6 ms·

I’ve been wanting to get a 2015 MacBook Pro before they switched to the worse keyboards, but now I should maybe just look for an even newer one...?

sokoloff 6y ago
I held onto my old one until the 2019s came out. I’m happy with my decision to wait and also with the 2019 MBPro. Post-pandemic, I’m almost exclusively typing on a Kinesis, but pre-pandemic, I found the laptop keyboard to be okay. If I’d known we’d have a pandemic, wouldn’t be traveling in 2020, and that M1s were coming out, I’d have waited longer, but I’d probably have made other, more impactful decisions than which laptop to buy.
kiddico 6y ago
Still using my 2015 MBP 15" with no issues minus some loss of battery life. If you can find one with light usage for cheap it might not be a terrible idea. I don't use mine for CPU intensive tasks though, so YMMV.
- droidist2 6y ago
  I have a 2015 MBP 15" also, and it's still a really good machine. Even if you find one with a shot battery you can get Apple to replace the battery for $200.
  - sokoloff 6y ago
    Be cautious with that. Apple has a policy to stop supplying parts for older hardware after 5 or 7 years. (I'm not sure exactly when different parts of service fall off.) https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 Wife's Macbook Air needed a new battery end of last year and I thought "eh, $129 is worth it" only to find out that the battery wasn't actually available at any price from Apple. Ended up replacing it with an aftermarket $30 one and it's been great for 3 months, but that's also not a glued-in battery, so it was an easy 10 minute job, certainly not the case on the 2015 MBP. If your computer is coming up on one of those timelines, the battery is slightly weak, and you want to keep it, might be worth getting the service while it's available. I was not happy to have to go aftermarket, given some of the shadiness in that market.
    - droidist2 6y ago
      Oh, thanks for the info. I guess it's good I got the battery replaced in 2019, but if I need it replaced again in 2024 or whatever I guess I'll probably be out of luck.
nicoburns 6y ago
Rumour has it that they're planning to bring back all the ports in the next version, and that they'll be an 12-core version. Personally I'm waiting for that (but then I already have a 2015 model, so I'm in a good position).
- bonestamp2 6y ago
  > they're planning to bring back all the ports in the next version I'd be surprised if they brought back ALL of the ports. I'm guessing they'll bring back the HDMI and the sd card slot (although probably microSD this time).
  - nicoburns 6y ago
    Yeah, probably not all of them. I'd certainly be surprised to see usb-A. The rumours I heard said the magsafe port would be back too though.
    - bonestamp2 6y ago
      I loved magsafe at the time, but I can't decide if I want magsafe now. It's pretty nice being able to charge most devices in my bag with the same USB-C cord. If they had a magnetic breakaway connection in the middle of a USB-C cord, that would be the best of both worlds.
  - Teever 6y ago
    Only microSD would be useless. People with fancy cameras need a full size SD port.
    - bonestamp2 6y ago
      I think what you mean is that it would be useless for people who need a full SD ports. A MicroSD slot is not useless for MicroSD cards.
      - Teever 6y ago
PascLeRasc 6y ago
Mine is by far the best computer that I’ve ever owned. All the ports are there, the screen is great, it’s incredibly fast, and I love the trackpad/keyboard. I’ve had it for about a year and a half and it still makes me really happy every time I use it. Highly recommend.
pridkett 6y ago
As long as you get one with 16GB RAM you’ll be okay. The SSD in 2015 MBPs can also be upgraded - MacSales sells complete DIY kits. I knew I was going this route and managed to find a 16GB RAM/128GB SSD and just upgraded to the 2TB drive[0]. It screams. [0]: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S3DAPT4MB20K/ https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S3DAPT4MB20K/
PebblesHD 6y ago
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.
mFixman 6y ago
Why even get a Mac? Most other high-end laptops have better keyboards and more repairable hardware.

sokoloff 6y ago

I held onto my old one until the 2019s came out. I’m happy with my decision to wait and also with the 2019 MBPro. Post-pandemic, I’m almost exclusively typing on a Kinesis, but pre-pandemic, I found the laptop keyboard to be okay. If I’d known we’d have a pandemic, wouldn’t be traveling in 2020, and that M1s were coming out, I’d have waited longer, but I’d probably have made other, more impactful decisions than which laptop to buy.

kiddico 6y ago

Still using my 2015 MBP 15" with no issues minus some loss of battery life. If you can find one with light usage for cheap it might not be a terrible idea. I don't use mine for CPU intensive tasks though, so YMMV.

droidist2 6y ago
I have a 2015 MBP 15" also, and it's still a really good machine. Even if you find one with a shot battery you can get Apple to replace the battery for $200.
- sokoloff 6y ago
  Be cautious with that. Apple has a policy to stop supplying parts for older hardware after 5 or 7 years. (I'm not sure exactly when different parts of service fall off.) https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201624 Wife's Macbook Air needed a new battery end of last year and I thought "eh, $129 is worth it" only to find out that the battery wasn't actually available at any price from Apple. Ended up replacing it with an aftermarket $30 one and it's been great for 3 months, but that's also not a glued-in battery, so it was an easy 10 minute job, certainly not the case on the 2015 MBP. If your computer is coming up on one of those timelines, the battery is slightly weak, and you want to keep it, might be worth getting the service while it's available. I was not happy to have to go aftermarket, given some of the shadiness in that market.
  - droidist2 6y ago
    Oh, thanks for the info. I guess it's good I got the battery replaced in 2019, but if I need it replaced again in 2024 or whatever I guess I'll probably be out of luck.

nicoburns 6y ago

Rumour has it that they're planning to bring back all the ports in the next version, and that they'll be an 12-core version. Personally I'm waiting for that (but then I already have a 2015 model, so I'm in a good position).

bonestamp2 6y ago
> they're planning to bring back all the ports in the next version I'd be surprised if they brought back ALL of the ports. I'm guessing they'll bring back the HDMI and the sd card slot (although probably microSD this time).
- nicoburns 6y ago
  Yeah, probably not all of them. I'd certainly be surprised to see usb-A. The rumours I heard said the magsafe port would be back too though.
  - bonestamp2 6y ago
    I loved magsafe at the time, but I can't decide if I want magsafe now. It's pretty nice being able to charge most devices in my bag with the same USB-C cord. If they had a magnetic breakaway connection in the middle of a USB-C cord, that would be the best of both worlds.
- Teever 6y ago
  Only microSD would be useless. People with fancy cameras need a full size SD port.
  - bonestamp2 6y ago
    I think what you mean is that it would be useless for people who need a full SD ports. A MicroSD slot is not useless for MicroSD cards.
    - Teever 6y ago

PascLeRasc 6y ago

Mine is by far the best computer that I’ve ever owned. All the ports are there, the screen is great, it’s incredibly fast, and I love the trackpad/keyboard. I’ve had it for about a year and a half and it still makes me really happy every time I use it. Highly recommend.

pridkett 6y ago

As long as you get one with 16GB RAM you’ll be okay. The SSD in 2015 MBPs can also be upgraded - MacSales sells complete DIY kits. I knew I was going this route and managed to find a 16GB RAM/128GB SSD and just upgraded to the 2TB drive[0]. It screams. [0]: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S3DAPT4MB20K/ https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/S3DAPT4MB20K/

PebblesHD 6y ago

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.

mFixman 6y ago

Why even get a Mac? Most other high-end laptops have better keyboards and more repairable hardware.