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A word of caution for those waiting for the MacBook Pro refresh

Yebubbleman

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 20, 2010
6,056
2,648
Los Angeles, CA
I know that everyone and their mother is jonesing for Apple Silicon replacements to the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) and particularly because it will bring a new redesign, but I must offer a few words of caution for those who would be early adopters:

There have been four body styles of MacBook Pro to date. The first one or two releases of those body styles (four in the case of the original and three in the case of the unibody) had serious issues that affected reliability and/or functionality and/or usability in at least one size of MacBook Pro. In some cases, quality repair extension programs were issued, but in all cases, there wasn't much of a fix because the issues were inherent to the design and/or parts used. With the exception of the first design generation of MacBook Pro, usually the most reliable release of MacBook Pros from within a given generation are the last one or more, rather than the first one or two. The original design generation (that largely continued the design of the aluminum 15" and 17" PowerBook G4s) is a notable exception (in which pretty much all of those sucked), but this has otherwise largely been true of all of the design generations of MacBook Pro, especially for the Retina and Touch Bar iterations.

All that to say that if you're determined to be an early adopter on this new generation, consider that the odds of you having issues with what you buy will be greatly increased over waiting a refresh or two.
 
Yebubbleman said:
I know that everyone and their mother is jonesing for Apple Silicon replacements to the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) and particularly because it will bring a new redesign, but I must offer a few words of caution for those who would be early adopters:

There have been four body styles of MacBook Pro to date. The first one or two releases of those body styles (four in the case of the original and three in the case of the unibody) had serious issues that affected reliability and/or functionality and/or usability in at least one size of MacBook Pro. In some cases, quality repair extension programs were issued, but in all cases, there wasn't much of a fix because the issues were inherent to the design and/or parts used. With the exception of the first design generation of MacBook Pro, usually the most reliable release of MacBook Pros from within a given generation are the last one or more, rather than the first one or two. The original design generation (that largely continued the design of the aluminum 15" and 17" PowerBook G4s) is a notable exception (in which pretty much all of those sucked), but this has otherwise largely been true of all of the design generations of MacBook Pro, especially for the Retina and Touch Bar iterations.

All that to say that if you're determined to be an early adopter on this new generation, consider that the odds of you having issues with what you buy will be greatly increased over waiting a refresh or two.
Click to expand...
So, buy AppleCare then? You would think that these newer models would have the benefits of not having the keyboard issue, cracking hinges, short display cables or intel firmware issues.
 
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Yebubbleman said:
I know that everyone and their mother is jonesing for Apple Silicon replacements to the MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) and MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) and particularly because it will bring a new redesign, but I must offer a few words of caution for those who would be early adopters:

There have been four body styles of MacBook Pro to date. The first one or two releases of those body styles (four in the case of the original and three in the case of the unibody) had serious issues that affected reliability and/or functionality and/or usability in at least one size of MacBook Pro. In some cases, quality repair extension programs were issued, but in all cases, there wasn't much of a fix because the issues were inherent to the design and/or parts used. With the exception of the first design generation of MacBook Pro, usually the most reliable release of MacBook Pros from within a given generation are the last one or more, rather than the first one or two. The original design generation (that largely continued the design of the aluminum 15" and 17" PowerBook G4s) is a notable exception (in which pretty much all of those sucked), but this has otherwise largely been true of all of the design generations of MacBook Pro, especially for the Retina and Touch Bar iterations.

All that to say that if you're determined to be an early adopter on this new generation, consider that the odds of you having issues with what you buy will be greatly increased over waiting a refresh or two.
Click to expand...
I suppose there are pros and cons in being an early adopter. The main con is the increased risk of having issues. However, there are also pros, as you get the new redesign and you benefit from having the most updated design over the lifetime of the laptop. The alternative would be to wait for the next version (which would be around one additional year away) or buying the older model. For many people who need (or even want) to upgrade, there is no feasible alternative other than to buy the redesigned one and hope for the best.
 
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Marshall73 said:
So, buy AppleCare then? You would think that these newer models would have the benefits of not having the keyboard issue, cracking hinges, short display cables or intel firmware issues.
Click to expand...
Well, how does apple care help in case of the 16” overheating claim? :) i am just thinking forward. I mean, in case apple will tell you that rhe issue you claiming is expected behavior, apple care will not help :)
 
I ordered the final PowerBook when the MBP appeared, and kept that machine a number of years. I've ordered another 16" MBP for the same reason ... in some ways, the Intel chipset better suits my workflow, and I don't want to deal with a raft of 'Rev A' issues with the new hardware.

However, I own an M1 MBA and it's been trouble-free. I no longer have space for my 27" iMac, so I have to replace it with something that will fit my use case, and the 16" will need to last me a few years. I'm sure the new 14" and 16" MBPs will be as impressive as any of their predecessors, but I continue to live by the 11th Commandment: Thou shall not buy 'Revision A' hardware.
 
I'm really concerned about this as well.
But I do need a bigger screened laptop, and already got rid of the 16" 2019 I used to own.
(Which was a really lackluster machine by my standards, better than anything else from the touch bar generation but not exempt from issues)
So what am I going to do?

I'm going to get a 2021 16" M1X at the occasional clearance/discount promotion for 25%ish off (those happen all the time), and I'm going to sell it 1 year later at a small loss when the 2022 is out.

Yup. Always works.
 
I bought my Late 2008 MBP (first generation unibody) in-store on the first day of release. For a short lived design (removable battery, expresscard, etc) the only glitch I ever had with it was the flashing black screen that Apple eventually fixed with a firmware update.

Looking forward to rolling the dice on a 2021 16" day 1 purchase :)
 
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I think the risks that come with buying version 1.0 of a new Apple laptop form factor goes back as far as the PowerBooks.

My version 1.0 lemons have included the original Core Duo MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air and the G4 400 Ti PowerBook. All of which had plenty of issues, although only the Core Duo required more than one repair.

You do get some gems though - I had a PowerBook 5300c and loved it, despite that model's reputation as a total lemon (largely fixed in the very similar 3400 and G3 PowerBook).

Thing is, if you are willing to roll the dice it is fun to get the latest shiny new toy!

AppleCare these days is a must though, given the fragility of Apple's laptops these days, plus the astronomical repair costs.
 
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Madhatter32 said:
Perhaps somewhere along the line AppleCare became AppleCare+ which includes coverage for accidental damage. Both are extended warranties. I think all Macbbooks now come with just a 1 year standard warranty as far as I know.
Click to expand...
Ha.nope,i mean apple care which is normally 1 year,lasts 2 years in eu countries (which partially explains the ****ing high price we pay for our macs...this and taxes )
So how did you mean,paying for a second year of apple care,or taking apple care +? I'd want to take app care+ but the pricing is just kind of insane...and I'm not sure I'll have enough money for both the Mac+warranty lol .standard apple care doesn't cover you that much right ?
 
I was one of those dying for the 16" M to be released but Apple repaired by 2017 again recently so I may just milk it until the 2nd gen 16" M series is released. Bootcamp has its uses so I wouldn't mind having it a while longer.
 
14" day one purchase for personal use.
Have been an early adopter for a long time now and never really seem to get these issues ........ and if I do, it will be straight into the Apple store for a 'discussion and replacement'.
 
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UltimateSyn said:
Their last decade of leading-edge chip design hasn't give you an ounce of confidence in their silicon team...?
Click to expand...

the iPhone processors have plateau'd and now they can only push camera improvements. that won't work with the computers. the M1 was the leap, M1x will be better but the plateau begins there... with no boot camp or mac gaming other than iOS arcade trash, there will be no reason to push it. do we really need to run omnifocus faster?
 
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4743913 said:
the iPhone processors have plateau'd and now they can only push camera improvements. that won't work with the computers. the M1 was the leap, M1x will be better but the plateau begins there... with no boot camp or mac gaming other than iOS arcade trash, there will be no reason to push it. do we really need to run omnifocus faster?
Click to expand...
Yeah, and 640K is more memory than anyone will ever need. Personally I wouldn’t call 20% YoY a plateau, and that wasn’t even with a node size change. You can bet if there are innovations to be had in the silicon space then Apple will be taking advantage of them - like I said, they’ve done a fantastic job for a decade now.

I highly doubt they are transitioning their entire Mac lineup to Apple Silicon without a long term plan for the future. Hell, we haven’t even seen anything but the 15W consumer-grade base-level Mac silicon yet! There’s a lot more thermal headroom in Macs than in iPhones. You’re not thinking enough about the future - there will always be valid uses for more processing power.
 
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Buy it if you need (not want) it now, otherwise wait.

I had to buy the 2016 MBP with Touchbar and first gen butterfly keyboard for work purposes, otherwise I definitely would've waited until 2017's version, or ideally until Apple ditched butterfly altogether.
 
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UltimateSyn said:
Yeah, and 640K is more memory than anyone will ever need.
Click to expand...

That was never said. It's a fake Gates story. However Ken Olsen of DEC did say "There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home."

UltimateSyn said:
Personally I wouldn’t call 20% YoY a plateau
Click to expand...

it's just numbers that make phone people feel like they are getting something for their yearly $500 subscription (the monthly cost then upgrade each year)

UltimateSyn said:
You’re not thinking enough about the future - there will always be valid uses for more processing power.
Click to expand...

My perspective is from someone that has boot camped his mac since the beginning. The old axiom is still true. If you NEED a new mac, buy one, but IMO giving up the advantages of intel at this particular moment in time is not worth it if you like to game (yes I own an M1 so I know). Apple is still at the mercy of game devs outside of their iOS arcade trash. However if you do nothing more than stuff that can be done on an iPad (i.e. most users), I doubt having all that processing power will be relevant. It will be just numbers. 20% increase in iPhone means what? People can make calls faster? text faster? browse the web faster? those are the top 3 uses right there. it's a garbage statistic for the average user.

however, it will benefit some users but I believe after the M1x the advances will be a lot smaller and until the gaming dev houses get onboard, its a game wasteland.
 
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