I have heard a lot about Macbooks heating up and all that stuff. Now is it true that in general Apple's notebooks are made using low quality material or something? Can the notebooks be classed as unreliable? Is Apple known for making cheap notebooks? Or is this all just in SOME notebooks like other manufacturers.
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Are Apple's notebooks generally of low quality?
- Thread starter dingdongbubble
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Other Manufacturers?
So is this defect rate normal for the current Macbooks lineup or is it still higher than other manufacturers?
So is this defect rate normal for the current Macbooks lineup or is it still higher than other manufacturers?
No figures here, but they seem about the same - and Apple support is a LOT easier to deal with if you do have a problem (I have had experiences of being passed for ages between Dell and Microsoft about PCs problems)
the Rev A MBPs were terrible, but Apple fixed all the issues in the second revision.
Rev A MBs had some problems. I had the staining and random shutdowns , but after getting a replacement heatsink and keyboard, its working like a charm. I hear they are of fantastic quality now.
I've used a C2D MBP, and it's a lot better than the CD ones. Apple don't make cheap computers, so when a problem comes along, they usually get on top of it pretty quickly.
Rev A MBs had some problems. I had the staining and random shutdowns , but after getting a replacement heatsink and keyboard, its working like a charm. I hear they are of fantastic quality now.
I've used a C2D MBP, and it's a lot better than the CD ones. Apple don't make cheap computers, so when a problem comes along, they usually get on top of it pretty quickly.
I have one of them 'notorious' Rev A Macbooks and it's fine. It's only natural that those with problems shout louder than those who don't.
HAHAHA! Low Quality!!!
Apple's notebooks are of the highest quality. Why else would they bother using aircraft grade aluminium to build a sub 2.5kg 1" thick notebook with the fastest available parts, when they could make a 1.5" plastic 3.5kg ugly brick like everyone else?
Dodgy screens is not Apple's fault. Heating issues caused by too much thermal paste may or may not be Apple's fault, but it does not affect the performance of the computer anyway, so it's not really much of an issue.
MBPs are designed to be what I would say is the best all-round notebook you can buy for Professionals. MBs are designed to be the best all-round notebooks for price minded average consumers. They are in no sense of the word "low quality", and are entirely the opposite.
The vast, vast majority of Apple notebooks are pretty much perfect, as many threads here will attest to.
A poll I made a while ago that seems somewhat appropriate:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/281823/
The results speak for themselves, really. Even though Core Duo Macs were supposedly "terrible".
And people should go vote, post, and resurrect this thread!
Apple's notebooks are of the highest quality. Why else would they bother using aircraft grade aluminium to build a sub 2.5kg 1" thick notebook with the fastest available parts, when they could make a 1.5" plastic 3.5kg ugly brick like everyone else?
Dodgy screens is not Apple's fault. Heating issues caused by too much thermal paste may or may not be Apple's fault, but it does not affect the performance of the computer anyway, so it's not really much of an issue.
MBPs are designed to be what I would say is the best all-round notebook you can buy for Professionals. MBs are designed to be the best all-round notebooks for price minded average consumers. They are in no sense of the word "low quality", and are entirely the opposite.
The vast, vast majority of Apple notebooks are pretty much perfect, as many threads here will attest to.
A poll I made a while ago that seems somewhat appropriate:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/281823/
The results speak for themselves, really. Even though Core Duo Macs were supposedly "terrible".
And people should go vote, post, and resurrect this thread!
The impression I get is that in terms of quality it goes like this:
$400 eMachines/ACER < Dell Inspiration/HP Mid Range < Apple < Thinkpad/Dell Latitude/Other Business Laptop.
So Apple's quality is pretty good, and excellent for a consumer machine, but if you are prepared to spend enough you can get better quality hardware elsewhere.
(Wait, I'm still on Mac Forums, right? Yes that does seem to ask if Apple notebooks are low quality... )
No, Apple computers are the farthest thing from low quality. I'd go in-depth more, but I'm still not exactly sure what possessed you to think that Apple notebooks are low quality and so I'm confused...
)No, Apple computers are the farthest thing from low quality. I'd go in-depth more, but I'm still not exactly sure what possessed you to think that Apple notebooks are low quality and so I'm confused...
I find it worrying when members post how amazingly perfect apple's notebooks (or computers in general) are.
I have lectures every day which are run using mac pro's and macbooks and they are far from reliable.
Even when I went into university last week to ask my tutor his opinion on the notebooks and he used his SR 17" macbook pro to access apples website, each time he clicked on the macbook pro section, his macbook pro froze. In the end we had to give up....
Reliable? Hardly. Better than a Dell running Vista? I'd say about the same, although it's worth mentioning that I have at least 1 class a week where a mac freezes several times. My university is also a digidesign protools and apple logic pro training facility, so we don't exactly have bad gear.
Please don't flame though, I'm actually spending £2000 on a notebook and logic this winter.
- Jamie
I have lectures every day which are run using mac pro's and macbooks and they are far from reliable.
Even when I went into university last week to ask my tutor his opinion on the notebooks and he used his SR 17" macbook pro to access apples website, each time he clicked on the macbook pro section, his macbook pro froze. In the end we had to give up....
Reliable? Hardly. Better than a Dell running Vista? I'd say about the same, although it's worth mentioning that I have at least 1 class a week where a mac freezes several times. My university is also a digidesign protools and apple logic pro training facility, so we don't exactly have bad gear.
Please don't flame though, I'm actually spending £2000 on a notebook and logic this winter.
- Jamie
It depends how they are looked after, our Linux machines are far less reliable than our Windows machines even though they run the same hardware, and Linux is generally very stable, simply because the Windows machines get more love.
Very true. I was under the impression that Mac OSX didn't need quite as much attention as a windows machine though. I'm not too concerned about the random freezing in lectures as I won't be buying a Mac Pro. What worries me is having the Apple website consistently freeze a Macbook Pro. It's only safari ffs, doesn't look good for 32 track mixes.
It makes me concerned when I'll be investing $4000+
I'm also not liking what I'm hearing about Apple stores refusing replacements after the third time, seems fairly illegal to me.
- Jamie
Ugh, I hate the blinkered viewpoint you get on this forum. I love Macs, but I believe it is a fact that Apple have serious quality problems with their notebooks. Let's look at the list of defects that have been widely reported, and that I have seen on every single recent notebook revision.
1.67GHz PowerBook (Rev E I believe): Horizontal line issue on screen of all machines.
2GHz MacBook Pro (Rev A): Whine from motherboard, overheating, battery swelling, display flicker at low brightness settings. MagSafe power cables fraying and breaking. Noisy right fans.
1.83GHz MacBook: Top case discoloring, extreme overheating leading to widespread random shutdowns and even case fracturing. MagSafe power cables fraying and breaking. Noisy "moo-like" fan.
2.33GHz MacBook Pro (Rev B): Grainy displays, Apple used an extremely cheap display instead of a premium one.
2.4GHz MacBook Pro (Rev C): Cheap displays used again. Yellow tint at bottom of screen is widespread problem. Overheating seems to be a problem on these too. And again, flicker at low brightness settings returns on some machines.
In short, Apple's notebook releases since 2005 or earlier have generally suffered widespread problems due to abysmal quality control, cheap components and design flaws. Now, before someone replies saying "well mine is perfect!!!!!" please note that I am saying these issues are extremely widespread, but not on every single machine. It is possible to get the odd machine that doesn't have flaws. But you only have to look around these forums, Apple's own forums, and generally around the Web to see that the issues I have stated have indeed affected a massive number of Apple's notebook customers.
Please, I think Apple make superb software and DESIGN amazing machines. However, let's be honest, their quality control currently just plain sucks.
1.67GHz PowerBook (Rev E I believe): Horizontal line issue on screen of all machines.
2GHz MacBook Pro (Rev A): Whine from motherboard, overheating, battery swelling, display flicker at low brightness settings. MagSafe power cables fraying and breaking. Noisy right fans.
1.83GHz MacBook: Top case discoloring, extreme overheating leading to widespread random shutdowns and even case fracturing. MagSafe power cables fraying and breaking. Noisy "moo-like" fan.
2.33GHz MacBook Pro (Rev B): Grainy displays, Apple used an extremely cheap display instead of a premium one.
2.4GHz MacBook Pro (Rev C): Cheap displays used again. Yellow tint at bottom of screen is widespread problem. Overheating seems to be a problem on these too. And again, flicker at low brightness settings returns on some machines.
In short, Apple's notebook releases since 2005 or earlier have generally suffered widespread problems due to abysmal quality control, cheap components and design flaws. Now, before someone replies saying "well mine is perfect!!!!!" please note that I am saying these issues are extremely widespread, but not on every single machine. It is possible to get the odd machine that doesn't have flaws. But you only have to look around these forums, Apple's own forums, and generally around the Web to see that the issues I have stated have indeed affected a massive number of Apple's notebook customers.
Please, I think Apple make superb software and DESIGN amazing machines. However, let's be honest, their quality control currently just plain sucks.
I don't believe this for a second. I've often experienced plenty of odd behaviour from Safari and Firefox, but freezing the entire machine? Never. And doing it on Apple.com? If there's one site which is going to work on a mac it's that one.
It's a shame they spend so much time designing the perfect notebook then get a Chinese infant to build it.
Believe me, it happened. My tutor tried accessing the macbook pro area of the website 3 times and it froze all 3 times. Obviously he could do the apple equivalent of ctrl + alt + del to fix it, but it shouldn't happen in the first place.
True, we didn't spend the time restarting the machine, but for that price should we have to?
- Jamie
If you are going to post 'actual' statistics please post the source. Otherwise it is nothing more than a fictitious number.
Sopranino
apples notebooks in general have superb design and quality for the prize. i compared them to the pc notebooks in our company (sony, ibm/lenovo, acer, dell).
they appear to be crappy for two reasons:
revision A problems. apple throws out core duos or LED screens or new case designs and of course there are initially problems that get widely reported. but usually after 3-4 month production gets better and the notebooks are fine.
apple users are anal. many things they complain about like yellow tinted LED screens, bent cases happen in other PC notebooks as well. people just accept it and do not complain. note that most complains of apple users are fully justified. however PC users seem to accept a lower standard.
my two cents derived from my experience in a company with ~200 people. generalizitions are of course always a bit arbitrary. but in general apples notebooks are great, sometimes they could be better.
they appear to be crappy for two reasons:
revision A problems. apple throws out core duos or LED screens or new case designs and of course there are initially problems that get widely reported. but usually after 3-4 month production gets better and the notebooks are fine.
apple users are anal. many things they complain about like yellow tinted LED screens, bent cases happen in other PC notebooks as well. people just accept it and do not complain. note that most complains of apple users are fully justified. however PC users seem to accept a lower standard.
my two cents derived from my experience in a company with ~200 people. generalizitions are of course always a bit arbitrary. but in general apples notebooks are great, sometimes they could be better.
Well yes, but when they receive no attention (like our Linux machines) then problems will develop.
Safari crashing on Apples website sounds weird though, could be a hardware issue or a reinstall could be in order.
That's all well and good, but what about people like yourselves on the forum who have paid for one of the Revision A machines. When production is at a good standard I'm sure Apple won't replace your machines for you.
That's why I'm thinking of buying this revisions notebook just before it is updated, I'm more likely to good a very nice quality machine then.