I love my iPad 4, it's rock solid, but I'm putting off a new rMBP purchase because of so many issues I see here. For me $3,000 is a lot of money to spend for a laptop, and I'd do just that in a heartbeat if I'm sure of the quality of the product I'm purchasing. Thing is there are a lot of issues and complaints here on this site. Is it because the rMBP is a new design and still has some bugs to work out, or is there a greater issue behind all of this? Comments please.
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Apple Quality
- Thread starter Rchawks
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Buy one if you want it. Return it if you have an issue.
They sell millions. How many people here are complaining?
They sell millions. How many people here are complaining?
It's not hard to spot the complaints. I suppose if something is clearly wrong with the laptop it would easy to return within 14 days no question asked for a refund. I'm hoping to be reassured that this is still the best product on the market and that maybe the changes that were made with this model are going to be better as time goes on. I've never owned a apple laptop and was looking forward to buying one and honestly I'm sure I will do just that, but is the quality of of the rMBP's as good as the MBPS previously? Is it just because there are so many being made that it appears there could be a Q.C.P.?
You could probably find just as many comments at the time of introduction of EVERY MacBook Pro, Air, Powerbook, etc.
Yet all of the Apple machines (except the current one) have a halo aura about them. When the Broadwell refresh comes out, they will be the ones that are horrid, while the Haswells will be praised for their "good old days" quality and reliability.
Buy one. Return it if you don't like it.
Signed,
One of the hundreds of thousands of owners (have they sold more than a million yet??) of a late '13 machine with no yellow screen, ac wireless, etc. etc. issues.
The problem with looking at forums is your are going to get a higher dance of hearing someone complain. If you have a problem with something most people complain, but don't say much if all is well. Consider how many laptops they sell and the few hundred posts with problems seem minuscule. It is a great product and their quality is outstanding. There are problems, that's with anything though. Look on non Apple device forums and you'd come to the same conclusion. I had a high end Asus Republic of Gamers laptop and on Asus' website it seemed like everyone had a problem. I think it makes you perceive the problem is greater than it actually is. Buy one if you want it, if it's not up to your standards return or exchange it.
Victor
Victor
Thank you for the responses. I like to research as much as possible before spending money on new computers and this purchase is no different. It's never my intent to be rude or sarcastic just trying to learn from the fellow members here.
Many responders in this forum have a bias towards defending apple by saying that complaints are done by a minority.. Well who knows. I, a macbook lover, believe it has gone down, but what can you do? It is no worst than the rest of the competition and in fact it is better. For the design and the specs, portability, and quality regardless, i think you are still getting a decent deal... For those same specs any other company with the same quality hardware and screen and portability, beautiful and and strong design, will be no cheaper than apple..
I had to get mine exchanged 5 times and now I have the perfect macbook ive been looking for.
Apple is cool with exchanges until you are satisfied.
In that sense, I'd say Apple has a high quality
Apple is cool with exchanges until you are satisfied.
In that sense, I'd say Apple has a high quality
I do not believe there is such thing as 'best product on the market'. It really depends on your intended use. I do think that the rMBP is one of the best choices in its category. As to the complains: you can find them for every Mac (and actually every laptop) ever released. It appears the biggest potential problem with these machines is the tendency to develop image retention (due to the new display technology thy use). Still, getting an Apple computer is 'safe' - because you can easily return it if you are not completely satisfied. Having owned basically every iteration of the MBP since 2007 I can assure you that the production quality of the rMBP is still on the highest level.
Swampus
macrumors 6502
Framohs
FRAMOHS is Forum Related Acute Macintosh Owners Hypochondriac Syndrome. It happens. But normally only to owners (The DSM-5 does specify that it happens to owners and is caused by reading the forums too much).
While I think we can all admire your eagerness to jump ahead a few steps, you'll not be eligible for inclusion in any of the support groups until you actually own one. Sorry. I don't make the rules.
Yes, that too. It's not even necessary that something be "clearly wrong". No explanation is required for a return within the first 14 days. Plenty of time to verify that it meets your expectations.
FRAMOHS is Forum Related Acute Macintosh Owners Hypochondriac Syndrome. It happens. But normally only to owners (The DSM-5 does specify that it happens to owners and is caused by reading the forums too much).
While I think we can all admire your eagerness to jump ahead a few steps, you'll not be eligible for inclusion in any of the support groups until you actually own one. Sorry. I don't make the rules.
Yes, that too. It's not even necessary that something be "clearly wrong". No explanation is required for a return within the first 14 days. Plenty of time to verify that it meets your expectations.
brdeveloper
macrumors 68030
I couldn't visit a rMBP showroom yet, but I tend to believe that there are not even retina displays in the market. Or maybe I'm wrong, since my first ever display had image retention, but looked even and magentaish instead of unevenly yellowish.
If you don't know what cyan or magenta means, you probably won't note anything wrong with any rMBP you buy, so go ahead in this case. A rMBP is basically a laptop for hipsters and new rich people from emergent countries. Doesn't matter what a rMBP does, but instead what a rMBP means in terms of social status.
I bought my rMBP looking for a fast machine for programming and a wonderful screen for writing and reading sci papers while editing some pictures for hobby (I'm a kind of advanced amateur, I process B&W at home and have a Nikon film scanner). Since then, I'm having trouble with the screen. Or it suffers from burn-in or it's non-uniform yellowing which is a pita for scrolling text. It literally burns my retina.
Lastly, do a good research. If you have an Apple Store nearby and you're able to return your machine if you dislike it, go ahead.
If you don't know what cyan or magenta means, you probably won't note anything wrong with any rMBP you buy, so go ahead in this case. A rMBP is basically a laptop for hipsters and new rich people from emergent countries. Doesn't matter what a rMBP does, but instead what a rMBP means in terms of social status.
I bought my rMBP looking for a fast machine for programming and a wonderful screen for writing and reading sci papers while editing some pictures for hobby (I'm a kind of advanced amateur, I process B&W at home and have a Nikon film scanner). Since then, I'm having trouble with the screen. Or it suffers from burn-in or it's non-uniform yellowing which is a pita for scrolling text. It literally burns my retina.
Lastly, do a good research. If you have an Apple Store nearby and you're able to return your machine if you dislike it, go ahead.
pollaxe
macrumors 6502
I've had zero problems with my late 2013 15" rMBP, in fact, I'm more than delighted with it.
Against my better judgement, I've even tried to find problems that I've seen posted on these forums and haven't found any of those issues on my MacBook. I think looking up problems on new Macs is a bit like trying to diagnose a medical complaint via Google; it can be scary!
I've returned a Mac Mini within the 14 days return window and they didn't bat an eyelid at the store.
Against my better judgement, I've even tried to find problems that I've seen posted on these forums and haven't found any of those issues on my MacBook. I think looking up problems on new Macs is a bit like trying to diagnose a medical complaint via Google; it can be scary!
I've returned a Mac Mini within the 14 days return window and they didn't bat an eyelid at the store.
Some time ago there were lots of complains on these forum regarding yellow screen on the iMac. So every time I had some friend visit me I would ask them - 'don't you think my iMac has the yellow screen issue in this corner, look how much more yellow it is compared to this other corner?' All of them were able to 'see' the issue. The problem is - I would point each of them to a different corner. So yeah. There is no doubt that some of the problems are real - however, much that we read here is just people really trying to find some problem with their device. If you look long enough, you will find an issue with everything 😉
brdeveloper
macrumors 68030
Looks like you're color blind. I already saw yellow corners on iMac and they're pretty clear, without any room for ambiguity. The thing is, I paid USD 3K for a machine which has a clear reference for the screen on its name: "Macbook Pro Retina". It's advertised as having high color accuracy. This is the point.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
My 2012 rMBP has been rock solid, no complaints. I understand that there are some issues, but I also think most people don't have any problems. The forum is useful for tech support and asking for help, so the majority of threads will be dealing with issues, it naturally excludes those that don't have issues as they generally don't come to post
That's exactly my point. There are screens with defects, no doubt without that. However, when telling people that their screen might be defective, they often start 'seeing' those defects. How many requests of 'guys, do I have a display problem?', accompanied with a really crappy photo (where everything is arbitrarily yellow) do e get on this board? aAll in all, it wouldn't surprise me if only 1/4 of the complains here had some substance to them.
I ordered an rmini the day they were announced. Dudes who got theirs first were giving one bad review after another. I was basically hiding in the closet the day mine arrived. But it's been an awesome machine since I turned it on and I wouldn't return it for anything.
But the big question is how particular you are. People spending an hour going every over every crease and fold and panel are more likely to find issues and more likely to do the exchange dance. Are you worried about a seam not being perfectly straight or are you worried about the thing not working correctly?
But the big question is how particular you are. People spending an hour going every over every crease and fold and panel are more likely to find issues and more likely to do the exchange dance. Are you worried about a seam not being perfectly straight or are you worried about the thing not working correctly?
Yeah, the biggest problem with quality complaints is that there is a loud minority (majority?). This happened with the Panasonic plasma TVs on the AVS forum. No matter what, people will FIND some kind of defect or maginify the issue.
But of course we are talking about $1,000+ products so people have the right to get upset. Might as well spend less and still have problems than more.
But of course we are talking about $1,000+ products so people have the right to get upset. Might as well spend less and still have problems than more.
brdeveloper
macrumors 68030
Yep... if I wanted sub-standard screen, I could get a Lenovo with twice 750M cards for a lot less. Basically, I decided for a rMBP because of my previous experiences with Apple and also:
1- the need of a comfortable screen for reading papers, getting references and writing academic material;
2- web development... a minimum of color uniformity is mandatory;
3- CUDA programming: that's why I decided for an early-2013 with dGPU instead of a late-2013 with Iris Pro.
Currently, my rMBP is only compliant with the requisite 3, but if it was advertised accordingly, I would have decided for a Dell Precision or cheaper models like the Lenovo with dual GPUs.
brdeveloper
macrumors 68030
"That" bad is relative. If you'll buy a rMBP for gaming or watching movies, the screen is not that bad (but there are people complaining even for watching movies as some machines show severe backlight bleeding).
But, well, you could watch videos or play games with less expensive machines, and in some cases with better results like with these Lenovos with dual 750M GPUs.
The thing is, in my opinion I would be happy with a slimmer cMBP with a full-HD TN display or anything without color or image retention problems. Don't care about retina resolutions at the expense of compromising color uniformity.
My 2011 unibody has it's share of issues, in particular rather severe backlight bleeding (the kind that you even see during normal use in a bright room), and now a memory bank that doesn't seem to be working.
My late 2007 aluminum MBP failed thanks to a 8600M GT GPU (free repair), bad WiFi (got better after some upgrade), and very late in its life, an expanding battery and a broken charger.
Yet both machines are or were reliable work horses, never failed in critical situations, and the one break down that actually rendered a machine unusable was repaired by Apple for free (out of warranty, 8600M replacement program).
I don't think the current models have a quality problem, but I can see how the higher price, high cost of repairs and fewer possibilities for self repair makes people uncomfortable.
I always felt that IBM Thinkpads were the top end for reliability and repairability. Whether this is still the case since Lenovo took over I don't know. For me Macs provide a nice combination of design, quality, portability and innovation, and on top of that the for me best OS.
My late 2007 aluminum MBP failed thanks to a 8600M GT GPU (free repair), bad WiFi (got better after some upgrade), and very late in its life, an expanding battery and a broken charger.
Yet both machines are or were reliable work horses, never failed in critical situations, and the one break down that actually rendered a machine unusable was repaired by Apple for free (out of warranty, 8600M replacement program).
I don't think the current models have a quality problem, but I can see how the higher price, high cost of repairs and fewer possibilities for self repair makes people uncomfortable.
I always felt that IBM Thinkpads were the top end for reliability and repairability. Whether this is still the case since Lenovo took over I don't know. For me Macs provide a nice combination of design, quality, portability and innovation, and on top of that the for me best OS.
Lots of information to draw from thanks to your responses. I wonder if cranking the brightness up to higher levels could lead to burn in on some models. On my ipad it's on the lower end of the scale to conserve the battery, but it's comfortable for viewing which is what matters.
My passion is AP photography so accurate colors and ease of editing is important to me. One of the main reasons I'm looking for a desktop replacement. This ipad is nice, but very limiting with what I can use it for.
In my case the apple store isn't all that close, about 60 miles so I was considering buying online thru apple and having it shipped to my address. The sales tax was quite a bit lower that way as well. If it's purchased this way online how does apple determine when the 14 day window begins, is it at the time of online purchase regardless of when delivery is taken?
My passion is AP photography so accurate colors and ease of editing is important to me. One of the main reasons I'm looking for a desktop replacement. This ipad is nice, but very limiting with what I can use it for.
In my case the apple store isn't all that close, about 60 miles so I was considering buying online thru apple and having it shipped to my address. The sales tax was quite a bit lower that way as well. If it's purchased this way online how does apple determine when the 14 day window begins, is it at the time of online purchase regardless of when delivery is taken?
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Some of us just have OCD when it comes to devices. I went through 5 devices but there were little things on each device that made me return it...dead pixels, backlight bleed, creaky. All of which are still usuable to an average person and something they may not notice. I wouldn't hesitate buying one, I just needed the perfect one haha. 🙂