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I had a 13 inch MacBook Pro 2016. Sold it. Went back to using my 2013 MacBook Pro. I have an iPhone 7 and I miss my headphone jack every day. The best phone I e

I had a 13 inch MacBook Pro 2016. Sold it. Went back to using my 2013 MacBook Pro. I have an iPhone 7 and I miss my headphone jack every day. The best phone I ever owned was the se. Apple is happily going off in a nonsense direction where their products are less and less useful because they are less complete and therefore less “self reliant” as devices. See that’s what people don’t articulate. It’s not that the design changes are bad. Some are great. It’s that the balance of great design and great utility is what made apple impossible to beat as a phone and a laptop, and then there was the fact that they were seamlessly integrated (something apple has still failed to fully exploit — their stuff could be mind blowing). This is what made the brand great, and I feel like people miss that part of the argument. When you bought a 2013 MacBook Pro, you didn’t need to buy accessories because it had it all - hdmi, usb, etc. - and it was useful without any additional accessories and met or exceeded my needs in almost all circumstances. I didn’t need a dongle to present and I didn’t need a cable adapter to charge my phone. When I packed for a conference I would grab my laptop, a power supply (that I could trip over in hotel rooms while working with no worries and that neatly wrapped up), and an hdmi to dvi adapter in case the projector failed, but that was it. Now I feel like Apple has externalized all of that utility in an effort to boost margins or go thin, and it’s basically made the devices reliant on a host of adapters, both for phones and laptops (and actually the 2013 Mac pro was the same problem). Apple needs to understand what made them great was that they weren’t the ultimate steak knife, they were the ultimate survival knife, and get back to building the most useful, thought out and self-contained devices like they used to. They had a sweet spot, but we’re going back to the Apple cube across all product lines again, and nobody wants that. The pro computer failure and the move away from nerd needs to slab of glass has lost balance and is heading into design over substance. The pendulum needs some rebalancing.

bennyp101 8y ago
Agree - I'm still using my 13" Mid 2009 Macbook - it has everything on it that I need, I got offered a latest Macbook from work, had to turn it down. That weird bar at the top, a keyboard that just feels horrible to type on, and a shiny screen that is just not for me.
- lostlogin 8y ago
  Assuming you were offered a MacBook (as in, non pro), you made a great choice. The dongle life is grim and even with the right ones (good luck there) you get stuck. Yuck.
  - varjag 8y ago
    The MB12 has no touchbar.
    - lostlogin 8y ago
      Was this reply for me?
      - varjag 8y ago
        Yes it was meant to you. The post you replied to: > That weird bar at the top, a keyboard that just feels horrible to type on, and a shiny screen that is just not for me. There is no touchbar on MB, so they could not been offered that.
        lostlogin 8y ago
        Ahh, thanks. I thought you were correcting me, not offering an alternative.
- nambit 8y ago
  Get a 2015 macbook pro. That's the highest spec macbook without the things that would annoy you.
- neuronic 8y ago
  Of course this is a matter of taste, but I seriously don't get the hate for the new keyboard. It took me two days to get used to it. The one thing I concede is, that it is loud.
  - 8y ago
nambit 8y ago
2015 is the latest best macbook pro.
- gammateam 8y ago
  have you ever repeated that line in an Apple store or any other tech shop? it turns into the twilight zone with the rebuttals they come up with. mostly it is related to the sells and extrapolating that to consumer satisfaction.
- cr1895 8y ago
  Would you mind elaborating a bit? Why 2015, as opposed to something a bit older or newer? I’m considering getting a MacBook but I’m thoroughly uninterested in a new(ish) one.
  - abrowne 8y ago
    The 2015 was the last of that body style, so it has the latest "guts" (CPU etc) with the previous keyboard and ports (USB-A, HDMI, Magsafe). Plus, with the non-mechanical touchpad, there's room for a slightly larger battery¹. 1: "The 2015 revision brought the modern Force Touch trackpad and used the space savings to increase the battery to 99.5 Wh, just under the 100 Wh carry-on limit for most commercial airlines" from Marco Arment, https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever
  - rahimnathwani 8y ago
    2015 MBP 15" retina has the older, more reliable, keyboard, magsafe power, decent CPU and adequate GPU, HDMI, 2 mini-DP, regular USB 3 ports. You could go older but there's no need unless you want a DVD drive. And you'd sacrifice CPU performance and maybe memory capacity. Alas, it seems the Apple official Refurb store sold the last of their 2015 MBP models earlier this year. The earliest ones I see now (in US/UK/HK stores) are 2016 models.
    - saagarjha 8y ago
      The MacBook Pro actually had two Thunderbolt 2 ports, not Mini DisplayPort.
wilsonnb3 8y ago
> When you bought a 2013 MacBook Pro, you didn’t need to buy accessories because it had it all - hdmi, usb, etc. - and it was useful without any additional accessories and met or exceeded my needs in almost all circumstances. Except it didn't have VGA which is still popular in conference rooms to this day, so you needed an adapter for that. Some people probably needed an adapter for Ethernet as well. Not to mention you needed a MagSafe 2 charger instead of a universal USB C charger. > effort to boost margins or go thin, and it’s basically made the devices reliant on a host of adapters They did it on the MacBook because USB C is more convenient than having specific use ports. The same reason you're happy that the 2013 MacBook had two USB three ports instead of two PS/2 ports and a serial port. As for removing the headphone jack from the iPhone, they did it because you can send audio over Bluetooth or lightning. No reason to include a redundant port that does only one thing.
- AlexandrB 8y ago
  > universal USB C charger This mythical device does not exist. USB-C PD includes 5 different power profiles[1] and even if your adapter is big enough subtle compatibility problems still pop up - my colleague's laptop complains about his adapter every time you plug it in for some reason. The situation is better than when every PC product line had their own power connector, but if you were in the Mac ecosystem you already mostly had the same thing because every laptop just used the same of Magsafe connector. USB-C also brings back the problem of tripping over the power cord and sending your $3000 laptop careening towards a wall or the floor. > As for removing the headphone jack from the iPhone, they did it because you can send audio over Bluetooth or lightning. No reason to include a redundant port that does only one thing. What if I want to charge my phone and listen to music and own really nice headphones that don't need to be upgraded every year? Oops, can't do that anymore without this monstrosity: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAH9D7KY7112 https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAH9D7KY71... I've been using the top rated "budget" Bluetooth headphones from The Wirecutter for a year now (Jabra Move) and they blow. Like most bluetooth devices, the connection only works "most of the time", sometimes they connect but don't identify as headphones (?) and I have to power cycle them. They also weigh noticeably more than my previous favourite, portable, wired headphones (Sennheiser PX 100-II) with worse sound quality to boot. I only noticed this when switching back to my wired headphones after I forgot the Bluetooth ones at work and realizing that the wired ones felt almost weightless by comparison. If this is the best that Bluetooth headphones in the ~$100 range have to offer, I don't want it. Oh yeah, and I have to charge the fuckers every day because what I needed was another device that's useless unless I remember to plug it in constantly when I'm not using it. Thanks Apple. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_(Physical)#PD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_(Physical)#PD

bennyp101 8y ago

Agree - I'm still using my 13" Mid 2009 Macbook - it has everything on it that I need, I got offered a latest Macbook from work, had to turn it down. That weird bar at the top, a keyboard that just feels horrible to type on, and a shiny screen that is just not for me.

lostlogin 8y ago
Assuming you were offered a MacBook (as in, non pro), you made a great choice. The dongle life is grim and even with the right ones (good luck there) you get stuck. Yuck.
- varjag 8y ago
  The MB12 has no touchbar.
  - lostlogin 8y ago
    Was this reply for me?
    - varjag 8y ago
      Yes it was meant to you. The post you replied to: > That weird bar at the top, a keyboard that just feels horrible to type on, and a shiny screen that is just not for me. There is no touchbar on MB, so they could not been offered that.
      - lostlogin 8y ago
        Ahh, thanks. I thought you were correcting me, not offering an alternative.
nambit 8y ago
Get a 2015 macbook pro. That's the highest spec macbook without the things that would annoy you.
neuronic 8y ago
Of course this is a matter of taste, but I seriously don't get the hate for the new keyboard. It took me two days to get used to it. The one thing I concede is, that it is loud.
- 8y ago

nambit 8y ago

2015 is the latest best macbook pro.

gammateam 8y ago
have you ever repeated that line in an Apple store or any other tech shop? it turns into the twilight zone with the rebuttals they come up with. mostly it is related to the sells and extrapolating that to consumer satisfaction.
cr1895 8y ago
Would you mind elaborating a bit? Why 2015, as opposed to something a bit older or newer? I’m considering getting a MacBook but I’m thoroughly uninterested in a new(ish) one.
- abrowne 8y ago
  The 2015 was the last of that body style, so it has the latest "guts" (CPU etc) with the previous keyboard and ports (USB-A, HDMI, Magsafe). Plus, with the non-mechanical touchpad, there's room for a slightly larger battery¹. 1: "The 2015 revision brought the modern Force Touch trackpad and used the space savings to increase the battery to 99.5 Wh, just under the 100 Wh carry-on limit for most commercial airlines" from Marco Arment, https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever https://marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever
- rahimnathwani 8y ago
  2015 MBP 15" retina has the older, more reliable, keyboard, magsafe power, decent CPU and adequate GPU, HDMI, 2 mini-DP, regular USB 3 ports. You could go older but there's no need unless you want a DVD drive. And you'd sacrifice CPU performance and maybe memory capacity. Alas, it seems the Apple official Refurb store sold the last of their 2015 MBP models earlier this year. The earliest ones I see now (in US/UK/HK stores) are 2016 models.
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    The MacBook Pro actually had two Thunderbolt 2 ports, not Mini DisplayPort.

wilsonnb3 8y ago

> When you bought a 2013 MacBook Pro, you didn’t need to buy accessories because it had it all - hdmi, usb, etc. - and it was useful without any additional accessories and met or exceeded my needs in almost all circumstances. Except it didn't have VGA which is still popular in conference rooms to this day, so you needed an adapter for that. Some people probably needed an adapter for Ethernet as well. Not to mention you needed a MagSafe 2 charger instead of a universal USB C charger. > effort to boost margins or go thin, and it’s basically made the devices reliant on a host of adapters They did it on the MacBook because USB C is more convenient than having specific use ports. The same reason you're happy that the 2013 MacBook had two USB three ports instead of two PS/2 ports and a serial port. As for removing the headphone jack from the iPhone, they did it because you can send audio over Bluetooth or lightning. No reason to include a redundant port that does only one thing.

AlexandrB 8y ago
> universal USB C charger This mythical device does not exist. USB-C PD includes 5 different power profiles[1] and even if your adapter is big enough subtle compatibility problems still pop up - my colleague's laptop complains about his adapter every time you plug it in for some reason. The situation is better than when every PC product line had their own power connector, but if you were in the Mac ecosystem you already mostly had the same thing because every laptop just used the same of Magsafe connector. USB-C also brings back the problem of tripping over the power cord and sending your $3000 laptop careening towards a wall or the floor. > As for removing the headphone jack from the iPhone, they did it because you can send audio over Bluetooth or lightning. No reason to include a redundant port that does only one thing. What if I want to charge my phone and listen to music and own really nice headphones that don't need to be upgraded every year? Oops, can't do that anymore without this monstrosity: https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAH9D7KY7112 https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAH9D7KY71... I've been using the top rated "budget" Bluetooth headphones from The Wirecutter for a year now (Jabra Move) and they blow. Like most bluetooth devices, the connection only works "most of the time", sometimes they connect but don't identify as headphones (?) and I have to power cycle them. They also weigh noticeably more than my previous favourite, portable, wired headphones (Sennheiser PX 100-II) with worse sound quality to boot. I only noticed this when switching back to my wired headphones after I forgot the Bluetooth ones at work and realizing that the wired ones felt almost weightless by comparison. If this is the best that Bluetooth headphones in the ~$100 range have to offer, I don't want it. Oh yeah, and I have to charge the fuckers every day because what I needed was another device that's useless unless I remember to plug it in constantly when I'm not using it. Thanks Apple. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_(Physical)#PD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_(Physical)#PD