I love my new 2018 MBP but.........

[cheddar-caveman]

MBP 15" 2018.

Got this for my birthday and very pleased with it but I feel Apple have missed the plot a bit by not having all the usual attachment slots. No SD card slot, no HDMI and no charging indicator which its really annoying as one has to open up to see when charged.

One now has to buy a multi adapter which does have all the missing things on it, I've got a Lenovo, but that's another thing to carry around with you (or forget)!

Apart from that, nice bit of kit!

 

[Rod]

Wowee! Lucky you. Is it the model with the touch bar? What do you think of it, my wife loves hers?
Yes I agree about the charge light, I can see I would miss that but I think it's just habit. I mean if I take it somewhere I know it's charged when I take it and I plug it in when I get home. I don't need to know it's charging because I think the new connection is a bit more reliable than the MagLock connector.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

Hi Rod. Yes, with the touch bar, fingerprint unlock etc. Overall, love it! Very fast for processing my photos etc.
I guess it doesn't hurt for it to stay on charge, I don't think one can over charge it? Yes, the new cable is far better than the old style, the cable feels much stronger, but have to be careful not to trip over the cable as it won't disconnect as the mag one would.

 

[pigoo3]

MBP 15" 2018.

Got this for my birthday and very pleased with it but I feel Apple have missed the plot a bit by not having all the usual attachment slots. No SD card slot, no HDMI and no charging indicator which its really annoying as one has to open up to see when charged.

One now has to buy a multi adapter which does have all the missing things on it, I've got a Lenovo, but that's another thing to carry around with you (or forget)!

Apart from that, nice bit of kit!

Congrats on the 2018 MacBook Pro...especially since it's a 15" model!

As far as the ports. Not exactly a new thing...been this way since the 2015 models on the 15" MacBook Pro. Apple since almost the beginning of time has almost always been "tweeking" the ports. We as users tend to invest in various peripherals & adapters to fit our needs...then Apple changes the ports (or the number of them) on us...then we have to find solutions (new adapters or hubs)...so we can keep using our external devices.

I've gotten used to this over all the years. Just about the only way to avoid it (and still stay Apple-Loyal)...is to never upgrade (which of course is a silly thought!

Enjoy that new beast!

- Nick

 

[badshoehabit]

I am dreading the day I have to replace my 2015 MBP!

 

[kilo15]

As am I

 

[Rod]

I reckon we have a few years yet. I have been running Mojave beta on my late 2015 MBP for a while and now the GS. With Dark Mode and the many updated native and third party apps it's like a new device. My wife had to invest in an adaptor for her new MBP which fits neatly on either side and provides a card reader, 2 X Thunderbolt 3, 2 X USB and HDMI which is fine for her as her device is usually in one place. For all those other times we also got a single Thunderbolt to USB 2 adaptor just for charging and syncing portable peripherals like her iPhone. This leads me to wonder, does the new iPhone come with a double ended Thunderbolt 3 cable?

 

[MacInWin]

The Xs iPhone came with a standard USB-Lightning cable, just as all the previous ones. Nothing Thunderbolt at all.

 

[Rod]

That's interesting ithoughtthey maybe up to making both ends USB-C for synchronisation and charging but I suppose that would remove the universal charge and connection options, cars, third party wall chargers etc.

 

[chscag]

The rumor is that next year's iPhones will no longer utilize the lightning connector but will be equipped with USB-C. That should be interesting.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

I have been running Mojave beta on my late 2015 MBP for a while and now the GS. With Dark Mode and the many updated native and third party apps it's like a new device. My wife had to invest in an adaptor for her new MBP which fits neatly on either side and provides a card reader, 2 X Thunderbolt 3, 2 X USB and HDMI which is fine for her as her device is usually in one place.

Pardon my ignorance but what on earth is all this Rod, Mojave, GS? Also what make the adapter for your wife's computer? I have a Lenovo which connects with a short cable.

 

[Rod]

GS is the rather silly title (Gold Standard) describing the final version of an OS. The one that is considered ready/safe for public release. As opposed to the final Beta.
My wife bought a Char JenPro, here’s a link to their page, it’s the one without the cable, it just slots into the two ports on the left of the MBP. https://www.charjenpro.com/

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Pardon my ignorance but what on earth is all this Rod, Mojave, GS? Also what make the adapter for your wife's computer? I have a Lenovo which connects with a short cable.

Rod was running the Beta of Mojave and now the released version. I've always seen that acronymed as GM (Golden Master).

I have a 2017 MBP (and had a 2016 MBP prior to this) and used the HooToo USB-C hub with my 2016 MBP that worked OK for a while and then began to flake out. When I got the 2017 (from work), I also got the Satechi USB-C hub and this one is a LOT more reliable especially when it comes to connecting to an external monitor.

 

[cheddar-caveman]

Thanks guys. Yes,. that's a really neat adapter Razx0rEdge. I'll go for that if the Lenovo starts giving trouble. At least you know where kit is if you leave it attached!

 

[ipadder474]

When one can walk into a BestBuy and buy a super fast and useful computer for around $500, meaning a non Apple computer, i can't understand how Apple keeps on selling them Mac's

 

[Rod]

Well ipadder474, I suppose you could say that despite being a life long user of Apple Mac devices I try to remain unbiased about value for money in computing devices and it has been my experience that Macs are 3 times the price of the laptop in Best Buy because they are 3 times better.
Yes, despite the fact that this forum is devoted to Apple problems we cater to a small minority of users. The rest for the most part get 5 years or more of trouble free use of a cutting edge technology, free from virus’, complete with international support, multi device integration, third party app compatibility and an operating system that anybody can understand.
Believe me I have known plenty of people who have bought cheap laptops and not obscure brands either, Acer, Lenovo, ASUS, they all die or break in a couple of years or less.
Bottom line, good technology is not cheap.

 

[ipadder474]

Well ipadder474, I suppose you could say that despite being a life long user of Apple Mac devices I try to remain unbiased about value for money in computing devices and it has been my experience that Macs are 3 times the price of the laptop in Best Buy because they are 3 times better.
Yes, despite the fact that this forum is devoted to Apple problems we cater to a small minority of users. The rest for the most part get 5 years or more of trouble free use of a cutting edge technology, free from virus’, complete with international support, multi device integration, third party app compatibility and an operating system that anybody can understand.
Believe me I have known plenty of people who have bought cheap laptops and not obscure brands either, Acer, Lenovo, ASUS, they all die or break in a couple of years or less.
Bottom line, good technology is not cheap.

I have three iPads first a 2 then a 4 now a Pro also have had a iPhone4 a 6 now an 8Plus also i bought a 2013 Mac Book Pro, yes a real quality of build better then the build of todays MBPs.
But i also have bought around 6 other brands of computers ASUS have two still going fine after 6 years and old HP still running win 7 after 8 years picked up a new HP for $475 as a backup just in case of a failure.
My 2013 Mac was a disappointment from day one, and with each really tough to get installed OS upgrades things never got better.
Only reason i bought the MBP was to use the CD Drive to move music on CDs to my iPads, this it did very well, but getting used to how slow it was in working on anything else was a big failure again again.
The MBP came in handy the other day for getting my Apple pass word changed for my new iPhone8Plus, other then that it just takes up space on a table.

 

[Rod]

HP devices especially laptops are not on my list of cheap problematic devices, you got a bargain there. Obviously from your list of devices you are not the “average” user and I would argue that you could probably keep a problematic device running much longer than some and I have done this myself but at the end of the day Windows is a difficult OS to use especially when it goes wrong and after the novelty of the challenge wears off I’m happy to go back to macOS.

 

[pigoo3]

But i also have bought around 6 other brands of computers ASUS have two still going fine after 6 years and old HP still running win 7 after 8 years picked up a new HP for $475 as a backup just in case of a failure.

If you're talking portable computers (laptops)...then you're doing way way way better than others Windows portable owners. The build quality of many Windows laptops is absolutely awful compared to any Apple portable computer. Many of the Windows laptops have almost all parts made of plastic. With these Windows laptops everything bends & flex's & creak's when you use them. They simply aren't built for the "portable lifestyle" that portable computers live.

I think many Windows laptops would last longer & continue to be useful from a hardware standpoint (logic board, speakers, RAM, drives, etc)...if the way these things are put together was more solid. Many Windows laptops simply & literally start falling apart after a period of time.

Extra super-duper care must be used with them to make then last longer...which sounds like you've done to help make your Windows portables last as long as they have.

- Nick

 

[ipadder474]

From reading the forum threads these days looks like i am lucky with my old MBP 2013, everything seems to still be working.
Also what i read in this forum many are having hardware failures with their Macs, so hardware failures don't just happen to non Apple computers.