15" MacBook Pro Alternatives

You should look at a Dell XPS Developer edition or buying a used computer.

The bottom spec MacBook Pro 13 should be within your budget. Also look at the Apple refurb store which will get you nearly new for a good few hundred (insert your currency) less.

I'm a bit allergic to laptops and buying a MacBook is way too expensive. I'd probably go with an upper midrange pc and then install linux on it. Then you feel pretty much at home with the command line from osX

@brightstormhq I agree with you about MBP 13" power. That is quite enough for me. The only thing i am not sure is the screen size. Do you think 13" would be enough for coding without an external monitor? Unfortunately, where i live, there is no apple store to see it in real life and test.

I've got a 13" MBP and it's ok for coding on (though the new keyboard layout annoys me). If you're the kind of person who likes to be able to see 100 lines of code at a time then it might be a push, but I find it ok. One of my co-workers has a 13" too and likes to use tiny fonts and doesn't seem to have a problem - but he's quite young and hasn't spent 20yrs ruining his eyesight. Yet ;-)

You could always pick up an external monitor sometime later if you feel you need it?

@ohffs thank you. Then i will just buy a MBP 13".

@lievikoff I’ve been using a 13” MBP since 2013 mostly on its own and also with external displays. It’ll happily run 2 external displays and apparently can run up to 4 if you use the thunderbolt port. Previously I was using 15” MacBooks and was worried about the smaller display but it’s been perfect. Will be going for a 13 again. My current MacBook is still going strong after 1000 charges and 4 years of daily use.

@brightstormhq I had never seen MBP 13" in real life. Thank you for sharing your experience! I will try and get one.

I got a MBP 13" - that is a perfect machine for coding. I don't feel like i need more display space. Thank you all for replies.