I'm curious, did the 2012 rMBP that replaced the 2011 MBP receive as much criticism as the 2016 that replaced the 2015?
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What did people think of the 2012 rMBP?
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There was a lot of criticism. Too extensive, screen is a gimmick, too thin, blurry scaling, bad performance, not upgrade able, etc etc.
It got criticism, but mainly for things like poorly optimised scaling making the screen look in a lot of cases worse than the preceding non retinas, and I think for being underpowered. AFAIA the hardware was praised with the singular exception of the removal of the SuperDrive (I guess equivalent of dumping ‘legacy’ ports, only I’d argue disks were already well on their way out by 2012 whereas USB A is still very much ubiquitous and SD cards don’t even have a direct replacement in USB C) until ‘staingate’ emerged as the single major hardware defect of the generation (screen lamination peeling off which I believe is still an issue with even the latest models (2015 and 2017)). So overall I’d say it did certainly have its hiccups and detractors, but the latest gen do seem to ratchet up the controversy a notch or two above the previous gen’s early models.
Yep, loads and loads of criticism. Apple is dead, Jobs wouldn’t have done this, the MBPs are thin enough, muh upgradability. Now most of the haters class it as the best MBP Apple have done.
The new one is an engineering marvel, have no doubt.
The new one is an engineering marvel, have no doubt.
Back then, I was holding off on buying a laptop, I remember as people were hoping to see the new model early on in 2012 and then didn't happen. As I waited, I was getting more and more tempted to buy the older model. I'm so glad I held off and bought the 2012 rMBP. I was and continues to be the best laptop I've ever owned.
Yeah its not without its controversy by using a proprietary SSD, or the battery being glued on, yet imo, its the best laptop apple produced
I'm till using it, though the odds of it getting replaced 2018 are rather high
Yeah its not without its controversy by using a proprietary SSD, or the battery being glued on, yet imo, its the best laptop apple produced
I'm till using it, though the odds of it getting replaced 2018 are rather high
2012 didn't receive 5% of 2016 criticism. There were a lot, as there always will be when a redesign comes. I remember that lack of ethernet bothered me. And still does, to this day.
But I guess the biggest difference would be the keyboard. No one mentioned it in 2012, and now we have a plague on our hands.
But I guess the biggest difference would be the keyboard. No one mentioned it in 2012, and now we have a plague on our hands.
No ethernet, no firewire, no RAM upgrades, glued in battery ... and then there was the whingeing about "lag".
The Macbook Pro went from being one of the nicest and easiest laptops to repair and upgrade to next to impossible for your average user. It also introduced awful performance issues into macOS that persist to this day (it's improved significantly in some places in High Sierra, but there's still a lot of work to do).
However, those trade offs came with quite significant tangible benefits. The trade offs made on the new Macbook Pro do not come with benefits of the same magnitude as the Retina Macbook Pros did, it's a marginal improvement where there is one.
However, those trade offs came with quite significant tangible benefits. The trade offs made on the new Macbook Pro do not come with benefits of the same magnitude as the Retina Macbook Pros did, it's a marginal improvement where there is one.
2012 rMBP was a fantastic machine. Some naysayers mocked the "retina" term and insisted it was a gimmick. Of course it's standard now and those people now mock Macs that don't have retina screens.
The 2016 MBP w/ Touch Bar is a totally different fish than the 2012 rMBP. The TB takes utility away from the user -- especially if they are touch typers. It actually makes using the MBP a worse experience for us, not better.
Also where the 2012rMBP, like a pro machine should, had a complete array of input ports. The 2016 left us with USB-C and OPTIONAL adapters. Also one of those USB-C ports must be use for power so that leaves 3 input ports - not real "pro" to me.
Then there is the keyboard. 2012 had a great keyboard. 2016 is a torture device for touch typists.
The 2016 MBP w/ Touch Bar is a totally different fish than the 2012 rMBP. The TB takes utility away from the user -- especially if they are touch typers. It actually makes using the MBP a worse experience for us, not better.
Also where the 2012rMBP, like a pro machine should, had a complete array of input ports. The 2016 left us with USB-C and OPTIONAL adapters. Also one of those USB-C ports must be use for power so that leaves 3 input ports - not real "pro" to me.
Then there is the keyboard. 2012 had a great keyboard. 2016 is a torture device for touch typists.
It got tons, from removal of FW800 to the choice to use soldered RAM to the selection of the GPU relative to the pixels the screen needed to drive to the lack of a 17-inch offering. The biggest thing it was criticized for was problems with the screens retaining images (an issue that was eventually resolved after the premiere and first revision models.) Some reviewers went as far to recommend against it due to image retention through IIRC mid-2013.
The 2012 made me appreciate my 2011, despite the gpu issues. I still made use of the ethernet and dvd for a few years, upgraded the RAM and put in a 1TB SSD. The retina screen would be nice, but the high res anti glare screen is sufficient as I sit a lot farther back from my laptop then my ipad.
I bought and used professionally the 2012 15" MBP very much a solid Mac. I wasn't in love with the severe reduction of the upgrade path, equally the 2012 MBP was a solid performer. Apple made some sensible decisions to improve the portability of the notebook without compromising it's core functionality, possibly barring the exclusion Either port, with the MBP very much remaining the weapon of choice for many professionals. Not all good mind, the 2012 was marred with image retention and many suffered a less then fluid GUI.
The MBP 2016 just a mess; removes core functionality that can only be restored by dongles and or third party solutions, battery capacity needlessly cut, fine for the Facebook & YouTube crowd, Keyboard's little more than a joke at this point in time, topped off with completing the transition from computer to appliance with zero upgradability/reparability. As of now I don't know of anyone directly using the 2016/2017 MBP professionally nor anyone planning to, and for good reason...
Q-6
The MBP 2016 just a mess; removes core functionality that can only be restored by dongles and or third party solutions, battery capacity needlessly cut, fine for the Facebook & YouTube crowd, Keyboard's little more than a joke at this point in time, topped off with completing the transition from computer to appliance with zero upgradability/reparability. As of now I don't know of anyone directly using the 2016/2017 MBP professionally nor anyone planning to, and for good reason...
Q-6
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The lack of ethernet bothered me a bit, but I did get a USB/Ethernet dongle, but in the end, I just used wifi. I understand the ethernet can push a lot more data through and I'm not knocking it, but for my usage, I was able to adjust and not really incur any major penalty.
The same with the DVD, I had stopped using them anyways, so its removal was a non-issue.
I've purchased the 2012 13" MBP Retina in December of 2012 when it was brand-new without even so much as glancing at any reviews or criticism online. Only much later did I find out that many long-time Apple users were mocking it for various reasons, among others the fact that some considered the high-resolution Retina screen to be a gimmick, the missing optical drive, or the lack of an upgrade path down the road.
Suffice it to say that I've had that thing for many years and it never gave me any trouble. In early 2017 I've replaced it with the 13" 2016 nTB MacBook Pro... boy was that a mistake.
That said the 2012 criticism was very different from the 2016 criticism. The biggest 2016/2017 gripes are the new butterfly keyboard and the Touch Bar. I don't hear that many complaints about USB-C/TB3. Most likely because the latter can be somewhat alleviated through adapters and docks whereas the keyboard is something you either love or hate, and something Apple users are stuck with for the time being until Apple either reconsiders or redesigns.
Suffice it to say that I've had that thing for many years and it never gave me any trouble. In early 2017 I've replaced it with the 13" 2016 nTB MacBook Pro... boy was that a mistake.
That said the 2012 criticism was very different from the 2016 criticism. The biggest 2016/2017 gripes are the new butterfly keyboard and the Touch Bar. I don't hear that many complaints about USB-C/TB3. Most likely because the latter can be somewhat alleviated through adapters and docks whereas the keyboard is something you either love or hate, and something Apple users are stuck with for the time being until Apple either reconsiders or redesigns.
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Keyboard was still good. Retina was amazing at the time. No goofy features like the touchbar, and you actually gained ports like HDMI while still thinner and slimmer than the outgoing model. Most people were fine with no ethernet/dvd because of the Air. Not being able to upgrade the RAM/SSD was a sore point, as was the blurry graphics when dealing with non-retina websites. And some people complained that the screen was a little choppy.
But other than that, it was the perfect laptop.
But other than that, it was the perfect laptop.
The 2012 rMBP didn't support SL either. That was a stopper for lots of people who weren't interested in Mac OS X bloat that started to occur in 10.7.
Back then, I was holding off on buying a laptop, I remember as people were hoping to see the new model early on in 2012 and then didn't happen. As I waited, I was getting more and more tempted to buy the older model. I'm so glad I held off and bought the 2012 rMBP. I was and continues to be the best laptop I've ever owned.
Yeah its not without its controversy by using a proprietary SSD, or the battery being glued on, yet imo, its the best laptop apple produced
I'm till using it, though the odds of it getting replaced 2018 are rather high
Amen to that!