificially high price for them?
Similar to their tablets, phones, etc.
If they keep refurbs at 15%, their "premium" price will remain high - setting the market price/expectation.
Where other branded refurbs go for a lot higher of a discount.
No one is stopping you from buying a second hand unit elsewhere.
I never said I was going to.
Just querying their practises.
They sell at this price, so why wouldn't they price them at this level? They come with the same warranty and new outer bodies if needed, so there's no reason for Apple really to offer an as new device for significantly less.
The second hand market for Apple also retains high prices, so refurb prices often aren't that bad compared to second hand purchases that don't have a new case and wouldn't come with a full warranty.
It would be great if the prices were lower, but Apple will sell at what people are prepared to pay while also not de-valuing their non refurb market.
I would never trust apple refurbs. Look it up on youtube and you can find cases where water damaged boards were used for refurb machines… probably unlikely tho with this new model
edit for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TZ_ZGCLaiA
I've bought a lot of refurbs and they have all been like new, and have lasted as long as you would expect a computer to last. This lady is very good at what she does. I have seen many of her videos.
she is great and know what she is doing. On the balance of probabilities it would probably be extremely unlikely this would happen. I’ve also seen videos of Apple’s refurb boards looking old and oily like it’s dipped in oil and fried lol
What is the problem, then just return it.
People who are happy with their Apple refurbs just don't make YouTube videos.
Most people wouldn’t even know even if they had an issue cause they don’t know how to open it up
For most, if the machine works then there isn't an issue.
The people making videos are the repair shops who actually encounter situations like this
I've been buying and recommending Apple refurbs for over 10 years and I can't remember anyone having an issue including me, in fact the only issue's I've had with apple products has been 2 brand new, non refurb products.
Personal choice I guess, I would take no chance that the board is faulty or they did some wrong refurb procedures for an expensive product like this
You can purchase apple care for 3 year warranty. Also comes with 1 year standard warranty. I'm not sure what the stance is of Australian Consumer Law on refurbished products, maybe someone with more knowledge in the area can comment below.
@nomadspartan: as far as I know you still can claim consumer guarantees under s 54 acl, the exception being you are deliberately told that the goods are not of acceptable quality.(there is no language under s 54 suggesting that such a guarantee would not apply for refurb). if there is a breach then you can claim remedies under s 259 and the rights depends on whether it is a major failure or not
@XanderYuan: To be honest, refurbished products sold off the Apple store seem to fall with in the ambit of the definition of "acceptable quality" in s 54(2), since the Apple Refurbished Store makes representations that their refurbished products are free from any defects.
@nomadspartan: wooo then additional consumer guarantees would apply check out s 55 Guarantee as to fitness for any disclosed purpose etc. and s 56 Guarantee relating to the supply of goods by description
@XanderYuan: True, but you're saving (comparing the base i7 model) $570 ($3,229 vs $3,799). You can use the savings to purchase Apple Care (around $460 i think).
But Macbook Pros are very expensive laptops, you will undoubtedly get more "value" out of windows laptops.
@nomadspartan: that is true but normally they go on sale for 10% (the base models) stacked with 5% GC or potentially TRS, the 5% GC gives you a bit of the price difference, so I would rather buy new. (you can't get 5% from apple)
@nomadspartan: this, have bought refurbs from all the majors (Dell etc.) and if there's an issue its standard warranty so there's no loss unless you think they're deliberately giving you faulty products whilst backing it with a normal warranty
Throw in a bit of OfficeWorks price match and you’ve got yourself a half decent deal there.
I can't see that model on the Officeworks website - do they sell it?
Will it run windows? 😨
Yes
Yes, it can in Bootcamp mode. However battery life will be reduced to 4-5 hours since Apply hasn't optimised the drivers for switchable between the integrated intel GPU and the discreet AMD GPU.
I believe that you can also run windows as a "window" in MacOS.
VMWare Fusion will allows you to run either Windows OS or Windows programs seamlessly (i.e. run a Windows program inside your MAC OS without having to open Windows first to run it).
Its still a full fat VM and will make those fans spiiiiinnnnn, these specs will have enough trouble staying cool as it is
Don't forget to apply for the cashback for an extra 4.5% off!
Is there a $50 cap on cash back?
For over $3k it better be frickin new.
Shopback Cashback Bumped to 4.5%, comes down to $3083 ($145 off).
Edit: Just saw the comment 2 above :/
I won't buy refurbished. Apple gives 3 years warranty on new macbooks in Australia (even when it says 2 years when surcharging).
On refurbished ones they give only 1 year. Its not worth it.
Get applecare
https://www.apple.com/au/legal/statutory-warranty/
As per the above link, there's only one year warranty. However in practice, they may just treat it as a standard 3 year warranty thanks to consumer law.
Is this true? Surely refurbished follows the same laws?
Both the refurbished and the brand new models come with one year standard warranty, as per the link below
Nah just checked with them on chat and via consumer law both new and refurb have the same 3 year-ish warranty
I really don't know how this is a deal… it's refurbished, this is kinda standard pricing.
Especially it’s 3k
It still hurts to know that it costs over 3K and you are getting a used/repaired ones. No matter how much warranty it has - A new one is a new one. And when you buy a refurbished ones, especially if you are like me, you will start doubting every aspect of it. For example if the fan spins up, I would start wondering is it spinning up like it should or is there an issue with it. Was this xyz reason is why the previous owner returned it OR the new one actually is supposed to behave like this? is the laptop heating too much? and the OCD goes on. MY OCD probably wouldnt kick in if it wasnt as expensive.
Yeah I know right, in my opinion no matter the price, if it’s referb I always doubt about the quality and when something strange happens I always wonder if it was the reason why last person returned it. You wouldn’t help but think, how did the last person used it, tossed it around used it 24/ 7, i know that I care about my devices but not sure how did the last guy used it probably trashed it is all I assume.
I9 MacBook, runs like an i5 but priced at an i9
The 16 inch has a vastly improved cooling. Pretty much fixes the thermal throttling issues.
@iheartkfc1234, that’s 2 year old knowledge, might want to watch some current reviews for the 16” model, the 15” i9 has throttle issues
And they finally fixed the keyboard..
Thanks OP! Bought 5
New MBP model likely to be launched next month.
Not the 16 inches, it will be 13" refresh.
some people will pay lots to look cool whilst web browsing.
Not the look cool but to feel cool
Everyone in front of a laptop in public looks a bit silly to some degree.
I felt like a rockstar in 2006 lugging my 17" dell inspiron around in a crumpler satchel bag.
I probably looked like a twat. Because I am a twat, but I felt invincible ;-)
Some people may pay the Apple tax to look cool sure. I certainly don't though, I pretty much don't go anywhere with my mac other than home / work. To me it's just a tool that does my work better than anything else available. Macs aren't beats headphones or range rovers that never leave the city. There's a few things they are leaders in:
On top of the above the 16" macbook has the best speakers of any laptop available. It has a very good screen and best in class battery life. When you compare the pricing to similar offerings it's not even that bad. i7 XPS 15.4" is $3000 anyway and they don't even appear to have an i9 model in Aus to compare to but judging by the US pricing it's also pretty similarly priced and the XPS has a smaller screen, worse touchpad, worse speakers and worse GPU (source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ogd5p8UZdR8).
Yes exactly, if you're looking to buy a laptop with the least compromises, but is priced reasonably well compared to competitors (CPS 15, Razer Blade, Thinkpad X1 Extreme) then the Macbook Pro starts to make sense.
Agree. Addition to that, the customer service and product life also matters. And I guess Apple is better and faster than others if you need your product fix regardless warranty. So far, I have opened this deal page 100 times and closed it, because I can’t justify why I am giving up my 2011 Macbook Pro that has 1TB SSD, 16GB memory, and works like a charm…hahaha. despite 9 (yes nine) of extremely heavy usage (avg 4+ hours a day), it still feels new, boots in no time, and runs smooth.
Unless you need windows because most technical software is not available on Macs. In this case the Surface line has build quality almost on par with apple. Especially the Surface Book 2.
Using windows with Macbook Pro is a big compromise in battery life
That may be true, but some people just want an all round laptop with excellent build quality and features. The only bad things about this 16-inch version are the 720p webcam and Wi-FI 5, but i can personally live with those things. For some people, Macbooks are a luxury item, that are not supposed to represent "value" per se, but are more about having the least compromises as possible, and that's the perspective I have about the Macbook Pro - they are a luxury item for me. I am not a content creator, and will literally use this for simple everyday tasks, but at the same time I want to have the power in case i need it (gotten sick of Intel U-series processors). I have never bought Mac before, used Windows all my life.
You will definitely get more value out of windows laptops.
What software do you use with it?
***K! They have gone.
Was just about to order.
Not for me?
the $3,229 one is back for now.
Out of stock on the cheap ones, only ones left are:
$5779
i9 2.3ghz
$6029
i9 2.4ghz
All the other specs are identical:
4tb SSD
32gb RAM
AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8gb
I wanted the base i9 model, missed out :(
EDIT: that model sells for $6,649 (+$300 for the 2.4ghz) so still a decent saving if you were looking at buying that spec.
Only the 2.4ghz i9 remaining now.
I was on the fence anyway, so I have just ordered at full price and will likely send back in the 14 days if it doesn't blow me away (then someone can buy that on the refurb store…)
Just return and once it turns up on the refurbished store, buy it again.
![[Refurb] 16-Inch MacBook Pro Core i7 (Coffee Lake) 16GB / 512GB / Radeon Pro $3229 @ Apple Store](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/76/532676.jpg?h=db740ac6)
For reference it's normally $3800 new
Seems fair.