*** The official 2018 MacBook Pro thread (it has six cores and everything!) ***

[Phemo]

Whereas I think it's the most diabolical keyboard ever

I liked it and enjoyed typing on it when it worked. Still need to get it to an Apple store. Haven't had the chance to do so yet but I've also had to stop using it and revert to using my work Dell XPS because the keyboard is so shafted. It's gone from double registering key presses on the E key to the E, I, O, return and I'm fairly sure it was doing it with the space bar occasionally too.

Unfortunately I still can't decide on what alternative laptop to buy once I've sold my 2018 MBP on after it's been repaired. Annoying.

 

[jonneymendoza]

Just got my 15" MBP 2018.

Definitely one of the best Macs I've owned and the keyboard is sensational.

Lol wow

 

[MacRS4]

Dunno, I get to pick and choose what I like pretty much, and I always end up on my MBP. Have a SBook2 (laughably underpowered. Whomever thinks this thing is a powerhouse needs their perceptions re-aligning), and an XPS 15. Last one was the nearest I came to replacing to the MBP tbh, however several annoyances meant it's just ended up in a drawer.

SB2 makes a great mouse-mat for my iMac pro though.

 

[MacRS4]

my point is that there is alternatives! and whatsapps is not google anything and more popular then iMessage

You're probably right from a market perspective - haven't looked - but personally 95%+ messages I get are via iMessage, with the rest being a mixture of normal text and WhatsApp.

 

[MacRS4]

The Surface Book is much, much slower than a MacBook Pro!

Laughably so! To prove a point with somebody I ran a test where I:

Converted a travel video with Handbrake on my Surface Book 2.

On the MBP:
Converted the video with Handbrake
AT THE SAME TIME ran Windows 10 in Parallels and converted the same video in Windows using Handbrake.

2017 MBP finished both in just over half the time of the SB2. And the SB2 was more expensive than the MBP.

EDITed to add - if you want a laugh, I re-did the above with my i9 MBP: https://youtu.be/8mZo0vW8EF0

Apple have been doing my head in the last few years with their behaviour toward their customers, but I still think their laptops are very hard to match. If I could find something that did the same, for less money, I'd be all over it tbh. Instead I end up wasting (company) money on SB2, XPS etc. that end up being used as travel buddies.

 

[shine]

Apple have been doing my head in the last few years with their behaviour toward their customers, but I still think their laptops are very hard to match. If I could find something that did the same, for less money, I'd be all over it tbh. Instead I end up wasting (company) money on SB2, XPS etc. that end up being used as travel buddies.

I totally agree, I bought a Thinkpad P51 in 2017 as I was disappointed with the MBP but in 2018 I was back with a MBP. I'm lucky that my wife is able to make sure of the P51 otherwise is was many £££ wasted.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

The surface book is a convertible though, it’s not really the same thing.

 

[jonneymendoza]

The surface book is a convertible though, it’s not really the same thing.

Lets not turn this into a windows vs mac contest again. I was going to comment and say the same but dont want to go down that road again.

 

[MacRS4]

Agreed, it's a dull argument isn't it. Use what you love, rather than hate on what you don't and all that. Most of my Mac units end up running workstuff in Windows virtualised anyway.

Interesting laptop roundup here: https://uk.pcmag.com/laptops/158/the-best-laptops-for-2019

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Agreed, I was merely just saying because of people saying the Mac is faster, well no ****.

I think people try and compare then because they are both at a similar price point and shiny. At the end of they day they are very different products.

 

[shine]

I recently purchased Luna Display for my MBP. It turns your iPad into a second screen either via WiFi or if both are connected via a cable. Really handy when I'm on client site!

 

[UberTiger]

Is it better than Duet Display?

 

[shine]

Is it better than Duet Display?

Yes, the red dongle attached to the MBP does all the magic. The main reason, I personally, think it's better than Duet are:

• Retina Resolution, Duet was limited to 1080p last time I tried it
• The iPad is recognised as a true external monitor so I can use macOS Display preferences to do what I need, including making it my main monitor if needed.

 

[UberTiger]

Sounds cool

 

[UberTiger]

What's the lag like? Is there any?

 

[shine]

What's the lag like? Is there any?

I've only tried it by connecting the iPad and MBP via cable as every time I've used it my iPad battery was low but there was no lag. Once I've used it via WiFI I'll report back.

 

[ShortWarning]

My late 2013 15" default top spec macbook pro is starting to struggle with some of my pro tools sessions and soon I'm possibly going to have to start thinking about upgrading. How much more powerful is the latest top default spec? CPUs don't seem to have come on massively over the years but with the new 6 core can I expect a lot more power?

 

[shiver]

Using Geekbench 4 scores for the base specs only:

Single core:
Late 2013 2.0GHz - 3479
2018 2.2 GHz - 4916

Multi-core:
Late 2013 2.0GHz - 11418
2018 2.2 GHz - 21119

Edit:

Also good to consider significant increases in I/O speeds on SSD, etc

 

[manic111]

I'm torn between buying the 2017 MBP or the 2018 MBA (both 256gb versions). The MBP will be more powerful, and I understand has a brighter screen. The MBA has the updated keyboard, touch ID, and is very marginally lighter.

What are people's thoughts? I think I'd appreciate the greater power of the MBP, but I'm mainly put off by the risk of the keyboard getting dusty and giving up on me.

General use case is word processing, access to work via Citrix, media consumption, and some gaming (probably nothing heavier than Civ VI).

Thanks!

Edit: Coming from a base model early 2011 MBP, so I'm aware that either will be a substantial upgrade, but equally (a) if this one can last me another 7 years I'll be chuffed, and (b) I'll still be dropping about £1200 on it so I want to get the right one!

Also, presumably Apple are now unlikely to upgrade the non-touchbar MBP, as that's been replaced by the MBA? Or am I better off waiting until the next round of refreshes to see whether that happens?

 

[MacRS4]

I had the MBA and sent it back as it felt woefully underpowered.