Help me find a new non-obese MBP

[va1984]

Short story:

Does anyone know of any legit stores still selling the last 15" MBP Apple made before the fattening began, in Silver, sealed and with standard Apple warranty? (Failing that, the early intel 16")?

Long story:

I hate what Apple has done to the new MBPs. The only thing I like about them is the notch and slim bezels, everything else seems like caving to the demands of a very small group of very vocal users/YouTubers who wanted the laptop to be so chunky it couldn't leave home, wanted old legacy ports, and had an irrational hate of the Touch Bar that would have puzzled the best psychotherapists. They got what they wanted, good for them! I doubt Apple will sell many of these thick boys, but at least now the have managed to shut the YouTube crowd up, or better yet, to make them purr. Good for all.

But many of us who used to buy Apple's largest laptop did not care a bit about performance and even less so about SD cards. What we wanted was a large screen laptop by Apple, that's all. If a 16" MacBook Air existed, we would buy it by the dozen. Apple's old strategy was to upsell us to the Pro machines, which was fine because they were still relatively slim and portable. Now that strategy has gone. Perhaps Apple will eventually humor us, and release a 15-16" MacBook non-Pro with reasonable weight (I don't even care what they do with ports and Touch Bar, as long as the thing is somewhat portable). Until then, I would love to scoop up the last slimline 15" MBP made, or, failing that, the 16" before it became obese.

 

[Aggedor]

I hate what Apple has done to the new MBPs. The only thing I like about them is the notch and slim bezels, everything else seems like caving to the demands of a very small group of very vocal users/YouTubers who wanted the laptop to be so chunky it couldn't leave home, wanted old legacy ports, and had an irrational hate of the Touch Bar that would have puzzled the best psychotherapists. They got what they wanted, good for them! I doubt Apple will sell many of these thick boys, but at least now the have managed to shut the YouTube crowd up, or better yet, to make them purr. Good for all.

Strange post.

These machines are made for professionals - essentially, the kind of people who spent lockdown making The Mandalorian, or were involved in other high-end, high-process professional outputs. These new machines are about function. The width and weight is irrelevant.

You are absolutely not the target market. The fact that you would go for an older Intel model rather than get the sheer performance and power of the new machines just reinforces that fact.

 

[booksbooks]

Short story:

Does anyone know of any legit stores still selling the last 15" MBP Apple made before the fattening began, in Silver, sealed and with standard Apple warranty? (Failing that, the early intel 16")?

Long story:

I hate what Apple has done to the new MBPs. The only thing I like about them is the notch and slim bezels, everything else seems like caving to the demands of a very small group of very vocal users/YouTubers who wanted the laptop to be so chunky it couldn't leave home, wanted old legacy ports, and had an irrational hate of the Touch Bar that would have puzzled the best psychotherapists. They got what they wanted, good for them! I doubt Apple will sell many of these thick boys, but at least now the have managed to shut the YouTube crowd up, or better yet, to make them purr. Good for all.

But many of us who used to buy Apple's largest laptop did not care a bit about performance and even less so about SD cards. What we wanted was a large screen laptop by Apple, that's all. If a 16" MacBook Air existed, we would buy it by the dozen. Apple's old strategy was to upsell us to the Pro machines, which was fine because they were still relatively slim and portable. Now that strategy has gone. Perhaps Apple will eventually humor us, and release a 15-16" MacBook non-Pro with reasonable weight (I don't even care what they do with ports and Touch Bar, as long as the thing is somewhat portable). Until then, I would love to scoop up the last slimline 15" MBP made, or, failing that, the 16" before it became obese.

i totally agree with most of this, except the notch is horrible: bad design and should not be on the laptop. I can't believe how thick and heavy these MBPs are and that Apple caved and added back old legacy ports. It's absurd. How many people will use an HDMI port or SD card slot. These new MBPs look like 10 years ago.

 

[Madhatter32]

Short story:

Does anyone know of any legit stores still selling the last 15" MBP Apple made before the fattening began, in Silver, sealed and with standard Apple warranty? (Failing that, the early intel 16")?

Long story:

I hate what Apple has done to the new MBPs. The only thing I like about them is the notch and slim bezels, everything else seems like caving to the demands of a very small group of very vocal users/YouTubers who wanted the laptop to be so chunky it couldn't leave home, wanted old legacy ports, and had an irrational hate of the Touch Bar that would have puzzled the best psychotherapists. They got what they wanted, good for them! I doubt Apple will sell many of these thick boys, but at least now the have managed to shut the YouTube crowd up, or better yet, to make them purr. Good for all.

But many of us who used to buy Apple's largest laptop did not care a bit about performance and even less so about SD cards. What we wanted was a large screen laptop by Apple, that's all. If a 16" MacBook Air existed, we would buy it by the dozen. Apple's old strategy was to upsell us to the Pro machines, which was fine because they were still relatively slim and portable. Now that strategy has gone. Perhaps Apple will eventually humor us, and release a 15-16" MacBook non-Pro with reasonable weight (I don't even care what they do with ports and Touch Bar, as long as the thing is somewhat portable). Until then, I would love to scoop up the last slimline 15" MBP made, or, failing that, the 16" before it became obese.

Just go with the MacBook Air. You must understand that the MBA is a device built for portability and a 16" screen is generally not considered optimal for that particular use case by most people.

 

[va1984]

Strange post.

...you should try reading it! I acknowledge that I am not the target market. But I am also saying that Apple used to funnel a lot non-performance hungry users towards the larger laptops, because they simply did not make a large screen laptop other than the Pro.

 

[booksbooks]

Strange post.

These machines are made for professionals - essentially, the kind of people who spent lockdown making The Mandalorian, or were involved in other high-end, high-process professional outputs. These new machines are about function. The width and weight is irrelevant.

You are absolutely not the target market. The fact that you would go for an older Intel model rather than get the sheer performance and power of the new machines just reinforces that fact.

The weight is absolutely relevant, as is the thickness. Professionals travel dude, they don't just sit at home, and the computer needs to be lappable. I have the 16" Intel MacBook Pro and it looks like the next generation version of these new MBPs, as it's noticeably thinner and smaller. What happened to how efficient these M1 processors are and how Apple should be able to make a thin and light laptop... well, now that they added back the legacy ports... it's all so stupid.

 

[Cosmo M3]

The fact that you would go for an older Intel model rather than get the sheer performance and power of the new machines just reinforces that fact.

Always enjoy these type of posts with my cup of coffee in the morning. It's up there with people posting about creating a class action lawsuit for Apple's jelly scrolling on the new iPad mini 6.

 

[va1984]

Just go with the MacBook Air. You must understand that the MBA is a device built for portability and a 16" screen is generally not considered optimal for that particular use case by most people.

I'm an academic. Eyes age fast in my line of work; we read books. I know a lot of folks who want large laptops not because of the power but because we need two pages up side by side at a visible zoom.
The 13-14" space is irrelevant to me because at that point I'd rather use my 12.9" iPad Pro which has the added advantage of being fantastic for annotating PDFs with the pencil.

 

[jvlfilms]

I'm sure you can find plenty of MBP for sale in the coming weeks as they upgrade their systems to the new M1 models.

I will be parting with my 2019 i9 MBP with AppleCare until June 2022.

 

[Madhatter32]

I'm an academic. Eyes age fast in my line of work; we read books. I know a lot of folks who want large laptops not because of the power but because we need two pages up side by side at a visible zoom.
The 13-14" space is irrelevant to me because at that point I'd rather use my 12.9" iPad Pro which has the added advantage of being fantastic for annotating PDFs with the pencil.

I understand. I prefer the large screen as well. But, in my opinion, you greatly exaggerate the increase in thickness and weight of the new machines. I think going with a thinner Intel based Mac is a mistake as it's not the future of Apple computing. I would actually look at one of a thin Lenovo over an older Intel based MBP if thinness and a larger screen is really the end all for you.

 

[raqball]

...you should try reading it! I acknowledge that I am not the target market. But I am also saying that Apple used to funnel a lot non-performance hungry users towards the larger laptops, because they simply did not make a large screen laptop other than the Pro.

The thinner, lighter and crippled machines from the Jony Ive days are over.. Thank God!

 

[va1984]

I understand. I prefer the large screen as well. But, in my opinion, you greatly exaggerate the increase in thickness and weight of the new machines. I think going with a thinner Intel based Mac is a mistake as it's not the future of Apple computing. I would actually look at one of a thin Lenovo over an older Intel based MBP if thinness and a larger screen is really the end all for you.

Don't get me wrong, I'd jump back on an M2 MacBook Air 15" the second it is announced. I have an M1 iMac and I love it. But weight and thickness matter to me and they have indeed been going up:

15" MacBook Pro:

• Height: 0.61 inch (1.55 cm)
• Width: 13.75 inches (34.93 cm)
• Depth: 9.48 inches (24.07 cm)
• Weight: 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg)

16" MacBook Pro 2019:

• Height: 0.64 inch (1.62 cm)
• Width: 14.09 inches (35.79 cm)
• Depth: 9.68 inches (24.59 cm)
• Weight: 4.3 pounds (2.0 kg)

16" MacBook Por 2021:

• Height: 0.66 inch (1.68 cm)
• Width: 14.01 inches (35.57 cm)
• Depth: 9.77 inches (24.81 cm)
• Weight: 4.7 pounds (2.1 kg)

 

[Aggedor]

...you should try reading it! I acknowledge that I am not the target market. But I am also saying that Apple used to funnel a lot non-performance hungry users towards the larger laptops, because they simply did not make a large screen laptop other than the Pro.

Actually...

Yes, now I get it. You want, basically, a 16" MBA - not for any other reason than portability and a large screen.

Okay! That does make sense. And it would be terrific if Apple ran two concurrent laptop ranges at the same screen sizes - so the MBA at 13, 14, 16", the MBP at 13, 14, 16".

Unfortunately, Apple has never really done that - but also I suspect a 16" MBA would just be SO expensive for what you get.

Edit: Just missed your post above!

 

[va1984]

Actually...

Yes, now I get it. You want, basically, a 16" MBA - not for any other reason than portability and a large screen.

Okay! That does make sense. And it would be terrific if Apple ran two concurrent laptop ranges at the same screen sizes - so the MBA at 13, 14, 16", the MBP at 13, 14, 16".

Unfortunately, Apple has never really done that - but also I suspect a 16" MBA would just be SO expensive for what you get.

Edit: Just missed your post above!

Right. It would be great. And Apple has never done that, indeed, but arguably that was because they had a viable upsell path to the larger "Pro" laptop, which maybe weren't that Pro after all until this recent reboot. Now, they must realize that by appeasing the truly Pro crowd, they are for the first time alienating the non-Pro crowd. If I were in the decision room, a 15"-16" MacBook Air, priced between $1700-2000 (which seems reasonable given how cheap the 13" MBA is) would be a no-brainer. And I think they would sell *a lot* of them.

Because contrary to what the YouTubers say, there are a lot of people who rely on their computers for work ten hours a day (they are professionals) but that work is not in Final Cut Pro or Premiere. The work may be Pages, Numbers, Bookends, Scrivener, etc. The logic that says "everybody who doesn't use FCP will be happy with a 13-14" screen" is just rotten.

 

[ToomeyND]

Probably best to order from the refurb page.

 

[TechRunner]

If you're OS agnostic and can manage Windows 11, the 16" LG Gram sounds like the laptop for you.

 

[Falhófnir]

I can sympathise with this, I’m also not really a fan of the design changes (outside the edge to edge screen that looks much better now!) and I think the 2019 15 and 16 inch both look better. Personally Apple Silicon makes any previous MBP a no go though. If you’re willing to make that trade off, as far as I’m aware the 15” is completely unavailable outside of the secondhand market, but you can get the 16” Intel model from Apple’s own refurbished store. Fully new stocks are scarce as they were run down before the new announcement, but you might find some if you hunt around.

 

[richinaus]

I can sympathise with this, I’m also not really a fan of the design changes (outside the edge to edge screen that looks much better now!) and I think the 2019 15 and 16 inch both look better. Personally Apple Silicon makes any previous MBP a no go though. If you’re willing to make that trade off, as far as I’m aware the 15” is completely unavailable outside of the secondhand market, but you can get the 16” Intel model from Apple’s own refurbished store. Fully new stocks are scarce as they were run down before the new announcement, but you might find some if you hunt around.

totally agree.

This is the first Apple computer that I don't love.

It is quite ironic that Jonny Ive's company is called 'love from' as I certainly am not feeling this from the MBP 14".

It simply feels like the computer has been changed to suit the vocal whiners. I was more than happy with the last range, and so were others I have talked to. We all are not loving this new direction.

Looking at the laptop all I could think was this looks the same as my MBP from 2008....... which I did love as it was ahead of the pack at that time. The design is simply dated now.
Don't get me onto the notch - its ****.

I will give this a week, and test some apps out. I may grow to like it, but it isn't love.

 

[Strider64]

As long as it doesn't weigh as much as a cinder block I could careless what it it looks like. It could look like a retro 1990s laptop if had the performance of the m1 as it's performance that matters to me. I used to build my own PCs when I was a MicroSilly person and my cable management skills were horrible, but the computers that I built were fast for the times.

 

[goMac]

It's 0.02 inches thicker. That's the literal number of how much thicker it is.

It _looks_ thicker because the edges aren't nearly as tapered. But it's actually about the same thickness as the Intel one.

0.02 inches isn't enough to go back to an Intel MBP.

 

[Saturn1217]

I'm feeling similar. The 15" MBP was the perfect weight/screen-size for me but I personally can't stand that butterfly keyboard (especially the 2017 version I have).

I am testing (still in the return period) the 16" intel MBP. There are plenty of refurbs available on apple.com so availability is not an issue. I have just made the delightful discovery that if you upgrade to Monterey, the new low power mode works wonders on this machine. It doesn't get hot/loud and improves the battery life dramatically from the lackluster battery life it had on Big Sur. For light tasks (web browsing in chrome mostly) I can't tell any difference in performance.

I'm still not 100% decided whether it is worth it vs just getting the smaller 14" MBP or bumping up to the huge 16" M1Pro MBP. My computer needs are pretty modest but I do some personal programming projects and for that I would prefer to keep the larger screen and ability to connect to 4 external displays.

The logical side of my brain is saying this is probably a silly decision. But I am REALLY enjoying my computer right now, and I don't have to deal with any new notch or ProMotion growing pains, or regressions in what I was used to on my 15" MBP (which would NOT be the case if I upgraded to one of the 2021 machines). It is a pure upgrade over my old computer which is always nice when that happens.

 

[Pilot Jones]

OP you say you want a Pro device, but actually want a MacBook Air.

Real professionals need "chunky" laptops with objectively superior thermal performance and legacy ports for ultimate ease of use.

If you find these features so offensive, you probably don't fit into the "Pro" demographic.

Just wait a few months till the new MacBook Air is announced at the Spring Event. That should satisfy you.

 

[ivanwi11iams]

Not sure how I feel about this..."

non-obese MBP"​

 

[theorist9]

Apple fixed the MBP lineup, finally making them machines appropriate for their target audience, who need workstation-class laptops for video, engineering, and scientific work. This change wasn't done because of "a very small group of very vocal users/YouTubers". It happened because Apple brought in a range of established industry professionals, including creatives and computer scientists ("Pro Workflow Team": https://macdailynews.com/2019/06/05...earned-will-trickle-down-to-all-pro-products/) to ensure they delivered pro products that worked for them. Both the new Mac Pro, and these new MBP's, are a result of that. So you can stop bad-mouthing this.

However, I agree that has created a gap in Apple's product lineup. Because of the increased weight of the MBPs, they now need a lightweight laptop for people who want a big screen but don't need the workstation-level power the new MBP's offer. Really, what they need is a 15" or 16" Macbook Air.

In the meantime, the best option for you may be a 14" MBP. It's more portable (smaller, and a half-pound lighter) than the old 15" butterfly MBP you seek, and vastly more powerful. Plus it's much more future-proof. The main downside is you give up 1" of screen diagonal, which may or may not work for you.

And let's stop body-shaming the new MBP's .

 

[va1984]

OP you say you want a Pro device, but actually want a MacBook Air.

Real professionals need "chunky" laptops with objectively superior thermal performance and legacy ports for ultimate ease of use.

If you find these features so offensive, you probably don't fit into the "Pro" demographic.

Just wait a few months till the new MacBook Air is announced at the Spring Event. That should satisfy you.

Please read my post!