Pull the trigger / abandon ship / wait it out

[WinstonRumfoord]

My late 2013 15" MBP is on it's last legs in terms of battery life and meeting my performance needs - and my work has offered to provide a company computer of my choice.

I typically use it in the office connected to a 27" 4K dell monitor, or at home connected to a 24" 4K + 27" ATD with the macbook in clamshell.

I typically run Firefox, Chrome, and Safari working in development environments, in addition to some photoshopping and lots of Adobe Lightroom, occasional After Effects projects. All professionally.

With this limited knowledge, I was wondering what you guys might do? At first I was inclined to leave Apple due to their preposterous soldered-tight laptops. But looking at the windows competition, to get the same build quality and similar specs is approaching or at "used MBP" levels, from what I can tell.

I was also wondering about possibly waiting it out for a hopefully refreshed 16" MBP later this year? I could certainly continue to use my current one for a while longer, but no more than a year.

 

[LogicalApex]

If work is paying then does any of Apple's "limitations" apply? For instance, what does it matter if Apple solders on RAM and Storage? You wouldn't pay to after market upgrade a work owned laptop...

Even if there is some reliability issue that causes it to need to be replaced in less than 5 years or whatnot then work would be left holding the bag. So, again, why would that matter?

Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[pshufd]

My workplace provides us with MacBook Pros and mine is a 2015. I have a coworker with a 2017 and it's been in the Apple Store twice for repairs. Yes, it will get fixed but you might not have the use of it for a few days to a week.

In your shoes, I'd ask for a 2015 (people turn them in) or get one used. I did exactly that a few months ago.

 

[F23]

wait for new ones this year

 

[BuCkDoG]

Pull the trigger. There is always something better around the corner but I do believe the 2018 models are more than fine. Just don't use it as a dinner plate and your fine.

 

[velocityg4]

How much will it hurt productivity as you get used to doing your work in Windows? My guess is it would cost your company more in reduced productivity than any savings.

Just get more RAM and SSD than you need to maximize its useful life.

 

[joeswamp]

Just today my wife's 2017 MB Pro lost the keyboard entirely, before it was just keys sticking and causing typing errors. She's using it with an external keyboard but every once in a while it starts beeping like a key is stuck. The left 1/2" of her screen is now black as well (has been this way for about a week). Fortunately we didn't pay for this one, it's a work machine.

OSX is still about 100x superior to anything Microsoft has ever made, but Apple hardware has gotten so bad that the net experience is about equal. The hardware group at Apple really needs a big change in direction.

 

[Howard2k]

Since you can wait and want a 16”, I’d wait for the rumoured 16”. I don’t think it will be until Q3 though.

 

[lambertjohn]

My workplace provides us with MacBook Pros and mine is a 2015. I have a coworker with a 2017 and it's been in the Apple Store twice for repairs. Yes, it will get fixed but you might not have the use of it for a few days to a week.

In your shoes, I'd ask for a 2015 (people turn them in) or get one used. I did exactly that a few months ago.

Refurb 2015's pop up on the Apple website all the time. Good as new with a one-year warranty.

 

[maflynn]

buy/leave or wait

Well we know a percentage of owners are dealing with the keyboard failures in the 2018 model, so given the high price of these, its hard to recommend buying at this stage. That leaves wait it out or abandon the platform. I say wait it out WWDC is but a few months out, wait and see what apple has to offer then.

 

[pmorales]

Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro 15”. I onw a MBP nTB 2017 and a Xiaomi Mi Notebook Air 13”. The build quality of the Xiaomi is spectacular. If I had know that I’d have been that good I’d have bought the 15” version of the Xiaomi laptop. Amazing battery life and decently powerful.

 

[Falhófnir]

Even without the considerations over the specific issues these machines have, and whether a redesign might becoming early, we're now getting to the point it would be worth waiting for the 2019 machines anyway. If you can stretch out a few more months you will get a spec bumped machine at the least (presumably along with at least another minimal effort to fix the keyboards) and could well end up with a completely new design.

 

[throAU]

IMHO Wait and see if there's a refresh that fixes the keyboard. Because the current ones are crap. Given work is paying that would be my primary concern... how often it will break and how crappy the typing experience is. YMMV depending on how much you use it as a laptop vs. a portable desktop with external keyboard.

Warranty replacement is all well and good but lost time and annoyance is still lost time and annoyance even if the fix is free.

If you want something like a Macbook and are willing to run Windows then look at the Razor line, or anything from Lenovo or HP's business grade lineup (imho).

Better spec for less money, and when it breaks (which it probably won't) you've still got money (or work budget) left over (vs. the comparable new macbook cost) to replace it every 2 years instead of every 3-4 like you would with a macbook.

 

[tcador]

For work purposes I wouldn’t wait. I can’t imagine using a 5+ year old computer for non-personal use but obviously needs vary there.

I currently have a 2018 model for work and haven’t had any issues but i know it is hit or miss. Performance is great for what I do (software engineering) and I’d happily risk having it repaired at some point in trade for the other productivity gains it brings on a daily basis.

 

[Queen6]

I'd be looking at something else, current MBP is too unreliable to be considered for professional use...

Q-6

 

[throAU]

I'd be looking at something else, current MBP is too unreliable to be considered for professional use...

Q-6

Yup.

An option may be a mac mini plus an ipad. For (much less than) the cost of a macbook pro of any serious spec, you can buy a fairly substantial mac mini and an ipad for those times you need portability for checking email or whatever out of the office away from a desk.

Unless you're doing software development on the road, but i'd say thats very niche.


This is one of my possible plans if apple haven't gotten their act together by the time my 2015 gives up.

 

[Queen6]

Yup.

An option may be a mac mini plus an ipad. For (much less than) the cost of a macbook pro of any serious spec, you can buy a fairly substantial mac mini and an ipad for those times you need portability for checking email or whatever out of the office away from a desk.

Unless you're doing software development on the road, but i'd say thats very niche.


This is one of my possible plans if apple haven't gotten their act together by the time my 2015 gives up.

I switched to Windows as it has to be portable and reliable, also considering Linux. MBP is a joke now, all I know have either switched (professionally) to another platform or are hanging on to older Mac portables (barely). Ultimately people need to get work done and the current MBP simply works against you, unless usage is light and you don't need to connect it to anything. Performance difference under any sustained load is laughable at best, exceeding 30%

Reliability whoever designed the keyboard should be gotten rid of simple as that, apart from being unreliable garbage it can take up to a week to replace the very opposite of professional design. Next redesign of the MBP is going to need to be outstanding in all areas or Apple can kiss goodbye to the few professional's left on the platform...

Pricing nothing in these notebooks is driving the price other than Apple's greed. Really a shame the direction Apple has taken the MBP in. It used to be the weapon of choice for many independent professional's who used to recommend the MBP in a heartbeat. Today the answer is simple don't even consider one as they are flawed on multiple levels, nor will that reputation be easily earned back...

Q-6

 

[ascender]

Second hand might not be an option, but I'd either wait it out (we're hopeful something gets announced at or before WWDS) or pick up a second hand one where someone has already taken the hit and you'll be able to sell it on for reasonable money later in the year.

 

[MBAir2010]

I switched, then returned but i need a new laptop soon,
i feel reluctant to purchase a new macbook because I don't trust  anymore.
form 9-5 I use windows at work mostly typing and chrome, but that OS is small and too platformed.
since i has all these iPods, iPad i stayed within the  ecosystem and expecting a brand spanking new 8gb ram stick today to shove into my mac mini.
I might get a 2015 macbook air refurbished from the micro center store an deal with the 4 gbs, or the 2017 8gb for twice as much. if i feel the need i might risk $100 on a pine book 64 that runs unbent.

i understand what you are going thru, just don't bend the knee to windows yet

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Sounds like you love Apple, so just wait.

If you have (and love) an iPhone, iPad, and/or Apple watch, just wait.

Breaking away will be difficult if you're deep in the Apple ecosystem and workflow...you may just get frustrated and come back.

I left Windows decades ago because I got frustrated with it.

I left iOS after the iPhone 4s because I got frustrated with it.

Now Apple is pushing me in the other direction with their Mac hardware as well, and my daily use of Windows for work has showing me that it really won't hurt ME too much to leave.

But it will STILL hurt, because macOS is fantastic, and the primary reason I came to Apple in the first place.

 

[rdubmu]

How much will it hurt productivity as you get used to doing your work in Windows? My guess is it would cost your company more in reduced productivity than any savings.

Just get more RAM and SSD than you need to maximize its useful life.

Windows 10 is great for productivity. The only benefit to MAC os is if you live in the apple ecosystem and have an iPhone and iPad. As for productivity, snap is better on windows, and the task bar in my opinion is better than the dock. Both OS are great, this isn’t Windows 8 verses the current Mac OS, windows 10 is top notch.

If you are looking for a great PC, look at the x1 line at Lenovo and surface book line at Microsoft

 

[pshufd]

Windows 10 is great for productivity. The only benefit to MAC os is if you live in the apple ecosystem and have an iPhone and iPad. As for productivity, snap is better on windows, and the task bar in my opinion is better than the dock. Both OS are great, this isn’t Windows 8 verses the current Mac OS, windows 10 is top notch.

If you are looking for a great PC, look at the x1 line at Lenovo and surface book line at Microsoft

The most annoying thing about Windows for me is Windows Update.

The second is the advertising.

The third is all of the little suggestions that pop up.

What really stinks is turning on your computer to get something done and then Windows Update taking it over for twenty minutes. If you're really unlucky, it takes over for hours or even a day.

 

[alphaod]

The most annoying thing about Windows for me is Windows Update.

The second is the advertising.

The third is all of the little suggestions that pop up.

What really stinks is turning on your computer to get something done and then Windows Update taking it over for twenty minutes. If you're really unlucky, it takes over for hours or even a day.

Windows Update has gotten pretty good. Not so much nagging anymore.

I use a Surface Pro and Surface Book, neither has advertising issues.

Suggestions happens on the Mac too, you can disable it in both OSes.

And Windows Update takes only 30 seconds these days. Seriously even the feature updates they do biannually only takes a couple minutes. It's actually way faster than the point updates on macOS. That's been my experience on my Surface which is only a mid range i5 model.


I think Microsoft has really stepped up on the user experience aspect of Windows. If anything is seems Apple is going backwards (or not moving ahead fast enough). I would say my Windows crashes as much as my Mac.

 

[pshufd]

Windows Update has gotten pretty good. Not so much nagging anymore.

I use a Surface Pro and Surface Book, neither has advertising issues.

Suggestions happens on the Mac too, you can disable it in both OSes.

And Windows Update takes only 30 seconds these days. Seriously even the feature updates they do biannually only takes a couple minutes. It's actually way faster than the point updates on macOS. That's been my experience on my Surface which is only a mid range i5 model.

I think Microsoft has really stepped up on the user experience aspect of Windows. If anything is seems Apple is going backwards (or not moving ahead fast enough). I would say my Windows crashes as much as my Mac.

I have had Windows Update take almost a day on my Dell Studio XPS systems. Also times when I did start up the system and it immediately went into Windows Update for 20 minutes. I don't know where you get the 30 seconds stuff but I've never seen a Windows Update that quickly. I am limited on the operating system for my machines as I use them for work and we usually get corporate approval to upgrade after a year.

What's really annoying, as well, is the two step update where it requires your system on a shutdown or it takes it away. Then it requires your system when it comes back up. I've stopped using my Dell XPS Studio systems because of how annoying Windows Update and various other things are and am just using my three MacBook Pros. I haven't used Windows in maybe two months. I had hoped that these systems would be more useful - I recently replaced the HDDs with SSDs and one has 9 GB and the other 13. I had considered upgrading them to 24 GB but may just get an iMac instead.

One question since you're the Windows expert. Does Microsoft track what you do in any way? I just saw a headline that Amazon employees listen in on people talking to Alexa though I don't know the context of the article. For me, Windows 7 was a much better operating system - it was just an operating system - and that's what I wanted. I'll just do the other stuff myself. I spend a good chunk of my day using Linux as well and it's nice - it's just an OS waiting for you to run programs.

 

[alphaod]

One question since you're the Windows expert. Does Microsoft track what you do in any way? I just saw a headline that Amazon employees listen in on people talking to Alexa though I don't know the context of the article. For me, Windows 7 was a much better operating system - it was just an operating system - and that's what I wanted. I'll just do the other stuff myself. I spend a good chunk of my day using Linux as well and it's nice - it's just an OS waiting for you to run programs.

I never claimed to be a Windows expert. I only said my Windows updates are really fast. Perhaps that's the advantage of a vertically integrated system where Microsoft makes the hardware and the software to work well together something you don't have the Dell. On my gaming PC, the updates are also very fast. I have gigabit internet at home, so my downloads all take only a couple minutes. Windows has the option that lets you down update and shutdown instead of always restarting.

That said I don't believe Microsoft tracks their users unless you mean like Bing search or use of Cortana, then probably they do unless you opt out (I don't use Cortana).