Linus Tech Tips - Is the MacBook Pro 2018 REALLY Bad?

[maflynn]

I don't see a bunch of YouTubers taking the Surface Book 2 out of an oven or putting it into a freezer just to make a statement. I wonder why...

I have to disagree, the videos I frequent, Dave2D, Linus Tech Tips, Mobile Tech Review, all come out swinging on any laptop windows or Mac. Take Dave2D (the dude that put the laptop in the freezer), he has a number of videos, criticizing Dell's XPS model because they've had the same design for a few years and thermal issues, and with the i9 there's no excuse.

People may feel like Apple is getting picked on, but they're not. Plus Apple is pretty arrogant in how it states how much better their products are, which in effect puts a big target on their back and so when they mess up, people are going to notice, and to be honest they should. I'm paying a premium dollar amount for what I thought is a premium computer, but if I'm not getting that premium experience, then I'll be crowing about it

 

[SolidGun]

I rely on those same content creators for my reviews. I recently watched one of the AppleInsider video reviews and it was so biased that I knew it wasn't worth my time. I get objective reviews from D2D, LTT and Lisa. In fact, I bought some new hardware just based on Linus and Lisa videos.

 

[LogicalApex]

Finally was able to watch the whole thing. I still see his logic board warping argument as disingenuous especially when matched with is own statement that this trend of packing in powerful chips in underperforming cooling solutions is an industry wide problem. If heat is leading to board warping and failures this will be noticed across the industry.

As I mentioned earlier, I operating my LSI RAID card which isn't *supposed* to be pushed higher than 55C at well over 100C and it ran fine for years and had zero board warping issues to contend with. I agree that heat can be concerning, but I'm not convinced we'll see widespread instances of logic board failures.

I would agree that if the heat isn't properly removed from areas that aren't able to handle the heat you could see failures. For instance, maybe the Touch Bar screen can't get but so hot or the like. But we won't see until these machines have been out for a few more months at least.

 

[RobbieTT]

He also mentions that consistent high temps (in the high 90s) is very bad for the long term health of the computer, something I've said all along, but many people poo-pooed as the chips are designed to handle the temps. The CPU is, but as he points out, the logic board can warp over time, and there are other components that could fail.

I've configured my MBP and I don't really come close to 90c for most of my tasks, which gives me some peace of mind.

I think his words were a bit of a sweeping generalisation. Sitting here with my 2018 MBP on my lap running various office apps, Safari and a work VPN tunnel to a database and a TM backup running and.... the CPU is running at 40 deg C, the fans are parked at 0 rpm and the case is cold to touch.

For me the 2018 MBP has been rock-solid and a joy to own.

 

[maflynn]

the CPU is running at 40 deg C, the fans are parked at 0 rpm and the case is cold to touch.

Same here, my MBP has been cool, but I do run Volta and I limit the wattage. I gladly sacrifice performance for temps at this point

For me the 2018 MBP has been rock-solid and a joy to own.

Yeah, I've been generally happy but of course all of the talk about the T2 and speaker issues has me concerned.

 

[RobbieTT]

Yeah, I've been generally happy but of course all of the talk about the T2 and speaker issues has me concerned.

I think we are both part of the 'worried well' and it is probably best not to read those threads. I've had none of the headline issues and despite of the concerns I have just ordered another 2018 MBP for my daughter.

 

[Pangalactic]

Yup, I think it is a pretty legit video and the new MacBooks are that bad. The whole two years have been Apple trying to fix all the problems it created:
- First, the Bootcamp drivers on the 2016 models that blew out the speakers on windows
- Fixed that? Now all the glitches that were happening with the touchar
- Fixed that? Now the failing keys on the keyboard
- Fixed that? Now the thermal issues that were happening from day one on the 2018 models (you had TWO MODELS to test Apple. how did you not notice this)
- Fixed that? Now the kernel panic, BridgeOS and crackling speakers...allegedly, since people are still reporting the last update still doesn't fix it)

The whole saga has been Apple trying to fix something that was clearly given to designers and not engineers, who removed all the "bad looking" parts like the SD card slot to make it thin and beautiful only to find out later that - oh my god, thin chassis is much harder to cool than a thick one!

I think it's been a huge fail. Most of my friends who had the functional pre-2016 models have absolutely zero desire to upgrade, and those who did keep saying that if Apple keep on going in this direction they'll definitely consider switching.

 

[haralds]

Yup, I think it is a pretty legit video and the new MacBooks are that bad. The whole two years have been Apple trying to fix all the problems it created:
- First, the Bootcamp drivers on the 2016 models that blew out the speakers on windows
- Fixed that? Now all the glitches that were happening with the touchar
- Fixed that? Now the failing keys on the keyboard
- Fixed that? Now the thermal issues that were happening from day one on the 2018 models (you had TWO MODELS to test Apple. how did you not notice this)
- Fixed that? Now the kernel panic, BridgeOS and crackling speakers...allegedly, since people are still reporting the last update still doesn't fix it)

The whole saga has been Apple trying to fix something that was clearly given to designers and not engineers, who removed all the "bad looking" parts like the SD card slot to make it thin and beautiful only to find out later that - oh my god, thin chassis is much harder to cool than a thick one!

I think it's been a huge fail. Most of my friends who had the functional pre-2016 models have absolutely zero desire to upgrade, and those who did keep saying that if Apple keep on going in this direction they'll definitely consider switching.

If you feel that way, don't upgrade and buy refurb or used.

I realize I would be (and still and somewhat) on the bleeding edge. But my fully configured MB Pro 2018 is now my favorite machine next to the decked out cMPRO I still love. And Mojave is really stabilizing, too.

 

[lisag]

1) Coffee Lake laptop core temps are hot across the board compared to 7th gen HQ 45 watt CPUs. I don't think Intel gave manufacturers everything they needed early enough to mitigate this. The expected logic of "it's still 45 watts, so it shouldn't run hotter" hasn't quite worked out. I have simply never seen so many laptops hit the 90s C under heavy benchmarking in my 20 yeas of reviewing laptops.

2) Previous posters who mentioned that some of us reviewers (including me 😉) have given a variety of very thin and light Coffee Lake laptops a hard time for CPU core temps are right. Hello, XPS 15 and those ever-toasty VRMs.

3) I personally own the 2.6GHz Core i7 2018 15" model, and CPU core temps are typically 45-50C unplugged with light to moderate load. During the workday, I use it plugged in to a 4K LG monitor (with the Mac's panel active as a second display at default scaled resolution) and use the hell out of it with Photoshop, Final Cut, Dreamweaver, Office, and a variety of other programs running throughout the day. That 4K monitor forces the AMD GPU to remain active and is a great way to increase heat levels. The Mac typically runs at 62-65C with light use. It will hit 70s to 80's with heavier use. Final Cut exports will bring the core temps to the upper 80s and sometimes low 90s. That's in line with the direct Windows competition in terms of temps (substitute Premiere Pro under Windows). Dell XPS 15, 15" Razer Blade and even the larger Alienware 15 R4... you get the idea. I've always run my Mac 12 hours per day... we'll see how this one holds up.

4) The AMD GPU is nothing to write home about in terms of performance (though Apple apps optimize extremely well for it and really use it well). I can see why they went with that GPU though- it uses less watts and generates much less heat than the equivalent NVIDIA GPU. That's how Apple gets thinner than the competition while not getting hotter.

5) I use Macs Fan Control to start raising fan RPMs earlier than Apple does (based on CPU core temps). Apple prefers quiet, but I prefer a machine that isn't baking itself- I want it to last a good long time. I did the same for my 2015 15" MacBook Pro. Noise on the 2018 model isn't much worse for this. I highly recommended for those who push their 15" MBPs hard.

6) Any video about Macs will get views- one doesn't have to bash or adore the Mac- Apple laptops get the views. Of course, clickbait titles are effective, at least in the short term. Immediate gratification and dollars, but in the long term you'll lose some of your more clever and discerning viewers... depends on who your target audience is as to whether that matters.

7) The recovery port makes no sense due to the T2 chip. I'll take that added security over letting others recover my data. Time Machine is the brain dead easiest backup solution on the market. I love knowing if someone steals my tantalizingly expensive Mac, they won't be able to get at my data.

8) I am not an Apple apologist, and dongle life, the obsession with thinness and a keen lack of transparency about the Butterfly Keyboard 3rd gen tweaks are not cool at all. I stopped using a Mac for 2 years because I wasn't pleased with what they offered in the 15" model in 2016 and 2017. But Apple did a fairly good job with thermals here (other than their obsession with quiet fan settings) given the chassis they've decided to use. Motherboards warping is not a thing. GPUs fry, VRMs commit suicide by heat, charging port chips melt (mostly only on older HP Spectre x360 models) but laptop motherboards don't often warp from heat to the point of failure.

- Lisa from MobileTechReview 😎

 

[Falhófnir]

I don’t know about logic boards warping, but certainly if we look back at radeongate the GPU chips were becoming so hot they were softening the solder used to connect them and over time this was breaking the contact - that is what I would be concerned about here with the concentration of high heat in a small area - after all these machines were designed with the quad core 45W heat output in mind and these 6 core chips seem to exceed that more than intel intended

 

[unagimiyagi]

The thinness of the screen/lid is problematic. For one, the screen may develop white spots from pressure easier than other laptops. And even the slightest bit of pressure will also cause permanent keyboard marks on the screen coating that can't be wiped off. Soft sleeves won't alleviate this problem. Never seen anything like it in any of the laptops that I have owned, including Apple's. I for one find the design to be very fragile, as keyboard keys with the slightest bit of crumbs will get stuck.

Is it THAT bad? That's up to you. But for me and for the price, needless to say I am not pleased, not pleased with customer care who will say that it's not covered, when I already babied it. I can say with conviction that there is no other laptop that I've had that has had to be treated so carefully before.

 

[aevan]

Is the MacBook Pro 2018 REALLY Bad?

That's the question that Linus asks on his recent Linus Tech Tips video

I will say there's more on what he stated that I agree with, then disagree. I understand he's a PC/Windows guy, but he makes a lot of good points, like the removal the data recovery port on the Logic board.

He also mentions that consistent high temps (in the high 90s) is very bad for the long term health of the computer, something I've said all along, but many people poo-pooed as the chips are designed to handle the temps. The CPU is, but as he points out, the logic board can warp over time, and there are other components that could fail.

I've configured my MBP and I don't really come close to 90c for most of my tasks, which gives me some peace of mind.

He views computers from a totally different viewpoint than a pro Apple user, and while he does make a few good points (just like you said), the whole tone is just wrong. I mean, just look at that title.

How much longer will YouTubers chase views and clicks with sensationalistic negativity towards popular products? (Probably forever).
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The thing is, there is a lot of "bashing" on pretty much every Window laptop if you look for the video's on youtube or on say a forum like notebookreview.com.

True, but what bothers me is not bashing of Apple, it’s the bashing of a certain approach to computing and a general view that specs >>>> anything else, because we’re all rugged engineer types that couldn’t care less about the feel, weight or design of a product as long as some benchmarks score higher.

 

[Ma2k5]

True, but what bothers me is not bashing of Apple, it’s the bashing of a certain approach to computing and a general view that specs >>>> anything else, because we’re all rugged engineer types that couldn’t care less about the feel, weight or design of a product as long as some benchmarks score higher.

I don't think they really bash about specs these days, the bashing is really comparative and Apple hasn't got much undeserved bashing, heck it seems to get less scrutinised due to being Apple vs some Window laptops in some reviews, not more. You saw the crucifixion Dell got for coil whine on these forums compared to the MacBook's, imagine it also had the Kernal Panic/Keyboard/speaker issues of today - I don't know what kind of volcano outburst would have happened, but it sure as hell would be more than the MacBook's "It'll be fixed in a software update" or "It doesn't happen on mine" response that Apple gets away with.

If someone is reviewing a Dell XPS or a Surface, they compare to see what is available on market in a similar small factor/price range and vice versa. The days of "omg it doesn't have the latest i7 chip" are long gone - and frankly, quite often, people are often recommending usually the mid level configs on many products - I know WireCutter used to call the i5 FHD (not the i7 4K) the best 13" laptop out there. People really do value form factor, weight and build quality now.

 

[maflynn]

He views computers from a totally different viewpoint than a pro Apple user, and while he does make a few good points (just like you said), the whole tone is just wrong. I mean, just look at that title.

I think his perspective is fine, you're right he's not a typical pro user, I see too many time from typical apple users their excusing apple for misdeeds and missteps, so from the perspective him not being a typical apple pro user, its a breath of fresh air imo

I know many people here wouldn't agree, or like the video, that's fine, but I do think what he has to say was on target.
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Yup, I think it is a pretty legit video and the new MacBooks are that bad. The whole two years have been Apple trying to fix all the problems it created:

If you feel that way, don't upgrade and buy refurb or used.

I struggled with buying a Mac here in 2018 for reasons (and more) that @Pangalactic posted. What he didn't include was the 2011 machines having a defective GPU where nearly 100% will fail at some point. Or the 2012 through 2015 have issues with the finish flaking off. For some bizarre reason we Apple users are so quick to defend apple and ignore the short comings. My machine is near perfect (though it gets hot if I don't use Volta), but that doesn't mean I'm not concerned.

have simply never seen so many laptops hit the 90s C under heavy benchmarking in my 20 yeas of reviewing laptops.

We can blame Intel for that, and also computer makers who chose to slam Coffee Lake into the same design from prior generations even though they run hotter.

- Lisa from MobileTechReview 😎

Hey, I really enjoy your reviews 🙂

I am not an Apple apologist, and dongle life, the obsession with thinness and a keen lack of transparency about the Butterfly Keyboard 3rd gen tweaks are not cool at all. I stopped using a Mac for 2 years because I wasn't pleased with what they offered in the 15" model in 2016 and 2017.

I came close personally, but the Apple ecosystem pulled me back in. I purchased a Razer 15" but with rumors of a impending release of the MBP, I opted to return. I think overall the butterfly keyboard issue is behind us (I hope) and the 2018 machine is really a nice laptop. The battery life does blow away the Razer, and like I said with the apple ecosystem I'm much more efficient and happy

I have concerns with the MBP, but overall, I do think its an excellent laptop, time will tell whether its as good as my 2012 machine, which I've long said was the best laptop apple has made.

 

[Falhófnir]

True, but what bothers me is not bashing of Apple, it’s the bashing of a certain approach to computing and a general view that specs >>>> anything else, because we’re all rugged engineer types that couldn’t care less about the feel, weight or design of a product as long as some benchmarks score higher.

I don’t think it’s necessarily bashing, it’s making an argument that Apple, Microsoft (SB 2), Dell, among others are attempting to make a best of both worlds product that’s thin, light and powerful and they’ve made a bit of a hash of it with this generation due to the more intense heat generated by 6 core CPUs (or in Microsoft’s case the power draw from the GTX 1060). What degree of blame you apportion to the OEM and what portion goes to intel will vary depending on each person’s viewpoint.

I’m not a power user, I don’t need a powerful computer at all really, what I value is the sleek design, compact formfactor and feel of quality so I absolutely ‘get’ that aspect - I think the bone of contention most people have is that with this generation manufacturers are pushing out machines that were previously borderline on thermals (due to their very nature) and now, really, have gone over the edge into having inadequate cooling solutions. Apple choose to offer an i9 option, as do Dell, in both cases there is an i7 version which puts less pressure on the system, and indeed there’s now more options CPU wise than ever before with intel’s G series, the quad core U series, lower end (i5) 4C8T H series or AMD Ryzen chips all being powerful offerings that wouldn’t strain so hard against the cooling in a thin and light computer.

 

[Ma2k5]

I don’t think it’s necessarily bashing, it’s making an argument that Apple, Microsoft (SB 2), Dell, among others are attempting to make a best of both worlds product that’s thin, light and powerful and they’ve made a bit of a hash of it with this generation due to the more intense heat generated by 6 core CPUs (or in Microsoft’s case the power draw from the GTX 1060). What degree of blame you apportion to the OEM and what portion goes to intel will vary depending on each person’s viewpoint.

I’m not a power user, I don’t need a powerful computer at all really, what I value is the sleek design, compact formfactor and feel of quality so I absolutely ‘get’ that aspect - I think the bone of contention most people have is that with this generation manufacturers are pushing out machines that were previously borderline on thermals (due to their very nature) and now, really, have gone over the edge into having inadequate cooling solutions. Apple choose to offer an i9 option, as do Dell, in both cases there is an i7 version which puts less pressure on the system, and indeed there’s now more options CPU wise than ever before with intel’s G series, the quad core U series, lower end (i5) 4C8T H series or AMD Ryzen chips all being powerful offerings that wouldn’t strain so hard against the cooling in a thin and light computer.

I found over the years that as much as I love power, nothing is quite as nice as a quiet and compact/portable machine. Work nowadays is done a lot more on the go (attending meetings etc) and it is nice not to end up annoying your colleagues (or if you are a student in class, your class mates).

 

[Falhófnir]

I found over the years that as much as I love power, nothing is quite as nice as a quiet and compact/portable machine. Work nowadays is done a lot more on the go (attending meetings etc) and it is nice not to end up annoying your colleagues (or if you are a student in class, your class mates).

Absolutely, and there’s other little things there with the MBP too, like the fan intakes being on the bottom side/corners rather than fully underneath as with most computers - this makes these machines actually ‘lappable’ if you need to do so without blocking airflow. The cooling solution in these machines is actually quite good all things considered - they’ve just made a bad decision trying to make the i9 work when really it’s a bit too much.

 

[SDColorado]

@lisag Love your reviews. I was watched 3 of them yesterday 🙂 . I hope it isn't too much off topic, but would mind sharing your specific Macs Fans settings?

 

[maflynn]

are attempting to make a best of both worlds product that’s thin, light and powerful

It may be unfair, but I truly do believe laziness and profits are one reason why we're seeing what we're seeing. Lets take Dell, because I think the thermal issues are perfectly encapsulated with Dell.

Their XPS 15 has had throttling issues with this design for the past couple of years. Granted much of the throttling occurred when people were gaming, business tasks, like excel or what not didn't have this problem. Put in a 6 core Coffee Lake process and a 1050Ti GPU and boom, the thing has thermal issues. Its not like Dell was unaware of this, but the cost of redesigning, and retooling can be significant, so they opted to not doing anything and use the same inferior enclosure with a chipset combination they knew would run hotter then the prior generation.

 

[idark77]

3) I personally own the 2.6GHz Core i7 2018 15" model, and CPU core temps are typically 45-50C unplugged with light to moderate load. During the workday, I use it plugged in to a 4K LG monitor (with the Mac's panel active as a second display at default scaled resolution) and use the hell out of it with Photoshop, Final Cut, Dreamweaver, Office, and a variety of other programs running throughout the day. That 4K monitor forces the AMD GPU to remain active and is a great way to increase heat levels. The Mac typically runs at 62-65C with light use. It will hit 70s to 80's with heavier use. Final Cut exports will bring the core temps to the upper 80s and sometimes low 90s. That's in line with the direct Windows competition in terms of temps (substitute Premiere Pro under Windows). Dell XPS 15, 15" Razer Blade and even the larger Alienware 15 R4... you get the idea. I've always run my Mac 12 hours per day... we'll see how this one holds up.

IMHO These temps are normal for a laptop and in line with 2015 MBP 15...

 

[uecker87]

2) Previous posters who mentioned that some of us reviewers (including me 😉) have given a variety of very thin and light Coffee Lake laptops a hard time for CPU core temps are right. Hello, XPS 15 and those ever-toasty VRMs.

3) I personally own the 2.6GHz Core i7 2018 15" model, and CPU core temps are typically 45-50C unplugged with light to moderate load. During the workday, I use it plugged in to a 4K LG monitor (with the Mac's panel active as a second display at default scaled resolution) and use the hell out of it with Photoshop, Final Cut, Dreamweaver, Office, and a variety of other programs running throughout the day. That 4K monitor forces the AMD GPU to remain active and is a great way to increase heat levels. The Mac typically runs at 62-65C with light use. It will hit 70s to 80's with heavier use. Final Cut exports will bring the core temps to the upper 80s and sometimes low 90s. That's in line with the direct Windows competition in terms of temps (substitute Premiere Pro under Windows). Dell XPS 15, 15" Razer Blade and even the larger Alienware 15 R4... you get the idea. I've always run my Mac 12 hours per day... we'll see how this one holds up.

Like others have said - love your reviews...

I guess I have one comment to say on the quoted parts above... I tried the 15" 2018 MBP (two different machines) and just couldn't deal with the heat coming from them. Even in what seems like rather mundane tasks such as watching Twitch videos, my temps on the MBP would shoot up into the upper 70's. (yes I know Twitch is horribly optimized) Whenever I do anything extremely intensive my temps would almost immediately jump up to the 90's - even touching 100C during the initial Turbo boost before wattage and therefore the frequency dropped after 5 seconds or so.

I actually returned it and went with the XPS 15 (yes the one on the same design for three years). Why? Because it manages heat better in the use cases I had. I had the MBP and the new XPS at the same time to compare and the XPS was constantly at lower temps doing the same tasks (this is out of the box).

Also - I am in IT myself and enjoy techy stuff. I like the fact that I can undervolt, and I can repaste it without having to take apart a good chunk of the laptops internals.

The results after undervolting and repasting? I sit in the low 30's at idle. Low to mid 40's while watching streams on Twitch. During extensive tasks or benchmarks, I get a very slow creep up to about 85C while the CPU maintains it's full Turbo clock speed before eventually dropping the power from about 70W to 55W. Even while it sits at 55W, it can still maintain about 3.7-3.8GHz. My MBP? Lucky to stay around 3.0GHz at 95C plus (on the same 2.2GHz processor). At the same temps (well even lower), the frequencies seem to stay a lot higher on the XPS 15 than the MBP.

Yes the XPS also has thermal issues (VRMs as you menionted). But they aren't as bad out of the box (in my case - maybe I lucked out), and can be managed more easily than Apple's locked down processor and more difficult internal design.

Now I still miss OSX... I literally went through a couple of hours to turn my desktop PC into a dual boot Hackintosh just so I don't lose that experience, ha.
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It may be unfair, but I truly do believe laziness and profits are one reason why we're seeing what we're seeing. Lets take Dell, because I think the thermal issues are perfectly encapsulated with Dell.

Their XPS 15 has had throttling issues with this design for the past couple of years. Granted much of the throttling occurred when people were gaming, business tasks, like excel or what not didn't have this problem. Put in a 6 core Coffee Lake process and a 1050Ti GPU and boom, the thing has thermal issues. Its not like Dell was unaware of this, but the cost of redesigning, and retooling can be significant, so they opted to not doing anything and use the same inferior enclosure with a chipset combination they knew would run hotter then the prior generation.

But - the XPS is much more managable if you are technical at all. Undervolts actually work. Custom Speedshift values, Turbo frequencies, power profiles in Throttlestop. Repasting is much easier.

Yes this is all stuff we consumers shouldn't have to deal with. But for those of us that want to get the most out of our machine, it is much easier with a XPS 15 than a much more locked down MBP.

Still - no excuse for Dell. Just right now their machine gives me more processing power at lower temps and a much lower cost.

But for those tied to the Apple ecosystem, I 100% get it. I was there. I slowly have left which made it easier to leave the OSX ecosystem for my portable workstation.

 

[maflynn]

Yes this is all stuff we consumers shouldn't have to deal with. But for those of us that want to get the most out of our machine, it is much easier with a XPS 15 than a much more locked down MBP.

While I don't have the same level of granularity, I'm able to throttle down my MBP to a degree that offers a good balance of performance and heat. What's working in my favor is the fact that I have the 2.2GHz/550X, the higher end models seem to have a larger issue with heat.

I agree, its not something that we consumers should need to do, and using XTU or Throttlestop is not for the novice in the windows world.

Repasting will help, but it doesn't completely negate the thermal issues.

 

[Falhófnir]

It may be unfair, but I truly do believe laziness and profits are one reason why we're seeing what we're seeing. Lets take Dell, because I think the thermal issues are perfectly encapsulated with Dell.

Their XPS 15 has had throttling issues with this design for the past couple of years. Granted much of the throttling occurred when people were gaming, business tasks, like excel or what not didn't have this problem. Put in a 6 core Coffee Lake process and a 1050Ti GPU and boom, the thing has thermal issues. Its not like Dell was unaware of this, but the cost of redesigning, and retooling can be significant, so they opted to not doing anything and use the same inferior enclosure with a chipset combination they knew would run hotter then the prior generation.

I think that’s a reasonable interpretation - in Apple’s case it’s odd though because they did make changes to the casing to accommodate the bigger battery - I guess changing up the cooling solution (if it was even possible to do better without completely starting from scratch) was just too resource intensive a job to do on a non-redesign year.

 

[maflynn]

was just too resource intensive a job to do on a non-redesign year.

Perhaps, but its not a one off type of change, because that increased cooling setup could be used for future generations. I don't get it, in all honesty, it may be unfair, but I really don't feel like Apple is putting in the effort to make the best possible laptop. Its good enough seems to be the philosophy, that may be unfair and incorrect but I'm not sure what other explanation fits

 

[Falhófnir]

Perhaps, but its not a one off type of change, because that increased cooling setup could be used for future generations. I don't get it, in all honesty, it may be unfair, but I really don't feel like Apple is putting in the effort to make the best possible laptop. Its good enough seems to be the philosophy, that may be unfair and incorrect but I'm not sure what other explanation fits

To my knowledge Apple don’t have a Mac team an iPad team and an iPhone team, they have a combined hardware team and a combined software team which oversee everything from macs to iPhones and other products and MacOS, iOS and the other OSes respectively - my assumption is that this is an effort to save money by not having duplicate roles, but it means that they are always under pressure and don’t really have any spare capacity to do this sort of redesign ‘off schedule’. If they need to fix an issue, it means pulling engineers off of other projects which could be anything from HomePod to iPad to Apple TV (I assume not iPhone as that will most likely take priority over just about anything else). Good for keeping the company’s overall profitability high but not so good for yearly refresh cycles and sorting out hardware issues promptly...