4 ms·

Who knows? Nobody knows outside of Apple. My best guess would be that maybe by sometime late next year at the earliest they will have redesigned the keyboard,

Who knows? Nobody knows outside of Apple. My best guess would be that maybe by sometime late next year at the earliest they will have redesigned the keyboard, but it could easily be 2020 or later, or maybe never. It's also possible the next version won't be an improvement, as many learned when the 2012-2015 MacBook Pro was getting long in the tooth, and the 2016-???? replacement arrived to replace it. In the meantime, you can do what many of us did: upgrade to a three year old 2015 MacBook Pro, it has many useful ports, MagSafe, an escape key, function keys, a working keyboard, etc, it's an improvement in every possible way except that the enclosure is a little bit thicker. Or you can do what many of my other colleagues are doing and get a Lenovo as they migrate back to Linux/Windows.

atombender 8y ago
Word of warning: The current 2015 models sold by Apple don't have the discrete GPU, only an integrated Intel Iris chipset. Graphics performance is atrocious, especially with scaled Retina. I often experience sluggishness related to graphics performance. To get the discontinued, superior discrete model, you have to find a refurb or a used one on Craigslist/EBay/etc., and you have to be pretty lucky to find one with all the right specs (for me, minimum 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM).
wingerlang 8y ago
I got a macbook 2016 model with touch bar as a work laptop. I was scared of all things, the lack of esc, ports, magsafe. However after using it for X months, I am never going back. - The touchbar is great with sliders for brightness and volume. That's ALL I use it for though, so it is a bit under utilized. - The esc key might be the only minor issue, but it's mostly the lack of feedback. - Ports - I love having to unplug only one dongle instead of the 4-5 USD/HDMI/ETC/ETC I always have plugged in every time I need to move away. And plugging them all back in is also a single action. I'd be ok with less ports even. - Magsafe, I still love it but I haven't even missed it. - No issues with the keyboard and I haven't used function keys in years anyway. I think it 'clicked' for me after a few weeks of usage, so I understand people judging it or even returning it after a few days.

atombender 8y ago

Word of warning: The current 2015 models sold by Apple don't have the discrete GPU, only an integrated Intel Iris chipset. Graphics performance is atrocious, especially with scaled Retina. I often experience sluggishness related to graphics performance. To get the discontinued, superior discrete model, you have to find a refurb or a used one on Craigslist/EBay/etc., and you have to be pretty lucky to find one with all the right specs (for me, minimum 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM).

wingerlang 8y ago

I got a macbook 2016 model with touch bar as a work laptop. I was scared of all things, the lack of esc, ports, magsafe. However after using it for X months, I am never going back. - The touchbar is great with sliders for brightness and volume. That's ALL I use it for though, so it is a bit under utilized. - The esc key might be the only minor issue, but it's mostly the lack of feedback. - Ports - I love having to unplug only one dongle instead of the 4-5 USD/HDMI/ETC/ETC I always have plugged in every time I need to move away. And plugging them all back in is also a single action. I'd be ok with less ports even. - Magsafe, I still love it but I haven't even missed it. - No issues with the keyboard and I haven't used function keys in years anyway. I think it 'clicked' for me after a few weeks of usage, so I understand people judging it or even returning it after a few days.