You won't believe it, but every single whiner on this part had his SSD drive die within one month after their warranty expired.
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15-Inch MacBook Pro With Touch Bar Has Non-Removable SSD
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Actually Apple did make it a selling point in the days of old. During product announcements I can remember Job's point out how a product was made to be easily upgradable be it the door on the G5 Power Mac or the tiny cover on the back of the iMac.
But also Apple's upgradability was well known by customers. It wasn't anything Apple needed to advertise. It's why people pay so much attention to tear downs these days -- becuase it's not a given anymore.
It also has the fastest drive in any laptop in the world, but you know - lets rile the forum members a bit more
Yeah but that is just numbers on paper. After 2,500/1,500 what you using this for comes to play. It is like buying a sportscar to go to the supermarket - yeah it does 200mph on paper but there is a 55mph speed limit on the road there. No point to it.
Hogwash, Samsung Pro 960 has pretty much the same speeds and you can buy that and upgrade virtually any current PC laptop that has a M.2 PCIe SSD option.
You were just silly if you thought that Apple was actually designing these computers with the long-term satisfaction of the consumer as the primary concern. Margins and stock values. Cook has clearly figured out that many will buy it simply because they held an 'event' and used the words 'new' and 'exciting' and 'innovative'. And the fact is, we live in a disposable world now. Ironically, Apple is always touting how 'green' they are, but their marketing and manufacturing policies are designed to keep people perceiving their products as 'obsolete' as soon as the next generation is released. The only 'green' that Apple sees are greenbacks!
Soon we're going to need a 'safe space' to protect us from the tech companies, because we sure aren't resisting their attempts to lure people in with minor 'improvements'.
So the new PRO devices are not really meant for Professionals. All PRO means now is better specs to sell at a higher price point.
Sad to say but Professionals are not Apple's target audience.
Sad to say but Professionals are not Apple's target audience.
This is quite sad. The SSD is one of the things first to die after the battery and when the computer is considered obsolete by Apple (5 years time) you could have a useless brick on your hands with no way to service the SSD.
Quite a shame.
Quite a shame.
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Anyone who throws a two year old MacBook away because the hard drive is full is a first rate idiot. The easy way to upgrade your Mac, for many years now: Make a backup. Reset to factory state. Put it on eBay. Pay the difference for a new model.
I really don't understand the problem here.
If you buy a Mac it's because you want the platform. If you are more concerned about budget, then you buy a PC. If you like tinkering, you buy a PC.
If you survey the general population (not those on a forum), how many people have ever upgraded the hard drive in their laptop (or even desktop), I bet you're looking at a fraction of a percent.
If you're saying upgrade cost is a factor - these aren't regular SATA SSDs. They're PCI-e ones. Chances are, they're based on the 960 Pro line. In the UK, Apple charges £1080 for the 2TB SSD. Want to buy a 2TB PCI-e SSD yourself? £1200. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...nal/ssdsolidstate/pciexpress/mz-v6p2t0bw.html
And if you have £2600 to drop on a laptop, and need a bigger SSD, that's hardly going to be a deal breaker. People buying these machines aren't those living on the breadline. And as for the SD card comment - seriously? Who has used an SD card to upgrade their laptops internal storage in the last decade?
Then there's the longitivtiy of these machines. I have a 2011 iMac, which still works great. I'm currently typing on a 2014 MacBook Pro (15") and I see no reason to upgrade anytime soon - they're far from disposable. My parents, who aren't exactly power-users, have been through 3 Windows-based laptops (2 HPs and a Lenovo) in the last 3 years.
As for adapters, it's early days. Remember when we had to use a thunderbolt to firewire connector to support legacy firewire devices? Or DVI/VGA adapters to connect a VGA monitor to a MacBook Pro? We are already seeing USB-c hard drives and peripherals on the market, and when other manufacturers start using USB-c, and it gains mainstream support, that won't be a problem.
Every time there's a change, people moan. Normally, people who the change never affects (hands up anyone here who has complained and has actually bought an upgraded SSD for their current MacBook Pro?). Yes, it means less flexibility when it comes to repairs, but many of the components which fail are removed, reducing the chance of failure (any ex-geniuses here will have lost count of the number of HDD flex cables we used to replace on MBPs).
MacRumours members will moan. iFixit (who make a living selling spares) will say it's terrible. But yet, people will buy it, and reviewers will say it's great. In 3/4 years we will wonder why we ever needed a different cable in a specific port to charge our laptop.
If you buy a Mac it's because you want the platform. If you are more concerned about budget, then you buy a PC. If you like tinkering, you buy a PC.
If you survey the general population (not those on a forum), how many people have ever upgraded the hard drive in their laptop (or even desktop), I bet you're looking at a fraction of a percent.
If you're saying upgrade cost is a factor - these aren't regular SATA SSDs. They're PCI-e ones. Chances are, they're based on the 960 Pro line. In the UK, Apple charges £1080 for the 2TB SSD. Want to buy a 2TB PCI-e SSD yourself? £1200. http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/...nal/ssdsolidstate/pciexpress/mz-v6p2t0bw.html
And if you have £2600 to drop on a laptop, and need a bigger SSD, that's hardly going to be a deal breaker. People buying these machines aren't those living on the breadline. And as for the SD card comment - seriously? Who has used an SD card to upgrade their laptops internal storage in the last decade?
Then there's the longitivtiy of these machines. I have a 2011 iMac, which still works great. I'm currently typing on a 2014 MacBook Pro (15") and I see no reason to upgrade anytime soon - they're far from disposable. My parents, who aren't exactly power-users, have been through 3 Windows-based laptops (2 HPs and a Lenovo) in the last 3 years.
As for adapters, it's early days. Remember when we had to use a thunderbolt to firewire connector to support legacy firewire devices? Or DVI/VGA adapters to connect a VGA monitor to a MacBook Pro? We are already seeing USB-c hard drives and peripherals on the market, and when other manufacturers start using USB-c, and it gains mainstream support, that won't be a problem.
Every time there's a change, people moan. Normally, people who the change never affects (hands up anyone here who has complained and has actually bought an upgraded SSD for their current MacBook Pro?). Yes, it means less flexibility when it comes to repairs, but many of the components which fail are removed, reducing the chance of failure (any ex-geniuses here will have lost count of the number of HDD flex cables we used to replace on MBPs).
MacRumours members will moan. iFixit (who make a living selling spares) will say it's terrible. But yet, people will buy it, and reviewers will say it's great. In 3/4 years we will wonder why we ever needed a different cable in a specific port to charge our laptop.
Lol!!!
You have never & will never need a MacBook Pro.
All people like you need are a ChromeBook or NetBook.
For serious.... anybody that would think that Thunderbolt 3 is a bad solution for adding additional storage, but that filling an SD card slot counts as a "hard drive upgrade" are so far from the word "Pro" describing them, that it is ridiculous.
On the real- no professional has EVER referred to slipping an SD card in their computer as adding an "expansion drive".
That said.... even though I am getting the 13" non touchbar version; I am really disappointed & surprised to see this be the case in the other models.
But I'm unwilling to resort to hysteria, wailing, & gnashing of teeth.
I tend to disagree. There are also people, who in the past would buy a Mac notebook fully specced in the areas that can't be upgraded and the as technology progresses, prices drop and their needs increase, would simply upgrade the upgradable stuff. this way I have Apple notebooks for many years. For instance, my MBP is from 2011 and it started with 4GB RAM and a normal HDD. Since then I went 4GB -> 8 GB -> 16 GB RAM and 5400 RMP HDD (dont remember the capacity) -> 7200 RPM HDD -> 256 GB SSD -> 512 GB SSD and I am about to put in a 1TB SSD shortly.
Thus, the Apple notebook was expensive, but that was perfectly OK since it it's 5 years old and I can easily use it 3 more years. Now with this "everything soldered" approach, how usable will be even the top specced MB Pros in 5-8 years? But hey, Apple claims to be environment friendly, so lets just throw these devices to the landfill every 2 years!
BTW, is there some companies who can unsolder the RAM and HD and re-solder a new one? I have read some time ago that some Chinese guy was upgrading iPhone storage this way... I guess this is the way to go as the last-resort solution to one's needs.
In the meantime, I guess my next laptop will be the most upgradable. E.g. either one of the older models or at worst the non-touchbar MBP. I would gladly pay the premium for the more expensive models, but even 2TB HDD will be laughable in 4 or 5 years when I still intend to use a laptop that I would buy now.
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Every review I've read has criticized the battery life for being below expectations.
Yep, a 960pro is $315 for a 512... Even if you do the slower 219 part you still need to put it iN - factor in your hr rate as a designer and you better off just paying apple the 100 and spend your time on other things.
I don't seem to understand all the hostility towards these new Macbook Pros. For months people have been bashing apple for not updating the design on the Macbook Pros. How else were they going to change it if not make it more portable. They gave us future proof connectivity in the form of USB-C/Thunderbolt 3. Not one port like on the Macbook but 4. This device can run 2-5K displays plus a RAID storage system which any professional would offload older projects anyway for safe keeping. I don't know of any professionals who carry all of their older work with them and if your current work requires more than 2TB of storage...well I think you need more than a laptop.
Apple would have got a lot of criticism if they just upgraded the internals (like they do every year) and just upgraded the display as some have suggested. So it is a damned if you do and damned if you don't kind of thing. I really feel that if you love Macbook Pros, you will wait and try the 15" for yourself (don't forget about the awesome return policy). Also I am sure the prices will go down over time.
Am I an Apple lover? Yes because my 2015 MBP has been one of the best laptops I have ever had. I like the direction the new computers are going in. I can have a 5K display connected and a dock connected to the display all over one cable to the laptop. Simplicity is what I like. People complaining about dongles well... I am sure if you invested into the new MBP you will start upgrading other devices to USC-C like portable HDD etc.
As far as upgradablilty, the MBP was never about upgradability yet they still last for years. Get AppleCare if you are concerned about repair costs and everyone should be backing up their computers anyways to external storage. People are expecting a desktop out of a laptop and need to be brought to reality. Look at the older MBP design and you see the USB type A barely fits on that chassis let a lone the new thin one. I think the SD card reader should have been included in the new design but transferring content from my Nikon via USB with dongle isn't going to kill me.
People will always complain about something...
Apple would have got a lot of criticism if they just upgraded the internals (like they do every year) and just upgraded the display as some have suggested. So it is a damned if you do and damned if you don't kind of thing. I really feel that if you love Macbook Pros, you will wait and try the 15" for yourself (don't forget about the awesome return policy). Also I am sure the prices will go down over time.
Am I an Apple lover? Yes because my 2015 MBP has been one of the best laptops I have ever had. I like the direction the new computers are going in. I can have a 5K display connected and a dock connected to the display all over one cable to the laptop. Simplicity is what I like. People complaining about dongles well... I am sure if you invested into the new MBP you will start upgrading other devices to USC-C like portable HDD etc.
As far as upgradablilty, the MBP was never about upgradability yet they still last for years. Get AppleCare if you are concerned about repair costs and everyone should be backing up their computers anyways to external storage. People are expecting a desktop out of a laptop and need to be brought to reality. Look at the older MBP design and you see the USB type A barely fits on that chassis let a lone the new thin one. I think the SD card reader should have been included in the new design but transferring content from my Nikon via USB with dongle isn't going to kill me.
People will always complain about something...
My view is that this forces people to take a hard look at the situation and see if there are alternatives. Do they need to be carrying around all of that data all of the time? Some people may, sure, but not most people. Those that do are probably professionals that can have a bag filled with USB-C external SSD drives for extra storage, not consumers that simply have a huge ripped library of CDs or DVDs.
What is disappointing about this design is the known lifetime of SSD drives. They eventually stop working, and the entire laptop should not be tossed when that happens.
I really think Apple needs to think about this, too. Why can't they have a soldered SSD strictly for macOS and applications, and then a separate upgradable SSD for the user data? That would ensure performance is maintained while giving users the opportunity to upgrade their storage, if needed. I really don't understand why we're stuck in a singular-drive mentality with our laptops.
It's professional to spend that kind of money for soldered Mac. It's professional to throw it away.
Don't worry, it won't last that long. You'll get three years, tops, before heat or an OS update effectively destroys it.
You just committed ad hominem fallacy.
Let me define it for you: "logical fallacy in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself."
Furthermore, did you look at my signature?
I own two MacBook Pros.
Question for you — is your current laptop really "dying"? During its lifetime, how many upgrades did you perform on it? I think a lot of people are stuck in fear that they *can't* upgrade this laptop, when the reality is that they never would anyway.
It also has the fastest drive in any laptop in the world, but you know - lets rile the forum members a bit more
Are you suggesting it got that way by being permanently attached?