My 2017 MBP 15" is a POS. Should I upgrade to the 16" or Switch to PC?

[Maverick686]

I'm a business owner and extremely frequent traveler. If could get a desktop I would, but I need a powerful laptop.

In 2017 I bought a brand new 15" Macbook Pro, 2.8 i7, Radeon Pro 4 GB, 1 TB Hard drive, and 16 GB of ram for about $3200 thinking I'd get at least 3-4 years out of this machine. I've had many macs before, and this one has been the most problematic.

Since day 1, I realized the USB ports weren't properly shielded. When I plugged in my external monitor cable (USB C), the internet would drop. Solution: tin foil and electrical tape around the cable (lame).

The keyboard is awful. I type slower on the keyboard, and keys stick. If I didn't use an external keyboard so often, I'm sure I would have broken the keyboard by now.

I have a service battery light on, with less than 300 battery cycles.

The machine makes a popping noise a couple times a day, just sitting on my desk (wtf).

This mac crashes more often than any other mac I've had.

I've reformatted once. Didn't help much.

The machine heats up, a lot, especially when using Chrome. Typical mac problem I guess. Nitpicking here.

Now, I've read Apple has fixed most of the complaints from the 17" MBP, including the keyboard. I also have read that the cooling is way better.

I need a new computer. I'm going to sell this for what I can (maybe $1100-1500), and buy a new one. But do I really want to roll the dice on apple again?

I know this is an Apple forum, and I'll get biased advice. I was going to pick up a Dell XPS 15", which is about $1100 cheaper than a similarly equipped 16" Macbook Pro. Then I read about the battery swelling issue, and it looks like Dell is ignoring the issue.

So - that leaves me with not too many options. There aren't too many other high powered PC laptops out there, and I'm hesitant to spend another $2200-3000 on a MBP.

If you were me, what would you do? Did I get a lemon of a laptop, or were the 2017s really that awful and new 16" MBP shouldn't have any of these issues?

 

[rug1111]

I've never tried the 2017 MBP but I love my late 2013 MBP.

 

[matram]

I have a 2016 15" and a 16" from that background ...

The keyboard is awful. I type slower on the keyboard, and keys stick. If I didn't use an external keyboard so often, I'm sure I would have broken the keyboard by now.

The keyboard is new on the 16", different feel. Try it out if you have not.

I have a service battery light on, with less than 300 battery cycles.

That is not normal and MBP batteries are normally of good quality. It may be something in the way you use the battery, which will probably just translate to any new computer you buy, PC or MAC.

The machine makes a popping noise a couple times a day, just sitting on my desk (wtf).

I hade a similar problem on my 2016, something to do with the hinges. Apple fixed it free of charge. anyhow it did not seem to be very common.

This mac crashes more often than any other mac I've had.

I've reformatted once. Didn't help much.

You should try to determine the source of the problem by looking at the logs. A lot of crashes seems to be related to external equipment or kernel extensions. If you buy a new MBP they may come back.

The machine heats up, a lot, especially when using Chrome. Typical mac problem I guess. Nitpicking here.

The thermal design of the 16" is much improved. But Chrome is a resource hog. You may be better of using Safari.

Only you can tell what is best for you. I have owned a number of Thinkpads as well as Dell servers.

For a laptop I still prefer the MBP. It last long, Apple service is great and I prefer Mac OS. And just to be clear I also currently work in Linux and Windows.

 

[simonmet]

I would say advice is quite hard to give. No laptop from any maker is guaranteed to be free from issues and faults. I think the 16” should be better and more reliable than your 15”, but it’s also slightly bigger and still expensive, especially relative to the competition (though there isn’t really anything from another manufacturer that’s exactly like the MacBook; eg no other i9 laptop uses USB power that I’m aware of).

The keyboard is great on the 16”. It feels slightly shallower than the 2012-15 era retina MBPs but just as good if not better overall. The feeling is very similar and very reminiscent of those laptops. I’ve not heard of any faults or complaints about the keyboard, and the laptop’s been popular, so that’s encouraging.

These are still thin and light power laptops, so they do get hot and loud under load, but that’s to be expected and is no different from similar competition. As far as cooling I think they solved the throttling issue, but that’s pretty much it. The improvement was kind of overblown in reviews; because reviewers parroted Apple’s marketing. So think of it as now performing adequately and as expected rather than some kind of thermal black hole!

Speakers are nice if you appreciate that sort of thing. Overall I’m happy with mine, though it’s not perfect. A slow response time on the display is a common complaint, as is lack of Wi-Fi 6 or a 1080p webcam; though the latter two are of no concern to me. The first one would be nice if it were better, but I still prefer 16:10 displays and the colours are decent.

The XPS OLED screen is apparently very nice, but has some weaknesses with colour calibration. There’s no way I could handle carrying large proprietary power supply bricks however. Also, what many reviewers fail to mention is that most of these premium PC laptops have intake fans on the bottom of the case, meaning you can’t actually use them (for anything other than light work) you know, on your lap, lest you stifle their cooling system! If that’s an issue for you only you can say.

 

[maflynn]

Get a Thinkpad, they are rock solid great specs excellent pricing and imo more stable then the MBP has shown itself these past few years

 

[duorou]

Go for ThinkPad X1 Extreme.

 

[smirking]

I don't know why you're asking this. You already know the answer. It sounds like you've come to hate your Mac and want to dump it. Just do it. It doesn't matter what anyone here thinks.

Nobody here's really going to be able to say anything that's sure to be the right or wrong answer for you. Just do what you think you need to do. The 16" Mac isn't exactly an all new laptop design. You get a different keyboard, but much of it is the same.

Go get your PC.

 

[iCal]

I am typing this from my new (today!) 16 inch MBP (2TB, 32GB, 8GB Radeon). It was £4,000.

But it is way better to use than my 2011 15 inch MBP which I have finally given up on.

And it is way nicer to use than my daughters 2017 13 inch MBP which has the stupid keyboard design which fails when a single grain of dust gets under a key (hint have a compressed air blaster nearby and use it daily).

I got my son a Microsoft Surface 18 months ago when I had a similar fit of pique against Apple. It has now been replaced twice, once for the screen yellowing issue and the second time the keyboard and trackpad just decided they didn't want to function anymore. So we are on our 3rd one.

I will be sticking with Apple, we have iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs etc so are pretty locked in the ecosystem. I just wish Apple would start innovating again, I cannot see any reason whatsoever to upgrade my iPhone X to anything newer.

 

[Maverick686]

I'll look into the Thinkpad X1!

I don't want to dump Apple - I much prefer the OS and it seems to always run smoother than Windows.

I just am not sure I want to take the risk of having a faulty Mac again, especially for the premium Apple charges.

@iCal - I'd love to get 8 years out of a computer. It's never happened for me. Maybe I'm just too hard on my machines?

 

[iCal]

I can sell you an 8-year old MBP 17inch if you like? ;-)

Good luck with whatever avenue you choose, as with all material goods you can get one made on a Tuesday by the keenest employee or the last one the laziest guy made on a Friday before he went off for the weekend. On computers I seem to be lucky. However my new Tesla was definitely made by the Friday guy....

 

[maflynn]

I don't want to dump Apple

You did start the thread asking if you should switch to a PC. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Maverick686]

You did start the thread asking if you should switch to a PC. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Haha. I don't want to, but am considering it.

 

[4sallypat]

........
You should try to determine the source of the problem by looking at the logs. A lot of crashes seems to be related to external equipment or kernel extensions. If you buy a new MBP they may come back.
.......
For a laptop I still prefer the MBP. It last long, Apple service is great and I prefer Mac OS. And just to be clear I also currently work in Linux and Windows.

I have to agree with @matram - I just bought the latest 16" MBP and having daily kernel panic crashes using an external 27" monitor, KB, and mouse thru the TB3 ports.

My posting on repeated panic kernel reports with restarts almost every day:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...eport-crash-page-should-i-be-worried.2222645/

Never had that issue with my trusty old 2012 MBP that now I am regretting.

As for what I use daily at work, the Mac is still the superior choice for people who do not want to bother with antivirus loads, windows updates, and low quality build.

 

[maflynn]

low quality build.

Not for nothing but Apple's build quality recently has been suspect at best - the whole butterfly keyboard issue is a prime example

There are plenty of windows machines that match and exceed apple imo

 

[yukari]

This is why I would buy Apple care+.
You could have it replaced or fixed under Apple care +.

When I bought 2018 MBP, I bought Apple care + so that I don't have to worry about it for at least 3 years. Previously, I never bought Apple care +, but when I read all the problems with 2016 onward, I know going without Apple care + was a crapshoot.

If you don't want to ditch OS, buy the 16" MBP and buy Apple care + for peace of mind.

 

[iCal]

Indeed. I bought AppleCare+, if only to get a new battery in 2.5 years!

 

[iAppl3Fan]

I'm a business owner and extremely frequent traveler. If could get a desktop I would, but I need a powerful laptop.

In 2017 I bought a brand new 15" Macbook Pro, 2.8 i7, Radeon Pro 4 GB, 1 TB Hard drive, and 16 GB of ram for about $3200 thinking I'd get at least 3-4 years out of this machine. I've had many macs before, and this one has been the most problematic.

Since day 1, I realized the USB ports weren't properly shielded. When I plugged in my external monitor cable (USB C), the internet would drop. Solution: tin foil and electrical tape around the cable (lame).

The keyboard is awful. I type slower on the keyboard, and keys stick. If I didn't use an external keyboard so often, I'm sure I would have broken the keyboard by now.

I have a service battery light on, with less than 300 battery cycles.

The machine makes a popping noise a couple times a day, just sitting on my desk (wtf).

This mac crashes more often than any other mac I've had.

I've reformatted once. Didn't help much.

The machine heats up, a lot, especially when using Chrome. Typical mac problem I guess. Nitpicking here.

Now, I've read Apple has fixed most of the complaints from the 17" MBP, including the keyboard. I also have read that the cooling is way better.

I need a new computer. I'm going to sell this for what I can (maybe $1100-1500), and buy a new one. But do I really want to roll the dice on apple again?

I know this is an Apple forum, and I'll get biased advice. I was going to pick up a Dell XPS 15", which is about $1100 cheaper than a similarly equipped 16" Macbook Pro. Then I read about the battery swelling issue, and it looks like Dell is ignoring the issue.

So - that leaves me with not too many options. There aren't too many other high powered PC laptops out there, and I'm hesitant to spend another $2200-3000 on a MBP.

If you were me, what would you do? Did I get a lemon of a laptop, or were the 2017s really that awful and new 16" MBP shouldn't have any of these issues?

I had the same spec'd 2017 15" MBP as you. Didn't come across with as many issues as you did. Sold it and went with a 16" and not looking back. Sure, it was a financial setback but its better than dealing with the agony.

 

[profcutter]

I think your question and approach are totally reasonable, btw. I’ve also thought about going to PC since Apple seems to have gone downhill in QA and support, but I’ve seen a great many complaints from the PC side which make Apple look marginally better.

Folks I think have answered many of your questions. I will say that the 2017 seems to have been the last of the worst of the MBPs, they got a little faster in 2018, and the 16 inch seems like a larger step forward. The display problems worry me. I would have bought one in December, but I was put off by the complaints about the display, the lack of wifi6, and the anxiety of getting a new 1st revision. I ended up getting a 2015 to hold me over, I’m pretty happy with it so far, it has a couple issues, but it was less than $1k. I will eventually probably end up with a revised 2020, which will hopefully address display issues.
I have an iPhone XS, and let me tell you, the OLED display on here makes me really want to consider a PC laptop with OLED. It is that much better.

 

[Maverick686]

Thanks for the responses.

I bit the bullet and bought a 16" MBP with 32GB Ram and a 1TB hard drive.

Will get apple care within 60 days, at least it'll last me 3 good years then.

 

[GoldfishRT]

As annoyed as you were with your MacBook Pro, it did last the three years you asked for lol.

I think the improvements in the 16" are great, and it seems like other than the keyboard, the design choices they made in 2016 don't bother you too much - the 16" is probably the best execution on those we've seen.

I think you were smart to avoid the XPS. If Apple's inconsistency in quality control these days is annoying to you, Dell's will be abhorrent. Which sucks because on the whole, I adore that laptop.