The other thing I will note - I'm sad to say that my 12" MacBook has fallen off the couch a few times... and somehow, it seems to land on the (hard) floor pretty much undamaged which is astounding.
I took the opposite approach, I suppose - I wanted a 2017 for sure and one with 16 gigs of RAM. Not the most plentiful thing on the used market but I found one in great condition that had had its butterfly keyboard recently replaced. Still running the battery it had when I got it - I thought about getting it replaced before the price hike, but... I almost never run it on battery and the battery is still 'good enough' so I will probably wait until next year.I did the same and bought MacBook 2015 for 1/4 of the price as a "toy"...have a 16" MacBook Pro 2021 for the battleship tasks and work. Would not even consider buying new for the price when it was out.
BUT... after using it for a few months, it is no longer is a toy and became useable in my workflow to my surprise. Typing on it now...
Perfect size for me just for traveling or sitting on my couch (laying actually) with a pillow and doing some work with it. The keyboard of course after awhile typing - my fingers get tired (butterfly keyboard), but it is ok for what it is. Underpowered of course, but Big Sur with the latest patches seems to be running faster. Safari's offerings seem much faster also.
So overall (to my surprise) my old "toy" became adopted into my workflow as a main part now. If I knew it would be this good for me, I would have spend a few more pennies to get a 2017 model when I had a chance, but I wanted the gold version and it was in perfect condition (except for a few small specs/scratches that are not noticeable when the screen is on due to top lip of the trackpad - like old Airs issues).
Since I paid $325 for it at the time, I went to Apple and replaced the battery before the price hike, so I am set for some time with this little gem!
Hoping...Apple...comes out with another...even if it JUST has an M1 in it...but..."if" it had a M3................
I took the opposite approach, I suppose - I wanted a 2017 for sure and one with 16 gigs of RAM. Not the most plentiful thing on the used market but I found one in great condition that had had its butterfly keyboard recently replaced. Still running the battery it had when I got it - I thought about getting it replaced before the price hike, but... I almost never run it on battery and the battery is still 'good enough' so I will probably wait until next year.
One observation I will make about the 2017 model, at least: go to Geekbench and look at the single-core performance numbers compared to, say, those on the 5,1 Mac Pro. Obviously, the passively cooled machine won't be able to sustain that level of performance the way the beefy 5,1's coolers can, but... the numbers show, say, around 1050 single-core, 1800 multi-core for the i7-7Y75 in my 12-inch. Meanwhile, my 12-core Mac Pro gets in the low 500s single-core, 3800 multi-core.
I find the storage kinda slow on the 12-inch, e.g. updating Microsoft Office takes forever. But... the SATA SSD in the 5,1 is likely worse. I think modern macOS is optimized for the crazy fast storage on the later Intels and the AS machines.
But here's my key question - if an M3 MacBook mini/nano launched tomorrow, would you spend the money for a new one? I still don't think I would... although, if it had built-in cellular and I could convince a carrier here to provide service for it at a reasonable price, maybe I'd think about it hard.
I think I'm done with new laptops. It's iPad Pros for me going forward since I no longer do much work on the road now. However, I may just keep my 2017 16 GB Core m3 MacBook until it dies, since they don't get much money on the used market now.But here's my key question - if an M3 MacBook mini/nano launched tomorrow, would you spend the money for a new one? I still don't think I would... although, if it had built-in cellular and I could convince a carrier here to provide service for it at a reasonable price, maybe I'd think about it hard.
Am I missing something? I thought the rule was (at least) five years after discontinuation - the 2017 MacBook was discontinued July 2019, so... can't I walk into an Apple store in June 2024 (i.e. a year from now) and get a battery replacement?As far as replacing the battery, I replaced it a week before the prices went up (I scored). Today with the current replacement pricing for batteries, it might be a hard sell. Your model (I believe) is still not on the obsolete list, so you may still be able to get a replacement battery for your 2017 model, but my 2015 model is done. When Apple replaces the battery on these models, they replace the bottom chassis, so I am sure they are limited now even on your model.
If you desire to use and keep your MacBook 2017 for more years (and use it mobile) it "might" be worth to replace still, but better $ spent on newer laptop offerings (but of course heavier and defeats the purpose). But again...NO small 12", light, small and very compact...might be worth it. I also noticed performance improvements overall with the new battery, even while plugged into power.
But...if you are planning on replacing the battery eventually, you better do it now before they run out. I heard from Apple when I took it in for replacement this past January, I asked if my model was popular to replace the battery and the Genius who was helping me said "yes" without thinking about it. He said that they have done a few lately and my model was popular for a replacement. People still want a light (small) travel laptop. MacBook Air(s) are nice...but not an "Air" anymore.
Yes, but if they don't have the battery (or replacement machine in the case of other devices), then you're out of luck. This can happen when you're near the end of that 5 year period. A while back I tried to get the battery replaced on my kid's iPad Air 2 (which I believe means a whole new iPad Air 2). The battery program was still active for that model at the time, but the actual product was unavailable so they wouldn't do it. Basically it means their battery replacement program is often useless in the last year or so of the program.Am I missing something? I thought the rule was (at least) five years after discontinuation - the 2017 MacBook was discontinued July 2019, so... can't I walk into an Apple store in June 2024 (i.e. a year from now) and get a battery replacement?
Same here with 2017 m3 16 GB.I actually use Ventura on my 2017 MB 12. Seems to work well.
I actually use Ventura on my 2017 MB 12. Seems to work well.
You really have patience guys 🤣. I just can't use Venture. I tried a few time but no, I feel that runs even more slow than Monterrey and just can't with itSame here with 2017 m3 16 GB.
Big Sur move nice on the 2017 m3 but i think that Catalina moves better2015 model = Big Sur. Seems to run ok.
How cool is that. Do post photos when you get it!I've always wanted one, never bought one though, I love mini size tech. I finally found a 2017 with 16gb of ram (Wouldn't take less) it's only a M3 but really there isn't that much in power between them. I actually put it on a watch list and seller sent me a decent offer, a first for me. Only thing it needs a new battery but they are cheap and I can do the swap.
Man very good purchase. Congrats!I got the MacBook and I lucked out it's an i5 not a m3, so a bit of extra power. It's in decent shape a couple minor scratches, battery is pretty bad but it will run for a 2-3 hours. Screen is nice, no major dents so I'm quite happy to have a 2017 i5/16gb/256gb for the price I got it at. The keyboard is pretty shinny so someone did quite a bit of typing on it. I ordered a new battery. It's running Ventura and seems to do OK at it. I just love how smalll it is, the keyboard is definitely a bit weird to type on (Using it to make this post). I'd love to see a M3 version with a bit better keyboard! Oh it's space grey, I wanted a gold one but couldn't find a 16gb one in gold.
I also have a 11" Air from 2015 with an i7/8gb and this is definitely smaller and much thinner overall also a bit lighter. The screen is obviously better and much prefer the 16:10 than the 16:9 of the air.
Good luck with getting that. Erased my 2017 MacBook OS intending to reinstall it. Disk Utility Restore would not permit it.Am I missing something? I thought the rule was (at least) five years after discontinuation - the 2017 MacBook was discontinued July 2019, so... can't I walk into an Apple store in June 2024 (i.e. a year from now) and get a battery replacement?
I don't think that's a support/lifecycle issue - you should be able to make a flash drive with Ventura on another Mac and repartition the SSD and fix it... and you shouldn't even need that, that machine would have internet recovery.Good luck with getting that. Erased my 2017 MacBook OS intending to reinstall it. Disk Utility Restore would not permit it.
What is exactly your problem with Disk Utility?Good luck with getting that. Erased my 2017 MacBook OS intending to reinstall it. Disk Utility Restore would not permit it.
My bad, it's been a while should have said tried "reinstall Mac OS Monterey" not Disk Utility.What is exactly your problem with Disk Utility?