I think what bothers me most is the irony that, thanks to hardware upgrades, my "obsolete" 2009 MBP has 2016 storage and RAM built in and still compares well with a lot of contemporary laptops on performance as a result, while the touchbar MBP's they're making today will be little more than doorstops in seven years time.
Apple to Obsolete Select 2009 to 2011 Macs at End of Year
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packetrier
macrumors newbie
This is my last generation with Apple. I've had many iPhones, Macbooks, and iPads over the years, but it seems like they are trying to get rid of a certain segment of their customers.
They took away my usb ports, cd drive, sdcard reader, hdmi, and ethernet jack, not to mention the infrared receiver. They didn't up the memory which is the only thing that possibly could have kept me. If I were to buy a new macbook pro today I would need a dongle to connect anything else I own except the power supply. And those dongles aren't cheap either.
The iPhone doesn't even have a button anymore, forget the headphone jack, and the next one wont even have anything that looks like a button. I have my iPhone SE and Mid-2014 Pro. My next devices will be ROG and whatever Samsung comes out with to replace the exploding 7.
Dont get me wrong, I dont hate everything about the new devices. I like USBC, but I should still have at least 2 legacy ports. I even recognize the display port has more bandwidth than the hdmi port, but I would need a dongle to use any hdmi device now. I love the touch bar, its beautiful and absolutely a value add, but not worth sacrificing everything else. I also really like the dual camera, which you cant get on any of the small phones.
Apple has lost their way. I'm out.
They took away my usb ports, cd drive, sdcard reader, hdmi, and ethernet jack, not to mention the infrared receiver. They didn't up the memory which is the only thing that possibly could have kept me. If I were to buy a new macbook pro today I would need a dongle to connect anything else I own except the power supply. And those dongles aren't cheap either.
The iPhone doesn't even have a button anymore, forget the headphone jack, and the next one wont even have anything that looks like a button. I have my iPhone SE and Mid-2014 Pro. My next devices will be ROG and whatever Samsung comes out with to replace the exploding 7.
Dont get me wrong, I dont hate everything about the new devices. I like USBC, but I should still have at least 2 legacy ports. I even recognize the display port has more bandwidth than the hdmi port, but I would need a dongle to use any hdmi device now. I love the touch bar, its beautiful and absolutely a value add, but not worth sacrificing everything else. I also really like the dual camera, which you cant get on any of the small phones.
Apple has lost their way. I'm out.
Do you really need to support the wealthiest company in the world for this? I've supported it enough already. I will "support" them again if they make a laptop worth buying.
v0lume4
macrumors 68030
Same here. The only issue I have with my six year old MBP is the dingy screen (relatively speaking) and the processor speed (I have the 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo). Aside from that it is still a pretty solid machine. I don't know about you, but my MBP got so bad before the upgrades that just opening Safari would lock up the computer so badly that I had to force-reset it. It was a nightmare. Couldn't use the thing.
There may come a day when all portable computers have soldered-on parts, but as of right now, Apple is one of the few manufacturers whose computers are virtually irreparable. So, when it's time to re-up for a laptop, I'm going to buy from a manufacturer that gives me some more options. Why not?
Sora
macrumors 6502
Grass isn't greener on the other side.
I came from that side - replacing my laptop every 1-2 years. Those days were not fun. My dad is still on that train - I can't tell you how many he has been through (he's a die hard IBM fan).
I will say the best laptop I ever owned hands down was a 2009 17 inch CTO MacBook Pro. Absolute monster of a machine. Granted it only had 8GB ram, but it owned everything i threw at it. It took 6 years for it to give up the ghost. I pushed that thing hard. Final Cut. Constant Handbrake conversions for my plex server. It was my main machine. And durable. Got me through my masters degree commuting everyday with it over my shoulder.
We were spoiled in 2009. But don't go talking crazy about bailing to Windows land. lol
I'm not a fan of the non mag safe laptops. I see what they are trying to do, but a $3k laptop flying across the room because of tripping over a plug is going to piss someone off.
My 2009 MBP was the entry level model when I bought it, and yes it got pretty slow in recent years, but with the updates I made this year it now has the same RAM and more SSD storage than the entry level model in 2016. That's great for me, but kind of sad when you think about what a dog-slow dead end that 2016 MBP is going to be in a couple of years.
Does this mean I have to have bought the machine in California to get the 2 years of extra support or can I visit california to get my 2010 Macbook pro serviced for the gpu problem. The real frustration was that I had Apple perform a motherboard swap 2 years ago and now the problem has re-occurred.
George Rachor
george@rachors.com
emm386
macrumors 6502
Best real "pro" laptop I have and still use:
I love my MBP and I am never gonna let it go!
The good old days...Sheesh, I am getting old...
- MagSafe (perfect if you have my wife/baby at home)
- SD-card reader (i am an amateur photographer)
- optical drive (for my older kids)
- ethernet-jack (for work)
- mDP (a standard port i use at home because its screen resolution is admittedly outdated by now
I love my MBP and I am never gonna let it go!
The good old days...Sheesh, I am getting old...
512ke
macrumors 6502a
My 2008 MBP was so great to own. Sure it was a big investment at the time, over 3K, but the flexibility kept it going strong. I upgraded the HD a couple of times. I maxed out the RAM.
I personally preferred a chunkier laptop with robust upgrade options, to a sleek non user-upgradable appliance.
I know, I know. I'm longing for the past. But the past can become the present. Dude you're getting a Dell?
madrich
macrumors 6502a
Gee!
My MBP EARLY 2008 still works great with El Capitan.
Apple plans to add select 2009 to 2011 model Macs to its vintage and obsolete products list on December 31, 2016, according to an internal memo seen by MacRumors.
The following Macs will be classified as either vintage or obsolete in the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region:
o MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011)
o MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2011)
o Mac mini (Early 2009)
o MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009)
The aforementioned Macs will no longer be eligible for hardware service or new parts from Apple or Apple Authorized Service Providers, except in Turkey and California, where Apple will continue to provide repairs and documentation for up to two years, or December 31, 2018 in this case, as required by local statutes.
Vintage products are those that have not been manufactured by Apple for between five and seven years. Obsolete products are those that were discontinued by Apple more than seven years ago. Apple and Authorized Service Providers make no distinction between obsolete and vintage products outside of Turkey and California.
Article Link: Apple to Obsolete Select 2009 to 2011 Macs at End of Year
My 17" pro with anti-glare screen is still running strong. So is my 11" CTO Macbook Air. Both are from 2009 and 2010 (don't remember exactly.)
All I wanted was updates to these two form factors. Give me a powerful 17" and a edge-to-edge 11" and I'll be happy.
I understand not supporting hardware that's more than X years old. What I don't understand is NOT giving us the functional equivalent.
It's my guess that the typical Mac Rumors reader is NOT the typical Mac user.
-Pete
All I wanted was updates to these two form factors. Give me a powerful 17" and a edge-to-edge 11" and I'll be happy.
I understand not supporting hardware that's more than X years old. What I don't understand is NOT giving us the functional equivalent.
It's my guess that the typical Mac Rumors reader is NOT the typical Mac user.
-Pete
If you actually read my post I was responding to someone who said that their 2009 MBP was "more pro". Of course there are better graphics cards out there - it was a comparison to the 9600M in the 2009.
Uofmtiger
macrumors 68020
The typical user won't know until they take their computer into Apple to get it fixed and they are told "no luck".
AtomicGrog
macrumors regular
Daughters 2011 MBP took her through 5 years of High-school and so far 1 year through Uni, is sad to see that there will no longer be any official support for what is still a very capable machine. Am also wondering if this affects the resale value (not that ours will be sold... too many 'fell out of the bag' scenarios).
You're forgetting one key thing - in most of the areas of improvement, Apple were first.
I believe they were the first to include a Retina display. I believe they were the first to include automatic graphics switching. They were the first (I think) to use a PCI-e SSD in a laptop. They were the first to add a large buttonless trackpad. Would we have all of those things now if Apple hadn't pushed $$$ in those areas? We'll never know. In the future maybe, but you cannot say Apple hasn't "innovated".
Nowadays, most mid-high end Windows laptops look very much like Macs. Most have high res displays. Hell, the website for Dell XPS says "precision-carved from a single block of aluminium for durability". Sound familiar?
Apple have taken a bit of a leap with the USB-c only approach. Windows laptops have had USB-c support for a while, but did we see many accessories? No. Apple push USB-c, and we are already seeing much higher support. It's a transition period. Yeah it's gonna suck while we have to use adapters. But without that push, people will stick with legacy tech. Let's be honest, the only real drawback of the new MBP is having to use adapters. Other than the lack of ports, it's a fantastic machine.
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Believe it or not, in my short time (long ago I'll admit!) repairing Macs, we didn't see many "vintage" machines. If I saw 1 a month it was a lot. And we never said "no luck", we said "we can't do it, but most AASPs will" and we'd point them to the nearest one/guide them the website which shows where they are.
My only explanation is that I guess most people probably think a 5 year old computer is probably not worth repairing.
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You can still get support through "apple authorised service providers" - they will still repair vintage machines.
TBH, on a 2011, if the graphics was going to go it'd have gone by now - that's the only thing on the MLB that normally goes on that one, and pretty much every other part is still available through AASPs or interchangeable with some other models.
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It's a Robot
macrumors newbie
Honestly I'm just upset that they didn't include a parallel port on the 2016 MBP. How else am I supposed to use my dot matrix printer?
Does anyone still remember the Xserves? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xserve
Apple use to be a Pro focused company but now its all about thin and light (battery life doesnt even matter anymore)
Apple use to be a Pro focused company but now its all about thin and light (battery life doesnt even matter anymore)
JosephAW
macrumors 604
Again, the reason apple is nixing all the ports and drives is to prepare the community for the rollout of A10x desktops and laptops. They will blur the line between iPad and MacBook so that they all run the same OS and have the same capabilities.
Things like DVD drives and SD slots are foreign to iOS and they don't want to add such to it.
Things like DVD drives and SD slots are foreign to iOS and they don't want to add such to it.
I already made my first step building my custom tower this summer, and I'm really enjoying Win10 (didn't expect it tho). I was a bit relectant because I was sure I was going to replace my MBA for one of those new flamants redesigned MBP, having to work with 2 different OSses. Until new MBPs came out. I'm glad Apple made it so easy to me to finally switch to Windows, I'm buying a Surface
Phoenixx
Suspended
Have to disagree with you there. IMO the only thing Apple has left is an exceptionally loyal and dedicated customer base. That's what Apple have been abusing, knowing they can produce almost anything and people will buy it. But, the customer base is breaking down. Many people that used to be raving fans of Apple products are now getting to the point of being reluctant consumers using what Apple makes, because they haven't found a good alternative. Others have abandoned the platform entirely. Then there are are those of us hanging on hoping like hell that Apple gets their sh*t together.
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And this highlights exactly why there is so much concern about support stopping for models that reach the 5 year mark. The models that are currently being produced have EVERYTHING on the logic board. If a single thing goes wrong, the entire board needs to be replaced. This means that when support stops for them, they are one fault away from the rubbish tip. On such an expensive device, that is a totally unacceptable situation.
Stella
macrumors G3
I know - I did read.
I'm just pointing out that Apple's best GPU in their laptop range is a very low end.
I'm just pointing out that Apple's best GPU in their laptop range is a very low end.
mmomega
macrumors demi-god
I have one of those running at my desk at the moment.Well, guess it's time for the Early 2009 Mac Mini I have (that I've only had for a month, picked it up for free from a college) to prepare to meet its maker.
I upgraded it to 8GB RAM and an 840 EVO SSD, but it still chugs fairly often on El Capitan. I could try dropping back to Yosemite or even Mavericks, but I don't know.
I've been wanting to do a Z170/Skylake Hackintosh build... but I don't think I can discuss that here.
Just a little info: Asus Maximus Hero 8, 6700K, 3000MHz DDR4, Dual GTX980Ti's - on Sierra 10.12.1
Have a WiFi/Bluetooth4.0 card to be delivered tomorrow to check if Continuity/Handoff/WakeWithWatch works.
MadeTheSwitch
macrumors 65816
You know what else is going to be obsolete soon? My business with Apple. I don't have money to buy a new computer every time Apple wants me to jump through their hoop. A company saying that they won't even fix something if it breaks is total BS.
