I find it disheartening that people here who I expect to have a wider view of commentary by online folks would think that just because there are some complaints that it's an actual issue.
I also have a 2016 MBP with tb and it's the best hardware I've ever used (and that covers hardware since the Apple ][). The TB is very innovative and handy and the keyboard is pretty good.
People who don't have issues just don't post - the few that do are not a representative sample.
Exactly. A "Pro" laptop for use by "Pro"fessionals needs I/O like gig-e, USB3, USBC, HDMI, Thunderbolt, SD reader and an excellent DAC for the headphone jack. And I still miss the 17" macbook pro :(
I miss the days where there was a separate line for consumers/professionals. A lineup of slightly thicker laptops with I/O for days and a lineup of thin-light for students and the light would be ideal.
I like the feel of the new keyboards but I've heard that they're much less reliable. (keys get stuck with the smallest of debris). And since Apple's obsessed with integrating everything now, you have to replace the entire assembly for a stuck key, which costs something like $500. And that's an absolutely ridiculous tradeoff and the epitome of "form over function"
I don't have one but my wife's new laptop has the keyboard. I really hope we don't have to deal with that.
Friend with a 15" MBP just went through it this week. Shift key got stuck in the down position.
He took it to an authorized service center and the solution was to replace the entire top case assembly. That includes the case, keyboard, touchbar, trackpad, battery, and I'm not sure what else.
It's out of stock on PowerBookMedic, but their price on this part is $800. Eight. Hundred. Dollars. For a single broken key. This is insane.
I have a 13" version and I'm very concerned. I've got Apple Care but I'm careful with my laptops and I expect them to last more than 3 years.
Can confirm, I got a new MBP 15" about 6 months ago through work. The right side of the space bar doesn't work and the 'a' and 's' key alternate in not working without having to slam my finger into them. Also the keyboard is so obnoxiously loud that it can be genuinely annoying to others in the same room (i.e., the girlfriend).
And let's not even get into the "Touch Bar". Just stay away.
I happened to write an email to Tim & Phil today (or whomever reads those public addresses) saying:
- My maxed out 2012 rMBP is going to be obsolete soon.
- The laptops available have unsatisfactory trackpads and keyboards.
- Those same laptops have poor I/O for professional use cases.
- There is no reasonable desktop solution either (I don't consider Late 2017 iMac Pro to be as good of an answer as a 2003 Mac Tower design with upgradable components, or just a custom Windows PC).
If they continue to sacrifice sleek design and limited I/O on laptops, and provide what I think is a lackluster long-term desktop solution, I have no clue what I'll buy when this machine bites the dust (someday)
That may be true, but what about the millions of laptops Apple sells to other professionals? Limiting the scope of Apple's pro laptops to developers is really excluding a big part of the pie.
Google, Tesla, Facebook, and tens of thousands of other businesses purchased the 2012-2015 rMBP form factor for a reason - its a great laptop. The number of people who use the laptop that do not code in Swift far outnumber the number who do code Swift.
Still, a greater number use Macbooks casually, and I'm sure the standard Macbooks are great for home and recreational use. To clarify, my focus is on a professional use found in a standard business setting.
As a non-Swift-using professional programmer who loves Macs because they're a lot like Unix and nothing like Windows, the latest MacBook(Pro)? laptops are great. All the complaining about things that don't really matter is pretty tiresome.
I’m with you there. Small gripe with the keyboard is when it heats up the clickiness changes or goes away - like the keys stick. Since all of their modern laptops have this issue there’s no point in returning it like everyone suggests.
No idea what op was complaining about with the trackpad. It’s simply the best on the market.
If you're talking about the keyboard on the MBP 2016 or 2017 I don't know what you're talking about. My keyboard works fine all day long - so does my office mate who has the same keyboard and who codes on it all day.
Perhaps, I grew up on them though and have only ever owned an Apple computer (starting with iBook clamshell in like 2001?)
Edit:
And in reality how do you like the USB C ports? What headphones do you use? Did you have to buy $500 of new cables?
Don't take this with an off-putting tone, I genuinely don't know if its worth buying thousands in new accessories and adaptors to replace things like HDMI, USB-A form factors, etc.
Edit #2 - The Trashcan Mac Pro was built on the theory of daisy chaining Thunderbolt, and not 3 years later we see a new standard port in USB-C. I know its a niche audience, but my point is, what if USB-D is out in 24 months, and your $3,000+ of cables/monitors/harddrives/adaptors to use an SD card with your camera.... are all obsolete?
Edit #3 after reading the rest of the thread: Seems you are in the minority and others echo my complains of post-2015 Macbook hardware being extremely underwhelming and not worth the frustration.
I just use AirPods or a set of over-ear sennheisers, but that's unrelated to the USB-C's since there's a headphone jack.
I really like the transfer speed of the USB-C ports, I've spent maybe $70 on new cables (usb-c -> DisplayPort, a usb-c/usb flash drive, and a USB-C -> lightning and 1 or 2 others). The only thing that really bothers me about the IO is that the iPhone still uses lighting, i think it should adopt USB-C as well for consistency. Otherwise i have no gripes about the IO, I think USB-C will see heavy adoption in the coming months/years and honestly i think wireless is continuing to make hardware IO irrelevant in my life.
Other gripes i have are the slightly reduced battery life and the removal of magsafe, but i think the nice screen and the form factor make up for it.
I'm a relative newcomer to the apple ecosystem (first iPhone an MacBook in 2014) so i have no real opinion on the mac pro, except that it is likely overpriced for my workload, I'm unlikely to want a desktop mac outside of the one i use at work.
Edit: for clarification i have the 2017 13 inch model with toucbar.
Edit #3 - You don't think the few comments on Hacker News represents some kind of consensus do you?
My MBP 2016 is easily the best hardware I've ever used. For all the legacy connectivity I need I had to purchase exactly 1 piece of hardware - a USB C hub for $69. This is portable, has 3 USB A ports, an HDMI video port (which I don't use), GB Ethernet and an SD card reader. I also keep a USB A-USB C adapter in my bag in case of emergencies.
Coupled with my LG monitor, I plug in exactly 1 cable to start my day which connects all my ports.
Not exactly sure what your issue is or why you'd think someone would have to purchase a lot of cables. My total expenditure to support "legacy" stuff was about $90 - the USB C hub and a new USB C 3.1 drive enclosure to move my old Time Machine hard drive to a high-speed interface.
You just emailed them to tell them that the best selling MBPs they've ever made aren't good enough for you? I'm sorry, but I doubt they are going to change what's worked so well.
Neither Apple's statement nor Fortune's article about the statement contains the words "ultra-powerful."
Here's the entire statement, taken from the end of the iMac Pro press release: "In addition to the new iMac Pro, Apple is working on a completely redesigned, next-generation Mac Pro architected for pro customers who need the highest performance, high-throughput system in a modular, upgradeable design, as well as a new high-end pro display."
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[ 2.0 ms ] story [ 64.9 ms ] threadI also have a 2016 MBP with tb and it's the best hardware I've ever used (and that covers hardware since the Apple ][). The TB is very innovative and handy and the keyboard is pretty good.
People who don't have issues just don't post - the few that do are not a representative sample.
I miss the days where there was a separate line for consumers/professionals. A lineup of slightly thicker laptops with I/O for days and a lineup of thin-light for students and the light would be ideal.
But instead we'll get touchbar 2.0. yee yee.
I don't have one but my wife's new laptop has the keyboard. I really hope we don't have to deal with that.
He took it to an authorized service center and the solution was to replace the entire top case assembly. That includes the case, keyboard, touchbar, trackpad, battery, and I'm not sure what else.
It's out of stock on PowerBookMedic, but their price on this part is $800. Eight. Hundred. Dollars. For a single broken key. This is insane.
I have a 13" version and I'm very concerned. I've got Apple Care but I'm careful with my laptops and I expect them to last more than 3 years.
http://www.powerbookmedic.com/MacBook-Pro-15-w--Touch-Bar-To...
Her past laptop was $1,100 (2010 MacBook Air) and lasted 7 years. If this one ($1,500) doesn't last that long, it'll be a waste of money.
FWIW my friend's replacement was covered. Not sure how much of that is the shop's judgement on "well you shouldn't have gotten dust in it."
And let's not even get into the "Touch Bar". Just stay away.
Google, Tesla, Facebook, and tens of thousands of other businesses purchased the 2012-2015 rMBP form factor for a reason - its a great laptop. The number of people who use the laptop that do not code in Swift far outnumber the number who do code Swift.
Still, a greater number use Macbooks casually, and I'm sure the standard Macbooks are great for home and recreational use. To clarify, my focus is on a professional use found in a standard business setting.
Personally I love my 2017 MBP, the keyboard, trackpad, and USB-C ports.
No idea what op was complaining about with the trackpad. It’s simply the best on the market.
and yeah, the touchpad is honestly amazing. I can't go back the the old smaller one, which was already better than anything else on the market.
Edit:
And in reality how do you like the USB C ports? What headphones do you use? Did you have to buy $500 of new cables?
Don't take this with an off-putting tone, I genuinely don't know if its worth buying thousands in new accessories and adaptors to replace things like HDMI, USB-A form factors, etc.
Edit #2 - The Trashcan Mac Pro was built on the theory of daisy chaining Thunderbolt, and not 3 years later we see a new standard port in USB-C. I know its a niche audience, but my point is, what if USB-D is out in 24 months, and your $3,000+ of cables/monitors/harddrives/adaptors to use an SD card with your camera.... are all obsolete?
Edit #3 after reading the rest of the thread: Seems you are in the minority and others echo my complains of post-2015 Macbook hardware being extremely underwhelming and not worth the frustration.
I really like the transfer speed of the USB-C ports, I've spent maybe $70 on new cables (usb-c -> DisplayPort, a usb-c/usb flash drive, and a USB-C -> lightning and 1 or 2 others). The only thing that really bothers me about the IO is that the iPhone still uses lighting, i think it should adopt USB-C as well for consistency. Otherwise i have no gripes about the IO, I think USB-C will see heavy adoption in the coming months/years and honestly i think wireless is continuing to make hardware IO irrelevant in my life.
Other gripes i have are the slightly reduced battery life and the removal of magsafe, but i think the nice screen and the form factor make up for it.
I'm a relative newcomer to the apple ecosystem (first iPhone an MacBook in 2014) so i have no real opinion on the mac pro, except that it is likely overpriced for my workload, I'm unlikely to want a desktop mac outside of the one i use at work.
Edit: for clarification i have the 2017 13 inch model with toucbar.
My MBP 2016 is easily the best hardware I've ever used. For all the legacy connectivity I need I had to purchase exactly 1 piece of hardware - a USB C hub for $69. This is portable, has 3 USB A ports, an HDMI video port (which I don't use), GB Ethernet and an SD card reader. I also keep a USB A-USB C adapter in my bag in case of emergencies.
Coupled with my LG monitor, I plug in exactly 1 cable to start my day which connects all my ports.
Not exactly sure what your issue is or why you'd think someone would have to purchase a lot of cables. My total expenditure to support "legacy" stuff was about $90 - the USB C hub and a new USB C 3.1 drive enclosure to move my old Time Machine hard drive to a high-speed interface.
Here's the entire statement, taken from the end of the iMac Pro press release: "In addition to the new iMac Pro, Apple is working on a completely redesigned, next-generation Mac Pro architected for pro customers who need the highest performance, high-throughput system in a modular, upgradeable design, as well as a new high-end pro display."
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/12/imac-pro-the-most-pow...