Can you trust reviews?

[Scepticalscribe]

It’s very possible the reviewer did not experience this bug. I consider reviews to be a source of info, but not always conclusive. When I purchase on Amazon, besides other places, I read the user reviews (not implying you did not), but even with those, the complaints don’t always paint an accurate portrait. You’ll always find someone who hates a product. And it’s possible a fault is being experienced by many customers, then I get concerned.

Some of the best reviews are the "one year on" type of review: These are usually thoughtful and well written by someone who has had first hand experience of actually using the product, and has put some thought into writing a fair, balanced but informative report.

Thus, they tend to be forthright - and honest - about the advantages or plusses of the product, - after all, they have used it for a year - but are also open to discussing whatever flaws - glaring or otherwise - that have emerged and whether the manufacturer or company is prepared to acknowledge them, address them, and deal with them or not.

 

[maflynn]

I find that reviews can result pointing me the right direction, for instance say there's issues with a given product Those reviewers may very well highlight that. I consider the 2016 MBP as evidence to that where many people (not all) were having issues with the keyboard. I was happy to withhold my funds and I'm waiting for the 2018 which I hope will be an improved version.

 

[jav6454]

I trust Amazon reviews IF (yuge *IF*) it has well over a thousand reviews. I don't trust anything with under 20 reviews and few verified purchases. Too high probabilities of shrills in such a small sample size. In short, the more reviewers, the better the sample size, the more accurate the review. Still, I grant greater weight to the negative reviews, if most of them say the same thing.
I take all those "professional" reviews (Tech sites) with a grain of salt. I don't care how knowledgeable the reviewer claims to be, it's still their opinion. I trust the hive mind reviews of thousands of end users.

My exact same thoughts. Always best to buy stuff that has more reviews to get the big accurate picture of what you are buying.

On tech review blogs/sites, I always use them as a comparison and a starting point of what to expect.

 

[Septembersrain]

It's brutal. iMore is nice if you want how-to's, but their reviews are trash. I have a lot of respect for Serenity Caldwell and her work, but the rest? meh.

Did you know they used to require us to write so many how-to guides? That's why there are such silly ones like the one I wrote about installing a screen protector.

I think any review areas that have zero negative in depth details posted should be avoided. To me that looks biased. No matter how great a product, there will always be someone who will find a flaw.

 

[0388631]

I find that reviews can result pointing me the right direction, for instance say there's issues with a given product Those reviewers may very well highlight that. I consider the 2016 MBP as evidence to that where many people (not all) were having issues with the keyboard. I was happy to withhold my funds and I'm waiting for the 2018 which I hope will be an improved version.

What issue is this exactly?
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Some of the best reviews are the "one year on" type of review: These are usually thoughtful and well written by someone who has had first hand experience of actually using the product, and has put some thought into writing a fair, balanced but informative report.

Yes! I love these reviews. When it comes to costly appliances or tools, these are wonderful. Or reviews where the individual posted their review after owning the equipment for a long time.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yes! I love these reviews. When it comes to costly appliances or tools, these are wonderful. Or reviews where the individual posted their review after owning the equipment for a long time.

Agreed. I love those reviews also.

This is because the individual has owned the product, and used it, and is able to identify what made him (or her) want it in the first place, what is good about it, what they have learned about it, where its strengths are (and, if it is an expensive product, it usually will have considerable strengths) and what drawbacks - if any - it has (and, in fairness, those year old reports usually do address possible problems or reasons not to buy the product even if they themselves are more than happy with it).

 

[maflynn]

What issue is this exactly?

Many owners of the 2016 MacBook Pro model had keyboards that were failing. The 2017 was a bit better, though I don't know if was completely solved. I'm hoping to see a 2018 model that finally corrects this defect.

 

[0388631]

Many owners of the 2016 MacBook Pro model had keyboards that were failing. The 2017 was a bit better, though I don't know if was completely solved. I'm hoping to see a 2018 model that finally corrects this defect.

Oh, I see. I haven't had that issue. I think mine was manufactured at the tail end of 2016, so I may have gotten lucky. This is news to me, though. I was thinking you were referencing the new switch type, that annoyed a lot of Apple fans. Though, I believe I once said that the MB keys were not pleasant but the MBP keys were.

What I find jarring is the lack of better parts and at the correct time. Though, expecting Apple's product partners to change their internal schedule to Apple's is silly. The good thing is an Apple product doesn't depreciate much while they're relatively new, so the money lost on an "inferior" product is minimal.

 

[D.T.]

Oh, I see. I haven't had that issue. I think mine was manufactured at the tail end of 2016, so I may have gotten lucky. This is news to me, though. I was thinking you were referencing the new switch type, that annoyed a lot of Apple fans. Though, I believe I once said that the MB keys were not pleasant but the MBP keys were.

Apparently there's been a not insubstantial number of failures on the keyboards, the MBP has the "Gen 2" butterfly, and the Macbook went from Gen 1 to the same as the MBP (I think that's all correct[?]).

I was _kind_ of on deck for a 16/17 MBP, but at the end of the day, the KB, combined with the Touchbar and very modest CPU upgrade caused me to stick with my '15. Plus, the GPU options are still mediocre and I was doing some very GPU intensive work over the last couple of years, so I opted for a second notebook with a +stout+ GPU

 

[0388631]

Apparently there's been a not insubstantial number of failures on the keyboards, the MBP has the "Gen 2" butterfly, and the Macbook went from Gen 1 to the same as the MBP (I think that's all correct[?]).

I was _kind_ of on deck for a 16/17 MBP, but at the end of the day, the KB, combined with the Touchbar and very modest CPU upgrade caused me to stick with my '15. Plus, the GPU options are still mediocre and I was doing some very GPU intensive work over the last couple of years, so I opted for a second notebook with a +stout+ GPU

I'm not too worried. I bought the MBP to use at work in conjunction with my desktop setup. It was purchased with Apple Care. I'm not sure how good the Apple buyback is compared to private party.

 

[D.T.]

I'm not too worried. I bought the MBP to use at work in conjunction with my desktop setup. It was purchased with Apple Care. I'm not sure how good the Apple buyback is compared to private party.

Yeah, the KB in itself wasn't a deal breaker, I mostly use my machine "docked" too.

 

[0388631]

Yeah, the KB in itself wasn't a deal breaker, I mostly use my machine "docked" too.

Yep. If the KB dies, it should work in a docked situation. The KBs on the really old chassis were an easy swap. I did it once, including changing out the plates. In any case, I can offload it onto one of our contracted consultants at a little under market. No headaches, and you don't get hosed on the Apple buyback.