First: if you can afford to upgrade, just do so: you've already mentioned on another thread that your current machine is failing. If you don't like your choice you can return it to Apple no questions asked within two weeks.
FWIW: I've done a lot of C++ development on first a MacBook retina (2016), then a 15" MBP (2018) and now a 2018 MacBook Air. Because my work is in C++ the Touch Bar doesn't affect me (never used F keys) though it was too sensitive so I completely disabled it on the MBP and mapped escape to caps lock.
I am perfectly happy with the butterfly keyboard, though the first one (on the MBr) did fail twice and would have been replaced yet again if the machine had not been destroyed in an accident.
But the MBP keyboard didn't fail for me. What failed was that the machine was simply too heavy (which is a hilarious statement when I pick up an old 17" like I used to carry around) after I'd gotten used to something tiny. The Air was a good compromise. I rarely rebuild the entire system, so compile speed was not a huge difference in practice compared to the MBP.
I’m still running a late 2012 15” MBP which was upgraded at purchase with the 2.6GHz i7 and 16GB of ram. It remains one of the most reliable laptops I’ve ever owned, and so far I’ve only needed to replace the battery when it stopped lasting all day which I regularly need. I suspect once it can’t run the latest MacOS that will probably kill it, for now it runs Big Sur fine with some small patches and Windows 10 in bootcamp for the two or so pieces if software I just can’t avoid.
If you can find a much newer one, the more recent 16” macbooks have a much improved typing experience over the first attempt at the butterfly keys, otherwise a 2015 one with upgrades to at least the RAM will still run quite well.
I actually had to make the exact same jump a couple months ago. My 2013 MBP wasn't really slowing me down but I was giving it away to my family instead. I had a lot of hesitation when it came to touch bar but the that was way too much easier to get used to than what I thought.
The keyboard I'd say is a lot better than the 2018 versions. I've used a friends 2018 MBP where I had issue with repetitive keystrokes or no keystrokes at all, it's been two months I'm using mine and haven't had a single issue yet.
I think if you need it now you should go for it. There are always gonna be changes, updates, redesigns just like how it has been since 2013. If you're in need it of the tool now it's less like that the next update will have a meaningful impact on your work that's worth to wait.
I'm a developer and one of my work laptops is a MBP 13 inch w/ touchbar. I wasn't a huge Apple fan to begin with, but I used one of the last gen 17 inch MBP's for work, for about 2 years and liked it mostly because of the excellent hardware, specifically the keyboard and trackpad.
The new keyboard is absolutely terrible though. Genuinely the second worst keyboard I've ever used. The new switches have caused dramatically more typing errors for me. I thought it might decrease over time, but after 60 days with it as my daily driver I've seen no improvement. It's an odd feeling when I'd rather use a generic HP desktop keyboard over the Apple keyboard.
I tried to keep an open mind with respect to the touchbar, but so far I haven't found a reason to like it. I will say that trying to use Vi is an exercise in futility if you don't remap the ESC key. It probably wouldn't bother me so much if I didn't feel like it's just sitting there using battery power unnecessarily.
I refused to upgrade due to touch bar/esc key absence and the keyboard fiasco is a big no for now. I did hope for a major redesign this fall, but it seems I will have to wait much longer.
Macbook Pro has been my companion since 2005 and I feel like Apple is doing everything they can to make me switch to Linux. My current, fully loaded 15 inch MB Pro from late 2013 started having serious battery issues and I hope it will survive until redesign is introduced. Although given the recent breakthroughs in Apple product lines I suppose they will drive me even further away from them :-(
I recently upgraded from my 2015 rMBP to the 2018 model you’re looking at. I agree the Touch Bar is a dumb gimmick (for a dev’s purposes at least), but the keyboard has grown on me, and the 6-core/12-thread CPU is a serious boon for dev work.
Each one of these concerns is making me clutch to my early Macbook Air. I'm terrified to upgrade. In fact, a colleague recently purchased a Macbook Pro and I steered them clear of the touchbar.
I spend less than 10% of my time at my computer maxing my processor. I spend more than 90% of my time using the keyboard. I’ve seriously considered selling my 2017 MBP and buying a 2018 MBA. Then I heard the problems still haven’t been solved with that model and nixed that idea. But I would much rather have a slower machine with a reliable/comfortable keyboard than a faster machine with a brittle/uncomfortable one.
I do 100% on my development work on a 2015 MacBook Pro. I work remotely from different places so I value the consistency in my work flow (same keyboard, same trackpad). I would've normally already purchased a new MBP this year but I'm actively considering alternatives for the first time in 8 years due to these keyboard issues and the idiotic touchbar issue. Currently looking at Surface Pro and Thinkpad X1.
I'm glad the Air line is back for those who prefer the portability. But, make the pro great again. Give it better cooling and expandibility even at the expense of size.
Agree Touchbar is the most worthless feature ever invented. Just give in and add a touchscreen already Apple!
What is new with Air keyboard that makes it better? The old school MBP had the best keyboard before these butterfly switches.
Never had issue with battery in the new MBP. I have the 2018 i7 w/ 6 cores and I can work pretty much all day (8 hours). I use VMware Fusion and Chrome which are battery hogs.
As for the size, I was happy with the MBP 2015 where I could replace parts. It was the perfect size for the expandibility it provided. I'm not a big guy and I never thought this MBP is heavy.
So much this- I struggled with my butterfly mbp for about 18 months all under the guise of "its a stout machine, the keyboard isnt that bad" or "I can use an external keyboard".
Then I grew tired of the macbook fan noise when running windows 10 and debugging with the touch bar. I ordered a surface 3 laptop and immediately realized how important a nice keyboard is to me. Its tactile, its got enough travel, the keys feel nice. I type with fewer errors and I work faster. Anyone want to buy a 2018 macbook pro with 6 core and 32gb ram?
Same here in terms of stability. I've been using a touch bar MBP 15 for several months and its been rock solid (still on Sierra though).
That being said, I HATE the keyboard and the touchbar is just dumb. The battery life is worse as well (although still way better than my Windows laptops). I wish I just had my old machine back to be honest.
Do you speak on behalf of all "developers?" The 2016 revision is Apple's fastest-selling iteration of the MBP.
I notice you don't quote two paragraphs right before that:
> The butterfly keyboard design Apple introduced in 2016 has been divisive. Some people really like it, claiming it has fast travel and a sturdy, responsive feel to it. Others feel it's uncomfortable to type on. We haven't seen a keyboard this polarizing in a long time; it's a point of passionate disagreement even among Ars Technica reviews staff.
The reaction is mixed, even among people who compare laptops to each other for a living. But you make it sound like anybody who knows what they're doing would prefer the old model.
The keyboards seem to be getting better. I can’t stand my 2017 MBP, but the 2018 MBP is noticeably better, and the 2018 MBA (which was refreshed after) is noticeably better than that. My hope is that the next generation MBP continues this trend. As for the touchbar, I’m not so sanguine. I can get by on the base machine though, so probably I’ll just stick with that and avoid the TB that way.
A year and a half ago I bought a base-level 13" mbp with 8G ram, 128G ssd, and no touchbar. I have really enjoyed using it, and I fortunately haven't had any keyboard issues yet.
I've been toying with the idea of upgrading for more RAM, so I can do my minimal Windows and Linux work in VMs and get rid of my other dedicated, rarely used laptops. When I found out that all macbook pros have touchbars now, I scoured the internet for a new 13" mbp with function keys. I got the last one from BH Photo, with 16G ram and 1TB ssd. I was very happy to find it. I hope I get a few years out of it, and I hope I don't have keyboard issues with it.
After the 2018 MacBook Pro keyboard started breaking down (after 1 year of use, once replaced already) I gave up on Apple and bought a 3 pound LG Gram 17 inch laptop.
Using Windows for the first time in 10 years, all I can say is it has come a long way. They've put serious effort into making development for linux via WSL and VS Code a dream.
The laptop is also fantastic, 17" of 16:10 real estate, light, the macbook feels like a stone now.
The downsides are the keyboard is a tad too small as it includes a numpad and takes a couple weeks to get used to. I wish it was a bit bigger, there was room for this.
The other issue is by default the laptop is set to too aggressively throttle in software and requires tweaking.
Other than that fantastic all around, 2 nvme slots, 1 upgradable ram slot, lots of IO.
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FWIW: I've done a lot of C++ development on first a MacBook retina (2016), then a 15" MBP (2018) and now a 2018 MacBook Air. Because my work is in C++ the Touch Bar doesn't affect me (never used F keys) though it was too sensitive so I completely disabled it on the MBP and mapped escape to caps lock.
I am perfectly happy with the butterfly keyboard, though the first one (on the MBr) did fail twice and would have been replaced yet again if the machine had not been destroyed in an accident.
But the MBP keyboard didn't fail for me. What failed was that the machine was simply too heavy (which is a hilarious statement when I pick up an old 17" like I used to carry around) after I'd gotten used to something tiny. The Air was a good compromise. I rarely rebuild the entire system, so compile speed was not a huge difference in practice compared to the MBP.
Good luck
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