Are Apple MacBook Pros the most durable computers available?

[Hieveryone]

One of the "features" no one talks about is the durability of Apple MacBook Pro. I think it's something they should tout more, because they seem to be better well built compared to other laptops on the market. In my opinion, they are extremely well built. They don't really "age" per say cosmetically unless there are user issues. Many older MacBook Pros, if well taken care of, look just like new. Even if someone isn't super careful, a few nicks and scratches here and there don't even really show or take away overall from how nice they look over time. Still look pretty new.

Then, there is the issue of how they run over time. I had a late 2013 rMBP that was working perfectly great, but I decided to upgrade to a 2019 base model 15" MacBook Pro because I had some things in my life that I started, and thought I could use the bigger screen real estate, as well as the ability to hook it up via thunderbolt to a 4K monitor. Otherwise, I would have been *moooore* than happy to stick with my late 2013 rMBP. I was almost, in a way, PROUD that it was running so well after so many years. I could have probably run it for 10 years (maybe? haha). My point is, even if it would not have potentially run 10 years, 6 years or so was still a long time. It looked fantastic and ran perfectly.

I think you often hear PC Maxis say that Macs are overpriced because the specs don't warrant the prices Apple charge, and that you can get the same specs or even better specs for the same or cheaper price with a PC laptop. What they often leave out is that you don't really get the same laptop. You don't get the build quality with many PCs.

 

[adib]

MacBooks are quite fragile as compared to, say, ThinkPads.

But if you're looking for durability, there's nothing that can rival ToughBooks—at least nothing that's available commercially to civilians.

 

[smirking]

I can't quite agree that Macs are amongst the most durable, but I will say that I think they're well built and a lot tougher than a lot of people give them credit for. They're simultaneously fragile in frustrating ways, but also surprisingly resilient in other ways.

I had a 2016 MBP that I accidentally dropped a couple of times and one time with the lid open. It was fine.

The thing is that different laptops are going to have different structural weaknesses. Everyone gets to see what they want to see. Every design has tradeoffs that must be made.

 

[Hieveryone]

Ohh ok. I did not know they were fragile. I have always thought of them as quite able to handle wear both physically and use-wise (if that makes sense).

Oh well lol 🤷‍♂️

 

[Superrenz]

I can't quite agree that Macs are amongst the most durable, but I will say that I think they're well built and a lot tougher than a lot of people give them credit for. They're simultaneously fragile in frustrating ways, but also surprisingly resilient in other ways.

I had a 2016 MBP that I accidentally dropped a couple of times and one time with the lid open. It was fine.

The thing is that different laptops are going to have different structural weaknesses. Everyone gets to see what they want to see. Every design has tradeoffs that must be made.

In what sense are they frustratingly fragile? Can you specify?

 

[smirking]

In what sense are they frustratingly fragile? Can you specify?

I should have worded that differently. I meant that they have flaws you aren’t going to expect them to have.

The butterfly keyboards have been beaten to death so I won’t mention any more about that. The screen coating coming off or getting stained by oils is something that keeps coming back. The USB-C Ports get loose easily in some models. There’s ribbon-gate that threatened to sever 2016-2018 MBP displays if you opened the screen too wide all the time. T2 chip glitches produced “poppy” audio at one time.

Most of these are fairly mild as far as failures go, but they’re frustrating. At least recent Macs haven’t been prone to having their graphics card fry to a crisp, have logic boards that just suddenly die, or wireless cards whose cables deteriorate as have been the case in earlier MBPs. The actual electronics seems to be quite robust in recent years.

 

[gren81]

Durable is not a word that I would for MBP. Aluminum cases are are quite malla le if subject to dropping and the inside components can be easily jarred - not sure about breaking or cracking but most everything is under the right circumstances.

My MBP 13” looks virtually new and has yet to have any repairs. No drops - just a light scuff in my backpack when it is ridesharing with other things like a spiral binder (ugh).

I try to treat my MBP like a piece of jewelry even though I use and take it everywhere - include vacations.

IMO, MBPs are reliable, versatile, and usable beyond the life of any other laptop. Only now am I starting to consider a new replacement MBP (or wait for a touch screen enabled tablet that is capable and equivalent to a MacOS). Still no hurry after almost 10 years.

I was just sharing with my wife recently that I would have likely owned three PC laptops by now (pick any brand). Really nice to receive free MacOS updates (until now post-Catalina), but I still get security updates.

Durable = likely no.
Awesome for long-term = definite yes.

 

[skaertus]

In my experience, MacBooks in general have been very durable compared to other laptops.

My 2008 white 13-inch MacBook still works perfectly, despite a few cracks on the shell. My 2013 15-inch MacBook Pro is also in perfect state, despite one dead pixel that arrived circa 2015. My 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro with TouchBar is also in good shape, despite the (very) occasional chattering of the butterfly keyboard. Only minor issues and all the laptops are still going strong after all these years.

That proved to be far better than my other laptops. I bought a Sager in 2012 which had constant problems over its first year (including the power supply failing), and the trackpad failed years ago. My 2016 15-inch Dell XPS 15 had a swollen battery, a dead SSD, and a chattering keyboard, before having its shell cracked by itself and failing completely in 2020. Those two were high-end Windows laptops and still failed miserably after a short period of time. Maybe it was just bad luck, or maybe they are not very well built. My 2019 LG Gram still works fine and had no issues so far, but I have had it for less than two years now; it looks fragile but it proving to be less faulty than the others.

I suppose some other laptops may be equally as durable as the MacBooks or even more, especially those created for a corporate environment, such as the ThinkPad or the Dell Latitude. But the MacBooks seem to be far more durable than the average consumer Windows laptop.

 

[Madhatter32]

MBP have always been quite durable for me and I have been a very long term Apple user. My only exception was my 2008 MBP which had a failed GPU -- and even that device lasted six or seven years. So, I cannot not really complain. I guess that is why the more recent generation of MBPs from 2016 were such a disappointment for many because they lacked that same kind of build quality. My Apple laptops have lasted longer than the various windows based laptops I have owned through the years.

 

[JCCL]

They are not much more durable than pretty much any other Premium Business Oriented laptop (funny they all try to look like Macbooks as well). Only the cheapo plastic ones are the ones that will look like crap very quickly.

Thinkpads however are on a league of its own - those can hold their share of abuse like it's nothing.

 

[calliex]

My experience with MBP's has been stellar. I have had two 17 in MBP's and had no trouble with them over many years.
My current 2012 rMBP 15 is still going strong. Only problem is a week battery. Never had it in a case and walk around carrying it like a book most of the time. I understand the keyboard issues, etc. that is why it has taken so long to upgrade. Also I have never bought AppleCare .