2018 MacBook Pro parts won't be available until September | Any major issues will require a full new machine

[AlTech]

According to a Document spotted by 9to5mac, most of the parts for the 2018 MacBook Pros won't be available until September.

 

Any machine with significant issues will require a complete replacement whilst most minor issues should be able to be fixed.

 

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According to a new document that was spotted by 9to5Mac, most parts belonging to the new MacBook Pro are not going to be arriving until the month of September. While minor repairs can be carried out by experts, the important parts are not going to be arriving for a long time.

 

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If your MacBook Pro 2018 unit requires a significant amount of repair work done, the Apple Store staff have been told to follow procedures in which they will give the customer a replacement unit. It is not confirmed if the new unit will be given to you right there and then, but it certainly looks like the dexterous staff is going to be carrying out a wide range of tests and diagnostics before they come to the conclusion that the customer is owed a replacement unit.

Keep in mind that the components of the MacBook Pro 2018 are soldered to the logic board, so it will require a large amount of effort to get the product up and running again. For now, enjoy your replacement unit, if your brand new one comes up with a major problem.

 

This seems like it's another iMac Pro situation which is definitely likely to piss off some consumers.

 

Definitely, an interesting way to launch a product.

 

Source: https://wccftech.com/macbook-pro-2018-brand-new-replacement-if-faulty/

[dizmo]

Sounds like a great way to create a lot of unnecessary waste. Congrats on failure to launch properly, Apple.

How a company that large is incapable of such things boggles my mind.

[Guest]

It's just apple being apple.

https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/694231-mac-vs-pc

[mynameisjuan]

First Mac pro and then this. Maybe they can actually get the tech certified to repair this time? (like its that hard in the first place)

[The Benjamins]

5 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Sounds like a great way to create a lot of unnecessary waste. Congrats on failure to launch properly, Apple.

How a company that large is incapable of such things boggles my mind.

It also takes them YEARS to update some products, when they make more money then dell/hp, have less products but can't update them yearly like dell/hp

[GoldenLag]

It is such a nice business model to release Pro machines without support network.........

[Shadestones]

At the very least, September is less than 2 months away. The amount of people experiencing an issue/accidental damage in that amount of time is rather small. Especially given that the entry cost for one of the new MBPs is $1799.

 

I bet Apple will keep the returned units and sell them refurbished later on when the parts are available. Very little waste is generated in that case.

[dizmo]

4 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

It also takes them YEARS to update some products, when they make more money then dell/hp, have less products but can't update them yearly like dell/hp

Haha, that's just a smart business practice. I mean, unfortunate for the consumer, but if you're making the same amount of money with a machine that has a decreasing BOM, and you don't see sales decreases, you're doing pretty well. Gotta remember, they're a business before they're a consumers friend, no matter how they try to spin it.

[Sauron]

S U R  P  R   I   S    E

[The Benjamins]

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

Haha, that's just a smart business practice. I mean, unfortunate for the consumer, but if you're making the same amount of money with a machine that has a decreasing BOM, and you don't see sales decreases, you're doing pretty well. Gotta remember, they're a business before they're a consumers friend, no matter how they try to spin it.

I get that, but people just let them do it, it is sad. I am playing my part by not buying apple products and complaining about it.

[Trixanity]

This shit again.

38 minutes ago, The Benjamins said:

I get that, but people just let them do it, it is sad. I am playing my part by not buying apple products and complaining about it.

If you're a star, they'll let you do anything. You can even grab them by the wallet.

[Tabs]

As far as waste goes, I kind of agree with @Shadestones about the refurbished thing. Any of these machines that break within a few months and gets replaced will likely become a refurbished unit for someone else once the parts are on hand, which seems like a good middle ground between having an overstock of parts for their *most expensive units ever* which are just a refresh of a refresh of the 2016 model - and having no way to cover people who have issues soon after purchase.

 

I can't imagine many people having a hole burning in their wallet to buy these things, and those that do would absolutely despise having had to have the machine fixed within a few months of owning it - a new machine is the last Apple could do for them if it's any kind of design flaw.

 

Anecdote incoming, but this is my most recent experience with Apple.

 

Two weeks ago I took my MacBook Pro 2016 in to get its keyboard repaired - it had some unresponsive/sticky keys at the top of the board that were covered under the extended warranty programme. It had been out of warranty since February, but I had spoken to Apple online about it before then time, and they advised me to go to a local AASP since the only Apple store near here was a 90 minute drive away. I took it to the AASP and they quoted me £480 for the repair - for a machine that was still in warranty at the time.

 

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I took it to the Apple store instead after getting the repair booked in online. Dropped the machine off, it got checked, confirmed it was the keyboard issue and that everything else on it was fine, and left feeling better that I'd finally get a £2000 machine that worked as expected.

 

6 days later I got a call saying there was some kind of issue with the repair, and due to that they were going to have to replace my machine.

 

The issue was that since the keyboard is riveted to the top case, replacing the keyboard also involves replacing the top case, speakers, battery and keyboard all at once. During that swap, the WIFI antennas (part of the display assembly) got damaged. Once that was fixed, the machine would no longer boot. Once *that* got fixed, the new top case they installed had a trackpad that didn't work correctly.

 

After failing to get the machine working after 6 days, they decided to give me a brand new 2017 MacBook Pro instead, a slight upgrade over my one. I mean, I'm happy I got a new machine, with a new warranty and everything but damn, if even apple can't fix these things properly maybe they should stop trying to repair them in store and instead ship them to a central repair centre where they can be more successful. I can't even imagine the total cost of labour and parts that got wasted trying to fix my 2016 machine - with 2 sticky keys but otherwise fully functional - and was wasted in the end.

[dizmo]

4 hours ago, The Benjamins said:

I get that, but people just let them do it, it is sad. I am playing my part by not buying apple products and complaining about it.

Haha, that only works when a huge number of people care, and it affects sales.

I get what you mean though. I don't buy Apple products either, but it's because I don't like the OS.

[JoeCoke]

Soo.... You pay like 1500$ for a dual core donglebook "pro" in 2018 and then when something goes wrong you gotta replace the whole thing? Gotcha. That's what the pros need!

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Tabs said:

As far as waste goes, I kind of agree with @Shadestones about the refurbished thing. Any of these machines that break within a few months and gets replaced will likely become a refurbished unit for someone else once the parts are on hand, which seems like a good middle ground between having an overstock of parts for their *most expensive units ever* which are just a refresh of a refresh of the 2016 model - and having no way to cover people who have issues soon after purchase.

 

I can't imagine many people having a hole burning in their wallet to buy these things, and those that do would absolutely despise having had to have the machine fixed within a few months of owning it - a new machine is the last Apple could do for them if it's any kind of design flaw.

 

Anecdote incoming, but this is my most recent experience with Apple.

 

Two weeks ago I took my MacBook Pro 2016 in to get its keyboard repaired - it had some unresponsive/sticky keys at the top of the board that were covered under the extended warranty programme. It had been out of warranty since February, but I had spoken to Apple online about it before then time, and they advised me to go to a local AASP since the only Apple store near here was a 90 minute drive away. I took it to the AASP and they quoted me £480 for the repair - for a machine that was still in warranty at the time.

 

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I took it to the Apple store instead after getting the repair booked in online. Dropped the machine off, it got checked, confirmed it was the keyboard issue and that everything else on it was fine, and left feeling better that I'd finally get a £2000 machine that worked as expected.

 

6 days later I got a call saying there was some kind of issue with the repair, and due to that they were going to have to replace my machine.

 

The issue was that since the keyboard is riveted to the top case, replacing the keyboard also involves replacing the top case, speakers, battery and keyboard all at once. During that swap, the WIFI antennas (part of the display assembly) got damaged. Once that was fixed, the machine would no longer boot. Once *that* got fixed, the new top case they installed had a trackpad that didn't work correctly.

 

After failing to get the machine working after 6 days, they decided to give me a brand new 2017 MacBook Pro instead, a slight upgrade over my one. I mean, I'm happy I got a new machine, with a new warranty and everything but damn, if even apple can't fix these things properly maybe they should stop trying to repair them in store and instead ship them to a central repair centre where they can be more successful. I can't even imagine the total cost of labour and parts that got wasted trying to fix my 2016 machine - with 2 sticky keys but otherwise fully functional - and was wasted in the end.

I got my 2016 MBP keyboard replaced in two days for free and they only replaced the keyboard. Ouch. 

[AkatsukiKun]

I think time and time again, at least in my opinion that people don't want an excessively thin and light laptop, there's a point where you ask yourself, do I want something that lasts for years to come that's well engineered and supported with the thiccness here and there or like this pro named laptop?

[Brooksie359]

6 hours ago, Shadestones said:

At the very least, September is less than 2 months away. The amount of people experiencing an issue/accidental damage in that amount of time is rather small. Especially given that the entry cost for one of the new MBPs is $1799.

 

I bet Apple will keep the returned units and sell them refurbished later on when the parts are available. Very little waste is generated in that case.

I generally don't like apple but tbh it's not "a very long time" like they say. I find it kinda laughable that September is a very long time. Honestly if you get a Mac that is malfunctioning within that time frame you should get a new one.

[Drak3]

So, when their new keyboard condom fails, the repair will cost more than my truck.

 

 

Neat.

[Shadestones]

12 minutes ago, AkatsukiKun said:

I think time and time again, at least in my opinion that people don't want an excessively thin and light laptop, there's a point where you ask yourself, do I want something that lasts for years to come that's well engineered and supported with the thiccness here and there or like this pro named laptop?

Making a laptop thinner doesn't have to mean it will fail sooner. Thicker devices like what Lenovo offers in its business-oriented products are certainly more durable, that's fair. But a laptop can be thin and durable. The word "Pro" in the context of Apple products usually means increased performance and features that a professional video/photo editor, programmer, etc. would need.

 

The keyboard issue that Apple recently addressed with a replacement program was a result of a design flaw in the Butterfly switch. Because it didn't really account for debris, it was susceptible to failure. Laptop durability lies in the materials used, the manufacturing process for each component, and the design of the product. The MacBook Pro is a durable thin machine that was shipped with flawed keyboard.

[Drak3]

27 minutes ago, Shadestones said:

But a laptop can be thin and durable.

No, it can't. No body construction would allow something like a MacBook/Pro the rigidity to survive much flex or repeat falls.

[Dabombinable]

6 hours ago, Tabs said:

As far as waste goes, I kind of agree with @Shadestones about the refurbished thing. Any of these machines that break within a few months and gets replaced will likely become a refurbished unit for someone else once the parts are on hand, which seems like a good middle ground between having an overstock of parts for their *most expensive units ever* which are just a refresh of a refresh of the 2016 model - and having no way to cover people who have issues soon after purchase.

 

I can't imagine many people having a hole burning in their wallet to buy these things, and those that do would absolutely despise having had to have the machine fixed within a few months of owning it - a new machine is the last Apple could do for them if it's any kind of design flaw.

 

Anecdote incoming, but this is my most recent experience with Apple.

 

Two weeks ago I took my MacBook Pro 2016 in to get its keyboard repaired - it had some unresponsive/sticky keys at the top of the board that were covered under the extended warranty programme. It had been out of warranty since February, but I had spoken to Apple online about it before then time, and they advised me to go to a local AASP since the only Apple store near here was a 90 minute drive away. I took it to the AASP and they quoted me £480 for the repair - for a machine that was still in warranty at the time.

 

Fast forward to two weeks ago when I took it to the Apple store instead after getting the repair booked in online. Dropped the machine off, it got checked, confirmed it was the keyboard issue and that everything else on it was fine, and left feeling better that I'd finally get a £2000 machine that worked as expected.

 

6 days later I got a call saying there was some kind of issue with the repair, and due to that they were going to have to replace my machine.

 

The issue was that since the keyboard is riveted to the top case, replacing the keyboard also involves replacing the top case, speakers, battery and keyboard all at once. During that swap, the WIFI antennas (part of the display assembly) got damaged. Once that was fixed, the machine would no longer boot. Once *that* got fixed, the new top case they installed had a trackpad that didn't work correctly.

 

After failing to get the machine working after 6 days, they decided to give me a brand new 2017 MacBook Pro instead, a slight upgrade over my one. I mean, I'm happy I got a new machine, with a new warranty and everything but damn, if even apple can't fix these things properly maybe they should stop trying to repair them in store and instead ship them to a central repair centre where they can be more successful. I can't even imagine the total cost of labour and parts that got wasted trying to fix my 2016 machine - with 2 sticky keys but otherwise fully functional - and was wasted in the end.

I still don't understand the choice to use plastic rivets.

[DrMacintosh]

5 hours ago, 2Buck said:

Soo.... You pay like 1500$ for a dual core donglebook "pro" in 2018 and then when something goes wrong you gotta replace the whole thing? Gotcha. That's what the pros need!

All dual core Macs are carry over from 2017s. Those models have full support. Quad Core/ Hex Core Macs get full support in 2 months. 

[8uhbbhu8]

Well GG Apple. Proving once again you don't actually care about your customers or are completely ignorant of how things should be run when a product is launched.

[Amazonsucks]

12 hours ago, dizmo said:

Sounds like a great way to create a lot of unnecessary waste. Congrats on failure to launch properly, Apple.

How a company that large is incapable of such things boggles my mind.

Because of the demographic they cater to? They make absolute garbage but theyre a trillion dollar company. Says more about the stupidity of the masses than anything else to me.

[dizmo]

7 minutes ago, Amazonsucks said:

Because of the demographic they cater to? They make absolute garbage but theyre a trillion dollar company. Says more about the stupidity of the masses than anything else to me.

While I don't use their products, I know they're not garbage. Apple has some of the best build quality and design in the game. They also work perfectly fine for the majority of people that use them, otherwise their sales wouldn't be so high. They're overpriced because of brand recognition, yes, but they're not garbage.