My early 2011 15" is finally on its last legs. It's been modded beyond recognition, which helped it survive such an abuse for the past 6 years. As a photojournalist it goes wherever I go, but after such a long service life it's time to retire it (and turn it into a fancy NAS) and get a new laptop.
Of course I've been expecting this laptop to fail for a long time, but it just wouldn't fail! I serviced the logic board 1 month before Apple ended the replacement program for the faulty GPUs. So if that's any indication, this laptop should work as it does for the next year or two.
And so I've been eyeing new MBP models for the past 4 years. When Apple announced the Touch Bar MBP, I was disgusted. 4 USB-C ports? Only 3 of which can be used while charging without a splitter dongle? What was I to do about my card readers (I use primarily CF)? My hard drives? My mouse? It was bad enough that Apple removed the ethernet port with the rMBP, seeing the rest of the ports go was just painful.
Even knowing this, I would have bought the Touch Bar MBP if it weren't for Apple's recent commitment to the professional market. It mainly pertained to the Mac Pro, but what stood out to me most was that complaints about the Touch Bar MBP was the driving factor in the announcement. With a redesign of the Mac Pro announced, I really am left wondering with whether the MacBook Pro will follow suit in the coming months.
The specs of the new laptop will have to match the current machine, which means a 15" screen, internal 1 TB storage and at least 16 GB RAM. Herein lies a big if: the Touch Bar MBP is DDR3. Would waiting for DDR4 be worth it? Will Apple add a 32 GB option in the future?
Connectivity would be an issue as well. Without an OWC DEC, I'd be knee deep in dongles with the current design. Is Apple's "commitment" enough to gamble on this?
And how long do you think it'll be before the next iteration comes out? If it's WWDC in June I'd be willing to wait, but if it's all the way in September it's a tougher pill to swallow.
I know it's all speculation, but I'd like the MR community to weigh in on this. Thanks.
Of course I've been expecting this laptop to fail for a long time, but it just wouldn't fail! I serviced the logic board 1 month before Apple ended the replacement program for the faulty GPUs. So if that's any indication, this laptop should work as it does for the next year or two.
And so I've been eyeing new MBP models for the past 4 years. When Apple announced the Touch Bar MBP, I was disgusted. 4 USB-C ports? Only 3 of which can be used while charging without a splitter dongle? What was I to do about my card readers (I use primarily CF)? My hard drives? My mouse? It was bad enough that Apple removed the ethernet port with the rMBP, seeing the rest of the ports go was just painful.
Even knowing this, I would have bought the Touch Bar MBP if it weren't for Apple's recent commitment to the professional market. It mainly pertained to the Mac Pro, but what stood out to me most was that complaints about the Touch Bar MBP was the driving factor in the announcement. With a redesign of the Mac Pro announced, I really am left wondering with whether the MacBook Pro will follow suit in the coming months.
The specs of the new laptop will have to match the current machine, which means a 15" screen, internal 1 TB storage and at least 16 GB RAM. Herein lies a big if: the Touch Bar MBP is DDR3. Would waiting for DDR4 be worth it? Will Apple add a 32 GB option in the future?
Connectivity would be an issue as well. Without an OWC DEC, I'd be knee deep in dongles with the current design. Is Apple's "commitment" enough to gamble on this?
And how long do you think it'll be before the next iteration comes out? If it's WWDC in June I'd be willing to wait, but if it's all the way in September it's a tougher pill to swallow.
I know it's all speculation, but I'd like the MR community to weigh in on this. Thanks.