I think part of the frustration with the new MBP is the realization that the alternatives are kinda shoddy. The "state of Linux on Mac" article that hit the front page recently was really a reminder about the attention to detail that makes Macs great. Whereas other manufacturers keep dedicated GPU framebuffers powered up even when using integrated graphics (because the display is connected to the GPU), Apple connects the display to a custom multiplexer so the dedicated GPU can be completely powered down. Thunderbolt controllers draw 2W at idle, so Apple implements a non-standard ACPI function to power the chip down when nothing is plugged in.<p>I've been looking to replace a 2013 15" rMBP and nothing else fits the bill. I can get a T560 with a low-power dual core CPU that weighs almost a pound more when you configure it with a battery as big as the one in the MBP. Or I can get an XPS 15 where you can either get a Retina display or 10 hours of battery life, but not both.<p>Surface Book comes close but it's only 13". And Microsoft had a ton of execution problems with power management and sleep. Apparently building a good laptop is really hard. Even Apple seems to have fucked up power management and GPU integration in the latest MBP.
The author is missing two HUGE points in favor of MBPs: battery life and assistance.<p>Just today I went out at around 12 PM, worked non-stop in a nice cafe' until around 4:30 PM, went to buy some stuff, worked for 2 more hours, came back and realized I still had 30% left. That's insane (I'm using multiple VMs, IDEs, Chrome etc.). Especially considering that I feel the upgrade to Sierra has decreased battery life considerably.<p>Now, THAT's what you want from a laptop. Good performance, great materials and not having to panic if you forget the charger at home.<p>Apple's customer care and global warranty are universally known. They will even replace your battery for free (under warranty or Apple care) if its capacity goes below 80% (<a href="http://www.apple.com/batteries/service-and-recycling/" rel="nofollow">http://www.apple.com/batteries/service-and-recycling/</a>).<p>(MBP early 2015 with 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD)<p>Note: I'm not an Apple fanboy (my phone is Android, never owned an iPhone) but when a product is great you just have to admit it.
I also concluded Dell XPS 13 or Thinkpad Carbon, but never did a writeup. Still have not bought anything.<p>I want: 16GB, no touch bar, good keyboard, retina screen. I want a stripped down OS X, there are so many processes on El Capitain that just take up memory, distract me, and clutter my screen. I want zfs, not apfs.<p>I do not want to lose weekends trying to get the webcam or the fans working in Ubuntu. I'll miss homebrew if I use Ubuntu.<p>I feel like a person with no country. Somebody please pick up the torch that Apple dropped and make a laptop for developers.
MacBooks are supposedly "overpriced", except he couldn't find any entirely comparable hardware--not even counting the value of having macOS. So in what sense are they overpriced?<p>It seems the other manufacturers care about this market niche even less than Apple does.
I've given up on trying to find the perfect developer laptop and have instead gone for the desktop/chrome book combo.<p>I built a desktop with equivalent hardware specs to the MB Pro (2x8GB Ram, Intel i5-6600 3.30 GHZ, 750GB SSD, and a GeForce 1060 6G video card) for a little under a thousand dollars, and I dual booted it with Windows 10 and Fedora 25.<p>I set up Ubuntu 14 with Crouton on my Acer Chromebook 14. I basically have it in my bag all the time, and when I'm doing work on the go I'm in Ubuntu, and I'm in ChromeOS while in class/Internet surfing.<p>Essentially I do school work and hobby programming on my desktop, actual work on the computer in my workplace, and for everything between I have my chrome book. Between github and Dropbox (and my work's ssh server) I don't have problems syncing anything. Plus that's still cheaper than the bottom of line 13 inch MB Pro.
I wouldn't consider purchasing a laptop with a non "retina" screen in 2016.<p>Back a few years ago when I bought a 15' retina pro the leap in usability was tremendous. Other laptops' screens and displays looked terribly outdated in comparison.<p>Give me a slower processor, even a smaller hd - but I need the super-high-res screen.
"With every passing year, the latest and the greatest in software is becoming more CPU hungry and memory intensive. "<p>Maybe we shouldn't be calling it the latest and greatest? Maybe it's just the latest?
I got the latest gen Thinkpad X1 Carbon, and I couldn't be happier. The keyboard is fantastic, and it's powerful despite how feather light it is. I'm only disappointed by the tinny speakers.
Am I the only one that has been just fine with 8GB RAM? I'm running glassfish, IntelliJ, and serving JS over gulp. I have multiple browsers open with lots of tabs. I also have several other applications running. I have yet to notice a problem with RAM.
Does anyone use linux on a laptop and mind mentioning the battery life they get? I joke that I'm trapped by apple because it's the only way to get battery life and POSIX on the same machine.
One thing that this and many other analyses seem to fail to distinguish when comparing MBPs is that the 13" and 15" models are two very distinct lines.<p>The 13" are basically an ultraportable, with 15W "U" processors and the 15" are thin and light workstation class machines - they have Intel's beefiest 45W "HQ" processors (and the option of an overpriced mid-tier mobile GPU).<p>Almost all of this article's recommendations are for a MBP 13 replacement, which IMO is less compelling - you can get some things that are cheaper (and w/o a soldered in SSD), but nothing that's outright better, especially when things like fit and finish and battery life are taken into account. I think the best alternative now is the new HP Spectre x360 - it has a FHD screen with comparable color gamut, comparable battery life, and you can get twice the RAM/storage as the MBP 13 while still paying 1/3 less.<p>If battery life (and a high-end CPU) is important to you, then your best option for a 2016 MBP 15 alternative... is probably the 2015 MBP 15. Battery life is the real razor here. The 2016 MBP 15 does 10h on wifi, 8.6h w/ h.264 playback, but a measly 0.9h under full load. The 2015 MBP 15 will get you 7.5h on wifi, 6.8h w/ h.264, but 1.75h under full load. The i7-4770HQ/i7-4870HQ/i7-4980HQs, while older, actually performs about the same/better to the new Skylake processors. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯<p>Of all the PCs out there, I'd say the XPS 15 9550 might be the closest competition - it has a great 100% sRGB / 89% Adobe RGB UHD screen option and is half the price of a similarly speced 2016 MBP 15 (although you'd probably be able to find a 2015 for around the same price) but half the battery life (just over 5 hours) when on wifi, and even close to a year in, still has some buggy firmware (screen flicker at lower levels, waking up from sleep under vibration) that sadly seems typical for PC vendors. [1]<p>IMO, the most compelling reason to get a PC laptop is if you need a beefier GPU, but you'll need to be aware that you'll be making some trade-offs (and making a time investment for swapping OS's).<p>(Screen gamut and battery numbers are all from Notebookcheck, who seem to do the best laptop reviews around.)<p>[1] <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/5g0lh7/new_bios_1216_released_for_xps_15_9550/" rel="nofollow">https://www.reddit.com/r/Dell/comments/5g0lh7/new_bios_1216_...</a>
I've used an MBP for the last two years (15" model) and had to replace it as it got damaged. The biggest issue I had with it was the keyboard. I didn't like it. I come from a 327X keyboard tradition :) I found the build quality, the weight, the display, the battery life to be quite awesome. It was also pretty quiet.<p>I looked at the new MBP and didn't like the price (even though the company pays) and didn't like the new touch bar, I use the function keys. I also didn't like the changes to the ports.<p>I'm typing this from my new Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga. So far I like it. It does have a cheaper feel but I find I type faster on this keyboard (though they seem to have copied some of Apples' bad design, IBM ThinkPads used to have nicer keyboards). The display is good. There's a built-in digitizer and stylus (which I haven't tried yet). Being able to flip the display around and stand it upside down is a big space saver where it comes to using external keyboards (which I'll probably do most of the time). It's lighter than the MBP (14" vs. 15" though). Being able to flip the display around to make a thick tablet seems like a nice feature, we'll see how much I end using it. It's a little noisier than the MBP. Battery life seems good so far. I have my HDMI port, DisplayPort, and 3 USB ports.<p>If the MBP was slightly cheaper, lost the touchbar, kept the HDMI port I'd probably go for it. If it could do this Yoga flip/stand that'd be a nice bonus. Page-up/down would be nice too ;)
AHHH You missed the best machine thats under the radar.<p>SAMSUNG series 9. runs linux like none other and is a fantastic machine in 15 inch lighter than all the competitors.
One of the things that's been infuriating me about the Macbook line is Apple's refusal to go above 16GB. I'm constantly hitting that limit with my VM heavy workload and bloated tools. In my search I keep coming back to the Thinkpad T460p wondering if the bulky plastic case is worth the tradeoff for the raw power. It's maddening I can't have both.
I wish it was just a hardware search, but I always find the other OS alternatives have a gotcha or two for my needs.<p>Off topic, I have the new mac book pro 15" model (coming from 13" macbook), and I have started to have severe wrist pain. I am not sure if it is because of the new gigantic trackpad or keyboard. I am trying everything short of returning it for now.<p>Any one else having this issue?
So the result is... three notebooks with the same processor and SSD capacity as the MBP, two of which also max out at 16GB?<p>I mean – the "reasoning" at the start is:<p><pre><code> With every passing year, the latest and the greatest in
software is becoming more CPU hungry and memory intensive.
Therefore, it is important to have at least 16 GB memory
and the latest processors in my machine.
</code></pre>
But it appears the real differences are simply price[0] and his preference for cheap plastic housings?<p>Also:<p><pre><code> Lenovo has a long tradition of making laptops that last
for many years. Their ThinkPad flagship line of laptops
is targeted at developers and business users and has a
cult following among this user base.
</code></pre>
No. IBM had a long history. Lenovo has a long history of preinstalling crapware, and making enough money off it to buy the Thinkpad line.<p><pre><code> Made for professionals on the go...
</code></pre>
Oh! This is a Lenovo PR effort. Sorry for disturbing, please move on.<p>[0]: Possibly. Considering the whole article boils down to nothing but price, it's surprisingly laking any information about the prices
The Thinkpad's trackpad might be worse than Apple's, but it is a moot point. Once you get used to the red nipple joystick thing, there is no going back. This probably sounds silly, but it really is a game changer once you get used to not having to pick up your hands from the keyboard to move the mouse.
The biggest complain for new MBP, is memory. And those who complain the loudest..... are ... programmers.<p>Not Graphics Designer, Video Editors. Programmers. Specifically Programmers who uses lots ( or more then a few ) VMs.<p>May be as programmer, you should really care about what your programs resources usage are. The problem is i am seeing lots of bloat in Apps.<p>And i still dont understand why you need 4 VM in a programmer's workflow. It seems something that is deeply flawed.<p>What a lot of these people are complaining then, is simply price. But APPLE HAS NEVER, in the life time of the company, offered cheap or value ( Tech Spec ) for money machines. Their product with new design, whether you like it or not, has always been EXTRA expensive on the first cycle.
The begining of this article explains pretty well why I prefer an MBA to anything else. For other companies, the same product line has completely different products, with different build qualities, specs, compatibility, etc.<p>With an MBA, I can just pick it up, and stick ArchLinux onto it. No need to check if this particular one had the bad build quality or not.<p>Other companies need to start learning from this example and get their shit together. We don't want 20 product lines, which each vary every month. We want to be able to pick a laptop without a week's worth of research!
This guy fails to mention that the CPUs in the X1 and MacBook Pro are in a different league.<p>The ULV chips in the X1 are comparable to the non touchbar pro and MacBook but not the one with the touchbar with the big boy CPU.
I've been looking at the HP Elitebook 1030. Since it's a "business" model, you can even custom order it without Windows (they install FreeDOS) and a matte screen. But since it's a "business" model I can't find much in the way of people who've actually tried it with Linux. But HP claims I can return a custom order, so I might just try it. If only it had USB-C charging...
I'm also not thrilled with the current round of Apple hardware. The main thing that will keep me on MacOS for this round is that I really like the extra modifier key. Dropping it means I have to change up all my keyboard shortcuts and/or reconfigure everything to use the windows key as super or hyper. I'll overpay this round and see what's up in 5 years.
I was pretty close to deciding on the XPS13 until I realized it only supports Ethernet by a thunderbolt dongle, and Linux doesn't seem to support thunderbolt hot plugging. So basically I wouldn't be able to plug in an Ethernet cable without rebooting. Are there any good Linux laptops that don't rely on thunderbolt, or am I making to big a deal of it?
Im actually looking for the same thing, my shortlist is very similar to OP's except that I find 13" laptops too small. Sadly this seriously restricts the choices you can make, all the hype now is these devices.<p>I think I'll settle for the XPS 15, it has amazing design, good specs, my only issue is that the SSD models are a bit too expensive.
I would pay touchbar prices for a 15" MacBook Pro which has function keys instead. I tried one at an Apple store recently typing in vim for nearly an hour. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't bring myself to like the touchbar :/
I've also been looking for a replacement to an aging ThinkPad. My favorite option right now is the fashionably boring p50 from Lenovo. It's heavy and ugly. But you can get it with Xeon processor, multi TB drives and 64GB RAM.<p>Swoon.
Every time I read one of these articles I feel thankful for what I already have, my beloved Macbook Pro without the touchbar madness. I don't know what I'm going to do when this thing eventually croaks.
That's a lot of work.<p>Shame on those manufacturers for making their products so difficult to dissect.<p>I agree with the sentiment of 'keeping alternatives', but given how much we use our laptops, I'm willing to pay an extra $500 for a 'known quantity' (the high end laptops by those mfgs. are generally expensive, i.e. maybe $500 cheaper than Macs, if that).<p>Thanks for doing this, I'm going to stick with my Mac.<p>Happy to consider alternatives as they come about.
I got one of these during the last sale (paid under $1,000):<p><a href="https://goo.gl/qlBt8A" rel="nofollow">https://goo.gl/qlBt8A</a><p>Very nice machine. Used it on two coast-to-coast flights. Plenty of battery life left after the flights.<p>I see some reviews from people claiming it overheated and failed.<p>Well, if you read their reviews they actually say stuff like "what's the point of a laptop if you can't put it on your lap".<p>One look at the machine and you see it has a vent on the bottom and one on the side. Which means that if you block the bottom vent by having it on your lap or on a blanket while in bed, well, you are going to cook it. And cook it these people did. Gotta use your brains folks!<p>Even laptops without the need for cooling airflow can overheat if placed on something like a blanket or the carpet.<p>That said, this is a common design "feature" of many laptops. Not a deal-breaker at all. In my case I always conscious of this stuff (probably because of being an engineer) and it has never been an issue. I keep a "lap desk" just like this one by my bed and couch just for this reason:<p><a href="https://goo.gl/hS9pd3" rel="nofollow">https://goo.gl/hS9pd3</a><p>I should have bought half a dozen of them.