MacBook Pro 13 Retina 2013 - A 2021 Review

A video about what it’s like using a 7 year old MacBook Pro in early 2021. Hope you guys enjoy :)
Check out my other videos:
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Dell XPS 13" 9300 vs Macbook Pro 13 - • Dell XPS 13” 9300 vs M...
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Follow me on Instagram @Smarikoe ( / smarikoe ) if you want to checkout the photos that I take and use for my wallpapers.

[@strikeistrashlmao6891]

when a 2013 macbook runs better than your 2018 windows laptop:

[@Rebrutez]

you can upgrade your 2018 windows laptop

[@strikeistrashlmao6891]

@@Rebrutez oh sure *ahem* i’ll replace the cpu

[@suhanisingh3519]

@@strikeistrashlmao6891 😂😂😂

[@jayanth1982]

@@strikeistrashlmao6891 you can’t upgrade that lol

[@phrog.4809]

Really hope it isn’t a celeron or pentium because yikes those are terrible

[@NumberUp1]

I bought this device when it came out as my first macbook and have used it every day since without skipping a beat. Honestly one of the best purchases I ever made. As you noted - it has allowed me to ignore a few dud or underwhelming generations of apple hardware. Only now the M1 chips have piqued my interest and if they release a 2nd gen. pro in late 2021 without the touchbar it'd be too good a proposition to refuse. That being said - if a 2nd gen. M1 pro doesn't doesn't happen this year, I'm sure my 2013 will last until it eventually does 😊

[@Abdulelah168]

Yaaay, they upgraded the chip, removed the touchbar, and brought back the hdmi and magsafe port. Exactly what you said!!! 🤯🤯

[@kevinpaiva6981]

I have the same as you! How long does the battery last you in a day? Also, which MacOS are you on? Thanks!

[@yorgosathanasiadis5335]

I have the exact same computer and I’ve been desperately trying to find an excuse to upgrade to something newer, but it’s been proven to be a hard task! This device is *really* that good. But I think that later this year I’ll finally move on to a newer MacBook Pro - especially if they bring back some of the ports. Giving the old device to someone in the family is great advice, as I’m not sure how well it would sell...

[@smariko3]

Yeh exactly the same dillema I went through! I think you wouldn't be able to get a comparable device with the money you could get selling it secondhand...happy to be proven wrong though!

[@MrPeterT]

@@smariko3 Possibly selling this would at least give you half if not 2/3rds towards an iPad Pro 2020 edition, which is a great alternative to a laptop today. Depends on the use case though

[@Your4K]

Please sell to me!

[@kevinpaiva6981]

I have the same as you! How long does the battery last you in a day? Also, which MacOS are you on? Thanks!

[@mariopenulli1395]

Laptops with a metal unibody and a good display tend to age very well. I bought Samsung's Series 9 (MacBook Air clone) in 2013 and it got me through seven years of university without problem. Honestly, it is a little sad to see how little laptops have progressed in the last seven years.

[@smariko3]

Yeh it definitely hasn't seen the degree of improvements that we have seen in smartphones over the years. Hopefully that will all change soon 🤞🤞

[@RidwanNurzeha]

@@smariko3 can’t see that happen since the notebook market not growing as big as smartphones so less money to research new features

[@rubenkalmbach]

It's 2022 and I've been using this Macbook since 2013 with no problems, even now with Big Sur thanks to the open core patcher.

[@android-user]

Big Sur is supported without Open Core Patcher :)

[@rubenkalmbach]

@@android-user nop, its shown as no supported on my mac. Maybe its the next model or same model but with a different Intel chip

[@MrBadGamer100]

i'm using the same macbook for my day to day work as software engineer and I love it. sometimes it lags a bit but in general pretty reliable and somewhat fast ^^

[@Rowan-l3i]

I really like how you just read the script and made some mistakes but was kept pretty raw. Not doing weird skips in audio to make it look like you've read it perfectly. Well done, thanks for the review, just refurb'd one of these and wanted to see if it'd be good to use for now.

[@kabosumamadoge1818]

Brooo, we have exactly the same model. And mine is still running on Catalina strongly this year. This is definitely one of the best Macbooks Apple has made. The port (with Magsafe) selection is still one of the best.

[@cheapme1850]

My work required certain apps that only work with Windows so my MBA M1 wouldn’t work, plus I don’t like mixing my personal stuff and work stuff on the same computer. Bought a non functioning MacBook Pro 2013 for $50, new logic board for $40, new keyboard for $20 and new 256gb ram for $30. The keyboard turned out to not be necessary - the board connection was the issue. Installed Windows through boot camp and it works better than the dedicated Windows machine I was previously using. Like stated, this old 2013 just has a more quality feel than the Windows machine I bought a couple of years ago. With OpenCore it’s now running Ventura with no issues.

[@BoxDesire]

Just upgraded to the 2021 16-inch model a couple weeks ago but my 2013 MacBook held up for 8 years no problem. MacBooks are truly worth it!

[@smariko3]

Agreed! Built like tanks :P

[@alexnelson09]

I still run the same exact MacBook! I three in 2x8gb ram and a 2Tb solid state hard drive. My needs are very simple for this computer but it’s still a very solid platform to this day!

[@BadMotivator66]

watching this in 2022 when my early 2013 retina 13 no longer gets software updates. as long as I have VLC and a few basic apps, hopefully it will run light enough for me to use for light tasks. the screens on these are still so so lovely, it would make a great media device/browser/word processor

[@lunasilencio3078]

Just bought this laptop today and it is brand new. Literally only 1 battery cycle, the thing is mint. The guy I bought it from worked at a tech store that had a couple of these back stocked or something, it was only opened once to check that it was functional! Paid $400 for it.

[@daughterofgod5957]

What you gone use that Mac book for?

[@joebloggs4191]

I am still using my late 2013 15” retina MacBook Pro and it can handle everything I throw at it including light photoshop editing although recently I have been noticing a few minor software glitches and the battery is now weak and needs replacing and I have managed to blow one speaker! But still it keeps running! However the time has come to move on and I am going back to a desktop setup and have just ordered the new 24” iMac but this one will be passed down to another family member. I am hoping by resetting the machine back to new those minor software glitches will be gone, overall I think this machine still has many years of life left it in as a computer to do basic tasks. One other point I should make is Apple’s support, even after 8 years Apple still help me when I have a software issue with this machine, this is just phenomenal, try doing this with your windows machine!

[@jameelshehadeh9011]

I think this is the best MacBook pro ever built in terms of reliability and durability, i am still using it for iOS development the keyboard is awesome, display is great, just had an issue with the antiglare coating which i removed my self using listerine, other than this it is working perfect i don't really know why apple decided to stop upgrading this device on only bigsur in the end i am considering buying the new MBP with the m1 pro chip since intel is going to be past for apple devices.

[@VRJacky]

I just want it for airdrop and iMessage I have a custom PC and I’m sure I can put up with it’s editing performance when I travel considering I used a dell inspiron with a dual core athlon for 4 years for editing even DSLR footage

[@MostafaAhmedAhmed81]

I have this MacBook and still using it for my programming work. If not programming, it’s completely fine and fast, especially after I upgraded to Big Sur. It become slow when I run iOS apps on a simulator. Even this was improved with Big Sur upgrade, but still no so fast. I wish to have a performance comparison with the M1 MacBook Air, the one I’m planning to upgrade to.

[@kevinpaiva6981]

I have the same as you! How long does the battery last you in a day? Also, which MacOS are you on? Thanks!

[@MostafaAhmedAhmed81]

@@kevinpaiva6981 I had Big Sur, the most allowed version. Battery lasts 4 hrs for light tasks and 2 hrs with simulator na coding. However I just upgraded to M1 MacBook Pro 13”. The battery of the old one was baldy inflated and I had to retire it.

[@Alvin-eq5rc]

That was my first MacBook my dad got me. I pass down to my dad in 2017 when I got a newer MacBook. I think he’s still using this laptop. It’s way quicker than his ASus laptop.

[@flowmaka]

Still in the game! Haven’t retired it yet! Great video by the way!

[@gracesmith5021]

Great video man! I own a late 2013 Macbook Pro 15 inch and it still beats most of the entry level windows laptops today, it can even do less intensive video and photo editing even to this date! Macbook Pros up untill 2015 were a great value for money!

[@sarahparrish7206]

I'm getting the larger late 2013 MBP from my mom for free. Love the ports and full size hdmi. I'm just using it for college, so the outdated hardware isn't that big of an issue. I imagine the only thing i'll replace is the SSD. Also the SD card slot is amazing, even if I can't edit photos I can transfer them to my PC since it don't have an SD slot. And for writing, Apple keyboards are highly competitive if not preferable to my mechanical gaming keyboard

[@lt925]

this vid really helped man, appreciate it

[@Gearsandco]

I'm curently using a mid 2012 unibodi 15 inch macbook pro which I upgraded to 16gb ram and 1tb SSD, it runs okay but I just bought an early 2015 13 inch macbook pro with 16gb ram that I will replace it with. 3 reasons why, Better screen, more portable, faster NVME storage.

[@David-rt5vj]

Btw. the 13" inch Retina MacBooks Displays are 2560x1600 and not 2560x1440. Thats why they have the 16:10 Format to have more Space.

[@yuanyao3963]

very clear explaination !

[@Uuhmelmahay]

Great video! A more in-depth review of using Big Sur on the late 2013 MacBook Pro would be appreciated. I use my 2013 MacBook Pro daily to teach online (a web-based remote classroom platform, it’s like a Zoom call with a whiteboard and 6-8 participants). I can see that the webpage uses a good bit of memory sometimes (have 16gb) but it works well enough. Fan spins up sometimes, but often not. Real zoom and Skype calls make the fan run pretty nonstop. Just wondering if Big Sur would itself need too many resources and make video conferencing too difficult. And I agree, the 2013 MacBook Pro is a great machine!

[@malakamirzeb2788]

Macbook 2013 or corei7 8th generation dell?!

[@Klliansimabras]

Hey. I buy the 2013’13’ in 2015 and he’s dead a few days ago (keyboard and batterie). I change the batteries, keyboard and also trackpad and logic board to make it like a 2015 MacBook Pro A1502. Best choice after 9 years of use. I refit my MacBook Pro and upgrade it and now I will upgrade the SSD to 4 To. Apple doesn’t like we us our right to repair and upgrade.

[@galanonim7254]

im still on my late 2013, but catalina, original battery and ssd - no need to upgrade

[@kabosumamadoge1818]

Same. Not sure if Big Sur slows it down. But Catalina works really well on it including the battery

[@johnvender]

A 2013 Retina MacBook Pro is what I just watched your video on and it is the best computer I ever bought and used (my first was a Mac Plus and I've had many Macs and used many Windows machines since that). I can see having use for it for some time into the future and I'm only looking at buying a new iMac because I've started to get into sound production and with lot of channels and plugins the old MacBook Pro shows its limitations.

[@fidesimmortalis]

What would you say should I buy it for using Photoshop?

[@johnvender]

@@fidesimmortalis depends on how hard you want to push photoshop. For basic work fine.

[@danielirungu6309]

From 1:13 man's robust adult content magazine in full display 😂

[@harrisonchou8929]

I'm still using a late 2013 MacBook Pro 13" as a laptop as a backup device.

[@JohnDeLeon28]

So, this is running the latest macOS. I think the performance were affected because of the latest macOS Big Sur. I think for this 7 year old MacBook Pro, it's best to just stay on the previous macOS which is the the Catalina or at least the Mojave. I think it runs better than the latest one.

[@martec06]

I also use an 13" Macbook pro retina from 2013, runs on same battery :) Great little thing.

[@dwcromartie9280]

just bought a 2014 15 inch mac pro. I feel good about it

[@1nnu3ndo]

The eternal chewed-up charging cable though. I think I must have bought 6 new chargers at almost $400 in total for my 2013 macbook pro by now. It's ridiculous.

[@VikasGupta-bx5qv]

While mine has an 4-core i7, my early 2013 Pro (8GB) can run Outlook, Teams, Brackets, Safari, Excel, and stream video with no stuttering. Using OpenCore Legacy patcher to run Monterey.

[@renevanwyk4053]

Hi, I just subscribed because of what people say...you deserve more...and likes

[@ENOB19]

I agree with this fully and in fact that is what I am doing as well with my late 2013 model! Couple months ago I got a new 16 inch MacBook Pro, but keep my trusty older one (that followed me through my entire PhD) for doing things on the side. One question -- that cover looks awesome, where did you get that one?

[@smariko3]

Absolutely, great value considering how long i've managed to keep it alive and it be still functional. I got this skin ages ago from Dbrand i'm pretty sure

[@jayanth1982]

I guess it’s hyper black titanium

[@MikeDaep]

I also want to upgrade my SSD, Do you have the tutorial video on how you did it?

[@jrivera007]

Good presentation 👍. Good info, thanks👍😎

[@larsolav_larsolav9668]

I just bought a base model 2014 MacBook Pro retina whit Mac OS Big Sur I think it will do me good in video editing

[@shrikepsd]

Yea it should work fine with final cut and iMovie but editing 4K may be kinda slow

[@wire1970]

Can you share the black skin that you are using? Did it decrease how uncomfortable the sharp edges are?

[@spacecowboy6242]

This compute is good for python developer junior???

[@bugscheese]

Just found this vid. I have a late 2013 MBP and have been nursing it along for years. The battery is sad at 23.3% of original capacity, but the rest is working well running Sierra. Glad to hear that Big Sur runs well. I guess I'll give it a go. Still, the new M2 MBAs look very tantalizing for an upgrade path. Could one of those last as long as this beast?

Did you install Big Sur? On my mac Safari is terrible and the system animations are slow

[@longlivechina7538]

Cool vid man

[@dulalahamed770]

Should I buy it in 2023 for online classess?

[@sam_cs_49er]

Name of the music? I wish I bought the 13 inch 2015 MacBook Pro over the 15 inch due to thermals

[@theivmshow]

Hi. How do you choose a good battery to replace the one that you originally have in?

[@Mrcentin]

hi Smarikoe great video !!!!. I still use my late 2013 Macbook pro 15 inch and i was wondering where did you buy that black cover /sleeve do you remember ? Thanks in advance

[@jayanth1982]

It’s hyper black titanium skin from dbrand. But im not sure

[@Mrcentin]

Thanks I will try to find it online

[@zinxin]

I'm rocking the same system from 2013 - but with the i7, 16gb ram, and a stupidly large 1TB ssd. Honestly, it runs basically any mundane task just fine, and with the 16gbs, I don't really run out of ram either. Only reason to upgrade will be if they really make the late 2021 M1 (M2?) macbooks something truly astounding. Any guess as to whether the next version of Mac OS will be supported on this late 2013 MBP?

[@1nnu3ndo]

Same here. After finding out I can't upgrade to the latest OS anymore, I considered buying a laptop in the 1000 euro range since I no longer need it for productivity, but mainly content consumption and some light gaming. But I had trouble finding anything in that range that performs much better than a 9 year old MBP. Instead I found an unsupported way of installing the latest OS anyway and will have a new battery installed. Spend about $150 and I'll be alright for another 1 or 2 years.

[@Solarsystemrdffdfyyhh]

Its not a mac but I have a Dell e6410 1st gen laptop. I run 720 videos on youtube. I upgraded the ram. Im going to install a CPU confirmed to run on this and pack the ram to 16g of ram. Overall now I'm running affinity designer and a few other apps I need and it gets the job done. I am retiring it this year though and I think it will do really well with video content. Im not lagging on performance. I wish it had usb 3 but its old. I can still design on this machine with a nice size hard drive and wifi connection. I recently added linux and wow its rockin pop!os as if it were a new machine. Anyway older machine can still do the job!

[@BadMotivator66]

you can't often upgrade CPU in laptop. in fact pretty much never!

[@oleskoolcabby5710]

Hi, I just won one off ebay, £50, it's 2013, I upgraded my 2009 apple mac It's now 2014, will I still be able to use it for basic stuff and download apps? I'm yet to pick it up in a few days

[@chicoy12]

does it run macOS big sur ok?????

[@danhill2382]

I have a late 2013 MacBook Pro (DG) should I upgrade to a mid 2015 MacBook Pro?

[@smariko3]

I would just bite the bullet and upgrade to something more current, 2013 vs 2015 would be minimal improvement in 2021

[@mrsmith8877]

I have late 2013 MacBook Pro 15 and noticed fan running a lot louder since last update for Catalina and have since upgraded to Big Sur , cpu usage is at 63% and fan running for at least 30mins after start up, cannot run excel without lagging now, never lagged before now Wish I had not updated , still had some yrs left in it, nearly unusable now

[@gyaniadmi2347]

MacBook Pro 13 ( one you have ) or ryzen 5 55000u windows laptop. Do you thing this MacBook still holds up with ryzen 5 5500u ? And is it good for web development and coding ?

[@Beristic]

I’m getting a late 2013 13” retina MacBook Pro for $250 and I CANT WAIT!! Edit: the one I’m getting is 16 gb ram so it might run faster than the one in this video :)

Is a good idea change the default ssd? exist upgrades?

[@515ventures3]

no magsafe on my 2021 macbook air. rest in peace :(

[@Isilzhatheta1]

Thanks for this. Thinking of buying a Late 13 inch 2013 MBP and was wondering if it is worth the investment. Very encouraging. How did you even install BIG SUR on this 2013? I thought it would be too old for that?

[@ricardosanto6224]

@Original GameCube nostalgia Im thinking about buying one to because i have an iphone so it would be great for university work. Do you think is better buying the macbook from 2013 like you for 500€ or a recent windows for 500€?

[@ricardosanto6224]

@Original GameCube nostalgia Hahahah thank you .I think im going to buy it. Got to check first if there isnt no other better pc’s for the same price

[@ricardosanto6224]

@Original GameCube nostalgia Yhea i believe hahahah. I used to hate apple and know I dont think im going to go back to android hahahaha. Dou think the mac from late 2013 it’s still powerful enough for more 3 years at least? It will be for simple university programs and word and powerpoints?

[@kabosumamadoge1818]

Yup still a very good buy. I have an OG Macbook pro retina (late 2013) like this OP has and way back 2019 i bought another one. Still using both up until this year and running fast. Don't worry about MacOS support as even later editions could be installed through patching even if it becomes unsupported. My original one has been running 8 years now. Just had to replace the battery

[@adultlucifergremory5435]

@@kabosumamadoge1818 brother is this powerful enough to do vedio editing 2013 early model , And I want to do android game development , is this capable for that or I should buy i5 11th Gen Intel for this android game development process Please reply , I really need help

[@Foto_gui]

For editing photos on lightroom..is this good?

[@matheus_s_castro]

Need some help to decide if I move from High Sierra to Catalina at least on my MBP 13 Retina Late 13'.....Any sugestion???

[@williamatuesta6860]

Hi, i have a question, How long does the battery last. Thank u

[@hugotipple]

I won't do your homework. Watch the fricking video

[@J.S.T0]

Will this MacBook be good for architecture work?

[@Steve.Starks]

I guess your MacBook Pro is the Mid-2014 Model [Video 7:31] and not the 2013 Version. Aside from that, your video was great . Thumbs up !

[@smariko3]

Sorry should have clarified. It's the late 2013 model - so pretty much the same as the mid2014 but with 4th gen processor :)

[@jan-lucatielkemeier8352]

im watching this video on my MacBook 2013 haha

[@shotsofredmist5212]

Will it run Lightroom just fine?

[@ivaniglesias2108]

Is a cuad corte 2.8ghz i7 MacBook from early 2013 for vídeo editing?

[@seratsara3484]

what is the wallpaper?

[@joelbird9405]

I’ve just bought this laptop. Netflix doesn’t work because apparently a macOS 10.9.5 isn’t compatible with it. Can anyone help?

[@riley6366]

I just broke my chrome book and wondering wether to find a MacBook Pro 2013 On Facebook marketplace, I will need it for a bit of school work and Netflix / movies, is it worth it or will it die On me after a few weeks?

[@godpraised]

wdym die on you after a few weeks

[@ronaldblackjr.2767]

i’m Starting College online , I felt like i got a steal for it being refurbished.. this is my first mac i’ve ordered will it get me through for now?

[@BadMotivator66]

for basic email, browsing and stuff, yes. once you start wanting to video edit you're in for a bad time. the screen is lovely so even though it can't play back video over 1080p, it still looks amazing on the small screen. you'd barely notice 4k on a 13" anyway

[@user-eb5hu1fe7i]

is this model good for photoshop in 2021 ?

[@Simku]

I just reinstalled macOS on my MBP 2013 after having terrible user experience on a Linux partition... Anyway, my good old Mac is back with OS X Mavericks as its original OS ! Do you guys think it would be wise to update the OS to a more modern one? Like El Capitan, perhaps? Keep in mind that it ONLY has 4gb RAM and 128gb SSD (yeah, I was frugal at the time). Should I stay on Mavericks or update it?

[@AdrianCChase]

Yes, definitely upgrade. All macOS versions are well optimized overall (compared to iOS), so I think you should be able to run even Big Sur pretty well for normal use web browsing /light apps.

[@Simku]

@@AdrianCChase thanks for the response, man!

[@penxcilmusic]

Im on high sierra...do you think i should upgrade to catalina or big sur?

[@pandaatech4879]

Most likely

[@kabosumamadoge1818]

Catalina. I'm using catalina and i heard there is performance downgrade on big sur.

[@chacham456]

Im still used until today because i dont have any time to spend time with my macbook exclude my iphone haha

[@paoloclassics3051]

How many ram?

[@govindgupta3229]

can you tell me which skin are you using

[@fidesimmortalis]

So I shouldn't buy it for using Photoshop on this?

[@smariko3]

I'd probably recommend buying a newer M1 MBA for that if you are already looking to purcahse a new device - if you already had owned the 2013 than it might have been a different story though!

[@azninvasion]

I still rock the 2013 MPB even though my employer sent me a 2020 M1 MPB. The 2020 just sits in the corner, gathering dust on it. Sometimes I turn on the M1 because my cat likes to sit on it because it's warm but that's about it.

[@vans2548]

They don't build these like they used to.

[@danielstudt4790]

Who can i buy your macbook skin what you have on it?

[@danielstudt4790]

Have you an link for me ?

[@egnbigdave]

macbook Pro core 15" late 2013. Use it as a studio laptop with Avid Pro Tools 11. Flawless - had to downgrade to High Sierrra as PT 11 wont run in higher OS, and my upgrade plan expired.

[@tzaryr]

*You gotta tell me where you got that skin from?*

[@smariko3]

I got this skin ages ago from dbrand I think?

[@musicofnote1]

Not enough for Photo editing? Hmmmm My 13" 2015 2.2Ghz i7 8GB MacBook Air screams when editing in Photos in Catalina (hate Big Sur) My 15" 2013 2.0Ghz i7 8GB MacBook Pro screams when editing in Photos in Catalina My 13" 2013 2.0Ghz i7 16GB MacBook Pro screams when editing in Photos in Catalina All three do very well watching KZbin videos and although I don't use iMovie nearly as much now the I'm retired, it never had any problems with the above machines. But then, those videos were max. 15min in length. All in all, anything more powerful for me would be overkill, so why put out $1200 for an M1 Macbook Air? And one of the benefits have retiring from IT (SysAdmin and Support) was finally unloading all my Windows crap.

[@JakeJoris]

6:14 thinkpad x230 is a year older. Thinkpad x240 has same gen cpus, but still, macbook has faster ones.

[@JakeJoris]

0:54 A HARD DRIVE?!?! LMAO. Even my grandma knows the difference between an ssd an a hard drive :DDD

[@smokeintheair]

Calm down man

[@JakeJoris]

4:31 apple upgraded to retina displays in 2012, not 2013.

[@hoanglinhnguyen4996]

terrible voice guy!

[@worththewatch1517]

that accent sucks. Where is that accent from ?

[@andychester]

you joking? that's Aussie accent, love it

[@worththewatch1517]

@@andychester You love an English village accent? Lol

[@TiagoCaldas7]

I have a Macbook Pro Retina late 2013, should I upgrade to BigSur?

[@j4xsh]

how can you do that pls show me

[@mrsmith8877]

Mine has heavy cpu usage now for system tasks, I wouldn’t upgrade , I cannot use excel now without lagging

[@kabosumamadoge1818]

Stick with Catalina. Big Sur is memory intensive so i've heard