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Apple Officially Obsoletes First MacBook Pro With a Retina Display
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This was the last legacy of Steve Jobs. That's what makes a mac, A MAC. Apple killed every single feature that made a macbook pro differentiate from the competition.
Replaced my OG 15” (mid-2012) rMBP this year with the 16”... there was nothing really wrong with it. Had under 150 battery cycles... I miss the glowing apple, some ports being directly on the machine (no dongle needed), but I wanted the larger screen and faster performance (and little benefits, like being able to use the “Unlock with your Apple Watch, and Sidecar). It’s still a capable machine, and will likely give to my little one so she can use it as her first little computer. Thing cost me about $2800 and will be a 3-yr old’s “My First Keyboard” trainer. 
And, as if on cue, my 2012 rMBP dies on June 30th after 8 years of trouble-free use.
Y'all are talking about the same laptop that had a video processing chip that was known to fall off the board, right? The ones that they then repaired by kludging in a piece of shoe rubber to press the chip up against the board harder? That miracle of engineering?
Uh oh.... my late '13 says it's time to change the battery. I better hurry. Or not? It's still beautiful and going strong, but 200€ seems quite a lot for a machine that may fail any day, may be cut off new OSs in a couple years, and stop receiving any software update in 4.
Help me, repair or save for a new ARM MBP?
Help me, repair or save for a new ARM MBP?
Won’t run Big Sur
No USB-C
No Thunderbolt 3 (no eGPU)
No TrueTone P3 display
Half the performance of 2018 version
I do wish we could have the best of both though!
I’ve got one and it sounds like a 747 taking off whenever I’m doing anything remotely taxing on it.
Compared to current machines it does pretty well in benchmarks. I’ve got an 8 core 16-inch MBP too, and on Geekbench it only scores about 50% faster and on multicore about 100%. It’s pretty close to top of the line for now, and the 2012 model was top back then.
I think if it weren’t for Intel stagnating for much of the last 8 years we’d all be thinking how awfully slow they are now. But as machines have only got incrementally quicker, software hasn’t been increasing in capabilities as they might have. So here we are, and these machines are comparable in speed to the current MacBook Air.
I gave mine to a friend just 6 months ago. I really hammered that thing for years; great, reliable machine.
This is a great point, and I think it’s one of the main reasons Apple is transitioning to their own processors.
Actually when I was about to buy a used 2012 this tripped me up. I had a unibody beforehand with the logo and didn’t know this. Also the deal was great, so I thought maybe the seller was passing a fake mac. A simple google search told me that’s nonsense.
Well obviously the computer was real but it was actually a bad gpu that he snuck by me. Very battery cycles so the problem must have happened very quickly and he probably didn’t use it after that. I seriously lucked out with the free repair program.
..
This was in 2015.. After changing the battery myself a couple years later it feels brand new.
This set me back 900$ for the laptop at the time and 100$ for a new battery.
Much better than a 3-year old device, for sure. The 2016- generation was a complete and utter mistake.
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As expected, Apple's first MacBook Pro with a Retina display is now officially classed as "obsolete" worldwide, just over eight years after its release.
In a support document, Apple notes that obsolete products are no longer eligible for hardware service, with "no exceptions." This means that any mid-2012 Retina MacBook Pro 15-inch models still out there that require a battery or other repairs will no longer be accepted by Apple.
The only alternatives are to follow one of iFixit's many do-it-yourself repair guides, or to make enquiries at an independent repair shop, although many do not use official Apple parts.
When the MacBook Pro with Retina display was revealed at WWDC 2012, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller called it "a breakthrough in display engineering" and claimed there had "never been a notebook this gorgeous."
Apart from being the first MacBook Pro to boast a Retina display, the 2012 model had a much slimmer design than previous models. This was made possible by Apple removing the built-in Ethernet port and optical disc drive for CDs/DVDs. It still featured pairs of Thunderbolt and USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and an SD card slot, however.
Article Link: Apple Officially Obsoletes First MacBook Pro With a Retina Display
That really stinks. I have one that was a gift for my 50th birthday. It is still an excellent laptop and I use it all the time. I will definitely not be in the market for another MacBook when it finally gives up the ghost.
That is quite a number of problems which only became problems due to Apple's foolish decisions.
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My early 2013 is still great. Fortunately no screen coating problem. The mag safe charging cable frayed 3 years ago but is still working well with a bit of electrical tape applied. A few days ago I went to the Authorized Apple reseller (no Apple stores in Finland) to see what their buy back offer would be. It was 260 Euros. So I will keep it.
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I did that with my wife’s MacBook Air, but to be honest it was a total pain-in-the-rear to get the genius to authorize the battery service.
After telling him I wanted the battery service (and wanted it now as it will soon be placed on the vintage list, which means Apple will then refuse service except in Turkey/California), he ran his diagnostics, which showed the battery as still good and said i should not replace it.
I told him I wanted to replace the battery anyway (before it became vintage and official batteries were discontinued again.) He refused several times, and said I was harming the environment due to replacing the battery “early”.
Eventually, after going back and forth for a little bit, a manager was able to override the employee and get the new battery installed. It did leave a bad taste in my mouth that I had to fight to get a “consumable” battery replaced, even while paying ($170?) for the service.
If Apple performed battery replacement service on vintage/obsolete computers, or even provided genuine batteries to third parties after they refuse to perform the Battery service, I would have no issue with waiting to replace the battery until the service indicator tripped. (Search for battery replacement threads on macrumors, third party batteries have very hit or miss for reliability, and should be avoided if genuine replacements are available.)
I would get a new battery for the 2013 while you can, hopefully you get someone who understands why you want to replace a “healthy” but very aged battery.
Don’t forget dual TB2/mini-DP ports! I use mine to run 4K monitors + raid arrays. And magsafe 2!
Assuming no other issues, I would get battery service asap. Let others test drive the arm MacBook. By the time your computer is cut off from macos updates, they may be on version 2 of the Apple Silicon chips anyway. Besides, you can repurpose the 13 MacBook to run windows 10 if needed, or feel good giving it away to someone who needs it with a good Genuine Apple battery. (3rd party batteries are Very hit or miss, if you read some reviews.)
Also, i believe (but can’t cite any evidence) that depleted batteries are more likely to expand, and could actually damage the computer trackpad and other items should that occur.