The MBP is by far the best laptop I’ve used. The graphics are amazing, and the touchpad is ergonomic. However, Apple has demonstrated their inability to be reliable. I bought my MBP in January of this year (2019) and tomorrow I’ll pick it up from its 3rd repair. I’ve grown tired of this repair routine. And after the 3 years runs out, they will start charging me.
Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
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Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#2Dell XPS developer edition, or if you want a 15", the non-developer edition.
Touch pad is not quite as good, but the rest of the hardware is up to spec. The 4K screen is arguably better than a MBP.
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#3Slightly off topic, I greatly prefer a touch screen over the touch pad.
One downside of switching is that work software for Macs are very well built. Webstorm feels clunkier on Windows than Mac, for example.
I wish I could recommend something, but nothing seems to meet the weight, quality, power match.
HP Pavilion has the weight and power of a MBP, and the tablet mode is fun. But the touchpad is terrible.
Dell XPS has power and a good build, but is too heavy if you like to lug around two laptops like me.
MS Surfacebook seems nice, but some friends report that it it's also similarly fragile.
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#4Thinkpad X1 Carbon (or Extreme for 15" OLED display and 64GB RAM)
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#5Slightly OT however for what it’s worth the new 16inch MBP with a redesigned non-butterfly keyboard is supposed to be available soon.
I would suggest you hold off any laptop decision until then.
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#6I recently switched to the Lenovo Thinkpad P1 running Ubuntu. After 6 months of use, I’m fairly happy with it.
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#7Nothing equals the MacBook line even with all the downgrades since they switched to Donglebook models.
Closest I’ve used is the Surface line but it’s not nearly as good.
I’m still using a donglebook. My work gave me one and I had bought one so I have a spare for when one is being repaired.
The keyboards are utter shit, the usb C charging is a big downgrade, and the touch pads are now so big they often get in the way of typing.
The 2012 MacBook Pro Retina I bought before my 2018 Donglebook still hasn’t had issues.
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#8X1 Carbon is a really nice device. Its pretty reliable, Linux friendly and has no spyware installed like some other Lenovo lines.
But no matter what laptop you pick, its gonna take you a couple of weeks until you are comfortable with it. But it will happen eventually. Laptops have the same interface after all.
Switching the entire software stack from Mac to any other OS is probably the main struggle.
Try a couple of Linuxes or Windows for a few weeks until you find the sweet spot. Between Mac, Windows and major Linux distributions, there is none that is objectively better anymore(for developer experience). Its a matter of preference and habit.
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#9can you share what was broken since January?
Re: Ask HN: Feasible Alternative to the MacBook Pro?
#10The Dell XPS line is pretty decent, and the newer models have fixed some design flaws (like camera placement). The higher-end models have discrete graphics cards, fingerprint readers, and a decent resolution display.