Apple’s new MacBook Pro is the first MacBook Consumer Reports won’t recommend

Extreme Tech ^ | 12/23/2016 | Joel Hruska

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Apple’s new MacBook Pro isn’t having an easy time in the market. It’s been panned for its reliance on dongles, criticized for using older Intel chips, and a significant number of users have reported decidedly substandard battery life when using the system. Apple has responded to these complaints by cutting dongle prices and removing the “Time Remaining” indicator on the laptop’s battery, neither of which constitutes an actual solution. Now, Consumer Reports has refused to recommend the MacBook Pro for the first time ever. The reason? Battery life.

[ConsCA]

I hope you had a Merry Christmas in the PI.

Thanks for chiming in.

[TheBattman]

A dongle is a hardware peripheral with the only intent being to allow operation of software on said machine. Its goal is to prevent software piracy. i.e. the software won’t run if it can’t find the hardware dongle on the port somewhere.

That is ONE type of "dongle" - but in this case, we are talking about something completely different - In the case of MacBook and MacBook Pro - a dongle is a means of adding ports for extra external peripherals. You can get a dongle to add multiple USB ports, card readers, external drives, etc.

[TheBattman]

Touch screen? You like finger prints/smudges on your screen?

[TheBattman]

3 year old tech... yet Apple hardware typically out performs current Windows boxes of the same “generation”... Imagine how far Apple would leave PC hardware in the dust if they used the most “cutting-edge” components...

[TheBattman]

Its a shame Mr. “ar123” has his fettish of trolling Apple threads, then fantasizing about being “followed around”. Pretty pathetic life he must lead...

[roadcat]

He got banned or suspended shortly after his last response. Good riddance, he was a trouble-maker on multiple threads at FR. And yes, he leads a pathetic life spewing nonsense and name-calling, sign of a demented fool.

[AFreeBird]

I bought an early 2015 13” MBP. The MAGSafe power adapter is worth the price of admission. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve damaged a laptop that didn’t have one. For Apple to remove it boggles my mind.

And hey, it’s UNIX. Win!

[TexasGator]

"Touch screen? You like finger prints/smudges on your screen?"

[Swordmaker]

I bought an early 2015 13” MBP. The MAGSafe power adapter is worth the price of admission. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve damaged a laptop that didn’t have one. For Apple to remove it boggles my mind.

Although not made by Apple, there are inexpensive mag-safe like adaptors that work with the USB-3/Thunderbolt3 ports on the new MacBook Pros that break loose when someone or something stumbles across the power cable. If I were to buy one of the new MacBook Pros I would definitely buy one of these adaptors.