To Apple - Relaunch the Macbook Pro from 2015

[TheRealAir]

Would it be possible?
Could it be possible?

After 2015 the Macbook Pro's sold by Apple seem to have a lot of problems, some basic problems like being able to use the Keyboard. I have an idea, save the money Apple and just do a relaunch of the 2015-model with better internals and maybe an addition of two USB-C ports and keep everything else?

I thought about jumping ship but I love macOS but I am not willing to buy problematic hardware so I have to look for 4 year old hardware for an upgrade, how does that sound, hu Apple?

Please let someone else take over the development department or at least listen to your customers, we want to buy your products but you keep coming out with stuff that is not worth it with all the possible problems down the road.

 

[thadoggfather]

I really wonder if they're gonna produce the same style laptop this year or not.. how long can they push it?

They also just introduced this to the revamped MacBook Air late last year, no time ago.

Apple is in quite the pickle

 

[leman]

Apple is in quite the pickle

Not at all. Their Mac revenue and market share is as good es ever. Sure, there current lineup does not enjoy the best reputation when it comes to reliability (whether that reputation is deserved or not is a different question), but all this didn't seem to affect Apple's position at all. Either next year or a year later we will get new hardware with new design and the butterfly thing will be a history for all but few disgruntled users. After all, we've seen it happening over and over again. Almost every iteration of Mac hardware had some kind of issue. Same is of course true for any other hardware on the market, but since Apple draws so much attention, everyone prefers to talk about them.

 

[Earl Urley]

Relaunch the 2015s but give them both (13 and 15-inch) Thunderbolt 3 ports, make PCIe 3.0 x4 standard for both, keep all other ports, bump the CPUs with whatever faster chips there are, and I'd be happy.

 

[Falhófnir]

I've also had the thought using the 2015 models with an updated chip (for example the i5-8265U) and rebranding as just '13 or 15 inch MacBook' plus switching out the TB2 for USB C/ TB3 would make for an ideal (general use) computer line starting at around $1,299 (13" 128GB) and $1,599 (15" 256GB). They could replace the nTB MacBook Pro (and even the new MacBook Air), offer a larger size choice in this price segment, and because they're re-using an older chassis they can keep the cost down.

 

[maflynn]

Would it be possible?
Could it be possible?

Its possible, but not likely imo. Rolling out anything near what the 2015 model would be a huge admission that they messed up on the 2016 design.

My take is that we'll see a new design this year, a larger laptop that will aid in the thermals, as the current design cannot easily evacuate the heat, but it will retain the much reviled butterfly keyboard and USBC-C ports

 

[Martius]

Yeah, 2015 design with current specs would be an instant buy for me, but it's not gonna happen. I think if Apple cared, we would got a redesign in 2018. Two years are enough to fix broken laptop design. Especially for a company with such a lot of money.

We might get that rumored 16.5inch laptop this year – just to calm down this whole situation (because the pro market / influencers are the ones who are talking about it the most) and I expect some bigger redesign in 2020. I think that the worst thing about this is that those 2016-2018 MBPs will be worth nothing in a few years. If they are so into ecology, they should have really put a big effort into creating new keyboards for the flawed design and not just replace them with the same parts.

 

[Fishrrman]

I suggested this a long time ago right here on macrumors.

Call it the "MacBook Pro Retro" model...!

 

[Mr. Dee]

I think the industry itself is abandoning ship. If you look at the YouTube influencers compared to a couple years ago, a lot of them have switched to Windows notebooks: Austin Evans, Sarah Deichy, Dave Lee, Unbox Therapy.

They are not outright bashing Apple, but they are sending a message that quality matters. Final Cut Pro doesn’t matter that much too.

Apple has seriously overthought this in the wrong direction. The MacBook Pro’s mistakes are just like the 2013 Mac Pro mistake. I believe they will back track on the design, especially the keyboard. But you will have to wait for it.

Apple needs to recoup the R&D spent on developing the 2016 to 2019 models. In 2020, they can come up with a revision that’s more sane and just put this period in the rear view mirror.

 

[maflynn]

I think the industry itself is abandoning ship. If you look at the YouTube influencers compared to a couple years ago, a lot of them have switched to Windows notebooks: Austin Evans, Sarah Deichy, Dave Lee, Unbox Therapy.

I've stumbled upon more and more "switchers" to be sure. Dave Lee is an interesting example, I'd say he used to be a dedicated fan, but continual missteps by apple, and reviewing other laptops and seeing other companies do a better job changed his mind. He wants apple to succeed, and wants a really good MBP to be introduced but i don't think he's holding his breath.

 

[jerryk]

I've stumbled upon more and more "switchers" to be sure. Dave Lee is an interesting example, I'd say he used to be a dedicated fan, but continual missteps by apple, and reviewing other laptops and seeing other companies do a better job changed his mind. He wants apple to succeed, and wants a really good MBP to be introduced but i don't think he's holding his breath.

Dave is a gamer. He has always had gaming laptops. His work gave him a MacBook at one time, but he always had a window system of some sort at home. Since becoming a full time Youtuber, no mac from work.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

I think the industry itself is abandoning ship. If you look at the YouTube influencers compared to a couple years ago, a lot of them have switched to Windows notebooks: Austin Evans, Sarah Deichy, Dave Lee, Unbox Therapy.

These people are YouTubers. They almost work alone just making videos and will say anything for reactions and clicks. If they worked on a corporate or team network with a dozen or more employees who rely on Finder Labels or Quick Look it would be impossible to migrate to Windows. Try it yourself. You'll go mad trying to figure out the status of a file or folder in a team workflow.

Or try switching between color profiles or making one on Windows. You first have to go to old control panel because the new prefs apps doesn't have it. Then you have to drill through a dozen options. Then you realize Windows doesn't have a built in profile generator.

Or say you're a video guy working with HDR. Good luck there. Windows support for it is a confused mess. I do use Windows, but not for the stuff the macOS excels at.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I've stumbled upon more and more "switchers" to be sure. Dave Lee is an interesting example, I'd say he used to be a dedicated fan, but continual missteps by apple, and reviewing other laptops and seeing other companies do a better job changed his mind. He wants apple to succeed, and wants a really good MBP to be introduced but i don't think he's holding his breath.

They still have their Macs, but what I noticed, its no longer their work horse.

These people are YouTubers. They almost work alone just making videos and will say anything for reactions and clicks. If they worked on a corporate or team network with a dozen or more employees who rely on Finder Labels or Quick Look it would be impossible to migrate to Windows. Try it yourself. You'll go mad trying to figure out the status of a file or folder in a team workflow.

Or try switching between color profiles or making one on Windows. You first have to go to old control panel because the new prefs apps doesn't have it. Then you have to drill through a dozen options. Then you realize Windows doesn't have a built in profile generator.

Or say you're a video guy working with HDR. Good luck there. Windows support for it is a confused mess. I do use Windows, but not for the stuff the macOS excels at.

If you seriously look at these YouTuber's setup's they are actually not one man shows. MBKHD for instance works in a warehouse with a lot of workstations that are in his background, its obvious, there is a team behind him.

Its the same story for Lewis Hilstenger, there are employees working in the background doing editing.

These are not your typical 16 year old in a bedroom in 2009. Check out Linus Torvald - he recently had to do a explanation video why so many people work for him.

You can prove this for yourself, just either type in Unbox Therapy studio tour, TLD studio tour, MKBHD studio tour. Their businesses also go beyond just YouTube videos, I believe some of them also film content on a contract basis for other companies.

At the end of the day, these YouTubers are proving Final Cut or the Mac is not needed to produce content, because they have the content up, in 4K, 8K produced on Windows machines with Adobe Premier.

 

[ascender]

It’s been a while since I’ve used one, but I shudder to think how much heavier and bigger those 2015 15” machines were compared to the current range.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

They still have their Macs, but what I noticed, its no longer their work horse.



If you seriously look at these YouTuber's setup's they are actually not one man shows. MBKHD for instance works in a warehouse with a lot of workstations that are in his background, its obvious, there is a team behind him.

Its the same story for Lewis Hilstenger, there are employees working in the background doing editing.

These are not your typical 16 year old in a bedroom in 2009. Check out Linus Torvald - he recently had to do a explanation video why so many people work for him.

You can prove this for yourself, just either type in Unbox Therapy studio tour, TLD studio tour, MKBHD studio tour. Their businesses also go beyond just YouTube videos, I believe some of them also film content on a contract basis for other companies.

At the end of the day, these YouTubers are proving Final Cut or the Mac is not needed to produce content, because they have the content up, in 4K, 8K produced on Windows machines with Adobe Premier.

Your long rant aside. No busy corporation with teams are going to give up the Finder for Windows File Explorer. Don’t under estimate how useful labels and Quick Look are in team environments and anyone who thinks these features can be abandoned is a useless duffer. If someone in a company suggested abandoning the Finder I would send them straight for a 1 to 1 in a private office and they will leave that office with their head between the knees.

 

[Mendota]

Your long rant aside. No busy corporation with teams are going to give up the Finder for Windows File Explorer. Don’t under estimate how useful labels and Quick Look are in team environments and anyone who thinks these features can be abandoned is a useless duffer. If someone in a company suggested abandoning the Finder I would send them straight for a 1 to 1 in a private office and they will leave that office with their head between the knees.

LOL lots of people are willing to give up Finder. It is fine to have preferences, but don't presume to speak for others. As someone who uses both, I consider Finder to be one of Mac's weakest links. But that is just my opinion. And OneDrive and Office work extremely well for group work. Corporations? You do realize that Windows has most of that market.

 

[ilikewhey]

Your long rant aside. No busy corporation with teams are going to give up the Finder for Windows File Explorer. Don’t under estimate how useful labels and Quick Look are in team environments and anyone who thinks these features can be abandoned is a useless duffer. If someone in a company suggested abandoning the Finder I would send them straight for a 1 to 1 in a private office and they will leave that office with their head between the knees.

i worked at several places and none of them are so tied up in mac that its absolutely essential, its always a mix bag of macs and pcs, if what you claim is true thn every busy coporation would be using a mac, but that simply isn't true, thats why lenovo, dell, hp, acer are all ahead of apple in the # of unit shipped in 2018

i also lead a team in my previous gig and again it's a mixbag of macs and windows, we got through the PR project fine with google notes and microsoft office 365. if you work at my previous office my boss would've let u go for forcing others to get on the mac essential bandwagon.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS44385418

 

[jerryk]

i worked at several places and none of them are so tied up in mac that its absolutely essential, its always a mix bag of macs and pcs, if what you claim is true thn every busy coporation would be using a mac, but that simply isn't true, thats why lenovo, dell, hp, acer are all ahead of apple in the # of unit shipped in 2018

i also lead a team in my previous gig and again it's a mixbag of macs and windows, we got through the PR project fine with google notes and microsoft office 365. if you work at my previous office my boss would've let u go for forcing others to get on the mac essential bandwagon.

Agreed. First things I install on any device regardless of brand, Office 365 with One Drive Outlook, Visual Studio Code, and Chrome. With these I have what I need to get going.

 

[ilikewhey]

Agreed. First things I install on any device regardless of brand, Office 365 with One Drive Outlook, Visual Studio Code, and Chrome. With these I have what I need to get going.

yeah, that and when our boss wanted his weekly updates, we package all the files onto the office server on friday, which runs windows btw, office 365 really makes organizing hundreds of files a breeze, microsoft's net profit on their service business speaks for itself.

 

[pshufd]

It’s been a while since I’ve used one, but I shudder to think how much heavier and bigger those 2015 15” machines were compared to the current range.

Doesn't bother me. I carry a 2015 MBP 15 and a 2014 MBP15 in my backpack. In the really old days, I'd carry a 2008 MBP 17 (8 pounds) and another laptop.

 

[TheIntruder]

When history is reexamined, I think the 2010-2020 period for Apple will reveal an interesting evolution, and show a company that underwent a fundamental change in direction, particularly during the latter half.

The first half was the continuation of a company that had resurrected itself, breaking new ground, and hitting on all cylinders with both hardware and software, working in tandem.

It built upon the core of making fabulous tools as it long had, but now, it also had achieved mass appeal and market power.

But, companies change, as people do, and the focus drifted, becoming pointed more toward mass appeal, and less on the "tool" aspects. Hardware that looks better than it is to use, and software that was being diluted and dumbed down down for different users (if not eliminated entirely, like Aperature).

Now, it's clear that services are the next frontier, and the product will be designed to facilitate consumption of such as a high priority. Fewer ports, less local storage, more emphasis on the cloud, or some sort of tether accompanied by dollar signs.

In short, the professionals who relied on Apple's tools to get work done, and sustained the company through thick and thin, became second class citizens. "Pro" became more of a label than a mission.

Could Apple resurrect the 2015 Unibody and achieve success? Yes, it can. I think the same could be said for the 2006 Mac Pro, if they carried the chassis over with up-to-date, modern internals. They had already done the same by replacing the original G5s with Intels.

Given what Apple has shown Pro means in its current vernacular, I kind of shudder at what the 2019 incarnation of the Mac Pro will resemble. That bit of PR damage control with Schiller and Federighi (which now dates almost exactly two years ago!) was evidently just the start of a fire drill, not of a company that already had work in progress to redeem itself and repair its reputation among professionals. Like a kid who responds to their parents' nag about homework, where "I've done it" means they're just starting to do it.

Ironically, Apple is relaunching older, fundamentally sound versions of its products…as budget and mid-range models like the iPads. Or, with the refreshed MacBook Air, admitting that it still has more appeal than the unloved 2015 MacBook, a model that never found its place, and in the old days could have been dubbed a Road Apple.

Whatever "failure" Apple would admit to by doing something like resurrecting the 2015 MBP would be more than offset by a sigh of relief, and joy that Apple remembered what helped get it to where it is.

 

[pier]

It’s been a while since I’ve used one, but I shudder to think how much heavier and bigger those 2015 15” machines were compared to the current range.

I'm using a 13'' 2014 MBP and the size and weight are perfectly fine.

I agree the pre 2016 15'' models are heavy and bulky though. I had a 2015 15'' and sold it and went back to the 13'' 2014. It got too hot too often.

 

[Mendota]

When history is reexamined, I think the 2010-2020 period for Apple will reveal an interesting evolution, and show a company that underwent a fundamental change in direction, particularly during the latter half.

The first half was the continuation of a company that had resurrected itself, breaking new ground, and hitting on all cylinders with both hardware and software, working in tandem.

It built upon the core of making fabulous tools as it long had, but now, it also had achieved mass appeal and market power.

But, companies change, as people do, and the focus drifted, becoming pointed more toward mass appeal, and less on the "tool" aspects. Hardware that looks better than it is to use, and software that was being diluted and dumbed down down for different users (if not eliminated entirely, like Aperature).

Now, it's clear that services are the next frontier, and the product will be designed to facilitate consumption of such as a high priority. Fewer ports, less local storage, more emphasis on the cloud, or some sort of tether accompanied by dollar signs.

In short, the professionals who relied on Apple's tools to get work done, and sustained the company through thick and thin, became second class citizens. "Pro" became more of a label than a mission.

Could Apple resurrect the 2015 Unibody and achieve success? Yes, it can. I think the same could be said for the 2006 Mac Pro, if they carried the chassis over with up-to-date, modern internals. They had already done the same by replacing the original G5s with Intels.

Given what Apple has shown Pro means in its current vernacular, I kind of shudder at what the 2019 incarnation of the Mac Pro will resemble. That bit of PR damage control with Schiller and Federighi (which now dates almost exactly two years ago!) was evidently just the start of a fire drill, not of a company that already had work in progress to redeem itself and repair its reputation among professionals. Like a kid who responds to their parents' nag about homework, where "I've done it" means they're just starting to do it.

Ironically, Apple is relaunching older, fundamentally sound versions of its products…as budget and mid-range models like the iPads. Or, with the refreshed MacBook Air, admitting that it still has more appeal than the unloved 2015 MacBook, a model that never found its place, and in the old days could have been dubbed a Road Apple.

Whatever "failure" Apple would admit to by doing something like resurrecting the 2015 MBP would be more than offset by a sigh of relief, and joy that Apple remembered what helped get it to where it is.

So well stated. I couldn't agree with you more. Apple has lost focus, and this latest idea does not give me a lot of confidence. The Movie business? I don't know...

 

[LogicalApex]

In short, the professionals who relied on Apple's tools to get work done, and sustained the company through thick and thin, became second class citizens. "Pro" became more of a label than a mission.

I think it is extremely hard to say where this is truly going and Apple too is struggling with this (as is the whole industry honestly). The drumbeat 5 years ago or so was that "PC" computing was dead and it was mobile only for the future. That made no sense overall and we see that, but the PC market has definitely contracted as it is no longer the "defacto" computing platform. You now have a very wide variety between smartphones, tablets, and increasingly IoT devices.

It is very possible that this period will be looked back on as Apple failing to adapt right (sort of like how McDonalds went "healthy" when health conscious consumers had no interest in McDonalds and all their customers went to Wendy's instead). It could also very well end up being looked back and we see that Apple tapped into the new shifting Pro demographic.

We'd all like to go back to the glory days where computers ruled the roost, but they no longer rule the roost across the entire industry. Microsoft has shifted to services as their primary focus (so much so that they no longer see a need to strategically prioritize Windows and have become the largest open source contributor!) and HP has dumped its consumer computing business to focus purely on Enterprise (the stuff powering everyone's "cloud").

Traditional computing isn't going away entirely, but no one knows where we will be in 5 years... In that vein, I say we don't know anymore what a "Pro" user looks like. As the workflow has become so blended.

 

[ascender]

There's no way they'd resurrect the 2015 MBP, they'd be mad to do so given the advances in technology over that time.

There's also been positive signs that they recognise some pros feel unloved by their recent products - the fact they're doing a new Mac Pro when it was clear the iMac Pro was their plan to replace it; the current MBPs added a 32GB memory option; quad core CPUs in the 13.

They clearly still recognise the need for Pro kit - the new iPad Pro is the epitome of this philosophy - I just hope there's a new MBP announced soon which takes its cues from the iPad Pro line. All the latest tech and power in a redesigned chassis with a new "pro" keyboard.