A new Apple MacBook Pro has been announced and the question doing the rounds is should I play or pass, should I buy one or not?
I'm not, but not for the reason you might think.
Anyone who has read any of my stuff on Apple will know I'm not one of the growing crowd of people who think Apple bashing is de rigueur. If that's what floats your boat then knock yourself out, I think the pejorative term for someone who doesn't join the torch-bearing mob against Apple is a fanboy, or if you are going to be politically correct and get with the program then you should be using the term a fan person.
I've even seen some writers I have the utmost respect for trying to find every opportunity to write against Apple to the point of putting most of us into a coma. It's like reading the rantings of a spurned lover telling us one more time how bad their ex is. It just leaves one thinking, just get over it and move on and please leave the rabbit out of the pot!
So why in that case will I not be buying the new Apple MacBook Pro 2018?
It's simple, Apple made the one I already own so good. Even four years on my MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014), Intel Core i7 2.5 GHz feels as good as it did the day I bought it.
OK, My Mac isn't going to win any pissing contests in online arguments where someone is telling me they can build a computer that can power the Large Hadron Collider for $15. Then again, I never bought my Mac for that reason. And who wants to sit in Starbucks and endure the shame of using a computer that looks like it was designed by a kid who still has a thing for the Transformers franchise? OK, that was a cheap shot, but I'm thinking someone is going to troll me for this article so I may as well make it worth my while.
And while we're at it let's get all the skunks on the table.
'Apple paid you to write this.' I wish! I've got a new kitchen extension with a solid wood floor to pay for, any donations gratefully received and I bet some of Apple's Executive dinners cost more!
'You're insane.' Perhaps, but I think there are better examples of me being unhinged, see the reference to the costly kitchen extension and a solid wood floor above.
I'm sure there are more of the usual lines that people are going to suggest are the motivation for this article, but I'm at a loss to think of them right now.
I bought my Mac as a machine to power my business and like my Mac Pro (Late 2013) Trash Can, it has paid for itself many times over. But more than that I'm sitting here 4 years on and looking at the new MacBook Pro and I'm thinking right now I don't need to buy it.
Apparently, one of the reasons any product, be that a sausage machine or a staple gun, get the 'pro' moniker is durability. My MacBook Pro has been my workhorse day and night for 4 years. I take it everywhere, do little to take care of it, and it's still going strong, it's even survived some of Apple's terrible OS versions!
I wanted desperately to find a reason to press the buy button on the Apple Store today, as a business owner I could have even written it off against tax and got the VAT back. But there's still life left in this faithful friend, so to ditch it now for a younger model would be the worst kind of betrayal.
I won't be buying a new MacBook Pro 2018, but for the best possible reason, Apple still makes great pro computers, even if it's not fashionable to say that these days.