Fresh impressions of a 2017 Macbook Pro 15 TB from a PC user

[Cristim74]

OK, tomorrow I'll call Apple to ask about the availability of Apple Care where I live (in Europe) as it can't be purchased online here. From what I've read it should be around 349 euros for my machine, possibly plus tax. The machine is already insured as I purchased it though a 36 month business lease.

 

[jerryk]

OK, tomorrow I'll call Apple to ask about the availability of Apple Care where I live (in Europe) as it can't be purchased online here. From what I've read it should be around 349 euros for my machine, possibly plus tax. The machine is already insured as I purchased it though a 36 month business lease.

If this covers repairs than you may not need AppleCare, which is insurance.

 

[Cristim74]

I thought so too, but I don't think repair are covered. I'll double check the contract tomorrow.

 

[Cristim74]

I checked and unfortunately repairs are not covered by the insurance.
What's worst is that I called Apple support and they told me Apple Care+ is not available in Romania.
Common Apple, W*F? We are in EU ...

 

[smallcoffee]

Definitely make sure you follow up a few months down the line.

I've noticed a trend of people loving them early on..

and then some niggles creep in

the TouchBar turns out to not do too much for them after all

then they realize they're moving the cursor while typing every so often due to the large trackpad

suddenly a strange issue with an external screen

and we find they're at the Apple store for a keyboard issue

etc
(all just examples of course)

Or maybe the GPU craps out

Or maybe they realize the hardware they bought just doesn’t quite have the performance they expected

Or they find they don’t really use the SD card slot or the HDMI or the DisplayPort hookups .

Oh or maybe the screen just isn’t quite as bright.

Etc.

Just examples

 

[Cristim74]

Boy you guys are enthusiast here

But I have bad news for you: so far I'm happy with my purchase

 

[jerryk]

I checked and unfortunately repairs are not covered by the insurance.
What's worst is that I called Apple support and they told me Apple Care+ is not available in Romania.
Common Apple, W*F? We are in EU ...

I don't know if AppleCare+ is even in the EU yet. Last year it was US.

BTW, you should update your profile to include your country. Then people can make suggestions and comments that match your location.

 

[Cristim74]

I have updated my location information.
Apple Care+ is definitely available in Europe in Germany, Austria, Italy, France at least.
It is mentioned on the Apple website.

 

[PhoneI]

Definitely make sure you follow up a few months down the line.

I've noticed a trend of people loving them early on..

and then some niggles creep in

the TouchBar turns out to not do too much for them after all

then they realize they're moving the cursor while typing every so often due to the large trackpad

suddenly a strange issue with an external screen

and we find they're at the Apple store for a keyboard issue

etc
(all just examples of course)

I have had my 2017 15" MacBook Pro for many months now and...

- My Touch Bar might not do too much, but does more than my old function keys
- I never accidentally moved the cursor due to the large trackpad
- I have zero issues with external screens
- Haven't had any problems with the keyboard

 

[turbineseaplane]

I have had my 2017 15" MacBook Pro for many months now and...

- My Touch Bar might not do too much, but does more than my old function keys
- I never accidentally moved the cursor due to the large trackpad
- I have zero issues with external screens
- Haven't had any problems with the keyboard

Lucky you!
Good to hear.

Thanks for reporting in

 

[dryja123]

Happy to hear some love for the 2017 MBP. I just pulled the trigger on buying a 3.1ghz 1tb refurb from Apple. This is my first Apple computer with 30 years of Windows experience.

 

[EugW]

2nd gen butterfly keyboard: Being used to mechanical keyboards I can say it’s not as bad as I would have thought. I can actually type pretty fast on it with very few mistakes. It’s a lot better than the 1st gen that I have on my wife’s 2016 Macbook 12.

IMO the 2nd gen butterfly keyboard on the MBP is better than the 2nd gen butterfly keyboard on the MB. ie. They aren't identical. Or at least the ones I tried aren't identical. The 2nd gen butterfly keyboard on the MB is vastly superior to the 1st gen butterfly keyboard on the MB too. IMO, that 1st gen butterfly keyboard on the MB is just bad.

None of the above are as good as the 2008 aluminum MacBook keyboard I'm typing on right now though (which is the same as the Pros' keyboard of that era). Sad really.

BTW, while I prefer the feel of mechanical keyboards, the noise of the ones I tried drive my wife nuts, and the firmness gives me carpal tunnel syndrome, so the 2008 aluminum MacBook keyboard is a happy medium.

 

[Eason85]

Trackpad: It has not generaly interfiered with my typing experience and it’s nice for the gestures.

My favourite part of the post by far

 

[csurfr]

My favourite part of the post by far

Hey, just because there is a typo doesn’t mean the trackpad caused it!

 

[Eason85]

Hey, just because there is a typo doesn’t mean the trackpad caused it!

Haha of course, I was just imagining him writing that and having his palm skip the cursor all over the place...

 

[csurfr]

Haha of course, I was just imagining him writing that and having his palm skip the cursor all over the place...

Lol. I was just about to edit my post with:

“Ok, more than one typo” !!

 

[Cristim74]

Hey, just because there is a typo doesn’t mean the trackpad caused it!

Exactly. It was my mistake. I have turned off autocorrect.

 

[Cristim74]

While waiting for the CalDigit TS3+ dock I got this for on the go use:
https://www.lmp-adapter.com/en/products/cables--adapters/usb-c/lmp-usb-c-mini-dock
I'm using it temporarily in the office to connect all the gear.
This thing is running extremely hot; I mean I can't keep my fingers on it for more than 3 secs as it's burning hot.
It's all aluminum I guess for better heat dissipation, but is it normal to run this hot?

 

[csurfr]

While waiting for the CalDigit TS3+ dock I got this for on the go use:
https://www.lmp-adapter.com/en/products/cables--adapters/usb-c/lmp-usb-c-mini-dock
I'm using it temporarily in the office to connect all the gear.
This thing is running extremely hot; I mean I can't keep my fingers on it for more than 3 secs as it's burning hot.
It's all aluminum I guess for better heat dissipation, but is it normal to run this hot?

What is it that you are running? None of mine have ever been more than warm to the touch. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever even heard my fans spin up when running illustrator, photoshop, chrome (ugh), and code editing programs all at the same time.

 

[Cristim74]

What I meant is that the aluminum minidock is burning hot, not the Mac.
Reading back my post I see that I was a little confusing

 

[displaced]

Hi!

Nice review -- I posted something similar when I got my 13" MBP. That was 4-ish months ago, and my opinion is just as positive.

I've not been a heavy user of the touchbar, but there's one thing I always use it for: phone calls.

If you've got an iPhone signed into the same iCloud account as the Mac, you'll find your Mac rings when your phone does, and you can answer calls on the Mac. The sound quality's really good and the microphone's far better than the phone on Speaker.

Answering the call can be done on the touchbar, after which it shows caller information. It also has a Mute button which is great for long conference calls. Much easier to tap the touchbar than interrupting what you're doing and clicking the on-screen buttons.

Actually, when my Mac's around, I find myself making and taking calls via it in preference to using the phone directly.

 

[csurfr]

Hi!

Nice review -- I posted something similar when I got my 13" MBP. That was 4-ish months ago, and my opinion is just as positive.

I've not been a heavy user of the touchbar, but there's one thing I always use it for: phone calls.

If you've got an iPhone signed into the same iCloud account as the Mac, you'll find your Mac rings when your phone does, and you can answer calls on the Mac. The sound quality's really good and the microphone's far better than the phone on Speaker.

Answering the call can be done on the touchbar, after which it shows caller information. It also has a Mute button which is great for long conference calls. Much easier to tap the touchbar than interrupting what you're doing and clicking the on-screen buttons.

Actually, when my Mac's around, I find myself making and taking calls via it in preference to using the phone directly.

Agreed. The only downside is I’ve not found a way to follow the prompts on phone calls (1 for English 2 Spanish, etc). If I could do that it would be fantastic.

 

[displaced]

Agreed. The only downside is I’ve not found a way to follow the prompts on phone calls (1 for English 2 Spanish, etc). If I could do that it would be fantastic.

You can! Just make sure the call notification at the top right has focus (click it somewhere other than the buttons) and enter the numbers using your Mac's keyboard

 

[csurfr]

You can! Just make sure the call notification at the top right has focus (click it somewhere other than the buttons) and enter the numbers using your Mac's keyboard

I had no idea! Thanks! I was actually surprised that it wasn’t part of the program. Clearly it is.

 

[impulse462]

What I meant is that the aluminum minidock is burning hot, not the Mac.
Reading back my post I see that I was a little confusing

ive heard about this with docks which is why i haven't gotten one yet. i don't mind dongles that much so i guess ill just stick with them for now

Hi!

Nice review -- I posted something similar when I got my 13" MBP. That was 4-ish months ago, and my opinion is just as positive.

I've not been a heavy user of the touchbar, but there's one thing I always use it for: phone calls.

If you've got an iPhone signed into the same iCloud account as the Mac, you'll find your Mac rings when your phone does, and you can answer calls on the Mac. The sound quality's really good and the microphone's far better than the phone on Speaker.

Answering the call can be done on the touchbar, after which it shows caller information. It also has a Mute button which is great for long conference calls. Much easier to tap the touchbar than interrupting what you're doing and clicking the on-screen buttons.

Actually, when my Mac's around, I find myself making and taking calls via it in preference to using the phone directly.

agree 100%