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Apple's First MacBook Pro With Retina Display is Now 'Vintage'
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You're wrong. Vintage/obsolete status based on when a device had last been sold.
So if Apple discontinued the Mac mini today, it would be vintage in late 2023. Nothing bizarre about that.
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No, they won't. Most people who buy an iPhone don't own a Mac.
I have mid rMBP 2012, 16GB RAM, 2.7 GHz i7, 500GB SSD. I have always upgraded OS X to the newer one vs clean install and from High Sierra it has been super sluggish to the point I could not believe it (I have also posted about this on this forum). I did format the SSD and installed High Sierra from scratch and now it's super smooth, like brand new. I am not even seeing the point of upgrading to the latest models, since it works so well. Plus I could connect my Dell U2717D display natively with miniDP to DP cable included. With latest MBP you have to use USB-C to DP adapters and apparently some displays (including Dell) don't even work being connected like that...
Technically you are right, but I am confused that a chip introduced in 2009 and is currently four generations behind new offerings is not seen as obsolete by the Apple crowd. I guess if customers continue to approve of this sort of thing and buy old technology, who am I to judge? I bought a "new" 2014 mini last year, so I am guilty as charged.
It's especially confusing considering we endlessly speculate on what is coming next from Apple and will stand in line or pay a premium just to have the latest Apple product, but then defend or accept an outdated desktop? That to me is bizarre.
A chip introduced in 2009? What are you talking about?
I'm the last person to argue that the current late 2014 Mac mini wasn't outdated. I wouldn't recommend buying one unless at a good discount or absolutely necessary. I'd love to see a modern, more compact Mac mini with current CPUs/GPUs and TB3, although I'm not in the market for it.
Sorry my typo. It's the i5 itself thats been around since 2009. The chip in the Mini is actually FIVE years old and only FOUR generations behind current tech.
hey, thats me...after my 2008 MBP just died...I am fine as long as they don't bar me from software updates
Just curious, did he explain what 'vintage' meant exactly? Because this is exactly what I dislike about these types of announcements, 'vintage' or 'obsolete' in Apple talk doesn't mean what most people think it means, and I'd bet the confusion is intentional to stigmatize older products and get people to upgrade.
Like for example a vintage Macintosh 128k belongs in a museum, while a vintage Macbook 2012 rMBP still gets OS updates like Mohave
He explained it was something about not being able to order parts for it or work on an issue if it had to be replaced after the vintage date. I think its like 5 years after the product is released they go vintage
No. It's 5 years after the product was discontinued. That can make a huge difference...
I mean it was a while ago. it wasn't meant to be a direct quote from him but yeah looking at the official page it looks like after discontinuation.
Yup, that's why the Mid 2012 Retina 15" MBP is vintage now while the Mid 2012 non-Retina 13" won't be for another 3 years.
Like me, my 2012 MBP Retina is vintage 16GB ram, 750 GB SSD and Transcend 256 GB Flash Memory. Best computer I've owned. Only issue it ever had was a battery which is always expected eventually.
16GB ram, 750 GB SSD and Transcend 256 GB Flash Memory. Best computer I've owned. Only issue it ever had was a battery which is always expected eventually.
How many battery cycles do you have?
Apparently only 192 cycles, lol...
still 88% battery capacity. mostly due to age, i guess. 6 years is a long time
The non-retnia model was sold for much longer, much like the recently discontinued 2015 mbp. The non retina mbp 13” wont be vintage until after it is 2020.
Vintage countdown starts after the product is discounted, not when it is released.
I am using one at the moment and I honestly dont see any reason to upgrade except.... these news....
This machine is absolutely incredible. I virtually see no reason to upgrade. Its lighting fast even today and there is nothing that I have thrown at it and couldnt handle it.
Up till now I thought this machine could easily be around my desk for another 2-3 years.
But these news really sadden me. Effectively this means that if I get a hardware issue I am screwed? Are there any third party suppliers that could provide a repair?
Really really sad news...
This machine is absolutely incredible. I virtually see no reason to upgrade. Its lighting fast even today and there is nothing that I have thrown at it and couldnt handle it.
Up till now I thought this machine could easily be around my desk for another 2-3 years.
But these news really sadden me. Effectively this means that if I get a hardware issue I am screwed? Are there any third party suppliers that could provide a repair?
Really really sad news...
It depends upon where you live - for instance, if you are in New York there are repair shops like the Rossmann Repair Group that may be able to help. But even 3rd party folks are dependent upon access to hardware parts, and if Apple discontinues support, their only real access is through old parts warehoused overseas, aka China, or by scavenging old machines in their inventory. The other issue you will have with "vintaged" Apple machines is with cessation of software updates, especially security updates. That happened to me years ago with an old MBP, and my only recourse was to install Linux on it so that I could securely put the machine on the internet and update applications.
Maybe parts from the 2013+ models could be used? Or buy a 2015 in good shape.
Through work, I had upgraded to a 6 core i9 2018 MBP at some point.
Advantages: It was a little faster - though not noticeably so for most tasks. It was a little smaller which was nice.
Downsides: Mess of cables+adapters to connect anything. Really stupid, even if you have just 1 USB device, or your iPhone cable etc. They should have left a normal USB port on this machine. Display the same. Battery life the same. Keyboard worse. Ridiculously expensive. Because I tried to get a significant speedup over my old computer, I got the i9, 32G of RAM and 1TB, and it was > $4,000. But those things don't make a big difference. So for anyone looking to get a new MBP, I recommend the lowest speed i7 (it's only actually ~7% slower, only the names indicate otherwise, check the geekbench results), 16GB and 512GB.
I am now back to my old machine and actually prefer it. It comes with a built-in dock!
Through work, I had upgraded to a 6 core i9 2018 MBP at some point.
Advantages: It was a little faster - though not noticeably so for most tasks. It was a little smaller which was nice.
Downsides: Mess of cables+adapters to connect anything. Really stupid, even if you have just 1 USB device, or your iPhone cable etc. They should have left a normal USB port on this machine. Display the same. Battery life the same. Keyboard worse. Ridiculously expensive. Because I tried to get a significant speedup over my old computer, I got the i9, 32G of RAM and 1TB, and it was > $4,000. But those things don't make a big difference. So for anyone looking to get a new MBP, I recommend the lowest speed i7 (it's only actually ~7% slower, only the names indicate otherwise, check the geekbench results), 16GB and 512GB.
I am now back to my old machine and actually prefer it. It comes with a built-in dock!
I think Apple really screwed up their laptop line by removing so many ports in the name of thin and light. I'd gladly put up with a pound or two of weight for access to SD card and generous USB ports. They really screwed their business with universities, both with students and faculty/staff, by making it such a hassle to interface USB sticks without a plethora of dongles. I occasionally go on trips, both by auto and bicycle, where I bring along a laptop to load photos and videos I take with my cell phone. For that, I need two things, where Apple has fallen down: a phone which accommodates a mini-SD card for photo/video storage and/or a GoPro camera with same feature, and a laptop with needed ports to offload the contents of the mini-SD card after a day's venture. Apple laptops and phones no longer make this an easy thing to do. I'm currently typing this on a System76 Linux laptop with a generous supply of all needed ports, 32 GB RAM, both an NVME SSD and a 2 TB hard drive, an I7 6 core 8th gen chip, and an NVIDIA graphics card which can do all I need on the road. It ran me $2400 (15 incher) and probably weighs a pound or so more than a comparable MBP (current generation), and at least $1000 cheaper. There simply is no way the current Apple laptops can offer me what this machine delivers. I do, though, miss a lot about OSX/MacOS. Oh well ...
Apple has lost the concept of laptop - from 2015 MacBook on. I need the ports, whether I use them once a week/month/year or several times a day. It is cheaper to have four TB3 ports than the 2015 MacBook Pro or the 2017 MacBook Air ports - yet the newer machines are more expensive, specs be damned to me and the average consumer. The two series i-intel chips still work for daily use.
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Most of my problems come from bad coded aplication/operating system. Any Java thing that runs on my early-2013 15" MBP turns on the discrete graphics and CPU goes easily to 100%.