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Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

#11
No, you shouldn't have to buy hardware that's 3 generations behind to get a reliable laptop from Apple. Don't encourage that behaviour.

Better options right now:

- Lenovo X1 Carbon 6th gen

- Huawei Matebook X Pro

The latter one is a bargain at $1500 for an intel i7, Nvidia MX150 GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD

Re: Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

#12
In my opinion, it mostly comes down to whether you can live with the lack of ports.

If you often do presentations the HDMI port is going to be very useful. If you take a lot of photos, the SD card slot is a huge time saver (compared to downloading via USB, depending on camera model).

But if you only need those ports at your desk, a docking station is a fine solution. There are TB 3 docks available now that have all the ports and can charge 2017 Macbook all over a single cable, which is pretty awesome. They cost around 250€.

Sure, the 2017 model might have keyboard issues, but my 2015 model has the problem with the screen coating, and it doesn‘t connect to some Wifi hotspots, so it‘s not like it is a perfect machine either.

Re: Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

#13

In my opinion, it mostly comes down to whether you can live with the lack of ports. If you often do presentations the HDMI port is going to be very useful. If you take a lot of photos, the SD card slot is a huge time saver (compared to downloading via USB, depending on camera model). But if you only need those ports at your desk, a docking station is a fine solution. There are TB 3 docks available now that have all t…

At least the issue with the coating is fixed for free, no questions asked, even after regular warranty expired. On the other hand, there have been several reports of butterfly keyboard replacements not being covered half a year into warranty.

Re: Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

#14
I did exactly that, coming from the 2012 MBPr, to make sure I’ll have a reasonable machine for the next 3 years (having warranty again). It’s better to pay relatively much for relatively old hardware that works well, than more for newer hardware that doesn’t. The only serious issue with the 2015 model, the screen coating, gets fixed easily. Newer models have fragile keyboards, oversized trackpads, a lack of ports, and more. Good luck having those fixed. If you do want a Mac and can get away with its performance (graphics in particular), get the 2015 over the 2017, no doubt.

Re: Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

#15
post #11

No, you shouldn't have to buy hardware that's 3 generations behind to get a reliable laptop from Apple. Don't encourage that behaviour. Better options right now: - Lenovo X1 Carbon 6th gen - Huawei Matebook X Pro The latter one is a bargain at $1500 for an intel i7, Nvidia MX150 GPU, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD

but is any of those options "hackintoshable" ( to develop iOS apps ) in a reliable way ? i have no idea if this use case applies to the original poster, but i would (seriously) consider a macbook 2015 for this purpose.

Re: Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

#17

In my opinion, it mostly comes down to whether you can live with the lack of ports. If you often do presentations the HDMI port is going to be very useful. If you take a lot of photos, the SD card slot is a huge time saver (compared to downloading via USB, depending on camera model). But if you only need those ports at your desk, a docking station is a fine solution. There are TB 3 docks available now that have all t…

At least the issue with the coating is fixed for free, no questions asked, even after regular warranty expired. On the other hand, there have been several reports of butterfly keyboard replacements not being covered half a year into warranty.

How do I contact Apple regarding the screen coating issue? When I try to call them, the bot just tells me my warranty coverage has expired.

Re: Ask HN: Should I buy a 2015 Macbook Pro?

#19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3K

and what is your use case ( development ? iOS development ? anything else ? ) for this machine ?

I already own an iMac, I am looking at this for the following:

1. iOS development, Using Unity for games Development, (edit: Mac app development)

2. 1 VM with Windows

3. 1 VM with Linux

edit: also when travelling, to use this for all work demos

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