Apple MacBook Pro 13.3" REF-MWP52LL/A 2020, Core i5, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Space Gray

A well-built 2020 Intel MacBook Pro with a great screen and a generous 1TB SSD. But the Intel chip is a major bottleneck, getting crushed by Apple's own M1 silicon at this price point. Only buy this if you absolutely need an Intel Mac for Boot Camp or legacy software.

The 10th-gen Core i5 here is a capable chip for everyday tasks, but our benchmarks put it in the 31st percentile overall, which is pretty mediocre these days. It'll handle web browsing, office apps, and light photo editing without much fuss, and the 16GB of RAM helps keep multitasking smooth. The real weak spot is the integrated Intel Iris Plus graphics, which land in the 42nd percentile. It's fine for pushing that high-res display, but forget about gaming or heavy video work. The 1TB SSD is a nice spec bump and sits comfortably above average in our storage rankings.

Stacked against modern Windows laptops like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 or Lenovo Legion 5i, this MacBook Pro gets absolutely smoked in raw CPU and GPU power. Those are gaming and creator machines with dedicated graphics. Even compared to a thin-and-light like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition with its Snapdragon chip, this Intel Mac feels sluggish and runs hot. Its only real win is in reliability and that classic macOS experience, but the newer Apple Silicon Macs deliver that same experience without the performance penalty.

At $925 for a Certified Refurbished unit with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, the price isn't outrageous for what you're getting. But value is tricky here. You're paying a premium for that Apple build quality and the ability to run Intel-native software, not for raw speed. For most people, a used M1 MacBook Air at a similar price will be a much smarter buy, offering dramatically better performance and battery life. This is a niche purchase for someone with very specific needs.

This is a 2020-era Intel MacBook Pro, and it's a bit of a time capsule at this point. You're getting that classic MacBook build quality, a sharp Retina display, and the Touch Bar, all wrapped up in a Certified Refurbished package. It's a solid machine for basic productivity, but you need to know exactly what you're signing up for with that Intel chip inside.

Look, the elephant in the room is Apple Silicon. The M1 MacBook Air from the same year runs circles around this thing in performance and battery life, often for similar money on the used market. But if you absolutely need Intel for Boot Camp or specific legacy software, this is one of the last Macs that can do it. Just don't expect it to feel fast by modern standards.

If you don't have a specific, hard requirement for an Intel processor, skip this. The M1 MacBook Air is faster, completely silent, and has way better battery life for about the same price. If you need Windows, you're better off with a modern Windows laptop like the Lenovo Legion 5i that will run circles around this for the same money.

This is a tough sell for anyone but a very specific buyer. If you're a student or someone just browsing the web and writing papers, you'll be fine, but you can do better for the money. The only people who should genuinely seek this out are those who need an Intel Mac for software compatibility reasons, like running Windows via Boot Camp or using older pro apps that haven't made the jump to Apple Silicon. For everyone else, just get an M1 MacBook Air and don't look back.