Are Apple's notebooks generally of low quality?

[anirban]

......
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.
.....

I have a 2.4GHz MBP, and it has been the most flawless thing I have ever owned.

I have no complaints, and based on this machine, I will say that Apple Inc. makes great machines, and does have an industry standard QC. Ofcourse there are bound to be some duds in the production line which will slip through, and Apple gladly replaces them.

 

[dingdongbubble]

Wow

I didnt expect so many replies to this question. We have two sides to the argument, one saying that Apple's quality is excellent and the other the opposite.

What I want to know in the end is that is the expected defect rate normal or lower than other manufacturers. Is the defect rate so high that when considering an Apple, the defects might be a minor possible con? Or is the defect rate normal so that if you get a defected Apple, then you are just considered unlucky?

 

[drumforfun19]

You'll hear more from people who have problems than those who have no problems. This gives a false impression of the quality of the products.
It's a small percentage of products that have problems.

EXACTLY. My MBP is rock solid. I have yet to have ANY problem with it.

 

[Henri Gaudier]

I have a 2.4GHz MBP, and it has been the most flawless thing I have ever owned.

And how old is it?

Quote:
Originally Posted by bartelby
You'll hear more from people who have problems than those who have no problems. This gives a false impression of the quality of the products.
It's a small percentage of products that have problems.

This still doesn't disprove that it's a significant minority who have problems and therefore there is a serious problem. I've had multiple problems with every machine I've had (Around 8) and they were all new. I've had dozens of synths from Roland, Korg, Akai that have never gone wrong. My Akai S900 is 20 years old same drive ,floppy, LCD. And I've others, 25 years plus and still faultless. And they were cutting edge in their day and they got it right.

 

[haiggy]

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.

Maybe I'm just lucky, but my machine is perfect. I know everybody has their own opinions but this display is far from yellow at the bottom and doesn't get very hot at all unless I am playing a game and the GPU heats up. Case is perfect, MagSafe has yet to fray and blow up. Wireless is 100x better than it was on my iBook G4. I love this machine - it's worth every penny. I'd say Apple's quality control is great, just most people voice their opinions when they are unhappy. In the end it all comes down to being unlucky if you happen to get a machine that is a lemon or doesn't fuction properly (and of course you can return it and get a new one).

I'm not exactly sure but I thought a while ago MR posted some stats on quality control from most competitors and Apple ranked either first or second (next to IBM).... can somebody back this up?

 

[flopticalcube]

I didnt expect so many replies to this question. We have two sides to the argument, one saying that Apple's quality is excellent and the other the opposite.

What I want to know in the end is that is the expected defect rate normal or lower than other manufacturers. Is the defect rate so high that when considering an Apple, the defects might be a minor possible con? Or is the defect rate normal so that if you get a defected Apple, then you are just considered unlucky?

I recall a survey that said that while Apple desktops had overall very low defect rates, Apple laptops where "unremarkable", i.e. about average. The real question is not if you will get a problem but how it is handled when you do.

 

[Ibjr]

Yes. They have problems that Apple refuses to acknowledge. I have a reproducible sound that can be captured by iMovie (if i record from my isight) and Applecare's 1-800 line told me to take it to the closest Applestore (4 hours away). Interestingly, this was a replacement for a faulty Ibook

My father's macbook has had two replacements (c2d) after three repair tries each.

I love Apple but their QC sucks right now.

 

[BlackMax]

I didnt expect so many replies to this question. We have two sides to the argument, one saying that Apple's quality is excellent and the other the opposite.

What I want to know in the end is that is the expected defect rate normal or lower than other manufacturers. Is the defect rate so high that when considering an Apple, the defects might be a minor possible con? Or is the defect rate normal so that if you get a defected Apple, then you are just considered unlucky?

As mentioned above, look at the publicly published customer satisfaction and failure rates for Apple and other notebook manufacturers and you will see that Apple notebooks are better than most (or the highest rated) as it pertains to failure rates and always rated very highly for customer satisfaction.

 

[PDE]

Yes. They have problems that Apple refuses to acknowledge. I have a reproducible sound that can be captured by iMovie (if i record from my isight) and Applecare's 1-800 line told me to take it to the closest Applestore (4 hours away). Interestingly, this was a replacement for a faulty Ibook

My father's macbook has had two replacements (c2d) after three repair tries each.

I love Apple but their QC sucks right now.

Yes, absolutely agreed. Apple makes potentially the greatest computers, but their potential is frequently let down by their implementation, assembly and component choices.

 

[dingdongbubble]

How????

Can someone help me get to a conclusion?

 

[opticalserenity]

Having worked at one of the top 3 electronics big box stores as a manager, I can tell you that we carried IBM/Lenovo, Sony, HP, Toshiba, etc etc, and they have a ton of problems. I would sign off on many of those higher end ($2500-$3500) laptops to be returned to vendor or what not every day.

I have more faith in Apple products than those other brands. And besides, its a moot point. Those other products cannot legally run OS X.

 

[aquajet]

Can someone help me get to a conclusion?

Have you read the thread? There is this. Consumer Reports have also rated Apple at or near the top. Does that sound like a company with generally low quality products?

 

[dingdongbubble]

Poll?

Maybe I should put up a poll.

 

[xpovos]

Yes, absolutely agreed. Apple makes potentially the greatest computers, but their potential is frequently let down by their implementation, assembly and component choices.

I think this hits the nail right on the head.

I also think it's important, when discussing quality control, to distinguish between actual "quality control" issues (defects) and just "quality" issues (general sources of dissatisfaction). For example, the grainy screen on many 15" C2D MBPs (like the one I have) has always been a source of dissatisfaction for me, giving me a perception of lower-than-expected quality---but it's not a quality control issue per se. Rather, it's a bad component choice on Apple's part. That doesn't mean I'm any less dissatisfied by the poor quality of the display or that I excuse Apple for its poor choice, just that I acknowledge it for what it is.

I think most quality-related complaints on this and any other forum are predominantly quality issues rather than quality control issues.

Between myself and various family members combined, we've purchased 11 Macs in the last 12 months, nine of which are notebooks. If we were to restrict our estimate to the number of actual quality control issues encountered, the defect rate would be about 27%. On the other hand, if we include all other issues leading to dissatisfaction or a perception of lower-than-expected quality, the "failure" rate goes to about 64%.

Both numbers are probably unacceptably high (for the price)---and I, in particular among my family members, am way too anal about this stuff---but I think it's an important distinction.

 

[dpaanlka]

Maybe I should put up a poll.

We have a poll. Here it is. There are also like sixty million threads about this same thing recently.

You're "hearing" about problems because thats what people talk about. Nobody talks about how their computers work exactly as expected. Except for at linked poll.

 

[Pandayo]

here check out this old consumer report:



http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/laptops/laptops-are-built-like-crap-210853.php

excerpt:

"Everyone's products suck. Great. But at least it's good to know that the companies with the best reputations rose to the top, even if it's only by a margin of 1% in some cases. I guess we recommend buying that overpriced extended warranty after all"


I'm still getting my first mac soon though

 

[aquajet]

This still doesn't disprove that it's a significant minority who have problems and therefore there is a serious problem.

Not that the handful of anecdotal evidence around here is proof of serious QC problems to begin with.

Good grief, people. Get more critical eyes.

 

[icecone]

Have you read the thread? There is this. Consumer Reports have also rated Apple at or near the top. Does that sound like a company with generally low quality products?

Not really. This survey counts not only reliability. Apple definitely wins in other criteria. Also, I think apple fans give higher marks to mac than it deserves

 

[aristobrat]

PC Magazine's last owner satisfaction survey last rated several notebook/desktop manufacturers, including Apple:

Once again, Apple is at the top. Its overall score, 9.1, is significantly better than the average for Windows notebooks—and a full seven-tenths of a point better than Lenovo's overall score, 8.4. Its scores for reliability (9.2), tech support (8.5), and likelihood of recommending (9.4) are also significantly better than average. Yes, its score on percentage needing repair is merely average, but at 16 percent, it's the lowest of the survey (alongside Sony's 16 percent).

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2006499,00.asp

 

[anirban]

And how old is it?

About a week- I agree this may not be long enough to establish a consensus of how the quality of the product is, but so far, it has been exceeding my expectations.

 

[Alloye]

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.

I'll second that. My company just bought some Dells that I think are abysmal, but our sales team loves 'em. They don't even notice the squeaky hinges, mushy keyboards, or cheap displays.

On the other hand, the average Dell does cost a lot less than a MBP, so...

 

[Ibjr]

Have you read the thread? There is this. Consumer Reports have also rated Apple at or near the top. Does that sound like a company with generally low quality products?

That is satisfaction not reliability. Don't knock us for our logic skills, you are in a glass house throwing stones.

Mac reliability is awful right now but I am stuck using the HW to get the SW. I will say when a computer breaks i'd rather deal with Applecare than Dell's support but a mac shouldn't have all these issues in the first place.

 

[aristobrat]

I'll second that. My company just bought some Dells that I think are abysmal, but our sales team loves 'em. They don't even notice the squeaky hinges, mushy keyboards, or cheap displays.

On the other hand, the average Dell does cost a lot less than a MBP, so...

I think many Apple users have a more "emotional" connection to their Apple product than many PC users do.

Things that wouldn't bother them on a Dell notebook would simply unacceptable to them on their Apple notebook.

 

[aristobrat]

That is satisfaction not reliability. Don't knock us for our logic skills, you are in a glass house throwing stones.

So if your Mac is unreliable, exactly how high are you going to rate your overall satisfaction?

Satisfaction and reliability go hand-in-hand.

 

[icecone]

I'll second that. My company just bought some Dells that I think are abysmal, but our sales team loves 'em. They don't even notice the squeaky hinges, mushy keyboards, or cheap displays.

On the other hand, the average Dell does cost a lot less than a MBP, so...

Dell isn't a lot cheaper, but using cheap stuff isn't what we are worrying about, the QC is the problem. The displays are cheap, but they still work, no yellowing/flickering....