New Macs can be pricey, so it’s often a good idea to look towards a nice refurbished unit instead. However, regardless of their condition, there are some Mac models that are best left on the shelf, unless you have a very specific use for them.
The reasons to avoid these models of Mac on the refurbished or used market vary, but all of them have an Achilles heel.
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MacBook Pro (2016–2019, Butterfly Keyboard Era)
In its quest to make its laptops thinner, and thinner, Apple reworked the switch mechanisms in MacBook keyboards, coming up with the “Butterfly” keyboards, which started featuring in the MacBook Pro in 2016.
While these keyboards did help lower the profile of the laptop as a whole, and they were, well, adequate to type on, there were severe issues. Due to the way the switched worked, the tiniest piece of debris making its way under a keycap would render that key nonfunctional, and often the only way to actually repair the issue was to replace the keyboard, which meant replacing the top case, which all adds up to big repair bills.
Apple had to, eventually, institute an extended warranty replacement program for anyone affected by the butterfly keyboard. The company tried to rework the design to fix the issue. My 2019 Intel MacBook Pro had the third and final generation of the butterfly keyboard, which had a sort of skirt in it to prevent dust and debris from getting into the switch. For what it’s worth, my 2019 MacBook Pro had no keyboard issues during my time with it (other than keycap wear), but it was still a pretty terrible keyboard to type on. The Magic Keyboards on MacBooks that followed are so much better in every way, it’s hard to describe.
You can take a chance on a late-model butterfly keyboard if you’re feeling lucky, but Apple’s replacement program ended in 2024, so if you roll the dice wrong you’re in for a world of pain. Don’t do it.
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6
12-Inch MacBook (2015–2017)
Everyone loved the 12-inch MacBook form factor, short-lived as it was, but regardless of how cool the smaller Mac might look, it’s not a good idea to pick one up today other than as a collector’s item.
For one thing, this is another MacBook model featuring the cursed butterfly keyboard design. So, on that basis alone, I’d avoid it, but the dual-core Intel CPUs in these laptops aren’t up to the task of modern demands, even basic ones. As of this writing, the 2017 model isn’t officially obsolete yet, which means you might see some of them floating around, but it’s best to steer clear.
5
Intel-Based Macs From the Final Years (2019–2020)
There’s a reason that Apple invested billions into making its own chips, moving away from Intel. By the end of the Intel era for Macs the chips were hot, loud, and throttled under sustained loads. It’s not quite as bad in desktop Macs, but frankly the performance compared to Apple Silicon Macs is so poor that there’s very little reason to buy any Intel Mac or MacBook, unless there’s a software compatibility reason for it.
The first-generation M1 chips is still overkill for the vast majority of users, it sips power, there’s little to no fan noise, and software support will only get better for Apple Silicon, and worse for Intel Macs. So I’d strongly recommend avoiding Intel Macs as a whole.
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4
MacBook Air (Pre-2018)
Apple redesigned the MacBook Air in 2010, and kept that design until 2017. Out of the gate, you should know that Airs that were for sale between June 2012 and June 2013 were part of a replacement program for faulty SSDs, so those are a potential trap if the SSD wasn’t replaced during the refurbishment process.
All of these laptops have slow dual-core Intel CPUs, and the final 2017 models left official Apple support late in 2024. Apart from the borderline unusable hardware by modern standards, the Airs from this era have TN LCD panels at 768p and 900p for the 11-inch and 13-inch models respectively. So not very friendly on your eyeballs either.
I still consider the M1 MacBook Air one of the greatest laptops ever made, and you can pick up a brand-new M1 Air for under $500, while stocks last. So don’t be tempted by a 2017 MacBook Air, even if it sounds like a fairly recent model.
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3
iMacs With Spinning Hard Drives (Fusion Drives or HDD Only)
Before SSDs were truly affordable as they are today, hard drive makers created hybrid drives that have a small amount of SSD storage where smart firmware would store the most-accessed files, such as the operating system. The idea is that you get the snappy speed of an SSD for frequent tasks, and the cheap storage of HDDs for the rest.
Honestly, this solution never worked that well in my opinion, and Apple’s take on it—Fusion Drives–are no exception. These drives feature in the 2012-2014 Mac Mini, but have been in the iMac until late 2020, which means they’re going to show up as refurbs or used computers, or even new unsold stock.
Now, it’s entirely possible to replace the Fusion Drive with a SATA SSD, though this requires a tricky and potentially dangerous removal of the iMac screen. So, if a late model iMac has been refurbed with a good SATA SSD, or you’re confident in doing it yourself, then this can still be a good computer. However, have a look at the drive replacement process here first.
Yeah, I ain’t doing that.
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2
Mac Mini (Pre-2018)
The Mac Mini Intel unibody was with us from 2010 to 2018, and while the 2018 models received quad-core and hexa-core Intel chips, which are still perfectly fine for daily work today, anything from before that shipped with an anaemic dual-core Intel chips that can barely browse a website today.
Not only that, but the port selection is less than useful on Mac Minis from before 2018, since those last Intel models introduced Thunderbolt 3, and offer user-upgradable ram. 2018 Mac Minis are still in support and run the latest macOS too, which as of this writing is Sequoia.
That said, it would have to be a truly good deal for me to buy even one of those last 2018 Intel Mac Minis, and again it would have to be for software compatibility reasons. If someone gave me a 2018 Mac Mini for free, I wouldn’t hate it and have some useful jobs for it like HTPC, Plex server, NAS, and so on, Its perfect for that.
However, for use as an actual desktop computer, a refurbished Apple Silicon Mac Mini (any model or generation) is a much better bet. Not to mention the current base model M4 Mac Mini is incredible value at around $700, so if your budget can stretch anywhere near that, it’s the only rational option. Failing that, $400 for a refurbished 16GB M1 Mac Mini with 1TB SSD is a fantastic deal and should serve you well for many years yet.
1
Mac Pro (2019 Intel Cheese Grater)
Hopefully, I shouldn’t have to tell you that the 2013 “trash can” Mac Pro is a very poor purchase at this point, unless you just want a novelty. Apple kept this obsolete computer in circulation for years after it should have been put in a trash can itself. However, even the “Lattice Tower” Mac Pro, which everyone just calls the “cheese grater” holds a few pitfalls.
Even the latest Intel Xeon Mac Pro doesn’t hold a candle to the M2 Ultra Mac Pro, and the only real argument for the Intel Mac Pro is the ability to use add-in GPUs. Yes, no Apple Silicon system supports using GPUs other than the integrated GPU that comes with the computer, which is a bone of contention.
So you might think that I’d recommend people get the Apple Silicon cheese grater instead, but even there this is a hard computer to recommend to anyone. You can get the same or better performance from a Mac Studio, with the only thing you’re giving up being the PCIe slots in the Mac Pro.
Related
I Don’t Hate Refurbs, Honest!
I’m the last person who would advise against refurbished computers, and I’ve bought plenty of refurbished computers over the years that have never failed me. However, the situation with Macs is a little unique compared to refurbs of other brands.
For one thing, they tend to have repairability issues to a greater degree than other brands, though this depends on the year that Mac came out. So there might be little or nothing to refurb.
A bigger issue however, is branding. Apple sticks with the same outer design for many years on its computers and the names don’t really change dramatically. This means that an older refurbished Mac can be confused for a much more modern one, and that’s a recipe for a regrettable purchase.
