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I wonder how long the 2012 first-gen Retina Macbook Pro will last. Maybe 2-3 more years before Apple obsoletes it?

I got my 2012 retina 13inch December of 2012. Is that the first or second gen? I can't remember. I only remember the price dropped by like $500 shortly after I got it
 
Does anyone know where I can get a new original battery for the 17"?
Haven't used them, but heard Powerbook Medic is good for sourcing Apple parts. eBay can be hit or miss because it can be hard to know if the parts are real or not.
Alternatively, if you have a late 2011 MacBook Pro, you still have a limited time window to get it replaced at Apple, but the part will likely come a premium (over buying elsewhere) + you will have to pay labour cost
 
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So with the next version of macOS coming out, these will no longer be able to upgrade. At least not until a "hacked" installer comes out shortly after.
 
I had upgraded my 15" TiBook to the new model that came out a mere month or two before the 17" AlBook was suddenly announced - I then upgraded again immediately when I watched that keynote and then continued upgrading to the latest 17" every two years.

But since Apple's killing off of the 17" I've not upgraded since - I am still on it. Upgraded RAM, installed SSD, and still going strong... I just can't bring myself to downgrade to 15".

Thing is, Apple insists it was a niche yet over the past few years I have encountered many others still using a 17" UniMacBook Pro too and they all tell the same story - can't go down to 15" so bumped up specs and making it last as long as possible.

As amazing as it is to think how many of us still have a 17" going strong after all these years, imagine a pc notebook lasting even half that, it also saddens me to think Apple has created a situation where they have a customer base who are intentionally running very old Macs. Like their other Pro decisions I think it is another demonstration Apple have abandoned or misunderstood a portion of their customers.

Perhaps there is a small chance when Apple recently announced they would release a "Pro" focused MacBook Pro later this year it might be a 17"?
 
Apple's 17" MacBook Pro was a incredible machine!
Still is as far as I'm concerned. Fully upgraded it's almost as fast a the retinas but with more desktop. Then there's the thunderbolt GPU boxes which let you run the latest cards to run 4K screens as well, never mind the delightful MagSafe. Try sticking 4TB of SSD in one of the new ones. Oh wait, you can't.
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I had upgraded my 15" TiBook to the new model that came out a mere month or two before the 17" AlBook was suddenly announced - I then upgraded again immediately when I watched that keynote and then continued upgrading to the latest 17" every two years.

But since Apple's killing off of the 17" I've not upgraded since - I am still on it. Upgraded RAM, installed SSD, and still going strong... I just can't bring myself to downgrade to 15".

Thing is, Apple insists it was a niche yet over the past few years I have encountered many others still using a 17" UniMacBook Pro too and they all tell the same story - can't go down to 15" so bumped up specs and making it last as long as possible.

As amazing as it is to think how many of us still have a 17" going strong after all these years, imagine a pc notebook lasting even half that, it also saddens me to think Apple has created a situation where they have a customer base who are intentionally running very old Macs. Like their other Pro decisions I think it is another demonstration Apple have abandoned or misunderstood a portion of their customers.

Perhaps there is a small chance when Apple recently announced they would release a "Pro" focused MacBook Pro later this year it might be a 17"?
We can but hope. Ah, the good old days of Pro machines and software.
 
ahhhhhhhh !!!! good thing I got a new battery this year. Should last 2 more years. Actually the Apple Shop Guy told me that it's important to have Apple laptops ALWAYS on power supply. Meaning that an Apple Notebook should only in the wildest circumstances be powered by battery. Love MagSafe !! No love for USB-C all day cable danger.

Actually keeping your Macbook Pro charging all the time hurts your battery more than actually using it. Cycling your battery will keep it in better health than charging 24/7.

I believe Apple switched to USB-C because they don't expect the user to be charging there MacBook Pros so often. The battery should be enough to last the day is the idea. Cycling is good for the battery.
 
Which kind of defeats the purpose of a laptop, mobility.
I just mean the 15 inch is decent for portable size. Monitor is great for work in the office.
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Try lugging a laptop + external monitor down the hall to show someone your screen. The convenience of the large-screened laptop is that the screen is self-contained and doesn't require external power.
Fair enough but we show clients a lot of detailed work on site on a 15 inch. If I needed bigger for folio I'd probably think of an iPad Pro
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I just mean the 15 inch is decent for portable size. Monitor is great for work in the office.
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Fair enough but we show clients a lot of detailed work on site on a 15 inch. If I needed bigger for folio I'd probably think of an iPad Pro
If it is bigger. There, i know nothing
 
For all people saying Macs are obsolete when they come out: 17-inchers still hold their values so well. If you have a good condition late 2011 loaded one w/16GB RAM, SSD and 6770 video card they still fetch well over $1K on eBay. Really clean ones get $1500 and up. I'd like to see a 6 year old PC laptop of any sort that does that.
 
I wonder how long the 2012 first-gen Retina Macbook Pro will last. Maybe 2-3 more years before Apple obsoletes it?

5 years from the last official sales date for all areas that don't require longer. in which case items sold and serviced in those areas will be however long their laws require. I know in California it's 7 years. i believe Turkey is 6
 
it also saddens me to think Apple has created a situation where they have a customer base who are intentionally running very old Macs.

Agreed. I'm still using my 2010 13" MBP that I have upgraded with a 500gb SSD, 8gb of ram and a new battery. The battery and a blown speaker (easily fixed) are the only issues I've ever had with this machine and it is just now starting to not be able to handle the things I need to do on it.

The ability to make a few small upgrades to this machine made it last as long as it did and I've been extremely happy with that and don't want to buy a new Apple laptop until I feel equally as confident in what they have to offer, and I just don't right now.
 


Also set to be included in the obsolescence list is the Mid-2009 17-inch MacBook Pro, which is the last 17-inch computer Apple has made.

Wouldn't you class the mid 2011 version the last one - this was a major update with the Sandybridge processor - the one that I'm typing this message on right now (with a 2TB SSD + 500GB SSD in the Optical drive, 16GB memory, USB3 esata card, true matt screen and repaired graphics chip!). Want to keep the baby going for the as long as possible - or until they sack the accountant and bring in someone that wants to make computers that people really want!
 
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That's only because Apple uses such crappy thermal compound, and it's just globbed on rather than applied properly. I replaced the compound in my 2011 MacBook Pro 17" as soon as I learned about that. The same with my then new MacBook Air when it overheated installing Lion. (Note to editor: 2011 was the last year for 17 inch MacBook Pros – next time try to get your facts straight.)

I don't care that Apple doesn't support my MacBooks anymore. I wouldn't trust them to repair them properly. The term "Apple Genius" is an oxymoron!
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The new MacBook Pros were obsolete before they hit store shelves. I wouldn't give two cents for their crappy keyboards.
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I'll bet it does indeed!

It's so nice to hear from someone else who soups-up their old stuff rather than throwing it away.

Mine gets a yearly refresh of Artic Silver. Difference in temps from stock is mind blowing.
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There's external monitors available at shops

Great. I'll just carry one of those in my bag when I go to see clients.
 
I bought one in 2007, then another one in 2010 and would have bought one on 2014 but Apple had stopped producing them by then and had to settle for a 15 inch. The 13" is to bloody small.
I've owned four and still have two. The only other laptop I've owned was the Wallstreet PowerBook which was so far ahead of its time, I still keep it for my my Mac library. I think it's the oldest Mac that could run (barely) OS X, and that's with a 5400 IDE drive. I wonder if it'll run on compact flash.
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I think with the amount bezel in the previous generation 15 inch MacBook Pro, a 17 inch display could well be created from it without increasing the foot print.
Fingers crossed. Oohhhh. A 17" Retina display. I'll have to sit down now.
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17" MacBook Pro running Snow Leopard = Perfection.
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Not to mention massively superior to the latest generation Touch Bar MacBook Pro.
Only 1TB SSD? How about 4TB raided? Suck on that you skinny, touchy feely post millennial turkeys.
I'm talking about the pathetic excuses for pro laptops we're supposed to settle for now, of course. Can any other series run at least seven OS gens? Where the hell is the next Snow Leopard anyway? One turd release after another.
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I had upgraded my 15" TiBook to the new model that came out a mere month or two before the 17" AlBook was suddenly announced - I then upgraded again immediately when I watched that keynote and then continued upgrading to the latest 17" every two years.

But since Apple's killing off of the 17" I've not upgraded since - I am still on it. Upgraded RAM, installed SSD, and still going strong... I just can't bring myself to downgrade to 15".

Thing is, Apple insists it was a niche yet over the past few years I have encountered many others still using a 17" UniMacBook Pro too and they all tell the same story - can't go down to 15" so bumped up specs and making it last as long as possible.

As amazing as it is to think how many of us still have a 17" going strong after all these years, imagine a pc notebook lasting even half that, it also saddens me to think Apple has created a situation where they have a customer base who are intentionally running very old Macs. Like their other Pro decisions I think it is another demonstration Apple have abandoned or misunderstood a portion of their customers.

Perhaps there is a small chance when Apple recently announced they would release a "Pro" focused MacBook Pro later this year it might be a 17"?
Bumped up the specs huh. That's a bit old school isn't it? Get with the times and pay upfront. Whatever your decision, you certainly pay for it later.
I'm looking forward to when SSDs get somewhat cheaper and I can raid 4 or more TB in my late 2011 17". What an awesome machine.
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Actually keeping your Macbook Pro charging all the time hurts your battery more than actually using it. Cycling your battery will keep it in better health than charging 24/7.

I believe Apple switched to USB-C because they don't expect the user to be charging there MacBook Pros so often. The battery should be enough to last the day is the idea. Cycling is good for the battery.
The battery might last a day if you don't open mail, Safari, Photoshop, FCP, Logic, or forget to stop the mds processes etc, randomly draining the battery with no outlet in sight, or almost any other app. Have fun with that. Or stick to an iPad.
Not expecting To charge THEIR MacBook maybe, but not MacBook Pros. You run a pro app and that juice is gonna get sucked hard and those fans gunna spin.
USB-C/Thunderbolt is Jony's wet dream, and he's not going to mess it up with different ugly ports. Moving all that **** outside with adapters, cables and boxes is the users problem now. Sure more stuff will eventually get USB-C'd, but at your expense and/or with questionable quality and reliability.
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Incorrect actually, if you use the maximum scaling option you are getting the very same effective work space(1,920 × 1,200) as an 2011 17 mbp, albeit rendered at higher resolution but on a smaller physical screen.
Thank you, although I've spotted mentions of actually accessing the native resolution, but I have no idea how the interface or apps could adapt to that. That scaling option gives me a possible option in adapting to the 15" world, but I don't know how that affects actual (apparent?) resolution and increased power consumption for the extra work requirements.
 
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I really like my 2010 17" still. Sadly the issues with the 2011 made it too risky of a buy, though I'd have loved quad-core and 16 GB of RAM.

Alas, there's so much I like about this machine that keeps me from replacing it.

However, MacOS/El Cap don't run well on it these days, even with a fresh install. Safari is particularly brutal. Fortunately Windows 7/10 and Linux all run absolutely beautifully on it.

Still get 6-7 hours of battery life on it, too, though I only have around 230 cycles on it.
 
They should make a 13" Macbook and cut the 13" Pro. Make it so the Pro lineup only includes 15" and 17". And kill the Macbook Air.

Good thinking. They can't be seen as copying all the companies who offer a wide range of specs, form factors, prices and sizes, right?

You should just be a good little sheep and use the computer Timmy tells you to.
 
I really like to work with my 2010 17" with 1920 x 1200 MATTE screen. The screen is so much better in bright environments than the crap reflective retina screen with peeling off coatings.
 
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