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iFixit Indicates Third-Party 2018 MacBook Pro, iMac Pro Repairs Still Possible For Now
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It will happen, of that I am absolutely positive. This will stop all 3rd party repair. But it will also stop you in 7 years time when it's obsolete and you need it repaired, you can't take it into a store for them to fit a stock part, or go on eBay and find a part to fit yourself. It will be for the bin.
They have already done this with iPhone, so it will 100% happen in future devices. iPhone 8 series when you change the LCD for a 3rd party one disable the unrelated ambient light sensor. This is on top of the fact that it initially disabled the digitiser from responding until everyone kicked off and Apple changed that in a software update. Apple are looking to close all options of 3rd party repair rather than even slightly entertain Right to repair.
In 2018, I'll pick security over ability to let random dude repair my Mac any day, thank you very much.
For people like you, there are countless Windows laptops.
Do you mean the enabling of the software calibration requirement post repair? Absolutely they can disable that, but why spend time implementing them in the first place? If you are forced to goto Apple for all repairs in future, people will keep that in mind when coming to buying new products. The amount of repairs done by apple themselves compared to 3rd parties is several orders of magnitude smaller. They will never be able to fix all broken Apple devices themselves, the wider economy relies on these 3rd party repair companies, and your right to do with your device as you please is greatly impeded.
A
What kind of performance do I expect?
I expect my 2012 MacMini (so within your mentioned 5-7 year time period), which I upgraded to a 500GB Samsung 860 EVO + a 1 TB WD Black, 16GB of G.Skill RAM, to CONTINUE working properly as a main computing machine for my private and professional use. I continuously use it for (already mentioned) web-browsing, creating and editing files (MS Office and PDF) for school (me being a teacher), occasional photo- (SONY Alpha 67 DSLR with a F1.8 Objective, so not too much of a beginner's system) and video-editing (GoPro Hero 5 Black - I also teach teenagers skiing and snowboarding), Media-Streaming (Netflix,...), Online-Banking, tax statements and even occasional gaming (through Nvidia GeForce Now on a Thunderbolt Monitor @ max. resolution @ max quality).
So yes, I expect an actual machine to function similarly in the same time period of mentioned 5-7 years since 5-7 years back there had also not been any prior knowledge of today's technology...
B
Back in 2008 I purchased a white plastic 2,4 GHz Core2Duo Macbook, upgraded to 4GB of RAM and a 250 GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD (two years later). That machine is still running strong in the family as a main computing device for school (homework, file creation (MS Office, PDF), web-browsing, media (listening to music and streaming videos from my Synology server and also online (Netflix,...). Btw. said Macbook is still doing quite well/okay in network speed (for private use). I can't follow your mentioned problems as I can't comprehend why you bought a G4 book in 2008 ..... sorry, mate!
Absolutely. I have a 2007 Mac Mini that was reduced to a paperweight when it stopped getting software updates, and skype & dropbox altogether stopped functioning on Snow Leopard.
However, due to some specific quirks with the bios on this model, I wasn't able to install Linux on it for a very long time. Eventually I did come across an obscure blog post with an arcane trick that made it possible; so now it's a perfectly functional machine running a perfectly up to date 64bit Linux distro, doing the exact same tasks it was doing when it was new.
I don't think there's any "blowing things out of proportion" happening here at all?
One consequence of allowing this arrangement is completely locking out 3rd. parties who might offer much cheaper alternative parts for given Apple machines. It's not like Apple actually makes their own drives or displays, or would be the only ones capable of building a replacement keyboard that would fit in one of their laptops. If people want to elect to save some money on a Mac repair by having the "accredited repairer" install an aftermarket replacement part, there shouldn't be any obstacles to doing it. (It's no different than being able to go to your local AutoZone or Advanced Auto Parts place and buying a 3rd. party alternator or water pump, rather than the more costly original car-maker branded one.)
If the T2 chip and "security" is being used as the excuse for this necessity? Then it's the T2 chip that's unacceptable, in my opinion. You could prevent pretty much anyone from doing anything in the guise of "security" if you wanted to go far enough with the rules. It wouldn't mean it makes any sense to do. Security always has to strike a balance with usability and flexibility for people. (If I build an ultra-secure home, I probably create a huge inconvenience just letting myself in and out of it as needed. At some point, that's not worth it any more.)
One consequence of allowing this arrangement is completely locking out 3rd. parties who might offer much cheaper alternative parts for given Apple machines. It's not like Apple actually makes their own drives or displays, or would be the only ones capable of building a replacement keyboard that would fit in one of their laptops. If people want to elect to save some money on a Mac repair by having the "accredited repairer" install an aftermarket replacement part, there shouldn't be any obstacles to doing it. (It's no different than being able to go to your local AutoZone or Advanced Auto Parts place and buying a 3rd. party alternator or water pump, rather than the more costly original car-maker branded one.)
If the T2 chip and "security" is being used as the excuse for this necessity? Then it's the T2 chip that's unacceptable, in my opinion. You could prevent pretty much anyone from doing anything in the guise of "security" if you wanted to go far enough with the rules. It wouldn't mean it makes any sense to do. Security always has to strike a balance with usability and flexibility for people. (If I build an ultra-secure home, I probably create a huge inconvenience just letting myself in and out of it as needed. At some point, that's not worth it any more.)
My current MacBook Pro is exactly 5 years old, and the performance is still perfect for me, I do video editing and color grading on it, which is arguably quite CPU/GPU heavy. I'm running the latest software in everything that I use, including macOS and the Adobe suite, as well as DaVinci Resolve 15 on a daily basis. I grade 4.6K RAW video on it and it works very well.
So a 5 year old machine can very well still be a completely well performing machine. Which means I expect "okay" performance from a 7 year old machine. So my parents could very well be happy with my 7 year old MacBook Pro once it becomes to slow for me, an still maybe use it for 2-3 years, no problems.
Well, unless a single key gets stuck and requires a complete motherboard replacement.
Or unless the battery needs replacing and requires a complete top case replacement.
Or unless Apple decides to just no longer provide service, and also decides to not allow anyone else to provide service either.
So while the mere age of a computer may not be an issue, the way Apple treats their support and warranty may very well mean that a 5 year old Mac is "obsolete", even though there is nothing about it that would require you to buy a new one.
One of the top color grading suites in my country uses a maxed out 2012 Mac Pro, which has nearly identical hardware to the 2009 Mac Pro. So that's 10 year old hardware, that could be upgraded to such an extent that it still outperforms the newest machines today.
I don't buy this whole "either be rich enough to buy the latest hardware every 2-3 years, or shut up" mentality. Call me crazy, but I believe in serviceable, durable stuff. I know that technology moves quickly and that a 10 year old computer may be useless even if nothing is broken with it. But 5 years? Come on.
You may want to follow your own advice. I've highlighted the part in bold that you clearly missed from it. See above.
There are computer savvy Mac users and there are computer illiterate Mac users. You can't tell me that the former camp wouldn't want to offset the out of warranty costs on a repair by doing it themselves.
Most Macs still don't have TouchID. Furthermore, it's pretty easy to, without TouchID or Apple's T2 chip, secure your Mac so that your data is 100% inaccessible. The notion that our Macs were completely vulnerable to data breaches before TouchID and T2 is utter nonsense.
Just because the trend is practically irreversible doesn't mean that everyone needs to be happy about it. If I still have to run macOS, then the option of "buying something else" doesn't exist. Furthermore, telling me and/or those like me TO buy something else as though it's an actual option (when it very much isn't) is reductionist and insulting. Stop doing that, please.
No, it's not amazing. It's the law. California and Turkey get 7 years; the rest of the world gets 5. That's not "amazing". That's how the law works. And that's every product for which there is a support model, not just Apple products.
That being said, there's a high number of higher end Mac customers that buy a Mac every ten years or so and they stick with it until it dies and/or they can't repair it anymore. This is typically because Macs are expensive and not everyone can afford a new 15" MacBook Pro or 27" iMac every 5 to 7 years. Those people will take those machines to AASP's (the number of which is rapidly declining in the U.S.) as they will usually get a better out-of-warranty repair cost from them than from the Genius Bars. If Apple removes functionality from AST to do what is needed to "complete the repair" for those machines, then those machines can only run until any single component on them dies. If that's not planned obsolescence, I honestly don't know what is.
The stupid irony in that statement is almost beautiful. You'll "pick security", which in this case means taking it to the Genius Bar where some "random dude", who, for all you know, JUST passed their ACMT exams and the qualifying exams for your 2018 MacBook Pro the day before and is taking apart your Mac as one of his or her potential first Macs that they've ever worked on over a mom and pop outfit where the guy who owns the shop has been servicing Macs for decades, also has his ACMT, and qualification exams current. What "security" do you even think you're picking here?
What if I still need to run macOS? For "people like me", it's not like our needs are 100% solved by PCs. If they were, there'd be a WHOLE LOT MORE OF US JUST LEAVING FOR WINDOWS and a whole lot less of us complaining in these forums. Then again, such logic seems impervious to "people like you".
You forgot to mention, not all service providers would be qualified to work on T2s.
Actually a while ago I thought about doing this, then I realised how expensive and impractical it was and gave up on the idea.
You can continue to complain about it. It's not going to change. And I think people are tired of listening.
But by all means, vent your spleen.
I'm using the same device. With iFixit guides and cheap parts on Amazon/eBay, I replaced the battery (glued in) and the logic board. It runs great. Just can't play newer games. Big whoop. That will be less of a problem going forward once I get a new model with Thunderbolt 3 and an external GPU box. Apple's next bout of planned obsolescence will be when they make their own CPUs...they'll support Intel CPUs for a few years via OSX updates, then nix support for them.
Just as you claim I have the option of leaving the Mac ecosystem, you have no less valid of an option to simply ignore the venting of others.
This is pretty ambitious. PowerPC to Intel transition was hard and painful, changing architecture is no small task. + all the 3rd party apps that need to be adapted... I dont think its gonna be as easy as you make it seem
But this is a comments section.
So I can comment and chastise the whining. And you're free to continue complaining.
No, they shouldn’t. They can do what they want with their products. No one is forcing anyone to buy them.
Right. So, either we both are allowed to complain/chastise/comment, or we're both not. Although, from a moral standpoint, one offends those with a legitimate predicament using the comments section as a legitimate outlet to vent those frustrations whereas the other doesn't accomplish anything other than serve as a means for you to impose your eye-rolling on the crowd and/or troll. Just sayin'.
I'm not making it seem anything...Just operating from the many news stories that claim Apple will make the switch "as early as" 2020. They will probably have some kind of emulation built in for a while. But, I don't think they are concerned with making sure all the 3rd party apps are adapted...I think they will encourage the bigger developers to do so and not sweat the small stuff.
Absolutely right. The attitude you just quoted just degrades the whole environment here in the forums (mods, take notice, please). We have been Apple customers and forum members in some cases (like my own) for more than a decade, and also know the history of the company quite well. This isn't the same as killing off the Newton or all of those newfangled Copland/Rhapsody-era technologies, this is morally and environmentally wrong and hypocritical, not to mention that it seriously messes with our budgets and livelihoods.
And people still wonder why they're called fanboys by the PC crowd, sheesh… If Apple came out with that Clickwheel MacBook Air, I'm sure Glockworkorange would buy it in a heartbeat.
I'd just like to point out that Intel's Sandy Bridge was released in 2011, 7 years ago.
Sandy Bridge is still a highly usable and performant CPU platform today. 2011 MacBooks Pro still offer similar CPU performance to the very latest MacBook and MacBook Air.
CPU performance, at least on the laptop side, has only just made any kind of significant leap with 8th gen and the extra 2 cores.
I know, you can scream and cry impotently while the rest of us enjoy working with the amazing devices Apple buils.
yawn.