I'm looking to buy 2019 13 inch MBP. The price is really not an issue; most windows laptops these days cost pretty much the same anyways. I am looking to use it for a good 5 years before switching, so I want to know if 2019 MBP really has that reliability. Also, if I were to use a MBP in highschool, would most people find it pretentious?
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MBP for a highschool student
- Thread starter leesj9934
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I didn't see where the OP mentioned anything about a 2017 MBP. Am I missing something?
It's a hard question to answer as five years would imply some time in college. Do you do video production or open source software projects? Or is it just for writing papers, reading email, watching video?
His point is that there is not a non-touchbar version that’s has updated specs. They use older processors.
Honestly, I think it's a terrible idea.
* Most Windows laptops do not cost the same. Where are you looking at prices of Windows laptops? Beverly Hills?
* The keyboard is questionable and is covered for four years, the fifth year could be super expensive.
* Although you may be exceedingly meticulous about taking care of it, what about your peers?
* What would drive the requirement for the horsepower?
And you're concerned about looking pretentious?
If you want a MacBook Pro get a MacBook Pro, I'm not trying to talk you out of it. But would I recommend it for high school? Absolutely not.
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Don't worry about how "people find it". Get the laptop you would like. The 2019 13" MBP will get the job done and last throughout high school and into college. There are good deals to be had. There are probably some good July 4th sales (if you are in the US).
I had an MBP (2012 13") all through high school. Unfortunately it's harder to recommend the current ones based on reliability. They've been shown to not be as reliable as the 2012 models (can't speak for 2019 and my personal 2016 model is still going strong except for the wear on the keys). But it's still the only laptop I'd really be interested in and if you have the money, I would say go for it. Doesn't really matter what people think and I doubt they would think anything of it. At least around where I'm from, they're so common it's no big deal.
Well, if money is no problem, then go ahead and buy it. Theoretically it should last five years, but no one really knows and it depends on how well you keep it. But I‘m pretty sure Windows laptops are still much cheaper and might be more suitable for your needs?
My PC/laptops lasted much shorter in high school compared to now, because I learned to care more for stuff that I purchased myself. That‘s just me though..
My PC/laptops lasted much shorter in high school compared to now, because I learned to care more for stuff that I purchased myself. That‘s just me though..
I'm going to be doing pre-med, definitely will do some coding to do researches, etc. However, I still think the main use is going to be writing and reading papers.
I was looking at xps 13 and surface laptop 2 for windows laptops. Yes, they are cheaper, but I really meant that those 200 or 300 dollar difference really doesn't matter at the price point they are at. With all three of them being already expensive, I wouldn't mind paying a bit more to have a better product in the years to come.
I tend to take care of my things very well, at least in my perspective. I'm just worried if the MBP will go wrong even if I took great care with it, because that would just disturb my productivity. I still have yet to find a windows laptop that has nice screen aspect ratio and display; I really hate the lack of vertical screen estate as I will be reading and writing lots of papers.
No Windows machines are cheaper by and large, there are exceptions like the Razer but that is the exception rather then the rule
Base MBP with 8GB and a 128GB of storage 1,300
Base XPS 13 with 4GB and 128GB of storage 899
Most expensive MBP stock configuration 1,800
Most expensive XPS 13" stock configuration 1,450
My Thinkpad X1E, 2260, a similar MBP would have run 4,600.
No matter how you slice it, many (most?) windows laptops are significantly cheaper then the MBP.
I really should have put it in better terms when I first said it, but what I really meant was this. Windows laptops that I was looking at were xps 13 and surface laptop 2, which cost cheaper than MBP, but still expensive. For me, at the price point of those laptops, I wouldn't mind few hundred more investment for a better product to use for a longer time.
If that's the case, then I'd recommend holding off until Apple replaces the butterfly keyboard. The butterfly keyboard has shown itself to be inferior and caused problems so much that Apple has the repair program.
What is your usage? I might have missed it. If its basic school work, then any laptop will suffice, a MBA, a MacBook, and countless other windows machines.
If you're wanting the MBP simply because its a MBP the get one. Its your money, your choice and you have live with your choice. Many people choose Apple because they want to show off the logo, or because they love the design, or because they love the ecosystem. I'm not knocking anyone's decision, but if you're looking for objective advice (as objective as you can get in an apple fan site) the MBP may be overkill
I do a lot of writing and reading papers. I do not code much like computer science students would do, but as I am preparing for science fair and researches I have started using lots of softwares that requires simple coding to carry out researches. I don't mind windows, and I am not going to buy a MBP just because it is a MBP. I just don't know if there is any windows laptop out there that can really compel me to buy one, since I am not satisfied with current line up of MBP either.
If you want to buy the 2019 one, I think you're safe. I mean, people are really way too paranoid with these Macbooks and you're in an anti-Macbook Pro echo chamber - or maybe you're just focusing on the vocal minority, not a lot of people will go to the forums and say that their Macbook Pro works perfectly after two years. The Macbook Pros are still statistically by far the most reliable high-end laptops, and if you really want one and money is not an issue, then just go ahead and buy it. There is always something that can go wrong, but you get a keyboard warranty for four years, and if you buy Apple Care+ and are already cautious by nature, there is little to worry about. It's a great machine, and I think you're being a bit too paranoid.
There's a big difference between writing a 20 line program and building from a codebase of 20 million lines of code.
I don't think that it really matters as to what you'll get. Research and writing papers is something you could do with ease with my 2014 or 2015 MacBook Pros. I'd guess that you could even use my 2008 MacBook Pro if the screen worked.
Another for getting a Windows notebook and put the savings into onsite repair or better still included. I'd be looking at a ThinkPad as they are far more durable, modular, have common use ports with epic keyboards for those that need to type a lot. Right now MBP pretty much has one of the worst keyboards ever produced, subjectively terrible to type on and objectively unreliable...
For your use case there's no advantage to having a Mac, other than it just being a Mac. FWIW my daughter is now in high school with a 13" Surface Book, as again a Mac presents no distinct advantage.
Q-6
I think that there were advantages in college to having MacBooks in the past. The two main ones from my perspective were Time Machine for backup and that there were so many with MacBooks in colleges that it was easy to borrow a MagSafe or MagSafe 2 charge from someone else if you didn't bring or forgot your charger. That happens where I work - if someone in my group forgets their power brick, they usually ask me as I keep a spare in the office. But you could just ask a lot of other people as they can run on battery for several hours while you charge yours up. The reason for the advantage is that most laptops have proprietary chargers - for the model; not just the manufacturer.
Just my opinion, but I will say that if you're doing a lot of writing then a windows machine will be a better option. I've said this many times, get the best tool for the job and for heavy writing, the butterfly keyboard fails - So much so, apple is rumored to be finally dropping it (MBP may get the scissors keyboard next year).
The best in the industry is the Thinkpad, by far, the laptop doesn't look at sexy as the MBP, it doesn't have a fruit logo, the design is quite understated even boring. Yet you can easy save one to two thousand dollars over a comparable MBP. That's some serious money. I paid 2260 for my Thinkpad and a comparable MBP would have run me 4,600.
As I said, its your money and if you have your heart set on the MBP, then go for it, but I do think there are better options.
i own a MBP, iPhone and iMac. They currently all have some sort of issues. It just takes personal time to ferret through the bad. You may have accept some apple devices may never be 100% functional and in fact a little dangerous. i would be careful and buy apple mid product release after the device is completely reviewed.
there seems to be some new push back at my company for apple products in their work place.
for what ever you wind up with buying an external monitor for your work area.
there seems to be some new push back at my company for apple products in their work place.
for what ever you wind up with buying an external monitor for your work area.
That's a sad state of affairs for a premium product. I think Apple finally is recognizing this as well which is why the rumors of the butterfly keyboard being dropped.
I have a MBP 13 2019, iMac 27 5k, iPhone XS, iPad, iPad Pro 11, Airpods, and an Apple watch series 4. Zero issues with any of them (knock on wood). And the experience with the Apple Store people was always great.
It's anecdotal, but yeah, I'm loving all the products I own.
Apple has no other option, as from my observations it's an exodus. Tough to sell a Pro notebook with hardly any Professionals on the platform. People with literally decades on the Mac don't move to Windows for the hell of it, they are switching as they rely on their hardware/software for a living and Apple's current portable offering is woefully inadequate.
Next redesign needs to be spectacular, as people are not just going to flip back to Apple for the WOW factor. There has to be a significant differentiator, again reliability, performance, usability counts, not pointlessly thinner for the sake of it.
TBH the 2016 chassis is, was and always be a disaster, only proving to be unreliable, drastically reducing usability & flexibility for the sake of a few Grams & mm, yet killing the user experience. Professionals want function, form, with great design, not problems that previously never existed...
Q-6
Just give me a 2015 with updated CPU, RAM, SSD, Video, add two TB3 ports and I'll be happy.