The stuff Hacker News actually recommends.

Laptops · Apple MacBook Pro

Apple MacBook Pro 2021

10owners with an opinion
75%of verdicts positive
6/2positive/negative since 2024
5 yrslongest happy owner
1happy after 3+ years

Praised for performance and comfort; criticized for software and battery.

What owners wrote

NeutralOwned 0.2 years
Interesting... I recently had to take in my 2021 MacBook Pro for a cracked screen repair. Mine had a reason mind you, but one that I'd never seen before... My cat bit into the screen while relaxing behind it. A very mild play bite. She does this whenever she wants attention but I'm in front of a screen. I heard a crack and immediately it went black. It was like a delicate pane of glass cracking. She bit my previous computers (MacBooks) without issue, cell phones, etc. First time I'd ever seen it happen. On a two month old laptop too. Didn't pay a cent for service luckily, it was covered. I didn't let them know what happened, and the crack was so subtle that I guess the tech didn't catch it.
Likes it
This was heavily debated in the 11.4 timeframe because there was risk that this version of the OS could excessively wear NVME. https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/06/04/apple-resolves-m1... The issue was subsequently resolved but the consensus was with modern wear leveling this isn't so much a thing. I have a 2021 MacBook Pro with the original drive. I use it heavily for development practically every day and just dumped the SMART data. Model Number: APPLE SSD AP1024R === START OF SMART DATA SECTION === SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED Available Spare: 100% Available Spare Threshold: 99% As always, YMMV
Doesn’t like it
LOL, yes. I just tried to put Monterey on a 2021 MBP and holy hell. USB installer. "Not supported OS, you can quit, or install in reduced security mode". Reduced security is fine for me. "Installation of Reduced Security failed." Cool. "Get the IPSW and do a DFU install". Nah, you can't do that. "Drag the IPSW onto the target Mac where it says DFU in Apple Configurator". Nope. No error, just nope. Dig dig dig. "You might need to do this from an older computer. Even an Intel MBP running Ventura". Hey look, I have one! Alright, install Apple Configurator. "Nope. You need Sequoia to install Configurator." Jesus wept. This is an OS that is 4 years old, on a 5 year old laptop. Apple, "It just works". Find an old version of Configurator from some guy on Reddit that zipped one up. Now we can do an IPSW install. Good luck, mortals.
Likes it
There are two points I feel are worth focusing and I’ve experienced similar: - Linux is fast. Few years ago I wanted to run Linux and used my MacBook Air 2013 (one of the best machines I’ve had). It was amazing how Ubuntu ran so sleek especially comparing to the MacBook Pro 2018 with macOS. - x86_64 feels less portable than arm. Since I got MBP from my work I’ve also got another machine for Windows. I’ve went with 13” MSI Perstige with 125H which was the latest back then offering hybrid cores (performance + economy). It’s 1kg is amazing and the OLED is also nice. But in order for the machine to actually compile and be snappy I need to ensure it’s not dropping to 0.4-0.8Ghz and then it easily gets warm and noisy. The MBP 2021 also shows age. But even with more frequent fans and 80% of original battery it outperform the younger MSI since day one. TL;DR * Unless you need specific software, Linux distros are great and fast. Much more joy (imho) than Windows. * SoC/ARM is still rare but it would be much more interesting comparison to current Macs in terms of portability (fans, battery life)
Likes it
I think what is always lacking in these reviews is: compared to what? I’m always curious to see what other devices authors have used prior to this “best device”. For example, I started with a 2010 MacBook Pro, then a T430 Thinkpad, then a dell, then a desktop computer, then Apple finally fixed the butterfly keyboard so now I use a 2021 MacBook Pro. In my experience nothing comes close to the trackpad of the MacBook. But I haven’t tried something like a Framework or a Chromebook. So maybe those are better. I really wish there was a “rent a laptop” service where you could check out a different laptop every month and see if you really like it.