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Ask HN: Which new Macbook sucks least?

6 points by eevilspock ↗ HN
I have a 2012 MacBook Air which I love. I’ve carried it everywhere in my bag for nearly 6 years. It’s banged up from abuse, but works beautifully, on High Sierra.

But if it dies, which new Mac do I replace it with? With reports like Don’t buy the MacBook Pros even on sale, in my opinion[1], there is much doubt.

[1]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16922476

9 comments

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outofband
Even though it's not a mac, I just bought the latest Thinkpad X1 and love it- the keyboard is a million times better than the current MBP keyboards and it's tiny/light/fast, plus has USB-C charging so I can use the MBP chargers and stuff.
imauld
> But if it dies, which new Mac do I replace it with?

You don't.

I recently got a System76 laptop and it's better than my emojibar MBP from work for dev stuff in almost every way despite being a third of the price. I got the Lemur but if you're into the MBP aesthetic this might be more your thing:

https://system76.com/laptops/galago

iDemonix
I run a 2015 MBP at work, and I have a 2012 personal MBP which I don't use much nowadays. When it eventually dies, or I leave this job and have to hand the work one back, I'll be buying one of the best 13" MBPs you can buy at the moment: a second hand 2015 model.

If I feel like paying double for less ports, the same specs and an emoji bar, I'll probably buy new, but as long as my head is screwed on correctly, I'll be scouring eBay, which is a massive shame. Some people in the office have a new MBP, but the amount they cost nowadays (thanks emoji bar!) is astronomical, the keyboard is horrendous compared to the old ones and one colleague already had issues with screen defects and a broken keyboard key.

It's so annoying as MBPs just got better and better until the last couple of years then they just nosedived in to a novelty.

k4ch0w
I got the latest macbook with touchbar. I honestly hate it. After typing for about 20 minutes this thing starts to hurt my fingers. The keyboard is too squished together. I never use the extra touchbar features, and if you use vim, the esc is on the touchbar which makes it feel weird. I'd avoid it imo.
kevinherron
There's nothing wrong with the new generation of MacBook Pros. I've had a 2016 TB model since its release and it has been great. The internet is full of over dramatic whiners who are, of course, free to voice their opinions because it's the internet.

If the next refresh gets an 8th-gen 6-core i7/i9 it'll be even better.

markholmes
The touchbar model of the Macbook Pros must be the most divisive piece of hardware created this decade.

I actually love the new Macbook Pro. I had a 2011 and 2013 MBP, but both died. In the interim (2015 or so), I purchased a Dell XPS 13” Developer Edition that came loaded with Ubuntu. It was a pretty good machine, but I longed for the MBP. When the new model finally came out, I was unimpressed. I didn’t want to pay top dollar for an older model, but I couldn’t type on the new keyboard. Regardless, I purchased it, and eventually gave the computer to my wife.

Then I got a new job, and they offered Windows or Mac. I chose the Mac, and lo and behold, I was given the same computer I had before. And now I love the damn thing.

Granted, most of my time is spent at my desk with an external monitor, external keyboard, and external mouse. But I’ve found that I no longer hate the keyboard. In fact, I quite like it. I surprised myself there.

I still don’t love the touchbar though. I think that was a swing and a miss from Apple.