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Apple Officially Obsoletes First MacBook Pro With a Retina Display

My mid 2012 Retina is running great and I hope it goes on for another 8 years. I upgraded to a larger HD a few years back and the battery needs to be replaced, but when plugged in it's a perfect machine.
 
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Darth Tulhu said:
Quick thought regarding the lauded and missed MagSafe: It sucks.

I used to LOVE it. The idea and performance was second to none.

But they would fray QUICK at the connection point. Sometimes I had to slightly reposition the connector so it would actually charge my laptop (I'd get a dim green light instead of orange). I'm still going through this.
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Pro tip: clean it with a dry brush.

MagSafe saved me hundreds $$ over the years.
 
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Darth Tulhu said:
But they would fray QUICK at the connection point. Sometimes I had to slightly reposition the connector so it would actually charge my laptop (I'd get a dim green light instead of orange). I'm still going through this.
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You are correct about the fraying. Fortunately mine has been working fine after having to apply tape to the wire more than three years ago. I am trying to avoid having to spend 85 Euros on a new charger for my early 2013 MBP. I am also trying to avoid a fire :rolleyes:
 
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jlocker said:
Going to take a couple of years to reach macbook pro status with the Apple Silicon. Apple is going to be having x86 around for a long time. If you are looking for a MacBook Air level with like a i5 processor maybe. It is a great time to get a new MacBook Pro for the next 4 years and by then everything should be humming with Apple processors.
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There are many rumors pointing at 14" MBP, that's my aim unless MacBook Air hits it out of the park with AS...Either way, I'm going AS when it comes out for the Mac or waiting longer as I'm done with Intel.
 
hailey bee said:
Pro tip: clean it with a dry brush.

MagSafe saved me hundreds $$ over the years.
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I've done that and it helped with the connection issue initially. But no longer. And this doesn't address the other major issues:

1. The frayed cables
2. The cost of replacement of the Apple charger
3. The convenience of ubiquitous charging connections
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Northern Man said:
You are correct about the fraying. Fortunately mine has been working fine after having to apply tape to the wire more than three years ago. I am trying to avoid having to spend 85 Euros on a new charger for my early 2013 MBP. I am also trying to avoid a fire :rolleyes:
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That was my temporary solution too until the cable gave out completely.

I've gone through at least 4 chargers in 9 years, which is not bad for the time frame but still.
 
Darth Tulhu said:
I've done that and it helped with the connection issue initially. But no longer. And this doesn't address the other major issues:

1. The frayed cables
2. The cost of replacement of the Apple charger
3. The convenience of ubiquitous charging connections
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That was my temporary solution too until the cable gave out completely.

I've gone through at least 4 chargers in 9 years, which is not bad for the time frame but still.
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Maybe I am lucky. Still my first charger in 7 years but perhaps less wear and tear as my MBP never leaves the house.
 
delta9kavaroot said:
Does 'obsolete' mean that the new operating system (Big Sur) won't be able to run or does it mean it just won't be supported for repairs, etc?
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Apple has allowed "vintage" and "obsolete" systems to run the latest macOS in the past, I believe. Vintage or Obsolete is more for getting official apple service, if your computer/device is on that list, they don't carry spare parts or conduct repairs. (I have heard apple stores still may try to reinstall software or other minor issues like that, at least some of the time.)

Unfortunately, Big Sur will not run on any 2012 models or earlier, including the Retna Macbook Pro.

This is a group that always tries to get the later macOS systems working on unsupported computers, no guarantee, but it may still be possible if they are able to figure it out, and you feel comfortable conduction whatever steps they require to bypass any limitations, like turning off system protections.

Source of supported models for Big Sur:

appleinsider.com

Apple releases list of Macs that will run macOS Big Sur | AppleInsider

Apple's forthcoming macOS Big Sur will be available to select Macs produced from 2013 and onward, leaving the original Retina MacBook Pro behind.
appleinsider.com appleinsider.com

I think Catalina will still get security updates for a year or two, so that should give you time to wait until the new Apple Silicon replacements are ready, if you want to keep up to date on macOS 11 or future versions. I would be very hesitant to purchase an intel mac nowadays, unless your are forced to due to your current hardware breaking.
 
Best computer investments I’ve made are in apple computers

My late 2013 is still going strong and I have no plans to update any time soon

I’ve tried using newer laptops incl the recent MBA

But nothing really changes...mind still has 8gb ram, still has 256gb sad, still has scissor keyboard and Retina display at around 400 nits....basically same webcam as newest models too

Plus I got mine when Canadian dollar was still on par with USD

Such a good investment.

(Note - not a power user, I need mine for email, light programs, writing, zoom and office suite)

Every time I drop a grand+ on a new MacBook I don’t find anything too different and end up returning


Thanks to apple’s out of warranty for display replacement, I have a brand new display as well


Still an amazing laptop. Even in 2020, USB 3.0 and HDMI have come in handy for me when doing presentations
 
Typing this on my Late 2013 15" rMBP. While I grumbled about the non upgradable memory during purchase, it has been and continues to be a wonderful machine. I have had 2 failed SSDs and just last year had the battery replaced by Apple. Hope to keep it going for another couple of years yet while the ARM/Apple Silicon picture becomes clearer.

And here I was seriously starting to think about a 16" MBP.
 
Darth Tulhu said:
This was the beginning of the end of upgradeable Apple computing as we knew it.

The first soldered model, and although the SSD was not soldered in, it was proprietary (if I'm not mistaken), at least at the time.
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I have a mid-2012 MacBook pro retina and unlike the non-retina one the RAM is soldered, the SSD is ordinary SATA and I upgraded mine to a 1TB Samsung Evo.

I just looked it up on every Mac and it's the next refresh that made the storage proprietary.

Specifically, the "Mid-2012" and "Early 2013" models use a 6 Gb/s SATA-based SSD whereas the "Late 2013,""Mid-2014" and "Mid-2015" models use a PCIe 2.0-based SSD.
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My most beloved laptop ever! And I'm not he youngest here ;-)
Was serviced twice by Apple (battery and GPU). Becoming a little, but just a little, slow on demanding tasks, I downgraded it to secondary use in the household, out of fear it might give up on me due to age. I now have a fully upgraded 15"2019 MBP, which is a great computer. But causes more issues, has the stupid keyboard, and and and. What ever way you look at, the 2012 Retina was for many years ahead of its time, more ahead of time than any of those who followed. Dear MBP2012Retina, you gave obsolete a whole new meaning!
 
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I still use my MBP 15" from 2012, because the keyboard on MBP 2016 has broken three times and I don't want to pay another $1000 to fix it.
 
MacBH928 said:
Actually I am amazed it was still being supported.
This Apple Laptop model is the Nokia 3310 of laptops.



Do you still get app&OS upgrades? Did you have to replace anything like batteries...etc etc?
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Yes, it has full support up to Catalina.
I did change the battery about 18 months ago as age took its toll but apart from that its completely stock.
 
Agret said:
I have a mid-2012 MacBook pro retina and unlike the non-retina one the RAM is soldered, the SSD is ordinary SATA and I upgraded mine to a 1TB Samsung Evo.

I just looked it up on every Mac and it's the next refresh that made the storage proprietary.
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The question is when you were able to do that.

At the time of release, Apple used a proprietary connector for the SSDs on Retina MBPs. It took some time for manufacturers to make a replacement drive and/or adapters that would fit.

The next refresh soldered the drives as well as the RAM.
 
Spock said:
I’ve got a mid 2014 MacBook Pro retina and Big Sur will most likely be its last update. It’s been a great notebook, easily my favorite since my 12 in PowerBook G4.
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I do think your Mid 2014 MacBook Pro Retina Display will be supported in 2021 when Apple holds WWDC 2021. You are good to go till year 2022 when Apple completes the transition to its own Apple Silicon.
 
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Richdmoore said:
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.
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Thank you for your feedback on what you experienced. It is wrong for that employee for attempting to discourage you from getting a new battery and Apple now tells us batteries have a limited lifespan. Apple have a history of encouraging consumers to buy when there is no need for a replacement and yet they tell everyone they are pro-green, as is green for money.
 
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