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Anyone else miss the old MacBook Pro design?
- Thread starter cinnabun814
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I remember because I started looking to buy when the 2014 was the current model, but the consensus was the next Broadwell model would be a lot better, addressing a lot of the issues the 2014 had (cooler running, more powerful, better integrated graphics) so I waited, and didn't get Broadwell anyway, just a faster SSD and ForceTouch trackpad (which were definitely nice upgrades which I am glad I waited for). As it is, only needing the iGPU model with reasonably basic needs I don't find the 2015 too hot or noisy (though notably it does begin to get warm and spin up the fans to an audible level just looking at Google Earth, for e.g.). For infrequent, relatively casual gaming (Civ V) it does get pretty toasty/loud, and bear in mind this is the iGPU model... Well yes, exactly, an inch thick machine isn't really an apples to apples comparison. Something like the Dell XPS 15 also suffers greatly with thermals in a comparable form factor. Perhaps eventually Apple may build a MacBook to compete in the inch-thick gaming laptop market, but for now they're providing as much power as they can fit into this thin and light form factor, not building a machine around as much power as they can offer.
They do call it the MacBook Pro and you'd think that some people would want to run high-power computing. If you look at the 2019 Mac Pro with 1.5 TB of RAM, the MacBook Pro that tops out at 32 GB looks weak. Especially since most of the mobile workstations top out at 128 GB of RAM. In the Windows world, you can go thin and light if you want to - you just will get thermal throttling if you have heavy workloads. If you really want the high performance, you can easily get it - it's just in a bigger and heavier package.
Touch Bar is completely useless for me. I would like to see Apple offers high end MacBook Pro without Touch Bar and I would rather pay the $300 diff on something useful.
Well, I didn't have a choice if I wanted the 15" retina screen (which I do) 13" is too small for me and Apple don't offer any other 15" laptops, so the Pro is the one I have to get even if it isn't the most appropriate. If there was a 15" retina Air I would absolutely consider it.
Yes, overall these are prosumer/ enthusiast devices through and through. If you're a video editing youtuber, or like me you're mainly doing office work but have no qualms dropping the extra money for an overkill machine they're great. For other, heavier pro usages, yes you're going to run into power issues. This is also the case with competing computers though, the XPS also throttles, the Surface Book gives you more GPU power (GTX 1060) but you're limited to the 20W TDP up U series CPU - which is the opposite prioritisation to the MBP which sacrifices a lot of GPU potential to fit the 45W H chip in. If you're buying something without the power limitations, it's going to be a lot less portable. The issue here I think is lack of choice. You want a 15" Air? You have to splash out considerably more on the Pro because that doesn't exist. You want a powerful workstation? You can spend an unreasonable amount of money on speccing up a Pro but it will still probably leave you wanting.
It remains to be seen what Apple will do with the line next. I think the worst thing would be 'nothing' and just iterate a new design. Ideal scenario would be splitting the current machine between a 15" Air starting at ~$1,500 and a 16" Pro starting at whatever they deem necessary for a more 'pro' configuration. The trouble is this would still probably leave the enthusiasts complaining that they've been left with either a weaker machine in the Air or having to pay significantly more for the Pro. Look how much complaining there was about the new Mac Pro even though it was clearly aimed way above enthusiast level at enterprise markets.
2012 13" MBP (non-retina) has been a solid laptop for me. I really like the incredible versatility of having a DVD drive, all the full sized ports (USB 3.0, DP/TB, Gb Ethernet, SD card) without the need for an adapter, easy access to replace the RAM, battery and disk drive. It's ready for the MacOS Catalina upgrade. The only thing it's missing is a higher res retina display (so what).
This model has been really durable. I even accidentally spilled part of a glass of water on it the other night while I was using it. Despite the spill it still continued to work just fine. I have a rubberized keyboard cover for it so I just lifted that off... some water got under the cover but I just damped it with a paper towel, turned it over for a minute and let any remaining drops drain off and let it dry some more over night. It still continues to run great.
This model has been really durable. I even accidentally spilled part of a glass of water on it the other night while I was using it. Despite the spill it still continued to work just fine. I have a rubberized keyboard cover for it so I just lifted that off... some water got under the cover but I just damped it with a paper towel, turned it over for a minute and let any remaining drops drain off and let it dry some more over night. It still continues to run great.
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Haha. I think there are many that will agree with you.
Personally while I do miss certain things about the 2012 era retina MBPs I am currently enjoying my 2017 MBP more.
I do wish I had my ports back.
I miss magsafe although being able to charge from any side makes up for it. That is so wonderful.
I miss the keyboard (and absence of touchbar) the most!
But when I work on my 2015 MBP for work I miss the following about my 2017 machine:
Overall speed - god I hate my work computer's performance!
Cooling and fan noise - my 2017 MBP is WAY better
Light weight - I know everyone likes to poo on this but I genuinely enjoy using the lighter computer even though I only use it around the house.
usb-c - while I hate that this replaced everything I love being able to charge from any side, I like the connector, and I can charge my phone (Google Pixel) with the macbook pro charger which is fantastic.
Screen - something about this screen is just even more awesome than the already awesome original retina.
I mean once my computer inevitably has a keyboard or hinge problem I will probably hate it, but I'm going to enjoy things until then.
Personally while I do miss certain things about the 2012 era retina MBPs I am currently enjoying my 2017 MBP more.
I do wish I had my ports back.
I miss magsafe although being able to charge from any side makes up for it. That is so wonderful.
I miss the keyboard (and absence of touchbar) the most!
But when I work on my 2015 MBP for work I miss the following about my 2017 machine:
Overall speed - god I hate my work computer's performance!
Cooling and fan noise - my 2017 MBP is WAY better
Light weight - I know everyone likes to poo on this but I genuinely enjoy using the lighter computer even though I only use it around the house.
usb-c - while I hate that this replaced everything I love being able to charge from any side, I like the connector, and I can charge my phone (Google Pixel) with the macbook pro charger which is fantastic.
Screen - something about this screen is just even more awesome than the already awesome original retina.
I mean once my computer inevitably has a keyboard or hinge problem I will probably hate it, but I'm going to enjoy things until then.
Same one I have and updated the same. It runs both Mojave and KDE Linux.
My 2017 is the best MacBook Pro I have ever had. Dead reliable, light, thin, stunning to look at, great trackpad, a keyboard that I now really enjoy typing on, powerful enough for my use case, all while being the coolest and quietest MacBook Pro I have had. As for the touch bar - I like it. I wouldn't say I HAVE to have it, but I definitely wouldn't say no to it. You always hear the negatives, never the positives.
I'm currently running my late 2011 13-inch MBP with a Magsafe cable spliced onto an HP charger for this exact same reason. I didn't have the time or the inclination to rush out and purchase a new charger.
Meanwhile I have a spare USB-C 65w charger in my bag for my work Lenovo T480.
Moving to USB-C was a good move and in all my time working with laptops (my first one had a 386), the closest I've been to seeing a cable pull a laptop to the floor, was a near miss from a serial cable connected to equipment on a telecommunications site. Perhaps all the USB and other outlets should have been magsafe design too.
The older keyboard is great, although that might be a matter of taste. I'm still a fan of the 2015 15-inch, but it's almost 2020 and USB-C and TB3 are becoming so commonplace I'm not sure how long I'd want to be stuck with a machine without either of those.
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Not at all. You don't put a 2.9ghz in a thin body. The combo is a thermal wreck. That's why the new ones are 8 cores at 2.4.
Now I'm pissed off for not waiting 6 months.
One of the reasons I did not buy the i9 2018 15" model. Instead I got the slower and more appropriately thermally matched i7 processor.
I just sent my two months old (!) MacBook pro late 2018 to get its keys repaired. During these two months I was shocked by how lame the battery is, how fast it gets way too hot and how horrible it is to carry so many cables to use external hard drives. I honestly don't understand a single decision Apple made in ruining their best computers.
I'm writing this comment on my old, late 2013 MacBook pro. The battery still holds an insane amount of hours (a lot more than the brand new one - after almost 6 years!), the keys are reliable (as I wrote, the new one is currently being repaired after two months) and it doesn't break a sweat running the same analyses. Oh, and I don't need external cables to connect two external hard drives that include the data I'm analysing.
I just don't get it, why did Apple ruin a perfectly good computer?
I'm writing this comment on my old, late 2013 MacBook pro. The battery still holds an insane amount of hours (a lot more than the brand new one - after almost 6 years!), the keys are reliable (as I wrote, the new one is currently being repaired after two months) and it doesn't break a sweat running the same analyses. Oh, and I don't need external cables to connect two external hard drives that include the data I'm analysing.
I just don't get it, why did Apple ruin a perfectly good computer?
To extract more money from their customers.
I feel the exact same way, I cannot stand the choices Apple’s been making lately about their MacBooks, let’s hope 2020 brings a good redesign where we get actual ports (in addition to USB-C) and a reliable keyboard. This MacBook generation definitely felt like a form > function laptop.
I miss the keyboard and not having any connection options other than USB-C. I think those two were terrible choices.
I'm really happy though that the mag-release is gone. Never liked that thing. You could hardly move the machine and it would pop out. The USB-C connection is much more solid. And you can plug it in on either side.
But no SD card and no regular USB is unforgivable.
I'm really happy though that the mag-release is gone. Never liked that thing. You could hardly move the machine and it would pop out. The USB-C connection is much more solid. And you can plug it in on either side.
But no SD card and no regular USB is unforgivable.
The battery life on the laptops really took a hit with the introduction of the 12 inch Macbook in 2015. That's when the battery life started going downhill.
I had the first iteration of the 12 inch macbook and the battery was trash.
I was getting five hours, maybe, for using safari and Office products.
Why not both? Many Windows machines have a proprietary charger (either barrel plug or magnetic) but also allow for topping up via the USB C connection. I am a little dubious about the long term reliability of the C connector given how many people note they become loose over time with general use (even to the point this compromises the connection) and it seems to be a particular issue with Apple's computers, to boot (or at least people buying macs are noticing and mentioning it more, perhaps because these are the only ports on the machine and being subject to more use than on Windows machines offering a selection of different ports).
I think that it's an issue with very small connectors in general. I've seen the same thing with Micro-USB ports though I haven't had the issue with Lightning connectors. I like the idea of being able to charge from the proprietary port or USB-C. Everyone in the Mobile Workstation market offers an abundance of ports and port types. This makes it convenient for the user. The user gets to choose how they want to plug things in. So they can use their legacy cables and devices and upgrade to the newer standard whenever they feel like it.
Just build a 2015 with a few USB-C ports, newer processors, newer GPUs and a 16 inch screen.
BTW, I do use the SD card reader a lot too.
Batteries are luck of the draw. There's nothing superior about the 2013 battery over the current day one. I believe the 2013 has more power capacity, but the 2013 is also more power hungry. One of the rMBPs model years had the dubious distinction of having the most battery allowed by the FAA for laptops in use in the cabin of a passenger airplane.
I'm not sure about wht you mean with cables to use external hard drives. You now need three cables to hook up a hard drive? Huh?
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I think those units had issues. My previous 2016 MBP's TB3 ports were somewhat loose to start and only got looser when I started using it. After 2 years it would come loose with the slightest bump.
Those ports were replaced by Apple when I brought it in for an unrelated issue. I didn't ask for the ports to be replaced. I thought they were supposed to be that loose to be honest. The new ports had a lot of snap and felt just like the ports in my current 2018 MBP. After 4 months of heavy use, the ports on this MBP are fine. They are a tiny bit looser, but that's to be expected. I don't think they're going to go the way of the ports on my previous machine.
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If given the choice whether I want MagSafe back or an extra USB-C port, I’d take USB every time. Why compromise for single-function ports if we can have all functions on every single one?
As to your reliability remark, I have here an entire park of USB-C laptops and I can’t say I had any issues with port reliability in last 3 years. MagSafe was much more problematic since chargers had to be replaced regularly due to bad cable quality.
Legacy.
I have some ten Magsafe adapters. And I can use the ones back from 2007 just fine. I can't use USB-C on my old hardware. I have a lot of old devices as well which work just fine with my 2015. Every other manufacturer of mobile workstations offers a variety of ports. Why? Because they are useful.
I was at a Planning Board meeting. The other side's engineer brought his mobile workstation to give an engineering presentation. Our town meeting room has a side room with professional video presentation and recording equipment. They provide an HDMI on the table in front of the board or town council members. You just plug the HDMI cable into your laptop and it displays for the audience and for the board or council members (multiple large screens). Your presentation is captured by the multiple cameras and recording equipment in the room.
I'm the only person that I've seen bring an Apple notebook. It seems like Apple doesn't play in the mobile workstation space - at least as far as the engineers in my area are concerned. Certainly the new ones don't. Devices and ports in government facilities can be pretty old too.
Except for the person who is accident prone or dwells in an accident prone environment, I just don't understand what the point of having a Magsafe port is. I mean, would anyone see it as progress if your phone needed one cable to charge and a separate one for data?
I really missed Magsafe at first for comfort reasons. A very low profile power port meant I could comfortably use it sitting cross legged on the floor. I could no longer do that with a comparatively giant USB-C spike jutting out of the side until I discovered right angle USB-C adapters. Now using my laptop plugged in in my lap while sitting on the floor is no longer an issue again.