41–50 of 239 posts
“Pro”. People should really start using quotes when saying “Macbook ‘Pro’” or omit “Pro” entirely. A good article about the Macbooks is “The Best Laptop Ever Made” https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever
> Typing
I got used to the new keyboard after about a week and going back to my previous-gen MBP the smaller keys and extra travel just feels awkward. I type at a speed of about 120WPM, fwiw.
> Touch Bar
Maybe it's because I keep decent posture, but the touch bar is always in sight for me, and I've learned where all the standard buttons are situated by heart anyway. Plus, it's neat when apps have touch bar controls.
> Track Pad
Again, switching between the prev-gen MBP and this one the difference is massive. I never touch the larger track pad accidentally (I'm 6'1" and have relatively large hands, again, maybe it comes down to posture). He's right about the shitty cursor keys on the new gen.
> Power supply
Although I miss magsafe, I don't miss the shitty chords they came with (I think I went through about 10 chargers because I'm prone to moving my laptop while keeping it charged, and that damages the chord in magsafe chargers). I much prefer being able to plug the charger anywhere over magsafe, however.
> Battery Life
The battery life is as good or better than my old gen's was when it was new. Compared to my old gen now, it lasts about 2-3x as long based on the workload.
My only real problem with it is the increasingly shitty software, but the prev-gen MBP doesn't fix that. :)
I have the exact opposite experience so far. By all means, this is a professional laptop in my opinion. To expand a bit: - I love the keyboard, best I've seen on a laptop (I'm a 80+ WPM typist) - I don't have issues with the touchbar, getting used to quickly manage apps like spotify. - My default editor is vim and don't have issues with escape - Trackpad is the best I've seen on a laptop - The machine is fast - The s…
By comparison, I also have a very cheap Asus netbook (13", I think) - it was about £100 compared to about £3000 for the MBP, and it actually has a better keyboard!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>My default editor is vim and don't have issues with escape if you are using vim, it is more efficient to use ctrl+[ instead of the escape key. This way your hands are staying where they mostly are.
Or map Esc to `jk`. Gold.
I have the exact opposite experience so far. By all means, this is a professional laptop in my opinion. To expand a bit: - I love the keyboard, best I've seen on a laptop (I'm a 80+ WPM typist) - I don't have issues with the touchbar, getting used to quickly manage apps like spotify. - My default editor is vim and don't have issues with escape - Trackpad is the best I've seen on a laptop - The machine is fast - The s…
Lucky you have gotten a keyboard that works. My WPM suffers from having to go back and correct stuff all the time. Of course, now it's almost ingrained that in order to make a space, I have to press the spacebar, and then backspace to remove the extra space.
Yeah I'm pretty sure this Macbook Pro I have from 2014 will be my first and last. I've loved it, I'd buy it again, if it was the same design with new specs. I'm not going to downgrade for the same or an increased price tag. And for what? Shaving 0.3lbs off? Worse battery life? Someone get those noodley Apple designers some weights to lift. And some brains.
If you leave it on a desk all day, then it doesn’t really matter, but if you’re constantly taking it on the go you’ll likely appreciate the change (even if you don’t think it’s worth the trade-off in keyboard button travel distance, elimination of some ports, opportunity missed for a larger battery, etc.).
Personally I wish they had allocated an extra millimeter of depth for the keyboard.
I would have actually considered looking past everything in this author's list with the exception of the keyboard. At first I thought it was just my fingers adjusting to the new keyboards after years of a previous generation. But after almost 6 months of not adjusting I gave it up and sold it.
You have to bank pretty hard on the keys and they have this horrible cheap "plastic-y" feeling to them. The old thick rubber keys were one of the best parts of the older MBPs.
The new keys give the sensation that they are sticking or perhaps something has become lodged under them. I found it to be truly a deal-breaker and could not fathom how Apple thought this was in any way an acceptable experience or an improvement.
If you are considering buying one I would suggest bringing your old MBP to an Apple Store and trying them side by side. And then realize that the keyboard on the new MBP will always feel that awkward.
Admittedly, a lot of the things come down to personal preference. I've met a lot of people who like the new keyboard (I slightly prefer the old one, but I hate hate hate the arrow key configuration on the new ones), use the TouchBar a lot (100% useless and annoying for me), and enjoy the extra space on the new touchpad (I really dislike how big it is - I accidentally click a lot).
The really worrying thing, though, is how unreliable the new keyboards are, and how difficult they are to replace. Repairability is pretty terrible with Apple. I'm not holding my breath for Apple to change any of the design decisions they've made with the MBP lately, but hopefully they can at least address reliability issues with the keyboard.
Given all that, plus how unreliable OS X has been for me lately, it is tempting to consider non-Apple alternatives, but it is hard to say if any of them are actually going to be any better. Either way, I don't feel the same about them now as I have from the early 2000s until 2012.
My only complaint is the lack of Escape key, but maybe Apple didn’t have touch typists in mind.
Have several MacBook Pros. Favourite is still 15" mid-2015 with Iris Pro. Would buy again.
Previous to 2015, my 2009 and 2011 MacBook Pros are still loved and will likely receive maintenance and use for years because they have easy to upgrade RAM, SSD, and a somewhat easily replaced battery.
None of the new offering turns my head, and they wouldn't even if they were cheaper. So what a perverse trend this is. I think it's truly a design failure of the entire MacBook Pro product line.