
Why I owned a Macbook Pro for a day - simonebrunozzi
https://hackernoon.com/why-i-owned-a-macbook-pro-for-a-day-and-what-it-says-to-me-about-the-future-of-apple-75b84458d86c
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dudul
The guy spends 3,000GBP in a laptop, and his bride buys an apple watch while
he's chatting with the repair guy, but finds a way to complain about paying 2
tolls on the road :) I get the principle, but it made me laugh.

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petercooper
Other than occasional key issues, I've found the latest MBP to be the best
overall and I've owned most generations. It's the only one to not set fire to
my lap, not be noisy, not demand I use Apple's power adapters, works with
portable powerbanks, has the best internal speakers by far, and which
conveniently charges whichever side suits the location best. But.. this is why
there are lots of models of computer, everyone's experience differs.

~~~
humblebee
I'm pretty skeptical of portable powerbanks at the moment. I wish Apple came
out with an official one because I would buy it in an instant. I left my power
adapter at my home when I took a week trip to visit my parents. On the last
night of my trip I had left my laptop plugged into my powerbank after
discharging my laptop pretty low (probably ~15%). I did not pay attention to
which way the power was flowing though, and came back to a laptop which
wouldn't turn on or respond to anything. I ended up having to take it to an
Apple store where they send it off. I'm unsure what exactly happened as Apple
doesn't seem to provide such insight after repairs. However, I believe the
powerbank fully drained all the power out of the laptop and some how damaged
the power manager. The laptop would not charge for any reason.

Since the repair, I've also had issues with the laptop not waking up
correctly, or turning the screen on, and frequently have to power cycle to get
the screen to wake up after closing the lid for any extended period of time. I
was rather shocked that the laptop would allow itself to be damaged in such a
way by having it's power drawn down by some external device.

I now no longer use a powerbank with it.

The powerbank was a "USB C Power Bank RAVPower 26800 PD". Absolutely love it,
still use it with other devices. Just not on my laptop anymore at the moment.

I think it can be safe to use, if one pays close attention and never let the
powerbank charge from a laptop. Accidents do happen and I simply can't afford
one at the moment again.

~~~
petercooper
USB-C devices still seem to be notoriously likely to not entirely support
standards when it comes to power levels, etc. So yeah, official stuff would be
ideal, though I've had nothing but success sticking with Anker brand stuff so
far both for chargers (I've not used the Apple one in months) and powerbanks.
I am not surprised by your story though, sadly.

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taylodl
Apple used to have superlative customer care and their products are fully-
warranted for one year after purchase without the additional purchase of Apple
Care. What this poor chap went through is simply inexcusable. Of all companies
Apple is fully cognizant there are manufacturing defects and what they owe
their customers is top-notch customer care. That's what the "Apple Tax" is
supposed to be paying for.

~~~
Spartan-S63
At least in the United States, I had my fair share of issues with my late 2016
MacBook Pro.

First issue was dead pixels on the screen. It was replaced in warranty for
free with superb turnaround. Dropped it on a Thursday night and had it back
Tuesday by lunch time.

About nine months later, the backlight on the screen died and I had just a
black screen. Rather than wait for an Apple Store appointment, I got a box to
send it in. The box was overnighted to me and the shipping to the repair depot
was also overnight. I shipped it out Wednesday after work, it arrived and was
serviced on Thursday, and back in my hands by Friday at 10:30am.

When I got it back, however, the keyboard had an issue that only could have
been caused by the repair. I did a walk-in on Saturday morning at my local
Apple Store and they started by looking into replacing the computer without me
asking.

All of these repairs and replacements were done in warranty or under Apple
Care free of charge. The replacement was amazing, too, because it was
processed as a return and repurchase. So, I got a brand new Apple Care policy
on an upgraded (better CPU, GPU, 1TB SSD) mid 2017 MacBook Pro that lasts the
full three years as part of the return and repurchase.

They've more than made me whole and made me better off than before by
replacing the computer. I'm definitely impressed with their customer support
compared to any other computer vendor.

~~~
taylodl
While I was reading this article I was wondering whether things are different
in the United States. Most of the articles I've run across talking about poor
Apple support seem to all be outside of the United States.

~~~
Spartan-S63
Things definitely appear to be different across the board for people outside
of the United States. All lackluster Apple support stories I've heard
originate from outside the US. Inside the US, customer service is great.

