4 ms·

Not convinced. I'd say the best laptop right now is still the 2015 Macbook Pro.

ndstephens 8y ago
I have a mid-2014 and am terrified of something happening to it. Normally the idea of upgrading is exciting. Not as of yet...
- dijit 8y ago
  You can still buy them new, which means you can extend apple-care on them and get replacements from the store. I would do that; I actually did something similar last month with the (now aged) iPhone 5SE. If you buy Apple Care on it they will support it.. You're not losing anything by having a slightly older CPU realistically.
  - bjpbakker 8y ago
    Since Apple hasn’t really lowered the price of those old models, buying them new isn’t exactly a viable option anymore IMHO. I’m on the same path as GP, terrified that my MBP 2015 breaks. However, it will be my last mac. I’m fed up with apple’s bs when it comes to their pro laptops. (edit: spelling)
  - atombender 8y ago
    Current models only have an integrated GPU, no discrete GPU. Big step down in performance. See my other comment in this thread.
awalton 8y ago
While you are still able to purchase them, it's not exactly on the market as a new machine... It's not wrong that this was probably one of the best hardware designs and Apple was wrong not to just keep upgrading the processors and memory and churning machines out... but since Apple decided Touchbars and shitty keyboards all for want of a few millimeters that nobody cares about is the way of the future, we're stuck looking elsewhere for hardware. I have to personally admit that I have seriously contemplated buying one of these 2015 machines refurbed, as my 2012 MBP is on its last legs and I need to replace it... six months ago. I also looked at the machine in this article and really quite liked the hardware, but would never buy it from the company that's building it, which is another market fail. (And it's also annoying to watch people call the machine in the article a Macbook clone, when it's really closer to being a Chromebook Pixel clone, all the way down to the 3:2 screen; I love the Chromebook Pixel too, but living with Chromebook hardware as a software dev is a high-level annoyance that I wouldn't wish on anyone for their daily driving experience.)
- imwally 8y ago
  I too entertained the idea of the PixelBook but just this week I sold my 2017 15" MacBook Pro and bought a 2015. I couldn't care less about the TouchBar but there are some serious reliability problems with the butterfly keyboard. What I liked about the 2017: - Great screen (the P3 does make a difference). - Loud speakers (though over a certain percent the chassis would vibrate). - Slightly smaller footprint. - Slightly thinner. - Weighs slightly less. What I like about the 2015: - Reliable keyboard. - Stiffer LCD hinge (less wobbling, don't care about how hard it is to open). - No branding at the bottom of screen. - MagSafe power adapter with charging/charged LED status indicator. - Storage can be self-upgraded. - No accidental TouchBar taps resulting in play/pause or locking screen.
- atombender 8y ago
  Also, the current 2015 model sold in stores doesn't have the discrete AMD GPU; that one was discontinued. What they sell today is an integrated, underpowered Intel Iris. The lackluster graphics performance is really noticeable with an external 4K display.
- curioussavage 8y ago
  I do all my development at home on a dell chromebook with coreboot. I think it’s great. I would totally wish on anybody else. Super key is where caps lock should be which is not a big deal to me and the gallium os distro reuses the chrome os touchpad driver and feels every bit as good as my old MacBook Pro.

I have a mid-2014 and am terrified of something happening to it. Normally the idea of upgrading is exciting. Not as of yet...

dijit 8y ago
You can still buy them new, which means you can extend apple-care on them and get replacements from the store. I would do that; I actually did something similar last month with the (now aged) iPhone 5SE. If you buy Apple Care on it they will support it.. You're not losing anything by having a slightly older CPU realistically.
- bjpbakker 8y ago
  Since Apple hasn’t really lowered the price of those old models, buying them new isn’t exactly a viable option anymore IMHO. I’m on the same path as GP, terrified that my MBP 2015 breaks. However, it will be my last mac. I’m fed up with apple’s bs when it comes to their pro laptops. (edit: spelling)
- atombender 8y ago
  Current models only have an integrated GPU, no discrete GPU. Big step down in performance. See my other comment in this thread.

awalton 8y ago

While you are still able to purchase them, it's not exactly on the market as a new machine... It's not wrong that this was probably one of the best hardware designs and Apple was wrong not to just keep upgrading the processors and memory and churning machines out... but since Apple decided Touchbars and shitty keyboards all for want of a few millimeters that nobody cares about is the way of the future, we're stuck looking elsewhere for hardware. I have to personally admit that I have seriously contemplated buying one of these 2015 machines refurbed, as my 2012 MBP is on its last legs and I need to replace it... six months ago. I also looked at the machine in this article and really quite liked the hardware, but would never buy it from the company that's building it, which is another market fail. (And it's also annoying to watch people call the machine in the article a Macbook clone, when it's really closer to being a Chromebook Pixel clone, all the way down to the 3:2 screen; I love the Chromebook Pixel too, but living with Chromebook hardware as a software dev is a high-level annoyance that I wouldn't wish on anyone for their daily driving experience.)

imwally 8y ago
I too entertained the idea of the PixelBook but just this week I sold my 2017 15" MacBook Pro and bought a 2015. I couldn't care less about the TouchBar but there are some serious reliability problems with the butterfly keyboard. What I liked about the 2017: - Great screen (the P3 does make a difference). - Loud speakers (though over a certain percent the chassis would vibrate). - Slightly smaller footprint. - Slightly thinner. - Weighs slightly less. What I like about the 2015: - Reliable keyboard. - Stiffer LCD hinge (less wobbling, don't care about how hard it is to open). - No branding at the bottom of screen. - MagSafe power adapter with charging/charged LED status indicator. - Storage can be self-upgraded. - No accidental TouchBar taps resulting in play/pause or locking screen.
atombender 8y ago
Also, the current 2015 model sold in stores doesn't have the discrete AMD GPU; that one was discontinued. What they sell today is an integrated, underpowered Intel Iris. The lackluster graphics performance is really noticeable with an external 4K display.
curioussavage 8y ago
I do all my development at home on a dell chromebook with coreboot. I think it’s great. I would totally wish on anybody else. Super key is where caps lock should be which is not a big deal to me and the gallium os distro reuses the chrome os touchpad driver and feels every bit as good as my old MacBook Pro.