My impressions of a discontinued Macbook..

[bpd115]

I've had my eye on this form factor for some time and was waiting for an upgrade to come, but we all know how that went.

I have a 2012 Macbook Air that my daughter has been using since I upgraded to a 2017 15" Pro.

I work in IT and wanted something small and light to use on site...so I hit eBay.

I put in 2 offers, one on a gold 2016 base model that had a low battery cycle count and minor cosmetic issues (2 small dents, one ding in the lid, but the screen is perfect) and one on a space gray 2017 base model in like new condition. Needless to say I didn't think I would win both, but both bids were accepted for $450 and $650 respectively...

The 2016 arrived the other day and I'm impressed with the machine so far. Display is fantastic and I'm running it native resolution, not scaled. My daughter saw it and batted her eyes at me. So she had her install the things she uses (Sims 4, Minecraft, roblox...she's 11) and she loves it over the Air.

The 2017 should arrive today and I'll run a side, by side, by side benchmark of my 2017 MPB and the two Macbooks. I had planned on selling the 2016 model and maybe recouping some of the cost of the 2017 but ...

I wouldn't have paid full retail for the machines at the time of their release, nor do I think I'd be satisfied with it as a primary device, but as a secondary machine for meetings and on site work / server room work, I love the form factor (outside of the need for a dongle).

Hopefully they'll bring back this form factor with an ARM based Mac in the near future.

 

[nyc232]

A breathtaking forward-thinking design, and just so incredible to have access to a full OS in only two pounds - with no flimsy keyboard covers like on the iPad. Such a shame Apple, such a shame.

I've had my eye on this form factor for some time and was waiting for an upgrade to come, but we all know how that went.

I have a 2012 Macbook Air that my daughter has been using since I upgraded to a 2017 15" Pro.

I work in IT and wanted something small and light to use on site...so I hit eBay.

I put in 2 offers, one on a gold 2016 base model that had a low battery cycle count and minor cosmetic issues (2 small dents, one ding in the lid, but the screen is perfect) and one on a space gray 2017 base model in like new condition. Needless to say I didn't think I would win both, but both bids were accepted for $450 and $650 respectively...

The 2016 arrived the other day and I'm impressed with the machine so far. Display is fantastic and I'm running it native resolution, not scaled. My daughter saw it and batted her eyes at me. So she had her install the things she uses (Sims 4, Minecraft, roblox...she's 11) and she loves it over the Air.

The 2017 should arrive today and I'll run a side, by side, by side benchmark of my 2017 MPB and the two Macbooks. I had planned on selling the 2016 model and maybe recouping some of the cost of the 2017 but ...

I wouldn't have paid full retail for the machines at the time of their release, nor do I think I'd be satisfied with it as a primary device, but as a secondary machine for meetings and on site work / server room work, I love the form factor (outside of the need for a dongle).

Hopefully they'll bring back this form factor with an ARM based Mac in the near future.

 

[WhoDatWayne]

I was holding out for an update as well! Bummer........

 

[tegranjeet]

I think what you said about an ARM based MacBook is a good prophecy. It's the perfect device for it.

It's the most portable macOS device Apple has ever made. I love it so much. I have an iMac Pro that I can use the MacBook to remote into if I need some compute power, but otherwise, it can run most anything.

I just wish it had two USB-C ports. Only gripe.

 

[mackie8]

I've had my eye on this form factor for some time and was waiting for an upgrade to come, but we all know how that went.

I have a 2012 Macbook Air that my daughter has been using since I upgraded to a 2017 15" Pro.

I work in IT and wanted something small and light to use on site...so I hit eBay.

I put in 2 offers, one on a gold 2016 base model that had a low battery cycle count and minor cosmetic issues (2 small dents, one ding in the lid, but the screen is perfect) and one on a space gray 2017 base model in like new condition. Needless to say I didn't think I would win both, but both bids were accepted for $450 and $650 respectively...

The 2016 arrived the other day and I'm impressed with the machine so far. Display is fantastic and I'm running it native resolution, not scaled. My daughter saw it and batted her eyes at me. So she had her install the things she uses (Sims 4, Minecraft, roblox...she's 11) and she loves it over the Air.

The 2017 should arrive today and I'll run a side, by side, by side benchmark of my 2017 MPB and the two Macbooks. I had planned on selling the 2016 model and maybe recouping some of the cost of the 2017 but ...

I wouldn't have paid full retail for the machines at the time of their release, nor do I think I'd be satisfied with it as a primary device, but as a secondary machine for meetings and on site work / server room work, I love the form factor (outside of the need for a dongle).

Hopefully they'll bring back this form factor with an ARM based Mac in the near future.

I think the $450 for 2016 macbook12 is a steal....

Im selling mine here in singapore for $950 SGD thats around $700 usd...
Base model apple refurbished

 

[EugW]

IMO the base 2017 is quite a bit better than the base 2016, and a like new 2017 for $650 is a reasonable deal, although the deal for the 2016 is good too.

The 2017 is something like 25% faster and also has a better keyboard. Furthermore, the 2017 does full hardware 10-bit decode whereas the 2016 is unable to do 4K 10-bit HEVC decode in real time. Fortunately the 2016 does also support Sidecar since both support hardware 8-bit HEVC encode.

Also, depending upon when they were initially purchased, it's likely the 2017 will have the extended keyboard warranty for longer than the 2016.

https://support.apple.com/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-notebooks

 

[bpd115]

The 2017 I got is fantastic. Had only 29 cycles on the battery and not one scratch. I had it in a 2 hour meeting using Outlook and OneNote and then used it to test some WiFi access points and it was still in the high 80% charge range.

The backlight on the keys on the 2016 model seems brighter but it’s also a solid performer. My Fiancé used it this week to work on her resume and coming from her 2012 13” MacBook Pro she’s in love with it.

Keyboard wise I can tell the 2017 is a hair more “firm” but it’s not a huge difference to me.

I hope Apple does more with this form factor in the future, even if it’s ARM based.

 

[subjonas]

A breathtaking forward-thinking design, and just so incredible to have access to a full OS in only two pounds - with no flimsy keyboard covers like on the iPad. Such a shame Apple, such a shame.

And it was the only fan-less mac. (Although it had a big fan here.)

 

[mj_]

$650 for an as-new 2017 model is an insanely great price! Enjoy, and may the butterfly keyboard odds be forever in your favor.