
2018 MacBook Pro Review - bluedino
http://hrtapps.com/blogs/20180712/
======
blhack
It's become comedy at this point.

Many, _many_ developers: "We _hate_ this keyboard. It is atrocious! Give us
back the old one please!"

Apple: "We have listened to your needs. The keyboard is now 8% quieter, and
the touchbar is mandatory!"

~~~
stupidcar
It's almost as if Apple aren't even basing their hardware strategy on what
developers are complaining about on Hacker News.

~~~
bodas
I'd go further and say that Apple isn't basing their hardware strategy on the
needs of _any_ real person. It's a laptop with only USB-C ports (and the
13-inch only has two of them). You can't even plug a USB stick into it. The
only people who asked for a laptop like that are working at Apple.

~~~
Stratoscope
Lately I've been working at a company that uses YubiKeys for 2FA. You can use
a traditional YubiKey, but the YubiKey Nano is especially popular because you
can put it in your laptop and leave it there. It barely sticks out at all,
just enough that you can touch it and activate the touch sensor. [1]

I started noticing people in meetings with their new MacBook Pros and six inch
cords sticking out the side, and on closer inspection, there was a YubiKey
Nano plugged in at the end of the cord.

Meanwhile, the folks with ThinkPads or older MacBooks just had a Nano tucked
into one of their USB-A ports like it was no big deal.

I know which I would pick.

[1]
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018Y1XXT6/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018Y1XXT6/)

~~~
derefr
That's even more funny, because the MBP's touch-bar is essentially the same
type of device as the YubiKey—an isolated offboard CPU with its own TPM that
can be unlocked with a fingerprint and then asked to encrypt secrets for the
host/parent PC. The touch-bar just has more screen.

I'm surprised nobody's hacked the YubiKey app into making use of the touch-bar
as the YubiKey "device."

~~~
robto
Doesn't that kind of defeat the point of the Yubikey? I would think you would
want to separate the key and the computer when you yourself are separated from
your computer.

~~~
pfranz
The copy on the Yubikey Nano's website says, "designed to remain in port."
Removing it is still an option, but it doesn't sound like it's the point of
having it.

------
georgewfraser
The touchbar is such an FU to developers. It still hasn't found any real use.
They're not rolling it out to other models. Basically, it's a little fun
"experiment" that they've imposed on all their PRO users, thus demonstrating
they no longer really care about this user group.

Personally, I'm waiting for the next generation of Surface devices to come
out, and I'm going to see if I can make WSL work for me.

~~~
inopinatus
Without an Escape key I'm doomed. The touchbar doesn't cut it.

I tried a 2017 model and could only adapt with the daggy workaround of
remapping Caps Lock to Escape. Unfortunately that is therefore in the "wrong"
location for muscle memory for every other keyboard I use.

Sadly I have such a strong preference for OSX that it seems I'll be using the
limping 2012 Retina MBP on which I'm typing until it dies completely, and then
probably switch to a (nonpro) MacBook.

~~~
ntSean
I also remap caps lock to escape; for a button used so regularly, it just
makes sense. Heck, who in their right mind is using caps lock more frequently
than Escape!

~~~
copperx
Control is used even more than Escape. Control should replace caps lock, and
escape should replace the control key.

~~~
throw_away2
With karabiner, you can make it so that tapping capslock is escape and hold is
control. You can make shift-caps be toggle caps if you need it for some
reason. You can make hold-enter another control (nifty, but adds a nearly
perceptible lag to regular tap enter).

I don't have a good use for the old control key. Maybe another fn? Maybe a
super (or hyper) key?

------
sbenj
Am I the only person on here who is bothered by the specs of the base models?
For $2400 you get a 2.2 Ghz machine with a 256 GB ssd and 16 GB of Ram. That
was seriously overpriced and it hasn't budged in this new release. Seems like
you've got to spend well north of 3K to get a reasonable machine. That is way
over the market.

The model in the review is fully loaded. Apple will charge you a cool $3200 to
upgrade to that 4TB ssd mentioned in the review. Apple's habit of gouging on
peripherals is not... endearing.

Also, aren't many premium laptops 4K at this point?

~~~
basica
In 2014 I bought the top of the line MBP for $2700AUD. To get a top of the
line model now it's $4100AUD. As someone who loves macOS, I'm still not gonna
buy a new MBP until the price reaches some level of reasonableness. I've been
seriously considering of getting a Dell and using Linux instead and I may just
do so if there's no budging of the prices in the next 2-3 years.

~~~
slantyyz
>> To get a top of the line model now it's $4100AUD.

Is that right? The Verge article I saw said a maxed out 2018 MBP was $6700
USD, which should be significantly more than $4100 AUD.

Source:

[https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/12/17563840/a...](https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/12/17563840/apple-
macbook-pro-price-32gb-ram-4tb-ssd-intel-core-i9)

~~~
Karupan
I'm guessing OP meant the top readily available model and not the customised
one with everything maxed out.

~~~
basica
This is exactly what I meant.

------
no1youknowz
I've been combing over the reviews on youtube and I came across this link [0].

> A teardown of the hardware on Friday, however, reveals a new silicone
> membrane encases each key that potentially serves as a dust-repelling
> feature to protect against malfunctions.

I'm going to give it a bit, but if it turns out to be the case that for dust
at least the problem is resolved. They'll definitely get a purchase from me.
I'll have to get used to the reduced travel after working with a late 2012 for
5+ years!

[0]: [https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/07/13/2018-macbook-
pro-...](https://appleinsider.com/articles/18/07/13/2018-macbook-pro-
keyboards-include-silicone-membrane-might-protect-against-key-failure)

~~~
jetti
> I'll have to get used to the reduced travel after working with a late 2012
> for 5+ years!

I have been working on my 2012 MBP since my wife got it for me new as a
birthday gift. I absolutely love it and actually just put in an SSD the other
day and it is even more amazing now. I just can't imagine not being able to
easily change parts on my own laptop and the fact that this is the last model
to allow that for MBP has driven the price up relative to other model years.

~~~
copperx
I'm confused. My 2012 MBP already came with a 256GB SSD (lowest possible
standard configuration) and it's soldered, like the RAM. Did you mean a 2011
MBP?

~~~
kalleboo
You're talking about the "2012 MacBook Pro with Retina Display", they also
sold a model without a retina display that used a standard laptop drive and
came with an optical drive (!).

~~~
jetti
Exactly. I have the non-retina + DVD-RW drive.

------
zinckiwi
I don't begrudge Apple their quest for thin and light. All else being equal,
of course everyone wants that.

But they have three portable product lines: the MB, and Air and the Pro.
Surely the point of that is to allow them to differentiate? It seems strange
that "thin and light" is the priority above all others, for all three.

I'd happily sacrifice a couple of millimetres and a few ounces of my 2016 MBP
to a return to the 2015-era keyboard.

~~~
nkkollaw
I'm not sure everyone wants thinnes.

I'm working on a 3-cm thick gaming laptop and I'm about 100 times more
productive compared to my old 2016 MBP, just because the keyboard actually
registeres all keystrokes. I've also upgraded it by opening the bottom case
with 4 Phillips screws.

People want thinness if everything else works. If to have thinness you have a
laptop that you cannot type on, and you lose all your data if the logic boards
dies (happened to me with that model), I don't want that.

~~~
nobodyshere
Right. Backups are for pussies.

~~~
nkkollaw
I always make automatic, incremental hourly backups.

That doesn't mean it's positive for a computer to take your data with it in
case of failure when it's completely avoidable (ex., don't have the SSD
soldered to the logic board).

------
knolan
It’s shocking how expensive Macs have gotten. I paid around €2300 for my 2014
15” and today’s equivalent tier is over €3k. For this I get a faster thinner
machine without MagSafe and a variety of ports.

It seems that the only viable upgrade path is to convince your employer to
stump up the cash.

~~~
bluedino
Macs have never been cheap. There was a period where the Air (at < $999) and
the 13” Pro (at $1199) were fantastic deals.

Let’s go back in time to when the choices were the $1799 12” PowerBook, $2199
15” PowerBook, or the $1299 iBook

~~~
csydas
Truthfully, it's why I'm very sad that the Air looks to be discontinued. I'm
still using a 2012 MacBook Air, and it was quite possibly the least stressful
computer purchase I ever made. $1000 and some change to get a computer that
has just worked magnificently for nearly 6 years now without missing a beat. I
walked into an Apple Store, told the Apple employee I wanted a 4 gb MacBook
Air, and in 5 minutes I walked out with one, no other pressure or sales
pitches.

It was a very relaxed experience for me, and I certainly hope that it's still
the same with Apple. $1000 isn't chump change, but it's accessible for someone
just a little above the poverty line like me.

~~~
bdowling
Why do you think that the Air is discontinued? They're still up for sale on
Apple's site. The most recent updates were apparently in 2017.

~~~
simonh
He said looks t be. There are rumours of a new low cost Mac laptop with
different branding. ‘Air’ branding doesn’t make sense for the low end model
that’s not actually the thinnest and lightest in the range, which it hasn’t
been since the MacBook came out.

~~~
bdowling
I did read that, but I interpreted "looks to be" to mean the present
appearance. Obviously the Air will be discontinued at some point, and when
that happens it won't come as a surprise to anyone.

------
kuon
Apple lost me two years ago. While I was a big macOS fan and developer, I now
work under linux.

I was very surprised to see how far linux has gotten as a desktop workstation.
Including very good apps (darktable, ardour, inkscape and even gimp which had
an horrible interface at the time).

I still think macOS had a superior UI (I say "had" because I haven't touched a
mac since sierra) and that the hardware was beautiful. But my main workstation
which has 3x 27'' monitors attached to it, was less than 2000$ (without the
monitors of course).

~~~
Derbasti
The exact same thing happened to me. Now I have a big tower PC for serious
work (32 cores, 64 Gb RAM, dual 1080) plus a nice laptop (XPS 13), for a
combined cost of less than this MBP.

While the Linux software ecosystem is not quite as smooth as macOS, I have
found it to be quite adequate for my work.

~~~
wilsonnb2
How exactly are you calculating that your desktop+laptop is cheaper than the
MBP?

64GB of ram apparently sells for around $600 right now, plus $500 for each
1080, plus $700 for a 16 core threadripper (I'm not sure what 32 core
processor you're using or if you're using multiple processors, but the next
gen threadripper will be 32 and cost about this much), plus $1000 for the base
model Dell XPS 13 9370 puts you at a total of $3300 before we even get to the
motherboard, case, monitors, keyboard, mouse, power supply, storage, laptop
upgrades, etc. This also assumes that you built the desktop yourself while
valuing the time you spent researching and building at $0.

Anyways, saying that your setup cost less than a MBP seems pretty ridiculous
even if it is technically accurate when you only consider the "max" price of a
MacBook pro.

~~~
Derbasti
Well, obviously I wouldn't go for the stock configuration. Seeing my needs,
the top CPU, RAM, and GPU seem reasonable.

But I really didn't check. The point is, the MBP's performance per dollar is
ridiculous.

------
lucidone
I have a 2015 Macbook. I like it, but I know that my next work computer will
likely be a desktop dual booting linux and windows. Containers and kubernetes
hog RAM like crazy, my laptop is used at the same desk 99% of the time, and
for the price of a macbook I could build a phenomenal desktop that I can
easily upgrade as necessary.

~~~
kbd
Yeah I have a (much) older MacBook Pro as my main home machine still. I've
been wanting to replace it for a long time but as it has sat on my desk for
years (I have a work laptop) I really want to buy a desktop machine.

But, Apple doesn't make one. I refuse to buy a touchbar-laden MacBook Pro or
an all-in-one iMac Pro with a monitor I don't need (and a base price of 3
grand), so I'm thinking of jumping ship from the Apple ecosystem. I'm not
happy about it; I just want iMac-quality hardware in a box (that ideally I
could upgrade). A Linux box that can boot into Windows for games sounds like
it's in my future as well.

------
coupdejarnac
Has the power supply been redesigned so the cord doesn't fray in 18 months?
This has really irked me.

~~~
npunt
Since the 2016s were released the USB-C cord is separated from the power
brick, so if there's any cord fraying you can just replace the cord w/o
replacing the brick.

~~~
etatoby
Too little, too late, IMHO.

~~~
ubernostrum
So... they have to get everything literally perfect on the first attempt in
order for you not to dismiss it?

Do you even own a computer? Is there any company that manages to meet your
standards?

~~~
ouid
It replaced magsafe, which is a superior technology.

------
notadoc
Touch Bar kills it.

I am a touch typer. I use the escape key constantly. I use the function keys
frequently. Like every other touch typer I know, none of us want to look at
our fingers to type anything, let alone to look down and navigate around a
microscopic touch screen menu that requires you to not only look at your
fingers but to move your hands away from the micro-screen to see what you're
trying to tap on. I have no idea how they decided any of that was a good idea,
let alone for a machine aimed at professionals.

I'm thrilled to see 32gb RAM finally, but I'll pass. Wake me up when they
remove the Touch Bar.

~~~
jen20
This is simply "anecdata".

I too touch type, and simply remapped escape to caps lock, the same as the
last 15 years, and moved on. I have had a touch bar since late 2016, and have
not missed function keys a single time, while I have several uses for the
touch bar.

I would be annoyed if the touch bar were removed, or the trackpad made
smaller, or the keyboard made spongier, or any of the other things that people
on here like to claim "professionals" want.

~~~
wildrhythms
Can you describe what value the touchbar adds in your usual workflow?

~~~
mistersquid
I'm a developer and prosumer who types by touch. I have operational macros
triggered by FN keys and somewhat miss the hard FN keys on my 2017 MacBook
Pro.

I've set the System Preferences so pressing the fn key causes the Touch Bar to
show soft FN keys. I use the soft ESC key frequently and without problem;
aiming for the left corner of the Touch Bar almost always works and very
rarely transforms into something other than ESC (In fact, I can't remember
under what conditions it turns into something other than ESC, though I'm sure
it does.)

So, one would think that as a touch typist who uses hard FN keys to trigger
operational macros, the Touch Bar would be somewhat of an annoyance but for me
it's really not.

The Touch Bar changes and reveals and/or offers functionality that isn't
offered by any other means.

For example, I frequently Screen Share (VNC) to my home machine that has
multiple displays. When doing so, the Touch Bar has buttons to allow me switch
between display 1, display 2, or both displays. I've tried and could not
figure a reliable way to trigger this functionality with macros or the
keyboard, despite having extensive AppleScript knowledge and being very
familiar with Keyboard Maestro. The Touch Bar made Screen Sharing much easier
to use in a remote context.

Another example, I use Apple's Mail app and for years have used Adam Tow's
super useful MsgFiler. When Apple Mail is frontmost, the Touch Bar features a
"Move to $Mailbox" button that seems to learn where I file similar messages,
and in my observation it is almost always correct.

I also prefer the Touch Bar sliders that reveal when adjusting my screen
brightness and the volume controls.

So the Touch Bar does offer a few features which I find useful despite my
being a touch typist. I somewhat miss the hard FN keys, but for me losing them
is not a deal breaker because I can coerce the Touch Bar to display function
keys by pressing the fn key.

So, I'm pretty neutral with regard to the Touch Bar but the keyboard is a
different story.

I LOVE the shallow-press keyboard. I generally type with the pads of my
fingers rather than the tips, and the shallow key press feels more solid and
graceful to me. I've not yet experienced the non-functioning key problem that
many others have reported and am somewhat concerned about losing my laptop for
a week due to keyboard failure.

EDIT: Fixed three minor grammar problems.

~~~
dahauns
> I somewhat miss the hard FN keys, but for me losing them is not a deal
> breaker because I can coerce the Touch Bar to display function keys by
> pressing the fn key.

And you can really use them without looking at them?

------
pteredactyl
Cons: Keyboard, Touch bar, lack of ports, cost

Pro: Great display. Build quality. MacOS

It's too bad all the cons except cost are new to the latest generation (
post-2015 ) MBP.

~~~
matthewmacleod
I’ve been using one for six months - in my experience, the keyboard is
_awesome_ to the point that I hate going back to my other, older machine.

I reckon there’s been a bit of an unfair perpetuation of this idea that it’s
particularly bad, though I accept that some other people have different
tastes!

~~~
pteredactyl
Interesting. Maybe I need to evolve.

~~~
matthewmacleod
It's not necessarily that you're wrong or anything! I totally appreciate that
people have different tastes in keyboards. I'm just aware that I've heard an
awful lot of people talk about how bad it is, without having actually used it
– to the point that I was really rather surprised when I started using it and
realised how nice it is!

------
inamberclad
That automatic display makes me think about the bad experiences I have with
the hardcoded adaptive contrast on my XPS-13 9350. It makes it unusable for
pro grade photo editing since the features can't be turned off and the monitor
therefore can't be calibrated. In addition, when trying to use the nightlight
feature of the new gnome stack, the color temperature swings wildly with
subtle color changes on the page caused by things such as scrolling, or
highlighting text.

~~~
JBorrow
You can turn true tone off in the settings.

~~~
inamberclad
I don't think that's the case on the XPS-13 9350 with the FHD (1080p) display.

------
some_account
A review where it's not being compared against other laptops but against older
macs is only marginally useful.

Of course it's going to be faster. The problem with Mac is not that it's slow,
it's the lack of innovation.

~~~
grzm
> _" is only marginally useful._"

 _To you._ A review can't (and arguably shouldn't) be everything to everyone.
For example, for those who are flexible in the operating system they use, it
would make more sense to compare with different manufacturer's products; for
those who are interested in using macOS, it the review as written makes more
sense. The first sentence of the piece is "I’ve been using Mac laptops for a
long time, going back to the very first portable Apple ever made": it's
unlikely they're writing to the former audience. You may not be the intended
audience, and that's okay. There are likely reviews out there that address the
questions that interest you. This just happens not to be one of them.

------
kristianp
By removing the Esc key, Apple declared its side on the emacs vs vi wars.

~~~
chrisvalleybay
Using the Esc-key for vi(m) is crazy nevertheless. It's a really long reach.

Personally I have rebound Left Ctrl to Esc, and Caps Lock to Ctrl, but an
option would be to rebind Caps Lock to Esc. 'jj' is also fine, but since
rebinding Esc to a closer key, I started using it a lot more often, where I
would have used the mouse.

------
hmd_imputer
Year 2018, price 2000euros, specifications: 8gb RAM (non-upgradable) and just
256GB of SSD. Most smartphones have higher specifications. That is just a rip-
off, imo. Shame on you, Apple!

------
geophile
So they’ve caught up to Windows laptops on specs but still have that
abomination of a keyboard. After all the complaints.

~~~
neonscribe
The report is that the keyboard is not the same. Quieter, but not necessarily
more reliable. Reliability remains to be seen. Keep in mind that the uproar
over keyboard problems started far too recently to have affected the design of
the 2018 version.

~~~
wll
The ~2016-designed [0] third-generation butterfly keyboard (MacBook Pro 2018)
features a silicone membrane [1] designed to «prevent and/or alleviate
contaminant ingress» [0] thereby softening or preventing dust-caused key
failure.

[0]
[http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?docid=20180068808](http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?docid=20180068808)

[1] [https://ifixit.org/blog/10279/apple-macbook-keyboard-
cover-u...](https://ifixit.org/blog/10279/apple-macbook-keyboard-cover-up/)

------
satysin
Not the best review but I feel it is more for others looking to use it for
things similar to the author (CFD).

It is nice to see some keyboard and screen improvements though. I am looking
forward to mine arriving on the 26th and will write up a review from a
software developer perspective if I get the time.

------
jimmcslim
It is interesting that the review has a photo of the laptop in the author's
most likely working environment, at a desk.

The laptop is closed and an Apple keyboard with PHYSICAL FUNCTION KEYS has
been placed on top.

It is also interesting that the review doesn't mention the touchbar AT ALL.

------
gaius
Wow the Blackmagic is huge!! I had no idea they were so big! Is there just 1
graphics card in there?

~~~
Acen
Keen in mind that Blackmagic sells a massive array of pro audio/visual
equipment. From cameras to capture and playback, to format convertors etc.

~~~
DuskStar
Wouldn't the fact that they're experienced peripheral manufacturers mean they
have less of an excuse for their external GPU being oversized? I have no idea
how else that would be relevant in this situation.

------
JumpCrisscross
Is the MacBook Air dead, then? Light and powerful isn't a valid niche anymore?

~~~
sneak
Unlikely. The $999 MacBook Air is Apple’s best selling computer.

~~~
kllrnohj
Source? It's a 3 year old laptop at this point.

~~~
sneak
College kids don’t care, they just want a mac and the entry level Air is $999.

------
AlexeyBrin
I'm curious what the author thinks about the OpenCL deprecation in future
versions of macOS. How will this deprecation influence his CFD work on macOS.

I assume an OpenCL -> Metal 2 migration will solve the problem.

------
toyg
Finally adding 32GB gets a big thumbs-up from me, somebody at Apple is finally
listening.

I'll have to check the keyboard, however I don't expect any improvement -
maybe it'll get stuck a bit less, but I bet travel will still be atrocious.

The MBPr was released in 2012 and redesigned in 2016, so I guess we might
expect the next big iteration to come in 2020 or so; then it will take a year
or two to work out the bugs, as it always does. This model is clearly the
mature version of the 2016 design. It's a good time to buy.

~~~
grzm
> _" Finally adding 32GB gets a big from me, somebody at Apple is finally
> listening."_

More accurately, Intel released chips that supported 32GB of memory with the
power and heat requirements Apple wanted.

[https://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/28/new-macbook-pros-
no-32g...](https://www.macrumors.com/2016/10/28/new-macbook-pros-no-32gb-ram-
battery-life/)

~~~
toyg
That's not the case - the 32gb config in these machines is regular DDR4, not
Low-Power DDR4 as the lower-spec ones. This possibility was already there two
years ago. Apparently they just ship a bigger battery to compensate for higher
power requirements - something that was suggested when the 2016 model came out
(and promptly dismissed by the Apple faithful as wishful thinking).

Intel only shipped their first LPDDR4 big-ram chips last May [1], and they are
not the type Apple would use (not powerful enough). It's possible that Apple
decided to go ahead with this configuration as a temporary solution, and will
eventually swap-in "real" LPDDR4 chips when they land.

[1] [https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/05/intel-makes-its-
firs...](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/05/intel-makes-its-first-10nm-
cannon-lake-chips-official/)

------
jhack
The Macbook he's describing costs $8,379.00 Canadian.

$8,379.00

For a Macbook.

------
jason_slack
I didn't realize that the esc key was gone before I ordered my new 15". I
haven't had a "touch bar" model yet. Why didn't the touch bar take off with
developers? I read Apple said you can develop functionality into apps to
utilize the touch bar. Why didn't this happen?

------
mlang23
The keyboard is one of the last reasons why someone would want a laptop vs. a
tablet. I loved my MacBook Air, but no Apple laptops for me until they fix the
keyboard. But hey, I am sure they found a market for this stuff. It is just
not for touch typists.

------
wpdev_63
Why would anyone pay 2k to use a crappy keyboard? It's unbelievable.

I still admit macos is a nice *nix os.

------
hartator
> 2880x1800 resolution

That's a bit of shame that they still haven't up since the introduction of the
very first 15" Retina. Default scaling on the new 15" looks blurry as it's not
1:4 pixel matching.

------
zmix
So, Apple has send him a high-end model (32GB of RAM!, dedicated GfX chip) and
the verdict is, that this is worthy of the "Pro" in the name.

Interestingly, he left out the price.

------
IloveHN84
I still don't get why there's no 32 GB option on the 13" as a non-Intel card.
Where's the "PRO" in this version, except the price?

~~~
jason_slack
I feel you. I wanted to downsize to a 13", but 32gb being only available on
the 15" I had to stay 15". :-(

------
torgian
Man I like MacBooks, but they need to make one with a touchscreen, bring back
the function keys and give me a better keyboard before I’ll buy a new one
again.

------
diek00
I see they have also retained the massive POS trackpad, for those who have not
experienced it, agony is a good word. Imagine typing away and next thing Siri
pops up for absolutely no reason or the cursor changes position and you are
typing in a new location. Jumping randomly regardless of what I have done. I
am lucky I did not taken a hammer and smashed it to pieces.

------
imagetic
I'll pay extra for a non-touch bar model. Seriously.

------
hartator
> True Tone adaptive display

I think I might buy it just from that.

------
imron
No word on battery life.

------
scarface74
For the life of me I don’t understand why most developers who work for a
company - and get a company supplied laptop - buy a MacBook or any other
laptop for personal use.

I don’t do any personal development currently. But when I start back on my
personal projects, a 27 inch 5K iMac is much more appealing. You get more for
your money, a nicer, bigger display, more ports, faster processors (at least
for single core tasks), etc.

~~~
mrep
Because I want to work on my own stuff on the go and your company owns 100% of
everything you do on their laptop.

~~~
scarface74
I’m not suggesting using a company laptop for personal projects. But with an
IDE up, a web browser for development, a shell, etc. working on just a laptop
monitor is painful. I can’t imagine developing an iPad app on a 15 inch
laptop.

~~~
not_kurt_godel
Agreed, development on a single monitor is grossly inefficient for me if I'm
doing any sort of serious work. It drives me nuts when I have to pair program
with someone who doesn't use multiple monitors, or doesn't utilize multiple
monitors effectively. Every time you switch a screen from one app to the other
adds friction to your workflow in the form of keypresses and mentally keeping
track of context. The more of your workspace can be laid out at once, the less
friction there is and the more effort can be devoted to the work itself.

~~~
arvinsim
I used to love multiple monitors. But I discovered I got work done better on a
single, big monitor. A big screen real estate is really what I need.

~~~
not_kurt_godel
Personally I prefer multiple big monitors over a single massive monitor
because it lets me divide organize things a bit better. But to each their own.

