{"id":2248,"date":"2018-06-23T04:19:31","date_gmt":"2018-06-23T08:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/?p=2248"},"modified":"2018-06-23T04:19:31","modified_gmt":"2018-06-23T08:19:31","slug":"my-aging-macbook-situation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/my-aging-macbook-situation\/","title":{"rendered":"My Aging MacBook Situation"},"content":{"rendered":"

My\u00a0personal daily driver is a 2011 MacBook Air (MBA). I’ve shipped 6 iPhone apps from it. For a computer bought in 2011, I’m happy with how long it has lasted.<\/p>\n

I am interested in buying a new MacBook Pro (MBP) to replace my aging MacBook Air, but I’m not sure what to do. The possible choices I see are:<\/p>\n

1.) the current MBP (June 2017 version)
\n2.) wait ? months for an updated MBP (most likely a minor CPU refresh)
\n3.) a 2015 MBP version (older hardware style with IMHO better keyboard)<\/p>\n

Reasons to upgrade sooner:<\/strong>
\n* Xcode runs poorly on my MBA. Storyboard, Simulator, and Playgrounds are barely usable.
\n* macOS Mojave will not run on my MacBook Air. It’s only a matter of time before I’m locked out of macOS & Xcode updates.
\n* Apple announced a Keyboard Service Program<\/a>.
\n* As a professional software developer, I can easily justify 2-3 year upgrade cycles.
\n* My MBA is showing it’s age; the battery is virtually gone.<\/p>\n

Reasons to upgrade later:<\/strong>
\n* My MBA is able to run Xcode 9 (current) and will hopefully run Xcode 10 GM.
\n* Buying after a new hardware refresh (minor CPU bump most likely) maximizes the currentness of the purchase. This may not be rational, but it’s a factor nonetheless.
\n* My iPhone app development is primarily dependent on iPhone hardware updates & Xcode, not my Mac.
\n* Indecision – since none of the current MBP options (2015 or 2017) are very appealing, I can wait it out.<\/p>\n

Reasons that don’t make a difference:<\/strong>
\n* I don’t like typing on the current generation MBP keyboard, but the next significant MBP hardware refresh is probably a few years away (too long).
\n* USB-C – I’ve found a Multi-Port Adapter<\/a> (dongle) that works for me.<\/p>\n

Inconclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

In retrospect, I should have bought a decently equipped 2015 MBP in 2015.<\/p>\n

If Xcode 10 GM doesn’t work on my Mac, then I’ll be forced to buy a new Mac right away. Otherwise I will wait around hoping Apple decides to update the MBP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My\u00a0personal daily driver is a 2011 MacBook Air (MBA). I’ve shipped 6 iPhone apps from it. For a computer bought in 2011, I’m happy with how long it has lasted. I am interested in buying a new MacBook Pro (MBP) to replace my aging MacBook Air, but I’m not sure what to do. The possible […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1394,380,532,524,1393,602,1392,1214,1202,1086],"class_list":["post-2248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tech","tag-air","tag-apple","tag-keyboard","tag-mac","tag-macbook","tag-mba","tag-mbp","tag-pro","tag-upgrade","tag-xcode"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2248"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2257,"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2248\/revisions\/2257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rexfeng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}