My MacBook Pro Is Dead After 14 Months! Should I Get Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite Laptop Next?

[@garypranzo9334]

Most of us should wait to see how the Arm Version of Windows works with the apps you want to use. The Apple silicon transition went really well but will Microsoft be able to do that?

[@JMMGarza]

We'll soon see. Mac needs some video editing competition.

[@modoulaminceesay9211]

I got 14inch MacBook pro m1 still works fine and no problems

[@JMMGarza]

You are doing better than my wife and I. Congrats!

[@modoulaminceesay9211]

@@JMMGarza I think the workflow varies , currently my battery is 89%

[@todddunn945]

If you want to stay with a laptop, something with the latest generation Intel I7 chipset and 16GB of ram (or more) should work very well. I have a Gateway GWTN-141-10 with the I5 chipset and 16 GB of ram and it handles video effects rendering very well. The only issue I have had with it was that I had to replace the battery after a year and a half (~$70). Also my laptop is limited to 1080p display. I think the biggest impacts for a new laptop are lots of RAM (minimum 8Gb and more is better), faster multicore processor and a big (1TB or more) NVME SSD drive in that order.

[@JMMGarza]

I'm thinking about the Lenovo, HP and Samsung. Etc Thanks.

[@Xevos701]

The Lenovos are really good

[@scod3908]

Wow, I thought my DSY MBPro battery requiring replacement every ~3yrs wasn't great, but can't really complain as the replacement was free of charge (AFAIA they no longer use this supplier) 1.5yrs is a totally unacceptable battery life, especially if you had to pay for the repair

[@todddunn945]

@@scod3908 I ended up buying the new battery myself because I gave up on Gateway customer service. Naturally, right after I installed the new battery that I bought on Amazon, Gateway sent me a new computer free and didn't ask for the old one back. The plus side of the Gateway is that it only cost $400.

[@cwd90]

I 100% understand how you feel, as I went through the same thing as you. I finally gotten into Mac with the M2 MacBook Air after years of contemplation. Had it for about 2 years now, and it is almost always in clamshell mode and hooked up to a Dell external monitor. Just recently, it developed dead pixels. The laptop seldom leave my desk and has never dropped it, and I am as baffled as you are with how the issue came about. Both the staff onsite and on the call could not even tell me what went wrong, and they expect me pay for the replacement only to have it fail again in the next 2 years? No way. Their senior advisors from the phone support are equally bad. The first one was expected to follow up on my case but assumed that my case is closed. The second one promised to make a request to waive the repair fees and to get back to me in 2 days but 1 week had gone by and nothing. If they are not sincere, then they should not act like they cares. It is utterly disgusting. The third one was the best. This advisor confirmed that Apple products are indeed lousy and requires AppleCare insurance to make up for it (Note: I swear I did not make this up). Since their advisors call themselves "experts”, I guess their products are really low-quality. I agree with you that AppleCare or an insurance should not be required. I get that it is good for user-induced damages but no products should fail within 2 years from normal usage, even if there is an ongoing warranty. My Windows laptops and desktops have had no issues. Even my Dell external monitor is still going strong for 10 years and counting. I really like Apple but this episode is just disappointing. It will probably be my first and last MacBook.

[@scod3908]

The Air is a passively cooled model, they run hotter when used in clamshell mode as the heat can't dissipate from the keyboard side; they aren't designed to be "almost always" used this way. By always running the device in clamshell mode you're exposing the screen to extended periods of heat which may have contributed to the issue Not defending their service, but explaining what may have contributed to the issue. Was it a whole screen issue or just a few pixels? You haven't specified In saying that, every laptop I have had has a few dead pixels. All of them have eventually had this occur, across several brands. This is not novel, most manufacturers advise a certain number of failed pixels must be present to warrant a repair/replacement, eg Dell advises on their website "A display with 1 to 5 fixed subpixels is considered normal and within industry standards"

[@cwd90]

@@scod3908 In my opinion, your clamshell mode reasoning is flawed, as the new M3 MacBook Air must be kept in this mode to output to 2 displays. Unless you are suggesting the new Air has updated engineerings, then I have nothing to say. 12 clustered dead pixels, and 2 adjacent ones failing.

[@scod3908]

​@@cwd90 the clamshell mode for 2 displays is because the hardware can only operate 2 displays: the Air's screen + 1 external monitor, or 2 external monitors in clamshell mode I don't follow your logic

[@cwd90]

@@scod3908 So you suggested that the dead pixels may be due to heat issues from being kept too long in clamshell mode. For M3 Air, it is a feature to output 2 external monitors in clamshell mode. Wouldn’t it be subjected to the same heat issue like you suggested? If I were to buy the M3 Air now but has to work with 2 big monitors, should I be expecting its display to fail due to heat?

[@scod3908]

@@cwd90 your car also has a feature where pushing the pedal all the way makes it go really fast, it's not a good idea to use the product like that all the time, as it's not designed to be used that way all the time Not blaming you, the macbook air shouldn't fail in that timeframe from that usage, I'm just explaining why clamshell mode is not ideal usage for a fan-less device with passive cooling. You were unaware that clamshell mode causes the passive cooling of the device to be less effective

[@Jason_Shave]

50 days outside of warranty and they won’t honor the warranty? Run man. Run fast.

[@harrykatsaros]

I've had Apple replace my device like for like when it was more than year past it warranty date. Depends on who you get at the Apple Store / support line I guess.

[@scod3908]

​@@harrykatsaros me too, we've had batteries, keyboards, screens, even a motherboard.... many repairs outside warranty. To be honest, it's the main reason we buy Apple products - peace of mind. We always book in at an Apple store, maybe this is the key

[@PrestonGladd]

Things just randomly break, I don't think it's Apples fault, even if you bought a different brand, if the same thing happened they also would charge you to replace the screen. The M series are the best for video editing, I have had my M1 Max since they came out and have traveled all over the world with it editing videos and it's still going strong. You won't be happy IMO with a non apple chipset for video editing especially if you're used to using FCP. Also if you buy apple care you wouldn't have any issues at all, your screen would be covered. You pay for car insurance, it's the same for a computer you use for professional work. I pay $150 a year to cover my MacBook. I think that is a very reasonable price to pay to cover a $3000 piece of equipment that gets banged around all the time from airport to airport.

[@JMMGarza]

Thanks for sharing your opinion. I appreciate it.

[@scod3908]

M1 still has good single core performance vs snapdragon, the M3 is ~20% better single core performance. They compare a higher core count to the 8 core in a fanless Air model chassis to make the Snapdragon look good, which is a bit misleading Cheapest option is to just repair the M1. I find it confusing Apple didn't help you out with a 14month old device as I have had many out of warranty repairs by Apple in Australia, in fact I have never had to pay for an Apple repair which is why I purchase their products

[@JMMGarza]

I need a "relatively fast" computer. These Snapdragon computers should be less expensive and save me time editing videos. They don't need to be the fastest computer. Just more reliable than my Mac. Apparently.

[@scod3908]

@@JMMGarza The snapdragon is significantly slower on single core and they don't offer efficiency cores. The benchmarks show them running hotter than the M series tests even against fan-less Air applications. The only advantage comes when you have cooling and a higher core count per $ invested, and even then some benchmarks tests so far have shown them being hotter and louder. Any benefit they provide in $ per core is offset by the fact you already own the Apple product. Add in Windows OS running with conversion layer from X86, and the general MS Windows issues compounded by supporting a larger range of hardware, and I'm not convinced they're even an upgrade at all. The Snapdragon Elite cores appear to be ~4yrs behind Apple's M silicon cores, it's just bringing them into the same ballpark of performance. Have you pushed for the repair with Apple? Or did you just find out the out of warranty repair costs and assume? I'm honestly surprised they haven't already helped you out already.

[@JMMGarza]

Thanks for suggestions.

[@drewarmstrong4325]

I don't think this is going to do what you think it will. The reason... That processor looks great but the operating system takes a LONG time to optimize for RISC. Apple has a multi year head start. Many of my apps are still not optimized for the new processors. I replaced my M1 with a new M3. It is much faster. I always buy AppleCare. Always. It is a machine just like any other and they do fail. Especially laptops. But I think it will be years before you have an operating system and apps from Windows that will really take advantage of the new chip.

[@JMMGarza]

If the Snapdragon ARM chip does 80% of what Apple M chip is capable. I'll be happy. Second gen?

[@phaldaz]

Did you consider a local repair shop? I assume the folks at Apple told you it's hooped for free, so I would still pay maybe $50 for a diagnostic at a local shop, who would have the policy of merging that fee with the final fix amount if you chose to go that way

[@JMMGarza]

The local repair shop was a disaster the last round. I don't trust them. Am I getting paranoid?

[@shaikhhar6911]

With new spyware in the form of Copilot+ , I would wait before considering these windows spyware pc

[@ohwhatworld5851]

It is scandalous that Apple won't repair or replace your MacBook after just 14 months. Here in the UK our law states that if a product develops a fault within 7 years of purchase, the manufacturer must replace or fix it for free.

[@lalitsharma3137]

Interesting.

[@PC-hj4wg]

How can a Macbook Pro seriously fail after 14 months unless you were downloading......

[@harrykatsaros]

I download questionable stuff from questionable websites all the time. Never had any antivirus software and I barely ever turn this thing off and my MacBook Pro is still as responsive now as they day I bought it 11 years ago.

[@JMMGarza]

The screen failed. Not the software.

[@garypranzo9334]

Laptops fail. Why are you surprised?

[@inamulbhuyan]

Snapdragon X Elite 🚀 🚀 🚀

[@lousmaczylo7281]

I think for a laptop computer to die after such a short period of time is disgraceful. the trouble is Microsoft is bringing in this copilot and snapshots of everything you do. I just want a reliable PC that dont spy on me.

[@JMMGarza]

I understand.

[@inamulbhuyan]

Samsung galaxy book 4 Edge Snapdragon X Elite is ggod laptop