Is MacBook Pro 2018 a failure?

[pttai]

Hi everyone,

Well, it does sound painful to ears to say MacBook Pro 2018 is a failure, but this is my experience. 2 months ago, my MacBook had a problem with its logic board, refusing me to log in. It kept rebooting after I logged in for 3-5 secs. I sent it to a AASP, and they took 3 weeks to fix the problem and deliver the MacBook back to me.

And today, in all of a sudden, Touch ID did not show up on my logging in site, I had to type my password. I went straight to settings, and saw there was no fingerprint registered (?). I tried to re-register my fingerprint, it denied. It said that I have reached the limit of fingerprint registered.

[Fingerprint limit reached.
To add a new fingerprint, remove a fingerprint from any account on this Mac.]​

This is exactly what it told me.
I went nuts. I went to internet recovery mode, reinstall the OS. I was using MacOS 10.14.3, so the re-installation basically gave me the same version. Guess what, the Touch ID setting phase never showed up. I moved on, trying to complete the re-installation. The same thing still happened, my fingerprint registrations were still denied.

I went to My Support page of Apple, talked with an adviser and they advised me to take it to the AASP for a check. I asked if possibly the Mac needs a logic board replace, they said "quit possible", since I have done every step that they could advise me to do.

And possibly I will be waiting for another 3 weeks for my Mac to be fixed, just after 1 month having it back from the AASP because of a logic board's fraud.

I have used my iPhone 6S since the date it was released. everything was and is fine. I have used my Ipad Air since the date it was released also, it still running madly smooth. But this Mac, it's not even half of a year yet and I have to send it away for a repair twice. This device is expensive like hell but its durability is madly bad.

I still can't believe this.

 

[Queen6]

Likely yes far too many issues for any notebook, let alone a premium model at these price points...

Q-6

 

[Fishrrman]

Less "a failure" than a poorly-thought-out and engineered machine.
Too much "styling" and "slimness" for my tastes.
I would prefer "thicker", a bit heavier, but more rugged and functional.

 

[Audit13]

It unfortunate that your MBP has experienced these issues. Maybe contact Apple for a replacement MBP rather than a repair of your existing MBP?

 

[Howard2k]

It's a redhead AND it's a stepchild.

EDIT: I should add, on paper the new quad core 13" looks magnificent. If I was sure I could get one that would be reliable long term I would.

 

[LeeW]

To be fair here, you had a faulty machine that needed a logic board replacement, it got replaced and either something else is wrong or unluckily it has developed a new fault. There are certainly some reasons out there that I would consider it a failure, not based on this.

 

[Apple_Robert]

As frustrating as this is, it is going to happen from time to time, when electronics are mass produced in the millions. No way around it.

If the next repair doesn't fix the problem, or you have another problem with the Mac, you need to ask for a replacement, in my opinion.

 

[leman]

According to Apples financial statement, mac sales grew 6% in the last quarter over the year before, which makes them all time highest or at least close to it. So no, it’s definitely not a failure.

 

[SDColorado]

According to Apples financial statement, mac sales grew 6% in the last quarter over the year before, which makes them all time highest or at least close to it. So no, it’s definitely not a failure.

While it appears that Mac sales have rebounded from a poor Q3 2018, amidst a lack of updates, it appears that Q4 2018 lagged by 2% over Q4 2017. I don’t think that proves or disproves a failure. Just shows that update starved customers resulted in a sales rebound for Q4 2018. Good for Apple, but it doesn’t mean much in terms of proving or disproving any kind of “definitely not a failure” argument.

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/pdfs/Q4-18-Data-Summary.pdf

 

[Porkchop Sandwich]

Failure?..far from it! (not to minimize someone else who may be having problems, b/c that sucks)

knock wood - we haven't had any issues w/the 13" 2018 mbp..in fact, it's a beast of a little computer, and thus far has remained trouble free (knock wood, again). My 2017 well spec'd 15"?..that's another story altogether..it acts as a doorstop.

 

[Thysanoptera]

According to Apples financial statement, mac sales grew 6% in the last quarter over the year before, which makes them all time highest or at least close to it. So no, it’s definitely not a failure.

Wait, Apple Q4 2018 is Jul-Sep 2018. Apple announced early July the biggest update to Macbook Pro line since, I guess 2012 retina, giving themselves a full quarter to pump sales, everybody was waiting for this for years and holding on to upgrade (including me, and you I think), they were waiting with Vega announcement until quarter ended (to not to kill sales this time) and they STILL sold less macs than a year ago, but for a bigger price. Now I feel as even bigger sucker than before.

 

[bevsb2]

Not in my book. My 2018 15" purchased at launch has been issue free and I love everything about it.

 

[theapplehead]

Less "a failure" than a poorly-thought-out and engineered machine.
Too much "styling" and "slimness" for my tastes.
I would prefer "thicker", a bit heavier, but more rugged and functional.

Agreed. That was the whole point of the MBP to begin with. It was built to be a durable device used for intense processes and programs. Yet Apple changed it and made it slim and less functional. I think at least half of the MBP fans have lamented this decision of Apple’s every since 2016 when it was first effected. Very disappointed

 

[Thysanoptera]

Ok it was about Q1 2019, last calendar year quarter. 9% Mac revenue growth year-to-year. Good job! Just where is it coming from, let me introduce Tim Cook:

"We had our best quarter ever for Mac revenue which was up 9% fueled by our new MacBook Air and Mac Mini introduced in October"

Hmm, what about the Macbook Pro, how many units were sold and what product lines you're focusing now on? Oh, yes, you don't provide unit sales data anymore, people are too stupid to draw correct conclusions from them. Let's see then what products were mentioned during the call:

Macbook Air - 4 times
Mac mini - 4 times
Macbook Pro - 0 times
iMac - 0 times
Ipad Pro - 14 times
iPhone - 56 times
services - 76 times

Got it!

 

[leman]

While it appears that Mac sales have rebounded from a poor Q3 2018, amidst a lack of updates, it appears that Q4 2018 lagged by 2% over Q4 2017.

Wait, Apple Q4 2018 is Jul-Sep 2018

I was specifically talking about Q1 2019.

I don’t think that proves or disproves a failure.

What it proves is that Mac sales didn't plummet, in fact, it went up. So people were still buying new MBPs in quantities. Which means its not a failure (I am assuming that "failure" here means a financial flop, a product that nobody wants to buy, since its the only definition if failure that makes any sense to me). Unless you want to argue that all those Mac sales were from 2015 refurbs and the new Mac Mini
[doublepost=1549229634][/doublepost]

Let's see then what products were mentioned during the call:

Of course they mentioned iPhone and services more than anything else. It's an investor's event and those categories are the biggest money makers and the ones that the investors are worried about the most. Not to mention that the iPhone sales went down (which freaked out some investors) while Mac sales are doing great.

 

[Cashmonee]

Agreed. That was the whole point of the MBP to begin with. It was built to be a durable device used for intense processes and programs. Yet Apple changed it and made it slim and less functional. I think at least half of the MBP fans have lamented this decision of Apple’s every since 2016 when it was first effected. Very disappointed

You obviously have not been watching Apple for long. The MacBook Pro has always been among the thinnest and lightest since its inception. There have always been complaints about the sacrifices made to make that happen. None of this is a change for Apple. What you are experiencing is people remember "the good ole days" which we always remember as better than they actually were.

 

[Diazepam]

I'm sorry this happened to you, but I would still not generalize it as an overall 2018 MBP failure. I think you were exceptionally unlucky.

I bought a 2018 13" MBP too, and the only problems I've seen so far are:
1 - Left Command key not always reliable (only a problem when I'm programming)
2 - Kernel Panic crashes (completely resolved for me by upgrading from High Sierra to Mojave 10.14.2)

You got a real ripe lemon

P.S. I'm very happy with mine so far.

 

[pmau]

What you are experiencing is people remember "the good ole days" which we always remember as better than they actually were.

The real unibody MacBook Pros before the 2012 Retina were milled from solid aluminum, had a sturdy display, a working keyboard, all the ports and a replaceable battery that was not glued to anything.
I still own a 2011 17" MacBook Pro that is great.
It did not have the Nvidia problem, because it has some AMD GPU that I forgot.

 

[Cashmonee]

The real unibody MacBook Pros before the 2012 Retina were milled from solid aluminum, had a sturdy display, a working keyboard, all the ports and a replaceable battery that was not glued to anything.
I still own a 2011 17" MacBook Pro that is great.
It did not have the Nvidia problem, because it has some AMD GPU that I forgot.

Ok... They also had heat issues and GPUs that went bad.

 

[Ploki]

i think the 13" are great tho

 

[Thysanoptera]

Unless you want to argue that all those Mac sales were from 2015 refurbs and the new Mac Mini

I don't have to argue, Tim said the growth was mostly from new Air and Mini, while during the quarter when they introduced the biggest upgrade to the Pro line in years the sales in units fell.

Of course they mentioned iPhone and services more than anything else. It's an investor's event and those categories are the biggest money makers and the ones that the investors are worried about the most. Not to mention that the iPhone sales went down (which freaked out some investors) while Mac sales are doing great.

Mac Air and mini sales are doing great. Services sales - 10.8 bln, Mac sales 7.8 bln, services revenue is still a fifth of iPhone yet while Macs almost don't exist in investor communication - the services are subject matter number one. This is the future of the company, the only way to increase the value of those stock options. Hardware becomes just a tool to consume services, macbooks become glorified ipads with display on a hinge with focus shifted to the mass market. Subscriptions number is what counts. The college dropout who liked to tinker with electronics is gone, it is all about having excellent financial statement now led by a pro in this field. And that's ok, from a shareholder perspective. Apple will be competing with Netflix, Amazon, Google, DirectTV etc instead of Dell or Lenovo. Markets will be happy, computer enthusiasts not so much.

 

[leman]

I still own a 2011 17" MacBook Pro that is great.
It did not have the Nvidia problem, because it has some AMD GPU that I forgot.

Are you aware of the fact that the 2011 model had one of the worst GPU failure rates among the MBPs (worse than the keyboard issues with the 2016-2017 models)? Your post is a perfect confirmation to the subjective nature of reliability claims. Your 2011 still works great, but Apple had a free replacement program for it for years and many people had their logic board replaced multiple time. Of our 2011 15" models not a single one has survived so far, all of them died of GPU issues.

 

[SDColorado]

I was specifically talking about Q1 2019.

Doesn’t matter what quarter you were taking about. It’s false equivalency.

 

[leman]

Hardware becomes just a tool to consume services, macbooks become glorified ipads with display on a hinge with focus shifted to the mass market.

That is all possible. The funny thing is, however, that Apple is one of the very few manufacturers who doesn't move in that direction, as they continue to use 28W CPUs instead of 15W ones and reject 2-in-1 devices.

The claims that Apple is abandoning the performance oriented power user are made over and over again, but they are never backed up by any real evidence. The fact is that Apple never made a laptop that was more performant — in the relative terms — as the current 15" MBP with Vega Pro.

 

[pmau]

Are you aware of the fact that the 2011 model had one of the worst GPU failure rates among the MBPs

Yes. But not the high-end 17" that I own.