Should I buy MacBook Pro now or wait? ("power" ;-) user)

pmbomb

advice please.

I've a 2013 MacBook Pro, it's my absolute workhorse for everything I do, including programming and running compute intensive test suites.

But it's getting to the point where it's time to move it to reserve.

Any good reason not to get the current version? (Probably with 1TB SSD). Or is there something sweet on the horizon?

I guess I'm going to need Thunderbolt to USB adapters for TimeMachine backups etc.

I'll use it very heavily, for years, so cost isn't a big deal amortised out.

Thanks.

octatonic

MBP is mid cycle.

If you need it, then you need it, but I usually wait when mid cycle.

pmbomb

next year then?

Snags

My colleague who pays attention to All Things Mac reckons that the recent/current generations of MBP are a step down in terms of build quality, as well as a piss take in terms of non-bundled items (AC adapter leads etc.) and obviously are a complete non-starter for maintenance/upgrade and guaranteed built in obsolence.

Trouble is, if you're an Apple person, and you need a new gizmo, you're a bit stuffed. And to be fair, at least as far as the race to the bottom on sealed units with no upgrade/maintenance path goes, all the high-end Windows laptops are going the same way too.

pmbomb

yeah I'm an Apple guy and I need a new gizmo, though not _right_ now.

I can't see myself going to Windoze. No nein nada nyet non.

DefaultM

I have a 2013 model. I decided to get a company on ebay to make me a hackintosh. £1600 I think and its better spec than the best MBP that was out at the time. 
Only thing is it's a desktop rather than laptop.

RaymondLin

The sweet spot for the MBP is the i7, don't get the i9 because thermal throttling means you will seldom make use of the power.

Then get the 15" if you do video or graphic or games, otherwise 13" all day long, saving money, size and weight.

If you are happy with a old 13" then the new 13" will fit the bill.  I have the late 2018 one with 512SSD, 16G ram, i7, touch bar etc.  

You do have to go dongle, like a USB-C to USB-A adaptor, SD card adaptor.

You also have to be more careful with the power cable as Magsafe is now gone.

The keyboard is very clacky, and there are reports of dirt trapped underneath it and it goes faulty.  I put a keyboard rubber cover on it which makes it less clacky and protects it from dust.

Lodious

RaymondLin said:

You also have to be more careful with the power cable as Magsafe is now gone.

That God for that....it was one terrible design.

stickyfiddle

Lodious said:

RaymondLin said:

You also have to be more careful with the power cable as Magsafe is now gone.

That God for that....it was one terrible design.

??

It’s an awesome design.

Wazmeister

Buy now. Enjoy. Love. Create.

Simon_M

stickyfiddle said:

Lodious said:

RaymondLin said:

You also have to be more careful with the power cable as Magsafe is now gone.

That God for that....it was one terrible design.

??

It’s an awesome design.

I'm pretty comfortable saying that Magsafe has been more useful to me than all the ipods, iphones, ipads and watches Apple has produced over the last decade or so. My dog kicks out my power lead at least once a day and my Macbook just stays put on my lap or table. Brilliant design and anyone saying otherwise needs a check-up from the neck-up.

monquixote

The current MBPs are a bit shit.

The touch bar thing is rubbish and the keyboards don't feel nice.

I have a number of 2014 models I bought for people at work which are getting a bit ratty and I'm not really sure what to do about replacing them.

roberty

I have a 2017 13" i5 with 16GB RAM and I bloody love it. Work stuff all day and Pro tools all night. The battery lasts ages. I'm a touch typist and have adjusted to the keyboard. Proper F keys on mine

JezWynd

pmbomb said:

advice please.

I've a 2013 MacBook Pro, it's my absolute workhorse for everything I do, including programming and running compute intensive test suites.

But it's getting to the point where it's time to move it to reserve.

Any good reason not to get the current version? (Probably with 1TB SSD). Or is there something sweet on the horizon?

What spec is the machine you currently have? Speed increases seem to be pretty minor in recent years, i’m still using a 2013 i7, 16Gb, SSD. I’m loath to retire it as it has the photo card reader. If there was a new chip with compelling advantages... but there isn’t and the Touch Bar looks like a naff gimmick. Graphics have improved but the screen on my current model is faultless and unless you’re into 3D modelling, motion graphics, music or games then the latest, greatest isn’t needed by most folk.

As others have already said, we seem to be mid cycle atm, so if you need a new machine it’s probably a good idea to get one now if it’s needed. If it’s for work there are good reasons to get a new machine but personally, i’d look at a secondhand 2016/7 and hold some cash back for when the new machines finally arrive. Knowing Apple they’ll have a new chip, new OS, and new ports, just for the hell of it. lol.

octatonic

I disagree that the Touch Bar is not useful, it just takes some getting used to.
I like it a lot and miss it when I go back to using my iMac or Mac mini.

I also like the low profile keyboard and keeping them free of dust is not hard.

I don't bother with dongles- I just had to buy some USBC to [various types of other USB connection] cables, which cost about $40 from Amazon.

I can run insanely large Pro Tools/Logic/Ableton Live sessions with my MBP, where before I could never run the same size sessions and I could on my desktops.
With the HDX expansion chassis I can easily track a whole band with up to 128 channels of IO with almost no latency (0.9ms)- more than I would even need in reality, but it means that my typical session of 16-20 open microphones is no problem at all.
Even with a native solution I can get pretty large tracking count and monitor off hardware.

I have no complaints at the moment except for the way in which notifications work in Mac OSX which is a bit of a pain but I can work around it.

djspecialist

I have a 2017 MBP at work. The keyboard is indeed a bit shit. I hear the latest ones are slightly improved (better feel, less dirt trapped underneath).

Fingerprint unlock is quite useful, but the touch bar is otherwise pretty pointless.  (And as a vim user, I miss my escape key!)

All that said, I also have a 2013 MBP at home and am considering an upgrade.  Work may even be offering used machines for sale soon, in which case I'd take the 2017 machine if the price was right.

pmbomb

JezWynd said:

pmbomb said:

advice please.

I've a 2013 MacBook Pro, it's my absolute workhorse for everything I do, including programming and running compute intensive test suites.

But it's getting to the point where it's time to move it to reserve.

Any good reason not to get the current version? (Probably with 1TB SSD). Or is there something sweet on the horizon?

What spec is the machine you currently have? Speed increases seem to be pretty minor in recent years, i’m still using a 2013 i7, 16Gb, SSD. I’m loath to retire it as it has the photo card reader. If there was a new chip with compelling advantages... but there isn’t and the Touch Bar looks like a naff gimmick. Graphics have improved but the screen on my current model is faultless and unless you’re into 3D modelling, motion graphics, music or games then the latest, greatest isn’t needed by most folk.

As others have already said, we seem to be mid cycle atm, so if you need a new machine it’s probably a good idea to get one now if it’s needed. If it’s for work there are good reasons to get a new machine but personally, i’d look at a secondhand 2016/7 and hold some cash back for when the new machines finally arrive. Knowing Apple they’ll have a new chip, new OS, and new ports, just for the hell of it. lol.

2.3Ghz i7, 16Gb RAM, 512Gb SSD, as yours.

It does the job fine. It's not really about performance. My entire life including my business (& dev platform for y product) revolves around this machine. I have a rule to always have a bare bones functional spare, until recently my '13 was my front line machine and my old '10 was my spare. Well the '10 just died, it's not worth further investment, so I'm a little exposed should this machine develop a fault. I can't afford the days out it may take to get a repair or new one commissioned.

Yeah I may get a s/h.

Also I'd quite like a 1TB drive, I'm often fighting to keep 20Gb free due photos etc.

monquixote

We bought a couple of 13" 2018 MBPs at work and they came with the OS totally shafted and had to go back to the Apple Store

Online searching suggested it was a really common issue with no acknowledgment from Apple.

Snags

If you're struggling with storage, get a decent NAS for home. In fact get one for home and one for the office/elsewhere and get them to sync to give you automated off-site backups. Keeps the data off the machine, and backed up. Despite their <cough> minor whoops with an Atom CPU bug, I still favour the Synology housings, loaded with decent quality drives.

Doesn't solve the problem about a backup machine, but can take the pressure off as you can then get at all your stuff from any old box.

Danny1969

Simon_M said:

stickyfiddle said:

Lodious said:

RaymondLin said:

You also have to be more careful with the power cable as Magsafe is now gone.

That God for that....it was one terrible design.

??

It’s an awesome design.

I'm pretty comfortable saying that Magsafe has been more useful to me than all the ipods, iphones, ipads and watches Apple has produced over the last decade or so. My dog kicks out my power lead at least once a day and my Macbook just stays put on my lap or table. Brilliant design and anyone saying otherwise needs a check-up from the neck-up.

In all the years I've been repairing laptop DC sockets  I never did one Magsafe connector ... they just don't break  ... but even if they did the magsafe connector is a separate assembly removable  with 2 torx screws and a plug connector so anyone could change it anyway if needed. It was a brilliant design, likewise the one wire charge detection system used in Magsafe

USB C connectors are fragile and wear internally to the point where contact becomes intermittent and unreliable. Changing the socket means taking the board out and a hot air gun. Not an easy job. 

pmbomb

thanks all, good info.

what was the last model before they went to touchbar/clacky keyboard etc? s/h might do for a stop gap.

@snags please enlighten me on 'NAS'. Network something Storage?