I'm very happy with the switch. Though I'm on (Debian+) Xfce now instead of Ubuntu and would go for a ThinkPad instead of the XPS, because 1) I want a 14" screen 2) the XPS's fan is too loud, especially when Skyping 3) the XPS's camera is placed at the bottom of the screen instead of at the top, so people you have video calls with look up your nostrils.
For me, I had requirements that were previously met in the MBP: good battery life, good processing power, and not too bulky. I didn't really care about camera or touch screen or fingerprint reader. Based on this, I finally found the Dell Precision 5520 which is the workstation version of the Dell XPS 15". Everything was configurable (OS, CPU, GPU, RAM, battery, screen) and with a good build quality and small form factor. Ubuntu 16.04 LTS was an option, meaning drivers were configured and supported by Dell – a relief, after some experiences using Linux on laptops years ago. Now I've changed the OS to Manjaro, added a 2nd RAM stick for a total of 32GB, configured a bit the power settings with `powertop` and I'm really happy with my portable powerhorse lasting >10h when coding.
As for the Dell client service, I happened to use it a month ago because my 2 years old battery was now swollen. As I took the 3-year warranty extension "Next business day", I called on Monday and Tuesday the technician was there to change battery and touchpad (that can sometimes break when the battery swells) and it was all. Fast and convenient !
But no matter what laptop you pick, its gonna take you a couple of weeks until you are comfortable with it. But it will happen eventually. Laptops have the same interface after all.
Switching the entire software stack from Mac to any other OS is probably the main struggle.
Try a couple of Linuxes or Windows for a few weeks until you find the sweet spot. Between Mac, Windows and major Linux distributions, there is none that is objectively better anymore(for developer experience). Its a matter of preference and habit.
My advice is "don't fight windows". I've seen many people try to make Windows like Unix. Don't. Use Windows versions of things, not things compiled under Cygwin or MinGW. Learn to use Powershell and Powershell scripting language.
I do development (C/C++/CUDA/Erlang/Python) all day long on Windows 10 and in addition use desktop applications like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud.
No problems whatsoever. My main machine -- a Surface Book -- has had no issues. It sleeps, hibernates, manages power, perfectly. The keyboard feels good and is dirt tolerant. (I also have a lightweight travel notebook -- a lenovo yoga -- that "just works" though it's a little underpowered for major development work)
I liked the comment below describing Hotels (Mac) Vs home (ThinkPads). It's true that if you can be bothered to tweak and install some stuff then you end up with something of your own. Your way.
Never used Macs as old enough to remember the "no one got sacked for buying IBM" saying and it's true even if it is now Lenovo.
If it is the keyboard then it’s 4 years, not 3 (https://support.apple.com/keyboard-service-program-for-mac-n...).
- https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2019/05/11/2030
Full disclosure: I work at Microsoft. I also still use Macs (and will keep using them regardless-for instance, I use a 5K iMac a lot of the time I work remotely) and have kept a Mac-centric blog for sixteen years, so I think I can be pretty straightforward and direct about this:
The Surface Laptop is at least as good as the MacBook (hardware-wise), and depending on what you do (for instance, if you can take advantage of WSL2 and the new Linux environment that comes with it), it may well be better. IMMV.
Hardware-wise, I cannot fault it except in the number of ports (new models changed that a bit). Having moved from a Lenovo X1 (which I hated) to it, and having avoided the hassles involved in the Surface Book (the hinge and detachable screen make for a wobbly, temperamental machine IMHO, and I’m not alone in thinking that), I’d say it is a great machine.
(I still carry around a Surface Pro 4 because it is only a slight bit smaller and lighter, but the Laptop has a nicer screen)
So please post at least some information for this aspect, which is one of the things the OP explicitly listed.
Some examples:
- Would you be able to do some solid Photoshop/Sketch/Gimp/Inkscape/Blender work with the touchpad/knob of your proposed MBP-replacement?
- Can you comfortably and efficiently organize your photos/files&folders with it?
* System 76 Oryx Pro (aluminium, official Linux support, US shipping, flaky hardware, poor battery)
* Prostar Clevo P960 (rebadge of System 76 Oryx Pro)
* Huawei MateBook X Pro (aluminium, good Linux support)
* Razer laptops (aluminium, no good Linux support)
* Chuwi LapBook Plus (aluminium, good Linux support, poor battery, poor CPU, cheap)
* Xiaomi Mi Notebook Pro (aluminium, good Linux support)
* Purism Librem 13
There was a HN thread recently about Huawei MateBook X Pro: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21170765
And also one about System 76: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21216195
I've also used a Dell XPS 15 9570 for the past year and a half which I spent $2.6k on (similar to this https://amzn.to/33PA53x). Specs-wise it's awesome and blows the MBP out of the park particularly when you factor in the price. But I've had a lot of issues with it unfortunately, having to get it repaired twice, and then another couple times I've had the screen just start glitching and crashing, both times resolving it via reinstalling Windows (seems to have been problems with the drivers). Outside of that, the laptop itself is a bit thicker and heavier than a MBP, the battery life is pretty weak (4 hours maybe?), it gets very hot and the fans get really loud, and the Wifi card sucks. Although the 4k screen is beautiful with fantastic anti-reflection, I've found that I prefer the 16:10 aspect ratio of the LG Gram and MBP vs. the 16:9 of the Dell since the former feels way bigger and I find having a taller screen more convenient (eg. for coding).
Ultimately it comes down to your preferences. Do you prioritize having the best specs? Then between the two you should get a Dell XPS 15 or alternatively a Dell Precision 5540 (very similar to the XPS 15, but more geared towards 3D work). If on the other hand you value portability but love having a large screen, I highly recommend the LG Gram 17. I don't think there's ever been a 17" laptop as light and portable as this one.
Ever since I received my LG, I stopped using my Dell. Unless you're doing a ton of video editing, 3d graphics work, or gaming, you really don't need more than 16gb RAM and an i7 processor. For stuff like coding and browsing the web, I certainly don't notice any performance difference (haven't tested more intensive stuff yet).
I would suggest you hold off any laptop decision until then.
I, too, was fed up with Apple’s rising MBP prices and flimsy design. I need a functional and long-lasting dev machine. The XPS (and probably Precision) series checked the boxes. It has ports when I need them. Easy to take apart and upgrade. Form, but not at the cost of function.
The recent addition of Linux support is very nice and I'm looking forward to its continuing evolution: https://support.google.com/pixelbook/answer/9031351?hl=en
Perhaps the new Pixelbook Go will tilt the scales for me: https://store.google.com/product/pixelbook_go
The feel of the keyboard & trackpad were important to me, and the 4K display option covers 100% of the Adobe RGB color palette. I rarely use the Yoga's tablet feature, but as a Photoshop user it has sometimes been useful for photo editing with the built-in stylus. There's a built-in microSD card slot in the 3rd Gen & I put a giant microSD card in there for extra internal data storage (eg MP3 collection). The SSD is user upgradeable but I've had problems trying to get the SSD screw out myself.
There's a lot of small irritations and frustrations compared with the Mac to overcome, but the X1 Yoga has been far more reliable than my MacBook Pro. No problems in a year, whereas the Mac over the same time would have had 3 - 4 weeks of downtime due to repairs. It turns out reliability is more important to me, I need to get work done.
I'd also seriously consider the Surface Book / Surface Laptop range, I very nearly chose a Surface Book 2 until I saw the ThinkPad X1.
2. I hope Apple fails, it seems obvious Tim Cook is lacking the awful tasing medicine Steve Jobs once had.
Unfortunately it wont happen. iOS developers will need a Mac anyway, and along with those Professionals that uses MacBook, the MacBook will continue to do well and Apple will look at the sales Data and say everything is fine. ( Apple's definition of Professional is very Narrow, and programmers dont fit into that category )
We are close to 5 years mark since the butterfly Keyboard was fist introduced on MacBook in early 2015.
I must say that even though I an very fond of the Lenovo keyboards - and they are great. The overall feel of a MacBook is just better. The keyboard pre-butterfly is one of the best ever. The trackpad is another level even though sitting with the T460s and T470s at work, it seemed like their trackpads was on par, but they really are not.
The X1 Carbon should be up there, but there is just something about the full experience of the product where MBP wins out. That is at least my experience going a bit back and forth.
[0]: https://system76.com/laptops
[1]: https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/thinkpad-x/X1-...
Though I haven't had a problem with the keyboard (likely thanks to the latest generation of it and my silicone cover), I know that lots of people have. Apple deserves criticism for that, but at least it sounds like the next MBP is going to have a new keyboard design.
Hardware aside, I don't want to run Windows or Linux. Apple would have to screw up even worse than this keyboard thing to get me to switch.
Some observations of the 5520:
- con: really really stupid web cam position: it is at the bottom left of the screen so in any video calls it is basically looking up your nose and if you are typing there are GIANT fingers on screen obscuring your face.
- pro&con: feels well built (metal frame), but it is bulky and feels very heavy
- pro: keyboard is nice to type on
- con: trackpad is nice but sometimes the clicks get "stuck" and you end up inadvertently "dragging" things (e.g. tabs) when you try to click. This might be drivers - who knows.
- pro: It has a little button on the side you can press which shows the rough battery charge level (5 LEDs light up for 20/40/60/80/100%)
- con: there is no "scoop" to make opening the lid easy, so you need to use two hands.
- con: fan is loud and seems to be on almost all the time
It is ok but I have not been particularly pleased with it - the webcam position, the trackpad, and the sheer bulk are the killers. I wont opt for one of these again - probably go for a thinkpad carbon next.
Higher end stuff like their xps 15 or 7530 are also very good.
Getting Retina to not eat battery life has been a little tricky though. On a non retina system, I got down to 1W idle, whereas it was 15W idle on a retina system. With Firefox, 2-5W non Retina, but 25-35W for Retina. This will inevitably improve, but it's something to watch out for. On Windows, it's less of a problem, as they seem to run a lot of the graphics on the Intel GPU, only switching to discrete when required.
- yes, I need a *nix OS - I need to run Adobe CC (Photoshop, Lightroom) and Sketch
I code for iOS occasionally (be it via Unity or XCode).
I don’t mind tweaking my OS and making it mine. What I do mind is having to tweak stuff when I don’t have the time to do it, but things are broken.
Did anyone manage to work with these tools efficiently here on a linux machine? I always end up coming back.
After stressing over the problem that nothing seemed comparable spec-wise, System 76 released their Adder WS and after reading some testimonials from users online I made the leap back to Linux.
So far, I am very pleased with the choice. Here is what I love about it:
- Amazing 4K OLED display configured with pixel scaling a la Retina out of the box
- Suspend / resume "just works" every time (very different from my past Linux user experiences years ago)
- Connecting an external display "just works" like my MBP
- Pop OS is a well-designed, pretty Ubuntu variant that doesn't get in the way
- I'm really productive on it (I haven't wasted any time trying to get things to work)
- Very high-end hardware all around
Things I don't love about it:
- Battery life is atrocious
- The keyboard has a numpad so home row is offset to the left
- It is rather big (though not gigantic)
- It is rather ugly (though not hideous)
- Huge power brick with a short cable
I can't speak for long-term durability. I guess I will get back to you in a few years.
Downsides are a terrible webcam and all the scandals surrounding Huawei.
Well, I've had 5 or so MBs and MBPs since 2003 and hardly ever needed a repair (I had to repair an iMac once). So what happened to one machine, which could have been part of a faulty production run is not necessarily indicative.
In general, the fact the MBPs have higher satisfaction rates, and command higher second-hand prices and maintain them longer should be an indicator that (again, in general) they are more reliable rather than less.
That said, if they do fail (which they still can), Apple is hardly the faster company to give you a replacement machine, or to fix your old one. And in countries without official Apple Stores even more so.
One thing I will say though is that you don’t get the same resale value. I sold my MBP for around 80% of its original cost after one years usage, my surface pro on the other hand pretty much lost all of its value the moment I walked out the shop.
As a long time Mac user, the switch was surprisingly easy. I do miss not having iMessage and a few other Mac ecosystem tools, but with more and more of my friends switching to android it’s becoming less and less of an issue. Over all the Microsoft surface line feels like products that Apple should have designed.
I'd recommend just sticking with windows and not overwriting it with ubuntu unless you have some very specific needs. Some important desktop applications like photoshop do not work on ubuntu and WSL takes care of almost everything ubuntu can do.
I've got an XPS 13 for work which is nice too but runs windows. Pros and cons are:
ThinkPad: Better keyboard by far, more rugged, better bios for Linux that supports normal sleep states
XPS: Can charge on either side, better speakers
Given Windows is much much worse than OS X for tech stuff, there isn’t really an alternative. Macs have gotten worse, less reliable, design is tanking, software becoming buggy, but it’s still much better than the alternatives. So stick with the MBP and buy a stress ball and punch bags to cope.
I personally prefer Windows laptops with UHD/QHD screens because I can put much more info on it (e.g. 3 vertical code windows or two vertical web browsers). The Mac won't let me set that high a DPI, even if the resolution is theoretically there. Also the 4:3 Mac screen ratio many times results in the bottom part of the screen obscured by fingers, e.g. bed coding.
That said, the best I've found is Lenovo Yoga 920 and Dell XPS 15. The Dell can be fitted with 64 GB ram e.g. if you run VMs, and since you mention amazing graphics, the OLED version says Hi to the Macbook Pro, from another universe (in other words the Mac display looks like utter trash compared to it).
In all cases, you need to clean-reinstall from a Microsoft provided Windows installer (to get rid of the massive preinstalled, buggy and inefficient bloatware), and run ThrottleStop to undervolt the machine to avoid the extra heat and boost the battery performance. Write down what you do, and over time you will develop your "install script". Chocolatey is your friend.
HTH
My thoughts about alternatives are:
# Software / OS:
- Hackintosh - I don't want to bug around with hackish scripts or repeating the whole procedure on upgrades, so I refuse to do this.
- Elementary OS - Linux with UI similar to MacOS (at least kind of) including Apps for the most common Tasks like mail, calendar, etc.
- Manjaro Linux - Rising star of the distros, presentations i saw looked pretty good. Based on archlinux - so there is some things to learn ;)
- Ubuntu / Xubuntu / Mint - well, i know them but working with them for mee feels by far not as good as with MacOS.
# Hardware:
- Lenovo Thinkpad T4X0S - Good value, great linux support, business quality
- Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon - Pretty expensive but high end and man what a display
- CLEVO N141CU (https://clevo-computer.com/en/laptops-configurator/purpose/b...) - a colleague recommended this manufacturer, i don't have any clue if this is a good value thing, but it looks very similar to a MBP with all the connectors you can think of
I have 99% confidence I could knock my macbook air off my bed (while on) 100 times in a row with 0 consequences. I've never had a key come off, had the screen flicker, had a battery problem, had an overheat.
I'd be curious if anybody thinks there's any other laptop comparably reliable.
I plan to settle on Windows 10 Pro + Ubuntu WSL. I don't need top specs (i5 and 16GB RAM are enough for me), but build quality (touchpad, screen, robustness) and weight are most important.
Playing with Surface Pro 6 in shop I kinda like it, but I can't find XPS or X1 to lay my hands on.
How is the build quality between Surface Pro, XPS and X1? Which one has the best touchpad, screen?
Thinkpad has had a stellar reputation for sturdy quality since forever, and the X1 Extreme seems like a fairly good compromise between power, size, and other concerns. It's not 17" because the only 17" Thinkpads are the monstrous P73s.
According to reviews, it's quieter than my old Macbook (which was extremely noisy), but I intend to make it quieter by repasting and undervolting, which seems to be a fairly common procedure for Thinkpads.
Also, if it breaks down during the first 3 years, I get on-site support, so I don't have to go anywhere when it breaks down; they come to me.
(My specs: 32 GB (still upgradable to 64GB), i7-9850H, 2x 1TB SSD (one for Windows, one for Linux perhaps) and the 4K OLED screen. I expect this to last me for quite a while.)
The hardware is fantastic. Build quality is great, the keyboard is great, the screen is great, the selection of ports is great. It's not cheap though, price is very close to an MBP.
The software part is not so great. I tried Windows for a short while, but it's just a disaster. It's slow and inconsistent. I tried WSL, but it feels so alpha for now.
So quickly I decided to move Ubuntu. Overall Ubuntu feels so much better than Windows, but the caveat is hardware support. Thinkpads supposedly have very good Linux support, however, the microphone and the fingerprint reader didn't work. After googling a lot I found a way of making the mic work by manually compiling a kernel. No solution for the fingerprint reader yet. And the volume controls don't work properly, there are a few workarounds, but none fixes the issue 100%.
Another issue on Linux is that none of the stable web browsers (Firefox, Chrome) have hardware video decoding enabled, so watching YouTube drains your battery. I'm now using a Chromium Beta build which seems to be the only alternative for now.
Using Linux requires you to google and apply a ton of small fixes to make some things better. Things like installing TLP to have decent battery life, hacking grub fonts so that they don't appear tiny on the 4k screen and stuff like that.
The hardware issues are quite frustrating, but I know those will be resolved at some point. My Thinkpad model is fairly new. The lesson here is: if you want Linux to work out of the box on your hardware, don't get the latest model.
On the positive side, I'm really loving Ubuntu and Gnome. I don't have plans to move back to Mac, even if they fix their crappy new keyboards. The fact that you can make Linux work the way you want is very rewarding even if it takes some time to google and hack around. But I understand that not everyone likes to do that.
I was afraid of the 15" being too big but as I'm not using much external screens anymore, this is the perfect size - the laptop is also very light and portable, given it's a 15"...
The GeForce graphic card is awesome. So are the 2x pcie and additional RAM slots. Bonus for the mate screen.
Small minus to the battery life, who averages to 5-8hrs (max). Otherwise it's an amazing, durable, efficient machine that does the job, at probably replaces well a MBP. Also, Windows 10 isn't perfect but I'm finding it pretty good after all. I use HyperV Linux VMs for dev and the overhead is totally acceptable.
Of course they are bigger than an XPS 13, but if you are like me and mostly work from office and home, it’s not really an issue.
Ho and it’s gaming-ready too (got a gtx2080 in my current laptop).
My previous laptop before that was the first gen of retina MBP (2012) and the only thing I miss from it is the almost double battery life I had over the Alienware.
Windows 10 Pro with WSL is MUCH better than I expected it to be. Download Conemu, Terminus or similar as a terminal and you may as well be running Linux. Download VxXsrcv and you can even run the Linux version of your IDE. I run the Linux versions Emacs, IntelliJ and Pycharm, not the Windows versions.
Hardware wise, the Trackpad is worse but I don't really miss it. Keyboard is much better. Lots of ports. Great screen, though most of my time is spent connected to an external monitor, keyboard and mouse. Multi-monitor support is good. Only annoyance is that if the screens sleep all your applications get moved to whatever monitor you set as primary but this is a minor annoyance.
Ubuntu runs great but since I can ssh to multiple machines running Linux already, and I can run WSL, I really don't feel the need for Linux on the machine itself.
Less thermal throttling. Battery life is decent. I get a real 8 hours in battery save mode even with IntelliJ or Pycharm running, so long as I've set things up in the IDE to save battery by not continuously re-indexing things. Most Thinkpads are rated Milspec 1 so the keyboard isn't going to die with the first spec of dust and the machine will survive minor mistreatment. Windows with WSL basically gives me everything I need.
I bought a Macbook the week Apple released OSX and have been an Apple fanboy for years but at this point for what I do, as someone doing a fair bit of programming, it's an inferior machine.
I've also tried the various Dell XPS machines. They frankly aren't really comparable to Thinkpads in how well they are built or fit and finish. The XPS 15 is a direct competitor to the P1 Gen2 (or X1 Extreme) and in my opinion if you use both for a week, there is no comparison. I have friends who have also switched to Thinkpads and/or Dell XPS machines so I was able to compare directly before I bought them.
It's bulkier. the screen is non-retina and a worse aspect ratio. The fan is noisier. Turns out none of these things bother me anywhere close to what I expected. Hardware-wise, the only annoying thing has been the terrible speakers. Then again, I'm usually on headphones. I miss USB-C ports and USB-C charging, but not too badly.
On the other hand, I had almost forgotten what a good laptop keyboard felt like, and after getting used to the trackpoint, I like it a lot.
I still use a Mac for work, but as a lot of my favorite Mac software has gone subscription-only or subscription-preferred, I've gradually moved more toward open-source options: password-store from 1Password, org-agenda from OmniFocus, etc. So the change wasn't as big or as hard as I was expecting. Decoupling from iCloud will definitely be a thing (photos, iTunes Match, etc.), but I'll figure it out.
edit: Forgot to mention matte screen! Don't know why all the manufacturers thought glossy was the way to go, but it's nice not having to stare at a reflection of the room around me all the time.
The big downside is battery life. On both the ThinkPads I've had, the battery life has been roughly 4-6 hours, despite my attempts to improve it with Powertop and/or TLP, and despite keeping the external graphics card shut down. I find that pretty painful; I like to work outside most of the day when the weather's decent, and now I have to be meticulous about plugging in whenever I go inside for a bit. If it weren't for having it charge up over lunch, there's no way it would make it through my day.
Some folks seem to get better battery life with some ThinkPads running Linux, but I haven't been able to pull it off. In fairness, I do a fair amount of CPU-heavy work -- but I was doing the same kind of work on MBP, and the battery life was much better.
I also have personally owned several, and have faced no problems. Could be that I have incredibly good luck :) As further anecdote, I've ran Linux on my computers for almost 2 decades now, and I'm really enjoying macbooks and imacs as a replacement for them.
Worst case scenario, I might just get a cloud Mac for iOS development concerns and VNC/SSH into it from whatever machine. It will actually be a bit of a shock for me to go full-time Windows 10, as I alternate between OSX/WIN10 at a rate of about 30/70 on a daily basis. I really have no strong allegiance either way. Both operating systems are incredible, but I will have to award some bonus points to Apple for that extra bump in UX quality. You can almost constantly feel as if OSX and the hardware were designed by the same engineer when you use things like their touchpad.
One other thing I would say is that if Apple released a clone of this exact machine I have today (the late 2013 13" retina MBP) with modern CPU/Memory/GPU/SSD and maybe USB-C, I would be stoked and would likely purchase it immediately. The changes made to the newest models are dealbreakers for me - Particularly the touchpad & keyboard (AKA the most important aspects).
Has anyone tried moving from Mac to ChromeOS?
It's much heavier though, but at that much more repairable and sturdier.
It doesn't have a great graphics card, but I don't do much of that anyway
My own MBP (late 2018) also just went in for its 3rd repair to the keyboard, it’s ridiculous.
I absolutely love everything about the MacBook and Apple ecosystem but god the keyboards are such an embarrassment.
All anecdotal of course but at the office many of our MacBooks have keyboard issues. And quite some people I know also have issues with the keyboard. Just from my observations the problem is gigantic and I wonder if Apple knows this; almost everyone I talked to about the issue is not willing to have it repaired and just live with the shitty keyboard, because they don’t want to wait 2+ weeks for Apple to repair it.
I’m nowhere near the point of switching to something else because I don’t want Windows or Linux, but I cannot wait for Apple to get their shit together with their keyboards.
I have a MBP w/ Touch Bar, and the battery just started to swell some half a year after running out of the 2 years (European) warranty. However, I contacted Apple, they directed me to an authorised service and I got the top case with battery (it's glued in), keyboard and trackpad, and the bottom plate replaced free of charge. No questions asked. Note that my machine is not part of the recent battery recall.
It would have taken 4 days (they say up to 5 days), however I opted to pay a small fee and take the notebook home and bring it back in when the replacement parts arrived. Took 2-3h to get everything done after the parts arrived.
All things considered, I'm quite pleased with Apple service, even though they don't have an official presence here, except for authorised services.
The Pixelbook itself is excellent hardware with a top notch screen, trackpad and keyboard.
What I'll definitely do is get a Thinkpad Carbon X1 and put elementary OS on it. The Thinkpad line has been around for ages and are praised upon. It's fairly linux-friendly, and elementary OS is a great distro, stable enough to work on, and its polish and attention to detail resonates with a MacOS user.
I've been using elementary OS on a VM in my gaming PC and it's been working flawlessly. Really like this distro.
It's an absolute delight to work on. It's repairable, has ports, lovely 1440p display, it's upgradable, it has a good battery life.
The added advantage is I seem to have absorbed a good deal of knowledge about computers and Unix since switching. I didn't realise how ignorant I was when I was blindly strolling the paths of Apple's walled garden.
The Surface Book is the best laptop I've owned. The build quality is better than the MBP, and despite owning it for years it's as fast as it was when I first bought it. I've had zero issues with it, and I use it almost daily.
It's also not a bad Linux laptop, if that's your thing. I find myself booting into Debian less and less nowadays, but if you want to mainly use Linux it's possible.
My sole gripe with it is that the trackpad isn't as good as the MBP, but it's very close.
It’s starting to finally show its age, I switched to a Dell for a week after my adapter died, but went straight back to it once I was able. 13” screen and I still preferred it over the Dell (speed & comfort may have been an issue, too). Probably will be replacing it with a similar model (matte screen, though, this time, for sure).
So, if you start being more flexible in some areas you have more choices.
For example, how about a Ryzen desktop + a no fuss laptop for when you are mobile? (This assumes you mostly work in one office on the desktop, but also want to be mobile).
Depending how used you are to macOS you'll probably come back to Apple. Maybe buy an use / refurbished MBP.
I run Ubuntu on it and currently my Nvidia drivers are not loading correctly so it's running on the intel integrated graphics. When they were, all GUI applications would crash when waking up from sleep. Will have to look into it and figure out if I can find a stable configuration.
One downside of switching is that work software for Macs are very well built. Webstorm feels clunkier on Windows than Mac, for example.
I wish I could recommend something, but nothing seems to meet the weight, quality, power match.
HP Pavilion has the weight and power of a MBP, and the tablet mode is fun. But the touchpad is terrible.
Dell XPS has power and a good build, but is too heavy if you like to lug around two laptops like me.
MS Surfacebook seems nice, but some friends report that it it's also similarly fragile.
- Dell XPS_13 - Thinkpad (x1 carbon) - Purism - System76 (looked through all their laptpp offerings)
I chose Sys76 because I really wanted better hardware (I wanted _alot_ of RAM), which admittedly isn't a normal requirement for most users.
- Dell XPS 13 - totally anectodal, but I have a few friends who really dislike this laptop because of lots of little issues. Then again, I also know people who love it. My friend lent me his old one and I kept having issues with drivers and the OS just randomly crashing... so I passed on it
- Thinkpad X1-carbon - build quality feels awesome. I really like the trackpoint thingy, but the trackpad itself I thought was horrible. Also dislike the keyboard in general. I've read a bunch of mostly positive reviews though, so I might actually buy one to try in the future.
- Purism - seemed ok, but after looking at the hardware I could get on the Sys76 I liked the latter better.
- Sys76 Gazelle - Opted for this one since the hardware for the price seemed much better than the alternatives. Despite many people complaining that they're marked up Clevo's, I still found them the best when comparing price/hardware.
For about $2,000 USD, I was able to get what I wanted - 6GB GTX 1660 (cuda) - 64 gb ram - 1tb nvme
Compared to the macbook, after a few months use, I honestly miss the mac. There's awesome things to this laptop, but at the end of the day linux just doesn't play nice with everything compared to macs. Slow lagging in general (mac is much more 'snappy') when doing basic things like opening and dragging window panes. Random weird behavior when plugging in peripherals (plugging hdmi will shift some of my fn keys around, wtf?). The keyboard is awesome, the trackpad is ok, but NOTHING compares to the mac's trackpad. The mac display blows the Gazelle's display out of the water. I can't use some apps - Sketch, etc.. on this since it's linux. Battery life is so bad it's laughable.
IMHO, there is no feasible alternative, just a series of tradeoffs only your personal needs can decide. I really wish apple would offer a true "pro" user option - let me upgrade my hardware. Weight/size be damned, I basically want a desktop I can carry in my bookbag.
One of the big problem is airdrop + other macos only tools like keynote. Its hard to quit those.
That sucks, but I think you've just had bad luck. The quality, longetivity, and service of Apple hardware through Apple stores isn't perfect, but it's been consistently better than the alternatives for me and everyone else I know. Sorry your experience has been bad.
I'm curious what you've had to get repaired?
The second best is the new Surface Laptop. Unfortunately its screen is not quite as highres as the Samsung.
If you're looking for something as reliable as 2015 or macbook pro's that don't have butterfly keyboards then maybe this isn't a good choice. But specwise it's even better (display and internals) and the trackpad is probably best in all windows computers (they're basically trying to mimic macbooks).
However, like I said before, they aren't exactly the most reliable laptops, but when they work, they work REALLY well
Closest I’ve used is the Surface line but it’s not nearly as good.
I’m still using a donglebook. My work gave me one and I had bought one so I have a spare for when one is being repaired.
The keyboards are utter shit, the usb C charging is a big downgrade, and the touch pads are now so big they often get in the way of typing.
The 2012 MacBook Pro Retina I bought before my 2018 Donglebook still hasn’t had issues.
The P52S has two batteries, all major hardware ports (including ethernet) and a SIM card slot. It had a (lower end) Nvidia card. Conveniently Pop_OS! comes bundled with Nvidia drivers.
Closest replacement for macOS/MBP I've found.
https://www.asus.com/au/Laptops/ZenBook-Series-Home/
Not associated with Asus in any way...
Has anyone encountered a similar experience and can suggest remedies?
I am worried about the thermals, the i7 seems like it will likely throttle quite a bit.
I absolutely love the form factor though. I've been hoping for 5 years that Apple would release a convertible/2-n-1 style laptop and blow the Surface out of the water.
I'm very happy with it - it's a tidy little machine, build quality is good, it has a nice 4K screen, great specs incl a good GPU, all the holes and slots I could ask for, and the battery lasts something like 10hrs (GPU usage destroys this though obviously)
If you can live without Mac OS, there are a number of top notch laptops out there calling your name.
My takeaway: other laptops also have bugs; I'm back to using a MBP & I hope the next-gen MBPs are good again.
The keyboard on Surface Laptop is also superior, and I never liked the touchpad. Big touch screen fan!
What feels less nice is the screen attachment, it seems less stable. The MBP has a nicer mechanism for locking in I think.
You know, with every product released, someone's invariably going to be the outlier... you know, the guy who buys a lemon, then gets another lemon, then gets ANOTHER lemon. Each lemon probability is small, but even with 3 in a row there's still a chance.
Is there a systematic (not just anecdotal) issue with Apple quality? Evidence?
My day to day work is done on a 15 inch LG Gram + Ubutu 18.04.
I just love it: super lightweight, fast, rugged (been dropped easyly 10 times, still working fine)
The dev env is vastly superior to what I had on my MBP where I constantly found myself struggling with out-of-date software and OSS stuff that just plain doesn't work on the mac.
Next business day on-site repair is usually included, so if something goes wrong then it will be fixed very quickly as a technician will be sent to you with the necessary parts.
I love it when companies actually stands behind their products.
So, now I have 2 newish laptops. I think Macbook is still better when I code anything else than .NET. Thanks to the terminal. Matebook in hardware is better, really good screen. Also it looks good. After all it is Macbook Air knock off.
I've always wanted to buy a MacBook Pro, mostly for music production, but the ThinkPad is a fine beast by itself. For music, I use Studio One 4 on Win 10.
It looks like NVIDIA's drivers support PRIME for sharing between integrated and discrete GPUs these days.
I'll stick with my mac(s) for the foreseeable future. I have 2 MacPros (2011 cheese graters) and 2 mac pros, 2014 and 2017. I read most of the complaints (about Macs) here, and most of them are thin reasons to "not" use a mac.
- I literally NEVER turn my MBP's off. Just sleep them.
This works flawlessly 99.5% (estimated) of the time. I've never seen another notebook with Windows (especially) or Linux that could handle that. Nobody here claims that they do (so far) -- I read one complaint about power usage on a Linux pad.. so I assume this is still the case. Sleep mode sucks on most non-mac, not OSX machines
- Trackpad. Nothing touches the Mac trackpad. Nothing.
- App availability
I have so many QUALITY apps I've gotten on mac that just have no equivalents in Linux. Seriously, a TON, and more all the time. You can't even compare Pixelmator to Gimp, and the list of apps that are much better on OSX goes on and on.
- No Sweat OS Linux is great if you want to configure the shit out of your system. OSX is great if you want to NOT THINK MUCH about your system and just work. I prefer to spend my time working.
So, it's not all roses, we all hear the issues, keyboards have issues, apple does not play nice with NVidia (sucks having a MacPro right now), hardware IS more expensive... but, don't get fooled by the "Grass is greener on the other side" -- you'll have to keep convincing yourself it was a good mood, every single day.
Good luck with that
This series looks rugged, haven't heard it mentioned here (as far as I can remember)
Also, there're rumors on MBP 16" with a fixed(?) keyboard...
Also, great keyboards.
Another key factor for me is that unlike Apple, Asus offers good video cards!
Dell XPS ThinkPad Lenovo X1 Carbon
I use a Dell XPS with only 8GB RAM. This can be tight at times. I switched to Ubuntu based Bodhi Linux and I am pretty happy about it. The RAM footprint is very very low and the system is very snappy.
The webcam is at a strange place, yet you can be sure it is off and not recording you, I just put the laptop on a book and it looks fine for telcos.
Dell and Lenovo are a no go for me.
Compared to Dell/Lenovo, Huawei didn't put spyware on their computers yet :)
If you want a decent linux laptop, I also use a Pruism Librem 15 ... Great, the best if you are looking for a secure machine. It's my private one. Huawei for work.
Is docker on Windows reasonable with battery?
It is not aluminium but looks good. No outward signs that it has a gaming design.
I've seen a few System 76 laptops at tech events around Boulder/Denver and they seem solid as well.
IMHO there are alternatives, but none is chaper than the MBP. Dell hardware is crap, too many complaints online. I would like Lenovo P1. More expensive than MBP…
Asus Zenbook + Linux
Lenovo Carbon + Linux
Dell XPS + Linux
Surface Book 2 + Windows + WSL
Ram y SSD que se están soldando no es un problema para mí, ¿necesita actualizar? Venda su MBP y compre el nuevo (los dispositivos Apple conservan mucho valor)
Touch pad is not quite as good, but the rest of the hardware is up to spec. The 4K screen is arguably better than a MBP.