2019 MBP vs. 2018 or older MBP

[smirking]

To be honest, I really do despise the butterfly keyboards.

If that's based on trying them out in the store, I'd encourage you to give them a longer trial with the 14 day return window. I'm a mechanical keyboard nut with dozens of keyboards. I was torn when deciding to buy a 2016 MBP. I hated the keyboard, but had been holding off for years in wait for support of a 5K display. In the end, I decided that my desire for a 5K display was greater and I could just carry a Bluetooth keyboard when I wasn't plugged in.

An odd thing happened. The Butterfly keys slowly started to grow on me. I hated them a little less each month until after half a year, I came to actually like them. They just take some getting used to. You need to tweak the way you type on them and you hit the keys way too hard at first.

A lot of people went through a similar conversion, but a lot of people also hated them more as they used it more so I'm not saying you'll definitely get over it if you'll only give it a good try. I'm just saying that it's not something that you can settle with a few minutes or even a few hours messing around on one.

 

[dscottj]

There have been some pretty sweet sales on the more common 2018 configurations lately. If you're looking for latest-and-greatest specs, I'd wait to see if/what they bring out in the summer and go with that. It'll be faster no matter what.

If you're not, though, then I'd start trolling the mac sites that list various sales (9to5mac.com is what I use), and then grab one when they do a price cut. You won't see that situation for the '19 models until this time next year.

Also, if you haven't already go ahead and try the keyboard out at a best buy or something. I don't mind the keyboard, but other people really hate it.

 

[smirking]

There have been some pretty sweet sales on the more common 2018 configurations lately. If you're looking for latest-and-greatest specs, I'd wait to see if/what they bring out in the summer and go with that. It'll be faster no matter what.

The Apple Refurb store briefly had 2018 i7 Vega 20's in various configurations. Those vanished in a few days. They still have some 2018 i9 Vega 20's last I checked.

 

[theapplehead]

@smirking and @dscottj thanks for the advice. I have tried out the keyboard at an Apple store and it was a little annoying to type on; however, I wouldn’t be surprised if I could get used to it over time. My greatest concern is probably the fact that it will be quite an inconvenience to have to carry a dongle around everywhere I go to connect usb/hdmi etc. devices to my Mac. Part of me just wants to hold out until the 2019 model is released in case there is a complete makeover. Especially if Apple implements a 10nm chip. That would be enough to push me over and buy it.

 

[smirking]

My greatest concern is probably the fact that it will be quite an inconvenience to have to carry a dongle around everywhere I go to connect usb/hdmi etc. devices to my Mac.

I miss having an SD card slot, but that's the extent that I truly miss having port diversity. USB-A to USB-C is super easy to address. You can get endcap adapters that fit on top of your USB-A plugs for about $1 each on eBay or Amazon.

HDMI... I don't think that's coming back in 2019. Besides that, several years from now you could have the opposite problem of HDMI not being able to plug into a TB3/USB4 display. At least with a USB-C/TB3 port, you can adapt it to use anything. It's not a big deal for me to carry extra adapaters because I always have. I actually still use a VGA adapter at some locations. An HDMI port isn't going to help me there so I'm fine with minor inconveniences in exchange for having flexibility and future proof ports.

Even the SD Card slot that I miss may not be such a big asset pretty soon. I use Nikon cameras and they appear to be in the middle of a transition to CFExpress cards, which are far faster and more stable than SD Cards. We had about 10 years of exceptional stablity with ports and protocols. Things are changing. Everything is on the move... which actually isn't uncommon in the tech world. We just had it really good for 10 years.

Others have come to a different conclusion about what the best decision is, but mine is to buy into the most future proof one even if it means some inconveniences. You can adapt those TB3 ports into anything you want them to be with an adapter. The same cannot be true of a USB-A or HDMI port. Those are what they are forever.

Actually, for me it's not an inconvenience on balance. My kit has a few extra pieces now, but I love being able to dock and undock my laptop with one cord. I have about 8 peripherals plugged into my LG5K. Then one cord from the monitor to my 2016 MBP.

I've actually been holding out for a potential 2019 redesign as well, but the price drop on higher storage volumes and the unexpected appearance of some 2018 i7 Vega 20's in the refurb store changed my mind and judging by how quickly those units vanished, convinced a lot of other people too. I haven't decided if I'm keeping the 2018 yet though. I'm going to put it through the paces this week to see if it's a big enough step up from my 2016.

 

[theapplehead]

I miss having an SD card slot, but that's the extent that I truly miss having port diversity. USB-A to USB-C is super easy to address. You can get endcap adapters that fit on top of your USB-A plugs for about $1 each on eBay or Amazon.

HDMI... I don't think that's coming back in 2019. Besides that, several years from now you could have the opposite problem of HDMI not being able to plug into a TB3/USB4 display. At least with a USB-C/TB3 port, you can adapt it to use anything. It's not a big deal for me to carry extra adapaters because I always have. I actually still use a VGA adapter at some locations. An HDMI port isn't going to help me there so I'm fine with minor inconveniences in exchange for having flexibility and future proof ports.

Even the SD Card slot that I miss may not be such a big asset pretty soon. I use Nikon cameras and they appear to be in the middle of a transition to CFExpress cards, which are far faster and more stable than SD Cards. We had about 10 years of exceptional stablity with ports and protocols. Things are changing. Everything is on the move... which actually isn't uncommon in the tech world. We just had it really good for 10 years.

Others have come to a different conclusion about what the best decision is, but mine is to buy into the most future proof one even if it means some inconveniences. You can adapt those TB3 ports into anything you want them to be with an adapter. The same cannot be true of a USB-A or HDMI port. Those are what they are forever.

Actually, for me it's not an inconvenience on balance. My kit has a few extra pieces now, but I love being able to dock and undock my laptop with one cord. I have about 8 peripherals plugged into my LG5K. Then one cord from the monitor to my 2016 MBP.

I've actually been holding out for a potential 2019 redesign as well, but the price drop on higher storage volumes and the unexpected appearance of some 2018 i7 Vega 20's in the refurb store changed my mind and judging by how quickly those units vanished, convinced a lot of other people too. I haven't decided if I'm keeping the 2018 yet though. I'm going to put it through the paces this week to see if it's a big enough step up from my 2016.

Those are some really good points. I agree that the new MBP’s are quite future proofed, however it is hard for me to come to terms with being forced to lose all of the ports that I am so familiar with and used to having. I imagine I will adapt to TB3 in time though.

Thanks for your helpful advice and recommendations!