Apple Says Record 2020 Mac Sales Attributed Primarily to MacBook Pro

[1rottenapple]

Unpopular opinion around here... I love the touch bar, especially now that physical escape is back.

However, I'm not a shill, and you cannot deny the complete debacle that was the butterfly keyboard. Our whole department shied away from MacBooks for years because of it. Now, we are back in full force, with Macs starting to take over again. The new 16" is the primary computer for many of our engineering staff, and everyone loves them (no fan/monitor issues here, but that's for another thread).

I've grown to like it actually. I like certain contextual functions. It just you have to learn them similar to 3D Touch (but its easier since there's actual symptoms on the Touch Bar) where you had to know what works specifically per program. I had to pay more attend to the changing images in the Touch Bar but now I like it actually. Its not a killer feature but I appreciate it. I was a skeptic before. It became useful when I found out you can actually customize what shows up.

 

[Freida]

Overblown? You probably didn't experience it otherwise you wouldn't talk like this.

I didn't have the issue for about 2 years so I thought it was fine but then I got 2 consecutive failures withing about 7 months from each other. Also, my computer never leaves home and I don't eat in front of it (or around it). Its nice and clean here.

Definitely not overblown - purely bad design.

the keyboard was fine. butterfly issues were overblown i think and unnecessarily scared potential customers away. interestingly the post above me proved my point. as Steve Jobs once said about the enterprise market: "the people that make those decisions sometimes are confused".

i have more of an issue with the touchbar IMO. if I tapped on the mission control button too hard where my finger slightly slid on the touch bar, touchbar cancels mission control. annoying.

 

[DummyFool]

When I replaced my Macbook Pro 2013 I went back to Windows because for me a keyboard with so little travel is horrible, whoever makes it. I will go back to Macs with my next purchase in either late 2020 or 2021.

 

[Return Zero]

I've grown to like it actually. I like certain contextual functions. It just you have to learn them similar to 3D Touch (but its easier since there's actual symptoms on the Touch Bar) where you had to know what works specifically per program. I had to pay more attend to the changing images in the Touch Bar but now I like it actually. Its not a killer feature but I appreciate it. I was a skeptic before. It became useful when I found out you can actually customize what shows up.

Yep, the customization is key. Out of the box it's kinda meh admittedly, but even the built-in options (no third-party programs) give you a lot of ways to fit it to your workflows.

 

[dogslobber]

Grab an Intel MBP while stocks last. Winter is coming.

 

[farewelwilliams]

I don't think it was overblown at all. 3 out of 4 my coworkers had issues with their keyboards. Plus the travel distance was too shallow to be comfortable. I know the second statement is subjective.

first statement is also not representative of any fact. 3 people isn't enough data.

 

[farewelwilliams]

How was this issue overblown when Apple had a repair program set up to fix units with issues, repeatedly addressed it in year over year design adjustments, and then finally switched to a different one and stopped using it? You don’t need to defend Apple here, they have a team of lawyers for that. This problem was documented and addressed endlessly, it definitely wasn’t overblown.

because it was overblown. if enough people say it's bad when it really isn't and it causes a decline in sales, Apple had to provide extra assurance for the keyboard.

Apple never stated those "design adjustments" were to address any of the the "issues" that you're talking about. The 2018 "membrane" in the switches was never publicly announced to prevent any issues. it was overblown by the media and now you're taking it as a fact. you're kind of proving my point here. say it enough times and it becomes true in people's minds.

and you don't need to accuse me of being a shill. i've already stated the touchbar is problematic. why do you accuse everyone that disagrees with you of being shills?

 

[farewelwilliams]

The keyboard was not fine. Go to any IT department in a company that uses Macs. Half of what they do all day is deal with broken MacBook keyboards.

you're assuming.

 

[farewelwilliams]

My 2015 MacBook and 2017 MacBook Pro has replacements, both failed after the first year. Not overblown the design was form over good engineering it BLOWS

Anyway, COVID and working from home. My whole company (government) had switched to work from home in the summer and most had to buy laptops. Best Buy got some good business that's for sure.

you don't understand the word "overblown" in this context. just because you were affected doesn't mean it wasn't *overblown*

 

[triangletechie]

I have had my 2020 10th gen intel for 2 months and love it. It’s been flawless.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Overblown? You probably didn't experience it otherwise you wouldn't talk like this.

I didn't have the issue for about 2 years so I thought it was fine but then I got 2 consecutive failures withing about 7 months from each other. Also, my computer never leaves home and I don't eat in front of it (or around it). Its nice and clean here.

Definitely not overblown - purely bad design.

have a MacBook Pro with butterfly switch for 2 years now. 0 problems. is that proof that everything is fine that it works perfectly for everyone? nope.

you having an issue doesn't prove that it wasn't overblown either.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Not surprising seeing how so many were waiting on the revamped keyboard.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Unpopular opinion around here... I love the touch bar, especially now that physical escape is back.

However, I'm not a shill, and you cannot deny the complete debacle that was the butterfly keyboard. Our whole department shied away from MacBooks for years because of it. Now, we are back in full force, with Macs starting to take over again. The new 16" is the primary computer for many of our engineering staff, and everyone loves them (no fan/monitor issues here, but that's for another thread).

100% disagreed. touchbar is problematic.

press on mission control button on the touchbar with a lot of force. do it repeatedly and in quick succession. bet you won't get consistent mission control. with a keyboard, I always get 100% reliable mission control actions.

Streamable Video

Watch this video on Streamable.

streamable.com

touch bar is more of a problem than butterfly because this affects every single macbook while butterfly switch affects just a small percentage of customers.

 

[RFolk]

The 2020 16" MBP is awesome. The only thing that I don't like is the fan noise which can get loud especially while audio recording. One other think is that some times I still get the crackling noises while playing music.

 

[TomA]

The 2020 16" MBP is awesome. The only thing that I don't like is the fan noise which can get loud especially while audio recording. One other think is that some times I still get the crackling noises while playing music.

It should have had WiFi 5 and a 1080p camera, but otherwise it is a very decent laptop.

 

[Xack]

I wonder how many are buying now because they want to continue having an Intel Mac for boot camp and legacy applications?

 

[Maconplasma]

I mean yeah, they finally fixed the keyboard. I needed to upgrade and I held out for it. I also told all my clients to not buy anything in the lineup. I can’t imagine the frustration that would be felt if the damn keyboard just wouldn’t work as expected within 3, 5 or even 10 years

I knew this ridiculous response would be one of the first few posted. That's hardly the reason for the spike in sales. If people on forums would stop for a minute and recognize that in reality the majority of Apple's customers don't frequent forums or read tech articles...SMH.

 

[ignatius345]

the keyboard was fine. butterfly issues were overblown i think and unnecessarily scared potential customers away. interestingly the post above me proved my point. as Steve Jobs once said about the enterprise market: "the people that make those decisions sometimes are confused".

Yeah, I guess I was "confused" when I hated typing on the keyboard and I guess people were confused when they broke multiple times. Whatever, man. The butterfly keyboard sucked and it's gone now, but if you want to keep going to bat for it, I guess that's your prerogative.

 

[JimmyBanks6]

the keyboard was fine. butterfly issues were overblown i think and unnecessarily scared potential customers away. interestingly the post above me proved my point. as Steve Jobs once said about the enterprise market: "the people that make those decisions sometimes are confused".

i have more of an issue with the touchbar IMO. if I tapped on the mission control button too hard where my finger slightly slid on the touch bar, touchbar cancels mission control. annoying.

Tell that to my 2017 MBP that has the 0 and S keys stuck and is ready for replacement #3

I always love how people keep telling me my keyboard is fine, yet it keeps breaking.

 

[Maconplasma]

3 reasons:

Scissor keyboard
Physical Esc is back
32GB RAM in 13 inch Pro

And all 3 reasons are wrong.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Tell that to my 2017 MBP that has the 0 and S keys stuck and is ready for replacement #3

I always love how people keep telling me my keyboard is fine, yet it keeps breaking.

i never said it had 0 problems. it affected a small number like you. the reaction is widely overblown given the small number.

 

[dguisinger]

I knew this ridiculous response would be one of the first few posted. That's hardly the reason for the spike in sales. If people on forums would stop for a minute and recognize that in reality the majority of Apple's customers don't frequent forums or read tech articles...SMH.

I replaced mine in December because of keyboard issues. Not sure why you think users have to be on this forum to know their keyboards kept failing and that Apple finally threw out the defective design and went back to the industry standard that worked for 20 years. Its a very well known issue among Mac users that use them in a professional capacity.

Of course, Covid and working from home has been a major driver of computer sales across the board with all vendors.

 

[mannyvel]

i never said it had 0 problems. it affected a small number like you. the reaction is widely overblown given the small number.

There were no failure complaints with the older keyboard that I remember. I'm typing this on a 2012 Retina 15, and the keyboard is great. In fact, I just got rid of two c2d MBPs (one a 17"), and their keyboards were fine. A small number of failures with the scissor mechanism is a lot more than basically no failures for the older mechanism.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Surely there is a reeducation camp you can attend to deprogram that reality distortion field you are living in....

and where's your hard info that shows millions of people were affected? i'll be waiting for that data.

 

[fbr$]

i have more of an issue with the touchbar IMO. if I tapped on the mission control button too hard where my finger slightly slid on the touch bar, touchbar cancels mission control. annoying.

I deleted Mission Control from the TouchBar on my MBP because Mission Control is accessible via a swipe up with three fingers on the trackpad. Check it out on System Preferences ---> Trackpad ---> More Gestures.