In praise of the 17” MacBook pro

[profcutter]

I was just thinking the other day, my folks are using my old 2011 MacBook Pro 17”, it helps my dad with failing vision immensely. I looked for some things for him online, and my god it’s an amazing machine. I maxed out the RAM and put in an SSD a few years ago for them. The things runs modern webpages just fine, the keyboard is a pleasure to type on: it has almost full-sized keys! Up the resolution on the display and give it modern internals, it would be the perfect laptop. Doesn’t need to be 1mm thin, and the weight is a fine compromise for the computing power you would get.

 

[Mr Screech]

Yes they are.
Leaving the 17" macbook's was a clear signal that Apple was going 'a different road'.

 

[leman]

It's computing power is identical to the 15" of the same year... and if you want to talk about 'aging well', my department's library search website is still running on a G5 iMac

The 17" was a weird machine, it didn't really offer much more compared to the 15" — just the screen resolution and an extra expansion port. Both these features became obsolete when retina displays and thunderbolt arrived.
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Leaving the 17" macbook's was a clear signal that Apple was going 'a different road'.

They didn't really leave it though, they integrated it's features into the 15" model. They were already struggling with 17" sales, so merging things that were good about it (resolution, ports, better battery) into the 15" was a good decision.

 

[Passingby]

I was messing around with the 17" Razer Blade Advanced this week. I was amazed by the 120hz 4K OLED screen with 1ms response time and thought....'Mac users on that Macrumors forum NEED a screen like this.'

The Razer also had a desktop level RTX 2080 running cool. The machine was completely cool and silent. Cmon Apple do it.

 

[profcutter]

Exactly. Give it a hi res micro led display or oled, give it a good GPU, a modern CPU. I’m fine with modern USB ports. The extra thickness of the machine gives it much more room for better cooling capacity. The extra thickness also gave it room for a a amazing keyboard. These things can’t be replaced in the modern form factors, a point that even Apple acknowledged by making the 16” marginally thicker.

 

[Falhófnir]

a 3840x2400 @2x retina scaled 17" panel would be a sight to behold. I think it would get squeezed out between the 16" and a desktop unless they really went to town to differentiate it, though.

 

[turbineseaplane]

My favorite Macs of all time are from the 17” line.

I’d love a new one right now, but am completely convinced we won’t get it now that the 15” has moved to a 16”.

I’m sure it seems crazy to tons of people, but I loved the 17” as a standalone and only computer — with no external monitors. It was sort of a zen time of having this big beautiful powerhouse all in one, that I could still move around the house or take with me and it was fully complete on its own (pre dongle town thank god also)...

Sensational keyboard - reasonable and functional trackpad sizes... Just such a comfortable machine to get things done with.

 

[profcutter]

Well, shrink the bezels like on the 16” and voila, an 18”! Maybe just a little wider and you have a 19” beast. Would love that.

 

[retta283]

When Apple shifted away from its classical design and ethos, this was one of the products cut. Mostly because most average consumers would not be interested in such a large laptop. But the people that loved that size and resolution were left without a good replacement. Just like Xserve, Mac Pro (for a time) and OS X Server.

With the 16", any chance of a new one is gone I think. If Apple continues to refine the 16" and changes a few small gripes, they are on the right track again.

 

[baypharm]

Yes the 17” MBP was quite an enjoyable machine. That anti-glare screen was just beautiful and you never had the problem that newer MBP‘s have of losing their anti-reflective coating. I would be first in line to purchase a 17” Apple laptop at any cost should they decide to produce one.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Wouldn’t it be amazing if they were making a “classic line” still that catered to those of us who preferred the previous aesthetics and sensibilities?

I wouldn’t mind the thickness from the pre 2016 era, particularly if it came with some built in legacy ports.

I’m just exhausted with having to have so many frickin’ cables and adapters (among so many other things that have become tedious and annoying about Apple products).

The magical joy I used to feel for Apple products is basically gone at this point. They are fine. I use them. I no longer spend any time or effort at all recommending or evangelizing Apple as I once did however.

There used to be such a clear and major distinction between Apple design priorities (software and hardware) vs PC options, and it honestly just isn‘t there any more.

 

[jerryk]

Never liked the 17". The technology at the time did not allow for much screen resolution for the size. Also, the weight and bulk. It is the definition of a luggable.

 

[profcutter]

Turbineseaplane: Yeah, but that’s both a hardware and software QC problem. They used to “just work” far more reliably, though never perfectly. At this point, I use Apple products exclusively, but I’m not enthusiastic about it.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Turbineseaplane: Yeah, but that’s both a hardware and software QC problem. They used to “just work” far more reliably, though never perfectly.

Totally agree. I really miss that time.

 

[Mr Screech]

They were already struggling with 17" sales, so merging things that were good about it (resolution, ports, better battery) into the 15" was a good decision.

A 15.6 inch smaller laptop is vastly different from a 17" workstation. When you use your laptop for work, bigger screens are far more comfortable (regardless of retina/resolution). If I have to hookup external monitors to work, I might as well get a macmini/trashcan-pro. Also, the bigger footprint would allow space for a numpad if they'd choose to do it. Sometimes very convenient.

Regardless, it would sell a lot better than that over the top mac pro they just released. Imagine what an engineering moneysink that was. And I haven't met one single person/company who's jumping to get one.

I'd like to see a fat 18-20 inch laptop in the future, one that doesn't need many peripherals to work.
For the Pro's.

 

[profcutter]

Yeah it’s true. I think people get caught up in geek bench scores rather than real world work experience. I’m glad the 16” is a real improvement over the 15”, but it still throttles under heavy loads. Having a machine that can sustain a heavy load closer to a desktop model, but is portable and with a large hi res screen would be so useful for field video editing and graphics work.

 

[MassMacMan]

I still have my 17" MBP and a new 16". The older machine still works well, with a 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM. Unfortunately, like so many others, the external GPU died, but using info I found on this forum in the sticky threads, I was able to rescue it. For surfing and watching videos or movies, it's awesome. The screen is large, crisp, and bright.

OTOH, the new 16" is so much faster than my desktop MacPro 5,1 that I now use the 16" for all my heavy lifting jobs, like 4K videos.

 

[nStyle]

No market for it. If you’re at home, there’s better options. If you’re on the go, no one really wants to carry around something that big. The 16” is a far better machine for most people.

 

[topcat001]

I still use and love my mid 2009 17". The 16" is incredibly fast and in my eyes is a good replacement.

 

[turbineseaplane]

No market for it. If you’re at home, there’s better options. If you’re on the go, no one really wants to carry around something that big.

You forgot to say “for you”

I would buy one in a heartbeat.

 

[topcat001]

You forgot to say “for you”

I would buy one in a heartbeat.

I used to carry around my 17" Alienware weighing almost 9 lbs everywhere before I got the 16".

 

[Sanpete]

Ah, the good old days. They get better every year as memories fade.

The 17" throttled like crazy, just like the others. In fact, it didn't throttle enough, evidently, as it burned out more than its share of dGPUs.

The MagSafe was too fragile, had to be replaced more often, and wasn't reliable to show when it was actually charging with the green light instead of only pretending to.

The notion that bigger is more pro isn't one shared by most pros, which is why it didn't sell well enough to keep making it.

I'd love to have an 18", personally, but not because I imagine the 17" was more problem free or pro.

 

[nStyle]

You forgot to say “for you”

I would buy one in a heartbeat.

I didn't say what was implied: that there's not enough market for Apple to justify building another. I thought that was pretty obvious though.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I didn't say what was implied: that there's not enough market for Apple to justify building another. I thought that was pretty obvious though.

I think any assertions about the market are highly speculative and informed by subjective preference, if I’m being honest.

So much of what Apple does now is about “whatever they want” and so little of it is truly market driven.

The Mac Pro is our latest example. They wanted everyone to just use an iMac Pro and it took *incredible* arm twisting and public shaming -for years- to get that to change, despite a very important and lucrative market segment vocally demanding one - again - for years.

 

[nStyle]

I think any assertions about the market are highly speculative and informed by subjective preference, if I’m being honest.

So much of what Apple does now is about “whatever they want” and so little of it is truly market driven.

The Mac Pro is our latest example. They wanted everyone to just use an iMac Pro and it took *incredible* arm twisting and public shaming -for years- to get that to change, despite a very important and lucrative market segment vocally demanding one - again - for years.

Well I'm going to assume Apple knows what's best for their business more-so than random people on a forum. They know how the 17" sold and they know the market for that type of machine. They wouldn't have nixed it if it were a profit machine. They'd probably just cut the entire MacBook line entirely in favor of iPads if they were to do exactly what they want.