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If you need it, then you need it, but I usually wait when mid cycle.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
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.
I can't see myself going to Windoze. No nein nada nyet non.
Only thing is it's a desktop rather than laptop.
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.
It’s an awesome design.
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.
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.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
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.
JM build | Pedalboard plans
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.
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.
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.
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?