The MacBook Pro's Negative Impacts

Of course, as seen everywhere, where there is light there is dark and the same goes for positive and negative impacts. Of course if you read the last post, all of the positive and beneficial impacts of Apple's MacBook Pro have been aforementioned. But when addressing good I feel I must acknowledge the disadvantages as well.

As aforementioned, for me personally, when I went looking through reviews of the MacBook Pro I went on different review websites such as Quora. Most reviews were very good but some were sarcastic and spoke about the disadvantages of Apple products. To me every opinion is fair and valid, and from looking through anywhere from fifty to one-hundred reviews about the Apple MacBook Pro, the first thing I can say is a common reoccurrence was the "massive" price tag.

On Quora a user by the name of Tyler Regas wrote about both the advantages and disadvantages of having Apple products(generalised). Tyler studied Computer Science at the University of Vermont and is now The founder and Chief Nerd and regasWORKS. He wrote that:

Let’s see:

1. Free OS upgrades, unlike Windows which charges you every time you download patches.
2. You get amazing integration with the Apple ecosystem, and don’t have to bother playing your music or movies on those pesky devices from other manufacturers.
3. That trackpad is freaking amazing! You can slide your finger around on it and everything! Who else offers THAT?!
4. You don’t have to worry about getting smudges on your display since you’ll never need to touch it.
5. You don’t have to worry about trying to figure out which of the myriad options you have for software because the app library is so trim.
6. You can feel comfort in the fact that you spent nearly double on similar Stupid PC hardware because it’s just so well built.
7. You are an awesome person because you are in an exclusive club since only 11.5% of laptops and desktops run your amazing OS.
8. You get the amazing opportunity to spend a mere $1000 on a phone!

On Forbes and over and review outlines the good and the bad, when it comes to the MacBook Pro. Ewan Spence, writes about the change in design and features, as well as the software changes. Ewan also talks about how the lack of ports and types of ports (USB-C) are ahead of their time. Here's what he had to say:

Apple’s commitment to the customer is legendary, but in the last few years, the changes to the MacBook Pro (alongside the introduction of the MacBook) have moved the macOS-powered machines away from creating magical experiences towards a compromise mass-market experience.

The keyboard remains a huge point of contention. Apple moved to a new design across its range, and the ‘Butterfly 2’ system is certainly lighter and thinner than previous generations. It has also proved to be relatively fragile compared to previous generations with trapped dust causing some eyebrow-raising suggestions for user fixes.

The keyboard is the primary input mechanism for any laptop or desktop computer, and there is a huge amount of familiarity that is built up while using. That means constant use will smooth over any flaws through muscle memory. I know what I like in a keyboard though - a relatively quiet system, a lot of heft and movement in the keys with actual movement, and positive feedback returning through the keys back to my brain as I am typing. If you focus, you can find these in the new MacBook Pro keyboards, but head back a few generations to just before the first Butterfly system, and Apple arguably had one of the best mobile keyboards ever made. Which was replaced for a unit with less weight and narrower dimensions, in the name of fashion.

Looking at the side of the new portable Mac machines and the lack of ports is dramatic. Apple has decided to push forward with a world that is almost exclusively USB-C, arguing that if the Mac range is USB-C only then the industry will follow. That may be true over the next few years, but right now MacBook Pro users have a wide range of peripherals, cards, and attachments that need MacGyvered into the new laptops.

And of course, power is also provided through the hard connection of the USB-C. The protection of MagSafe, which would see your power cord detach from the MacBook rather than pull it to the floor if the cable was snagged - will no doubt cause more impact damage and repairs in the macOS community.

Finally, over the last few years, it has become clear that Apple is putting iOS first in terms of development and new features. Anything that increases the value of the Mac platform appearing now is invariably something that ties it closer to iCloud and interfaces with an existing feature on your iPhone or iPod. Even areas such as the Touch Bar and TouchID to unlock the Mac were developed and distributed outside of the desk-bound machines.

MacOS and the Mac is no longer a priority.

Apples new line of laptops have done away with many of the communication ports and leave only one type, USB type C standard for attaching external devices. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getrty Images)

You could argue that the negatives are very minor issues. The MacBooks currently on the market deliver so much more computing power that this more than compensates for a keyboard with slightly less travel - and that’s before you consider the significant step up in power expected this year from Intel’s new multi-core processors.

Screen clarity is a vast improvement, and again discussions about the smaller concerns and gripes can be countered by the argument that the retina level screen creates a much better user interface even if the keyboard is weaker.

Many of the changes also contributed to the biggest advantage of the new MacBook machines. By going for thin and light, by working with more efficient silicon, smaller components and thinner screens, even the most powerful MacBook Pro machines are thinner and lighter than ever before.

Major steps forward are easy to see, and when they are in hardware the numbers in the specifications do not lie. And getting more power, longer battery life or a lighter machine are all hard benefits to turn down. But the MacBook Pro has lost something in the last few years. It has lost the small touches, the human commitment to higher quality that lifted it above the competition and gave customers little surprises at every turn.

As the MacBook Pro becomes ‘the standard’ laptop of the world at the top of the digital mountain, the loss of these human elements is perhaps the hardest loss to take.

Apple has been very careful and aware of problems such as e-waste which really come into play with new releases, because consumers purchase new computers leaving their old ones as waste. As an innovative and awareness move Apple has introduced the trade-in feature. This allows customers/consumers to trade-in their old computer to receive up to $700 off their new computer. Innovative idea's like this impact the e-waste significantly. With Apple Reusing and recycling the old computers it severely lower the amount of e-waste there is.

References:

• https://www.zdnet.com/article/macbook-long-term-review/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewanspence/2018/02/10/apple-new-macbook-pro-2018-three-things-wrong/#32b4a7f1790a 
• https://www.apple.com/au/environment/resources/
• https://drivebyrepairs.com.au/apple-trade-up-scheme/  
• https://www.macrumors.com/2015/03/16/apple-android-trade-in-program/