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Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

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Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#101

Post by netsharc »

devwastaken wrote: post #36
CoolGuySteve wrote: post #12

A bigger problem imo is the $700 display replacement. I have a similar problem with my wife’s broken MacBook, where replacing the display costs almost as much as the computer itself. The problem with the MacBook is that the display is bonded to the glass and the aluminum back so that you have to replace the entire top assembly to fix the display. It’s even more depressing to know that the ribbon connecting the displa…

Yep, Louis rossman, a popular apple repair guy on YouTube talks similiar about this a lot. The overwhelming majority of problems are fixable for 10 minutes or less and less than a dollar in components. But apple will just tell you to buy a new board and purposefully makes it harder for repair. The whole 'sustainability' is a marketing act.

There was a hyped report where they said they recovered over 2204 lbs of gold from their hardware, this number quoted in every news story: https://www.geek.com/apple/apples-recycling-program-recovere...

2204 lbs is 1000kg converted to lbs, rounded down. If that's not a marketing number I don't know what is

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#102

Post by setquk »

Hengjie wrote: post #84
setquk wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wise choice. I bought a 2018 MBA with a “fixed butterfly keyboard”. Keyboard was useless after two weeks so it went back. Back on the thinkpad now.

Same issue, keyboard on 2018 had issues. Key broke and Apple deemed it "accidental damage" because of my efforts to clean the key following their support article.

Assholes. I would have just chargebacked the damn thing if they pulled that shit on me.

Edit: this sort of denialism makes me feel dirty owning an iphone.

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#103

Post by lbill »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #85
andr wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the flipside, Apple has a lot more data on what components fail than we do. They can detect issues before they become a "-gate" and I imagine slight improvements like this one happen fairly often. Which, I'd say, is a good engineering practice and culture.

If Apple cared enough about detecting issues before a "-gate" happens, then "-gate"s would hardly ever happen. "We'll fix it in a later iteration, possibly" isn't a credible attitude from a company whose prices are already wildly inflated and hard to justify.

I don't mind the "-gates" : issues are bound to arise. The only way to avoid "-gates" is to stop producing and selling anything at all. Modifying a manufacturing process to correct a flaw is not always easy and can take some time, so I understand the "We'll fix it in a later iteration" stance.

I think the real issue here is the failure of Apple to acknowledge the technical flaw. That, and the the poor customer service. If it's a design issue, it should be covered in the warranty : it would be costly on a short term perspective, but in this specific case I think it would be worth it, as it would keep customers happy with the brand.

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#104

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

isoskeles wrote: post #91
vardump wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about others, but I don't dare to buy Apple products anymore. My 2012 MacBook Pro is still going strong, but newer MacBooks don't have anywhere near the same build quality and durability. When you have an issue, and complain about it or even ask advice what to do, I've often encountered toxic behavior from Apple fans. Denying the problem's existence and such. The problem is of course what to heck to buy.…

I got a Dell XPS 13 last year and the touchpad is great. I use it both on Windows and Ubuntu. I also remember having a Toshiba something-or-other 10 years ago and hating the touchpad in comparison to a Mac. So, just saying, I've seen how bad it can be. The XPS has given me no issues aside from having to make sure I change the click behavior (tap to click really annoys me).

Does tap-to-click really get in the way if you turn it on but don't want to use it? Are you 'tapping' as your finger comes down onto the trackpad to move? That action should be detected and ignored, IMO. I'm only saying this as a tap-to-click user. I can't stand using someone's keyboard if they've turned it off — there I am, tapping away, looking like an idiot ...

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#105

Post by oblio »

shinryuu wrote: post #100
azinman2 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can assure you the message is consistent internally with action. It’s not just marketing. Disclosure: I work for Apple.

Why is Apple so resistant to making repairable products? What is the obsessiveness with making ever thinner products? I remember starting a job 2014 and choosing a macbook 2012, because of the macbook 2012 being more repairable. It seems to have served me well. Still using it, might consider upgrading to macbook 2015. But won't go beyond that before I hear from others that the current hardware issues have been resolv…

> Why is Apple so resistant to making repairable products? What is the obsessiveness with making ever thinner products?

I think the two are not connected. I think that they don't really care that much about repairable products, despite what they say, even internally, because as Upton Sinclair said:

> “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!”

Regarding the thinness angle, I used to think the same way. But their focus on thin (and also small) does drive the industry forward.

Random example from the present day: smartphones are becoming thinner and thinner. As a result, now we can almost have a pocketable flexible device. Besides the AMOLED tech needing to be invented, the device would be no use if each half of the flexible display would be 20mm thick. You couldn't realistically carry around a 4cm thick device (proof: we don't really carry books in our pockets). Well you could, if you were an NBA player wearing cargo pants. But everyone else couldn't, realistically.

Making devices smaller makes them more portable and users don't really care about marginal computing power gains as they do about marginal portability increases. VR/AR tech needs more computing power and better software but it also desperately needs a portability boost.

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#106

Post by godzillabrennus »

azinman2 wrote: post #75
sametmax wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes you wonder how much of the privacy features are a marketing act too.

I can assure you the message is consistent internally with action. It’s not just marketing. Disclosure: I work for Apple.

Why then has iOS tracked our frequently visited locations by default for years?

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-see-your-iphone-locat...

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#107

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

eridius wrote: post #58
l1feh4ck wrote: post #25

The one thing that caught my attention is that "they keep deleting the issue we post". That is an evil thing to do.

Question: do they delete any other posts, or just ones alleging design flaws? Do they give any reason for deletion?

Accidental Tech Podcast dealt with this recently: Apple's support and bug tracking is really low-standard, by all accounts. Apparently, they frequently mass-close bugs (e.g. after a new release) with a comment to the effect of "if this is still a bug, please reopen it". You can understand the circumstances that might've led them to do this ... but it doesn't sound great.

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#108

Post by VBprogrammer »

eridius wrote: post #62
potta_coffee wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hate hate hate the newer Mac keyboard. Diarrhea is absolutely the perfect word to describe my feelings toward it.

I love the newer Mac keyboard. It is hands-down the best laptop keyboard I've ever used. Literally my only complaint is the design of the arrow keys.

I'm not an Apple fan boy by any stretch but years ago I discovered that the Apple 104 key keyboard suited me down to the ground. Despite using it mostly on Ubuntu and Windows. I've put up with strange key mappings just to use that keyboard.

The MacBook Pro I've just gotten at work is a nightmare. I assumed this was just getting used to it until this weekend when I finally setup my desktop at home with the old 104 key keyboard. The difference is night and day.

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#109

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

shinryuu wrote: post #100
azinman2 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can assure you the message is consistent internally with action. It’s not just marketing. Disclosure: I work for Apple.

Why is Apple so resistant to making repairable products? What is the obsessiveness with making ever thinner products? I remember starting a job 2014 and choosing a macbook 2012, because of the macbook 2012 being more repairable. It seems to have served me well. Still using it, might consider upgrading to macbook 2015. But won't go beyond that before I hear from others that the current hardware issues have been resolv…

> Why is Apple so resistant to making repairable products?

I think it's a rhetorical question and we all know the answer to it.

Re: Apple’s 2018 MacBook Pros Attempt to Solve Flexgate, Without Admitting It Exists

#110

Post by ksec »

azinman2 wrote: post #75
sametmax wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes you wonder how much of the privacy features are a marketing act too.

I can assure you the message is consistent internally with action. It’s not just marketing. Disclosure: I work for Apple.

And I can assure you once people lose trust, they started to question everything. And sadly there are increasingly lots of area where people find Tim Cook's Apple are very inconsistent.
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