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Macbook Pro display backlit went the way of the Dodo
#1
Just sharing a little story here.

I've been using a Macbook Pro (2017) for a bit of editing, development, browsing, etc.
Last week the display died - to be precise - the backlit.
It's a bit of known problem albeit the 15" model is not part of the recall around this.

Fortunately, I purchased a 2-year warranty extension ... which was on its last days now - so rather than going for a new one I engaged the Apple service.

I've to admit that I'm quite baffled by what they did. Rather than just fixing the broken display cable they ...
* exchanged the whole display including the display housing (there was a dent in it before)
* exchanged the keyboard (ok, this one was subject to a recall but it actually worked for me so far)
* exchanged the battery (!)
I'm almost sure that the only thing original is the motherboard/SSD. Even the base looks pristine now and I'm pretty sure it wasn't like that before.
The repair costs (covered by the warranty) were AUD 1526 - or more than 1/3rd of the price of a new MB Pro 15. Handed it over on Saturday afternoon - was ready Monday morning.
Funnily only the display is listed on the invoice.

Now you could indeed argue that it shouldn't have happened in the first place but I'd like to see such a service from a camera manufacturer when it comes to average Joes. Of course, we could dream ...
Chief Editor - opticallimits.com

Doing all things Canon, MFT, Sony and Fuji
#2
Very contoversial story. I would understand why they would proceed with chaning the whole assembly rather than a single part - it's easier to keep the whole assembly in stock, and it reduces the risks involved fixing the issue. In addition, labour also costs a lot, so this way they might be actually saving costs.

No comments about their policy either - I had a friend with a MacBook Pro with a known nVidia chip issue, and there was an official recall too, although the machine was out of warranty when the issue manifested itself. The local Apple service requested some ridiculous figure for diagnostics only, without giving any guarantees that they will replace the MoBo; they actually quoted something like EUR 500 to do so. Having heard this, and several other stories, there's no way I'm buying an Apple product myself.

Regarding analogy with photo brands - I had a meh experience with Canon, Nikon, Sigma, and Fuji, but you know that testing optical stuff can be quite time consuming. I also suppose that it really depends on where you live after all - smaller countries may not be very cost effective maintaining qualified staff and huge stocks. PCs are usually easy to fix and there are more people that can do that, but optimizing cost can really have a detrimental effect on service quality, which is why I will never buy Lenovo stuff here anymore. On the other hand - higher margins allow companies to offer support on just another level - my Eizo was sent to Germany, repaired, calibrated and returned faster than it took Dell to arrange an exchange locally, which is another brand I won't buy, ever.
You just can't have too many lenses...
#3
I've been a little skeptical around Apple as well. In fact, I moved from an iPhone to Android several years ago and I don't think that my iPad will have a future here.
It's a bit different with the Macbook. Anything comparable (Lenovo X1 Extreme 2, Dell XPS 15, MS Surface Book 3 15) is just as expensive locally - and these have their own set of issues.

Of course, you could argue that it's a win for them in the long term anyway - because I will purchase a warranty extension for sure with my next one. And it's an expensive option.
Chief Editor - opticallimits.com

Doing all things Canon, MFT, Sony and Fuji
#4
I think one is going to say it's good or bad in function of the warranty coverage: any minor fix is expensive, so if you're in you enjoy that Apple pays for it; if you're out...

I have a Mid-2015 MBP, bought exactly four years ago. The battery is at 57% of health, which means still 90 minutes more or less (of course it depends on the usage). It's still useful, but I started thinking of replacing it. The lockdown made me postpone the decision, because so far I only worked remotely. I'll probably have it replaced the next month. They will charge me 250€ because replacing the battery implies replacing the whole cover, including the keyboard and the touchpad. Not being covered by warranty, I'm not happy - but it's not a big expense.

What puzzles me is the overall quality of Apple hardware. The battery degradation is normal, but I also experienced a touchpad haptic feedback failure a couple of years ago. Now, one could say: with 250€ I'm going to change also the touchpad, so my laptop is going to be totally renewed. While 4 years of life is my target for a laptop (never reached by Apple stuff so far), I'm thinking of extending it for 2 more years and reach the moment of the ARM switch. It could work, because I was successful in replacing the internal SSD to 2TB and there's plenty of disk space.

Unfortunately one month ago the anti-glare of the screen started coming off. This is *really* annoying. I didn't know, but it looks it's not an uncommon problem. Well, this stuff shouldn't happen.
stoppingdown.net

 

Sony a6300, Sony a6000, Sony NEX-6, Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS, Sony Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS, Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS, Sigma 150-600mm Æ’/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary, Samyang 12mm Æ’/2, Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN | A, Meyer Gorlitz Trioplan 100mm Æ’/2.8, Samyang 8mm Æ’/3.5 fish-eye II | Zenit Helios 44-2 58mm Æ’/2 
Plus some legacy Nikkor lenses.
#5
All true ... but which comparable laptop is any better?
Chief Editor - opticallimits.com

Doing all things Canon, MFT, Sony and Fuji
#6
For doing photos and videos... none.
stoppingdown.net

 

Sony a6300, Sony a6000, Sony NEX-6, Sony E 10-18mm F4 OSS, Sony Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm F4 ZA OSS, Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS, Sigma 150-600mm Æ’/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary, Samyang 12mm Æ’/2, Sigma 30mm F2.8 DN | A, Meyer Gorlitz Trioplan 100mm Æ’/2.8, Samyang 8mm Æ’/3.5 fish-eye II | Zenit Helios 44-2 58mm Æ’/2 
Plus some legacy Nikkor lenses.
#7
(08-11-2020, 01:58 PM)Klaus Wrote: All true ... but which comparable laptop is any better?

They have less features but they don't overheat like and even present fire risk like macbooks  Angel 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/macbook-rec...urn-risks/

Sorry for acting like a troll but Microsoft and Apple themselves have been trolling each other lately

https://memeburn.com/2019/08/microsoft-mac-book-ad/

https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/appl...en-3937926
#8
I admit to being partial to Mac's. Yes, they are epxensive, but the ones I own(ed)/used lasted rather than Windows counterparts average. Yes, once a screen failure on an iMac, was replaced quickly under warranty. Once a hard disk in another iMac after 4.5 years, which was replaced relatively easily. That iMac is now 5 years old and just works fine. On the windows side, there seem to be more problems, at least at the work place. The average lifetime of the windows laptops or PCs is less. So, that needs to be factored into cost as well. I used once a small inexpensive notebook, with Windows 8. It was a joke that such a machine was even sold. After 1 year of very casual use, with very few installed programs, (only firefox and one other app), the computer froze basically up, because the hard disk was full. Even right from the start, some web sites were painfully slow to load. So that is what you get when you buy a cheap computer.
#9
To be fair - I still have an older Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon as a backup and this one is pretty awesome as well. The Thinkpad keyboards are the best on the market and they are designed for easy maintenance. Upgrading the SSD is trivial and you can even DIY the exchange of the battery. But ... these aren't cheap either.
Chief Editor - opticallimits.com

Doing all things Canon, MFT, Sony and Fuji
#10
I gave up on laptops and went with a desktop and two good sized Samsung monitors. I can't complain about the performanceSmile For travel, and to sit around and surf while watching tv I picked a tiny 2 in 1 W10 Acer. It was less than $200us. But, I don't expect to do any real processing on this. I won't care if it dies in a few of years. I had my last Acer about 3 years until my ex wife threw it and broke the screen.

Honestly, I'll say I thought her MB was a bigger PIA than my HP laptop. I'm glad they're both gone! The HP is still ticking after 12 years. I use it in my music studio.

My office bought me a custom built Dell. It's totally about performance. But it's brick and costs $$$$. But at the office I mostly use a desktop with three large monitors; one vertical. For work I have an iPhone 7. I prefer my old personal droid over it. However, it's been around way too long. The camera seems old fashioned compared to the new ones...
  


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