Macbook Pro 2016 - a pointless rant

Posted by: EJS on 26 March 2018

The Macbook Pro 2016 (15" touchbar) has been the fastest and most reliable mac I've ever owned, but the keyboard's gone from a mild (loud clattering) nuisance to a flat out irritation. One spec of dust under the keys and they clog up. And while that can be remedied with some canned air, slowly but steadily, keys have started to become unresponsive and require a hard press to register (if at all). I'm at the stage where I'm considering bringing it in for a keyboard replacement, although I expect that will only be a temporary solution at best. 

Having worked with a Mac since the days it was cool (around OSX Tiger), I don't plan on ever going back to Windows. But I really hope Apple will give some deep thought to its keyboard and the weak plastic screen coating before they present the 2018/19 lineup as I consider these deal breakers in their current sorry state. 

Cheers,

EJ

 

Posted on: 02 April 2018 by Kevin Richardson
winkyincanada posted:
Adam Zielinski posted:

Thanks for the heads-up guys. I was just pondering getting the latest Pro for work (I already use a previous generation 13” and it’s wonderful and has all those useful USB and Thunderbolt ports). 

By the looks of it I might just hold on a bit....

Yeah, we're the same. We contemplated a MBP replacement for my wife's old (Apple) laptop, but the reported keyboard issues put us off for now, so just run with one MBP for portable use (plus a couple of iPads).

We bought an iMac 27" instead. Now that 5K screen is just something else! Easily the best screen I've ever used. Stunning for photo editing.

Yeah my new iMac 5K makes my 2013 iMac look broken. By far the greatest computer experience I've ever had.

Posted on: 02 April 2018 by winkyincanada
Kevin Richardson posted:
winkyincanada posted:
Adam Zielinski posted:

Thanks for the heads-up guys. I was just pondering getting the latest Pro for work (I already use a previous generation 13” and it’s wonderful and has all those useful USB and Thunderbolt ports). 

By the looks of it I might just hold on a bit....

Yeah, we're the same. We contemplated a MBP replacement for my wife's old (Apple) laptop, but the reported keyboard issues put us off for now, so just run with one MBP for portable use (plus a couple of iPads).

We bought an iMac 27" instead. Now that 5K screen is just something else! Easily the best screen I've ever used. Stunning for photo editing.

Yeah my new iMac 5K makes my 2013 iMac look broken. By far the greatest computer experience I've ever had.

I remain stunned by the image quality every time I sit down in front of it.

Posted on: 02 April 2018 by Gazza
winkyincanada posted:
Kevin Richardson posted:
winkyincanada posted:
Adam Zielinski posted:

Thanks for the heads-up guys. I was just pondering getting the latest Pro for work (I already use a previous generation 13” and it’s wonderful and has all those useful USB and Thunderbolt ports). 

By the looks of it I might just hold on a bit....

Yeah, we're the same. We contemplated a MBP replacement for my wife's old (Apple) laptop, but the reported keyboard issues put us off for now, so just run with one MBP for portable use (plus a couple of iPads).

We bought an iMac 27" instead. Now that 5K screen is just something else! Easily the best screen I've ever used. Stunning for photo editing.

Yeah my new iMac 5K makes my 2013 iMac look broken. By far the greatest computer experience I've ever had.

I remain stunned by the image quality every time I sit down in front of it.

Not being much of a computer buff and used to a PC I was in an Apple store looking at these lovely screens. Very embarrassing I then started looking for the computer box to go with the screen in the cupboards below. A very nice chap then explained the computer and everything was in the “screen”.......still amazed at that, bought one.

Posted on: 10 April 2018 by Massimo Bertola
Adam Zielinski posted:

Thanks for the heads-up guys. I was just pondering getting the latest Pro for work (I already use a previous generation 13” and it’s wonderful and has all those useful USB and Thunderbolt ports). 

By the looks of it I might just hold on a bit....

I have an early 2011 MacBook Pro 13" (with all those useful ports..). I replaced the HD with a 250Giga SSD, doubled the RAM and here I go. My keyboard is till perfect (it's me doing a huge amount of mistypings). I did it all by myself, not very difficult.

Of course, now that I wrote this, it will break down in no time.

Posted on: 11 April 2018 by Ardbeg10y
Huge posted:

Ah! Similar to the old Compaq Armada laptops - they were as heavy as a warship!

1.3 kg for my Lenovo is not heavy as a warship. My original unibody macbook is 2 kg and it was a relief to carry the thinkpad instead of the macbook.

Posted on: 11 April 2018 by Michael_B.
tonym posted:

Needs be, I have to use a PC with Windows 10 to run certain programs. It's always a relief to get back to the Macs.

Same here, but I find Fusion works fine to run Win 10 on a Mac. I’ve had various issues with Macs over the years, but nothing in the Windows world compares, especially with laptops. A Lenovo ThinkPad does not offer nearly the longevity despite what appears to be rock-solid build. Whereas I haven’t had a Mac I couldn’t eventually sell on.

Posted on: 22 May 2018 by Frank Yang

My bad experience about the 2017 Macbook pro keyboard appears to be widespread as the following URL suggests.

Apple's MacBook butterfly switch keyboards target of second class action complaint.

It is a good keyboard IMO, but it is not a mature technology. Apple need to get their act on it, and make their users have the confidence on Apple to fix it.

 

Posted on: 23 May 2018 by Eloise
Huge posted:

Ah! Similar to the old Compaq Armada laptops - they were as heavy as a warship!

The clue is in the name...