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15-Inch MacBook Pro With Touch Bar Has Non-Removable SSD

OldSchoolMacGuy said:
Less than 1% of MBP and MB buyers ever upgrade their SSD.

Sorry guys but Apple builds products for the majority, not the minority.
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Apple builds for expedited obsolence. It doesn't have any customers in mind. But you are correct the majority of non-pro consumers wouldn't dare crack open their MBP. But the point here is, what is the practical reason for using soldered storage in a premium notebook? Even if most users don't upgrade their storage why shouldn't that option exist if it doesn't affect design which doesn't look like it would here. Certainly upgradable SSDs would improve resale value which IS a selling point.
 
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I've been pretty critical of the new MBP, for various reasons. I'm not planning on buying one. But if I was, I don't think this would be a big issue for me. It wouldn't stop be from buying one. Personally I would understand that a laptop would make some sacrifices for mobility. When I dock it in at home I would use external drives if I needed more space.
 
theluggage said:
Wise words of experience.
Other wise words of experience: life doesn't always go to plan and any backup scheme needs to be "belt and braces". This is one less chance to retrieve that vital file that hadn't got backed up yet. If you're really serious about backups, this probably means that you need to take an extra backup to get back the redundancy.

Apart from that, if you have to replace a machine it is sometimes far more convenient to just swap the hard drive over than restore from a backup.

Then there are scenarios where you have confidential data on the machine and need to take the hard drive out for separate disposal (maybe to comply with regulations than to address any actual risk). I can see this getting these macs blocked from some institutions (who have only just got to grips with these scary SSD things). Looks like full-disk encryption is going to be obligatory, which itself (if the encryption scheme is any good) poses a risk of data loss (password recovery schemes are the weakest link in an encryption system).

...and, the big problem, if you do decide that you'd rather sacrifice a bit of portability and good looks for repairability/reliability, Apple have nothing to offer you.
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Please note that in my full post (not just the part you quoted), I did not mention anything about the portability of drives or SSD. My point is that one needs to start with a strategy. The strategy of just simply increasing memory as my system fills up IS NOT A STRATEGY.

In my workplace, storing information, especially confidential information, is actually frowned upon. Again, I am making two statements that should precede any judgement on any computer. One is the need for the strategy. Second is that keeping everything on the computer without multiple redundant backups (onsite/offsite) is a really bad strategy.

If you have a good strategy in place, then you buy a computer that works within that strategy. Apple computers may not fit within all strategies, but they will in many.
 
flat five said:
all computers are.. nobody* is using even 10 year old computers..
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I dunno... with all this I've been looking at my 2006 Mac Pro 1.1 and wondering if its time to make a project of it. I still use it occasionally because there's a few bits of ancient software on it - if I was broke, UI could get by with it. Its only because, 5-6 years ago, I decided to switch to a laptop as my main machine rather than upgrade the GPU and RAM in the Pro that its not really usable today. Stuff in a SSD as the main drive and hunt down some FB-DIMM RAM and a better GPU from fleaBay, quick 64-bit bootloader hack to install a newer OS and we're cooking with gas. If I was in the US - where there's a better range of compatible bits on fleaBay without international shipping - It'd be a no-brainer.

My main MacBook is coming up on 6 years old. A SSD gave that a new lease of life and, frankly its OK. I remember the days when a 2-year-old computer was only fit for use as a door stop.
 
tubeexperience said:
And what good is the "fastest drive" when it's full?
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There are two kinds of people: Those that decide to buy a MacBook, who then examine their needs, and order what they want. And those who come to MacRumors with no intent to every buy a MacBook, but just to be pissed off and ranting about things that are really not of any interest to them ever.

How old are you that you can't go on a website, figure out what you need, and order what you need?
 
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I hate to say it but Tim Cook is a "DONGLE." If Steve Jobs were alive and this were a PC laptop, he'd be ridiculing the need for so many dongles and useless wires like he did with the iMac introduction that was supposed to include everything. While Steve Jobs loathed expansion ports and slots, he also knew the reality of what was necessary.
Tim Cook is a bean counter, former CFO. He has no vision really. He doesn't think ahead like Jobs did. While Jobs knew that Tim Cook was capable of not driving the company into the ground, he obviously did not give him the keys to television or laptop design.
 
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Don't forget that macOS Sierra has the Optimize Storage feature..which may be why they chose to make the SSD non-removable.

Not arguing one way or the other, just an observation.
 
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Biscotti said:
Don't forget that macOS Sierra has the Optimize Storage feature..which may be why they chose to make the SSD non-removable.

Not arguing one way or the other, just an observation.
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But it's that when working in tadem with iCloud drive? If that was the reason then it's like taking the SSD hostage until the user buys an iCloud subscription. It's that kind of crap that is starting to make people think Apple is the new Microsoft. That's such a horrible excuse to make something non-upgradable and shorten its shelf life.
 
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aeshaettr_ said:
The reality of things is that probably less than 1% of all MacBook pro's sold have ever been upgraded by the consumer.
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I know lots of computer users, and many come to me if they have problems. I've never, ever seen anyone who has upgraded RAM or hard drive in any computer ever unless I did it for them. It's worse, they even ask me for help to increase their iCloud storage for them!

gtg465x said:
I thought MacBooks have had non-removable SSDs for like... quite a few years now?
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True, but the noticed just now :)

AZREOSpecialist said:
Can't upgrade the RAM... Can't upgrade the SSD... this is a "pro" laptop?
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Exactly. Pros don't upgrade the SSD. They know what they need and they buy what they need. It's only the professional whiners who have nothing better to do with their time that complain. Maybe they think "professional whiner" = Pro.
 
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AZREOSpecialist said:
Can't upgrade the RAM... Can't upgrade the SSD... this is a "pro" laptop?

Speak with your wallets, folks. There are much better products out there and without that silly, stupid touch bar.

In its ridiculous quest for thinness Apple is throwing out everything that is useful and important to professional users.

Way to go Phil Schiller! Because you and Apple don't make enough profit, let's just strip away everything that made our laptops expandable so you and the executive team can make more millions.
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Why do you go out on online forum and try to make OTHERS to not buy the computer with the reason that its not good enough for YOU.
Let ppl who dont care about upgradability buy them in peace. Just because it isnt what you want doesnt mean its bad for everyones needs.
 
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These things are getting worse every year. All the bruhaha Apple makes about their environmental friendliness is utter BS. HD fails? To the landfill it goes.
 
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Wait a minute, nearly finger width spaces for the battery????

You're telling me they cheaped out on the battery for "weight" saving reasons?

So we're literally getting less for more.
 
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cube said:
You know how many times I have upgraded the drive in my 2011 MBP?

5.
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Original:
7200 RPM PMR 750GB hard drive

Replaced by:
7200 RPM 541 Gb/in² max PMR 750GB/8GB Seagate Momentus XT (v.2) hybrid drive [immediately]
7200 RPM 676 Gb/in² max PMR 1TB HGST Travelstar 7K1000 hard drive
5400 RPM 694 Gb/in² max PMR 1.5TB HGST Travelstar 5K1500 hard drive
5400 RPM 667 Gb/in² avg PMR 2TB Samsung (Seagate) Spinpoint M9T hard drive
5400 RPM 1327 Gb/in² avg SMR 2TB/8GB Seagate FireCuda hybrid drive

Usually bought at launch.
 
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Chupa Chupa said:
Apple builds for expedited obsolence. It doesn't have any customers in mind. But you are correct the majority of non-pro consumers wouldn't dare crack open their MBP. But the point here is, what is the practical reason for using soldered storage in a premium notebook? Even if most users don't upgrade their storage why shouldn't that option exist if it doesn't affect design which doesn't look like it would here. Certainly upgradable SSDs would improve resale value which IS a selling point.
Click to expand...

Resale value isn't a selling point. Apple machines have always had a higher resale value than their PC counterparts but when has Apple every touted that? Never. It may be a value that you, yourself, find in it but certainly not one Apple has ever made a selling point.

I'm not saying even the majority of non-pro consumers but also the vast majority of pro consumers, never crack their machines open to upgrade them. In a world where time is money, most pros simply order machines configured the way they want them from the start. They don't order the stripped down machine and then order more RAM and a larger SSD then waste time opening their machine to install these upgrades. You're talking about a super super small niche market that does that. As I said, Apple makes machines for the majority of users, not the minority.
 
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jardinager said:
Wha a hostile product. Apple aggressively hates computer geeks and and Apple loyalists it seems to me.
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I don't think Apple hates... just sees mainstream customers as more willing to spend more for less. We are a bit more demanding in what features computers have and also current on what components cost. In otherwords we are PITAs where as the typical customer in an Apple store will more readily eat garabage and pay extra for the privledge. As I said previously it's the Burbury-ization of Apple where customers buy the brand, not the quality, or lack thereof.
 
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Chupa Chupa said:
I don't think Apple hates... just sees mainstream customers as more willing to spend more for less. We are a bit more demanding in what features computers have and also current on what components cost. In otherwords we are PITAs where as the typical customer in an Apple store will more readily eat garabage and pay extra for the privledge. As I said previously it's the Burbury-ization of Apple where customers buy the brand, not the quality, or lack thereof.
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Better said. You are right-on.
 
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This is the first time I'm not buying a new MacBook Pro when my current one dies. Too expensive, too many disadvantages, too many restrictions, not upgradable.

Apple does not make a laptop for my personal needs. That's fine, but then I shouldn't reward them with my personal money. And I realise Apple doesn't care, but I'm also in charge of buying IT for my team at work so that's 8 people going of mac. And if my family or friends ask me what laptop I would suggest for them, it's not going to be a 1500+ euro MacBook pro or an outdated 1-port MacBook Air.

There have always been discussions between windows and mac users and I found myself to be happy in the mac camp. But I don't have many arguments left to justify their prices. Things are starting to look really good outside the pricey Apple garden.
 
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