My employer has a shiny new 2017 MBP for me that I have yet to touch because there are SO MANY issues with both the hardware (the need for four different dongles and no escape key) to the security issues to the fact a lot of core software still doesn't work solidly. I'm sticking with the 2015 MBP they gave me before.
After much deliberation, I bought a 2017 13" MBP, upspecced to 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM. While I've not had a complete failure from the keyboard, it did need looking at at the Apple Store when it also had the entire display assembly replaced because the keyboard had damaged the screen - despite me looking after it well, always putting it in a soft slip case and then a laptop bag.
While I've liked some elements of the design, it's not (to me) a Pro piece of kit, and I've sine replaced it with a 2016 15" MBP which is much better built and doesn't need extra dongles to connect to everyday devices (and has magsafe, which is the best piece of design I've seen in many years).
Given this performance, I'll never buy a new Macbook again - particularly given all the issues about thermal throttling, battery life and indeed the way that macOS seems now to be going.
Don't get me wrong, there are elements of the 2017 MBP that I love - it looks amazing, the screen is fantastic and it's just so precisely made. But the lack of ports, the lack of ruggedness, the keyboard and the performance outweigh any 'look, shiny!' feeling I have about it - so much so that I've not sold it because I feel like I'm stitching the buyer up - even though they've not held their price compared to previous models, which shows that people know this to be the case, and the keyboard still has the 4 year warranty in place.
Recently traded my corporate 2015 MBP 13 for a 2017 non-touchbar MBP 13. In short - it's terrible. The keyboard is extremely loud and I personally don't like the tactile feel. Battery life seems worse than my 2015 model. Bluetooth is sketchy, and it seems to take very little load before the fan ramps up for takeoff. Combine that with only 2 USB-C ports, so I need to carry port replicators and converters for travel.
Anecdotally, I know of at least 3 people on my team that have had keyboard issues with this model, generally in the first year of deployment.
I'm not a Mac fan in general, I use Android phones and run Linux at home. I chose the MBP in lieu of an even worse Windows experience. I really think my employer is trying to influence us all to BYOD. As my role requires software that is not supported on Linux, I'm stuck choosing between two undesirable options, but right now I'm leaning towards buying a Dell and dealing with Windows as the Mac hardware is just infuriating.
I’m at the point where I still greatly prefer MacOS, but Windows hardware.
Unless things have changed dramatically, my 2017 MBP will be my last when it’s time for a replacement. Hundreds of dollars in add-ons to make it functional and a terrible keyboard are too much to live with.
I've had three work MBP's since the last major redesign and I've had issues with every single one of them. I've never been so frustrated with an Apple product.
I wound up buying an iMac as my new primary personal machine because I'm terrified to shell out the money for one of these disaster MBP's.
It may be unpopular, but I agree. I held off as long as I could, but finally ended up with a 2017 MBP. It works fine. I like the keyboard feel. It is a bit noisy though, and I worry about failures, but good so far. USB-C means I plug less into the computer than I used to. The dongle situation is a bit overblown. My 2014 MBP already had special cables for mini-display port and a dongle for gigabit ethernet.
I am annoyed that Apple cannot seem to just do simple upgrades though. Not every release has to be some out of this world new design.
Yep. I find myself unable to use my personal MBP 2015 after using the 2018 MBP for work. The feel is just so much better. The reliability is the issue(though I haven’t faced any issues yet).
Okay, but on the flip side I used the 2017 MBP for a year with no problems whatsoever. It's hard to figure out realistically how much of a problem this is for them.
I recently switched from a 2014 edition MBP to a 2017, and the experience has been terrible. I had to make the switch b/c the battery on the 2014 machine was starting to die and my work had an extra 2017 model.
- popping sounds coming from the chassis that drive me crazy
- bunched up arrow keys that are occasionally unresponsive at least in X11 emacs
- it seems like the touchbar has potential but is difficult to customize
- I find it lame you need an adapter for USB or HDMI.
My work machine is a 2017 MBP; previously a 2013 one, and before that 2008 or so. For my usecase (programmer), it’s so much better than the 2008 one it’s not even funny, and also substantially better than the 2013 one (in particular, the SSD is much faster, and the battery holds up better for me). I’m a professional user. I’m not really seeing the problem (for my usecase).
Edit: Also, I know people love to complain about how thin it’s gotten, but as someone who has to drag it to meetings a lot, I kind of appreciate the thinness (along with the one-port connection when I get it back to the desk).
IMO the 2015 Macbook Pro is one of the best laptops ever made. Don't know why they went and messed that up.
I solidly regret the 2017 version. I've had one keyboard replacement already (that required the logic board to be replaced, seriously). Since then, I've already lost two keycaps. I've been ordering replacements online because they wanted me to ship it out for repair.
My 2015 Macbook is being used daily by a friend and is still in perfect shape. Worst thing that happened with that one is that I wore the letters off some of the keys.
I've got a 2012 MBP which doesn't have much in the specs department, so it never gets used. I use my early 2015 MBP from work for my work and personal stuff, I check MacRumours regularly praying that Apple will have come to their senses and make a proper MBP again.
When I leave this job I'll have the choice between using my 2012 MBP or buying a 2015 model off of eBay, it's a sad state of affairs, and every power user that uses a Mac laptop is in the same boat.
I'm seeking a replacement for my early 2011 MBP (retro-fitted with more RAM, an SSD as the primary disk and a 1tb swapped in-place of the DVD drive). I'd like to upgrade for a Retina display and something faster and lighter than 2011 parts, but this refresh left me questioning whether buying this generation will be a mistake given all the blowback. Seems they may rectify some of this in 2017. So I can't wait - but buying a 2015 model seems like it may be the better value to avoid dongle hell and swapping out multiple power bricks for the new connector.
I was issued a new gen MBP at work and have been supremely disappointed. The touch bar is (to me) a useless anti-feature, and am also completely dissatisfied with the new keyboard (reduced tactility across the board, varying tactility from key to key, a loud static noise emitted from the keys when the machine heats up, etc).
I went so far as to try to return this thing, but my employer wasn't willing to indulge me. The GPU upgrade and smaller form factor, to me, aren't worth the sub-par keyboard. If they allowed for more than 16GB of RAM the new models might be worthwhile, but as it stands I definitely do not recommend it as a work machine.
Completely agree. Just started at a company about a month ago and was given a 2017 MacBook Pro. After 2 weeks of hating the entire experience (keyboard and touchbar) I asked for an older 2015 machine. Got it, much better now.
I ended up buying a new 2017 15 inch MacBook Pro and it's really been not that bad. Yes, you have to use a USB-A to USB-C dongle here and there but at least for my daily use, it's not been terribly inconvenient. The machine is light and thin and I enjoy it immensely, although I'm a little scared about the keyboard (so far no problems). Touchbar?... meh. Neither like not dislike.
I don't know. I understand the new MacBooks are not perfect for everybody but for me it has been more than OK, and I love the huge trackpad. I feel like a lot of the criticism seems excessive or are complaints that could very well be applied to the sad state of the PC industry as a whole.
I've been suffering with a 2018 MBP as well, and I'm done. The Touchbar and the arrow keys are killing me.
I'm giving them one more chance to fix their mistake with the 2019 MBP which should be announced in the next few weeks, otherwise I'm, going to a Vaio.
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