Customer Ratings & Reviews

Macs get ridiculously overpriced as you go away from the base model. This model is by far the best value amongst all the Mac laptops. 1) It has a 500 GB HD. Solid state is overrated. Who cares if it boots up faster, its expensive for a fraction of the space. 2) It has a rewritable DVD drive. Next mac pro models won't have this. 3) Who cares about retina? Display is fine for me. Retina is several hundred more. I absolutely love this laptop, its the first laptop that I actually dont notice I am working on a laptop. I have had some decent PC laptops before and none come close with the ease of typing and using the trackpad. I didn't think I'd like a 13.3 inch, but honestly now I am thinking anything bigger is too much. The other day I left with my laptop bag and had to check again if I had the laptop in there because it was so light I couldn't tell by lifting. The battery lasts a good 5 hours with normal usage, more if you micromanage. I look at the more expensive models and think, wow the top of the line retina is 2x as more. It is not 2x as good!

I was torn between buying this macbook or a pc (mostly because of the price). I saw that on a pc you can get double the ram and hard drive space for half the price. But then I talked with a friend who is a software engineer and he recommended the mac. I asked him if the 4 gb of ram and 500 disk space would be enough because I really wanted a computer that was fast for a change. He laughed and said 4gb is more than enough for most users (he said he used a 6gb mac when he was designing graphics for apps so 4gb is plenty for regular use). I am so glad that I listened because the mac is great. Definitely worth the price, especially when you consider that you will no longer need to spend $50 or more per year on virus protection! That alone would save $250 or more over the course of 5 years. Also, everyone that I know has had a mac for 7 years or more and says it's just as good as the day they bought it. All of my pc's have died within 4 years in the past. This mac is extremely fast, even when you have several applications or browsers opened at the same time. It also has all sorts of neat extras! I don't even have to download software to use my canon camera with this computer, I just simply plug into the mac and it automatically downloads my pictures, which eliminates the need for the canon software that takes up a lot space! No pc can do that!

My MacBook Pro that I purchased in December 2015 stopped upgrading. Turns out it is a 2011 late model that is no longer supported. How do you sell me a 4 (2011) year old model as new in Dec 2015. Now I can not update.

It was an ok laptop, new it was an older model and bought anyway. Wasn't impressed and returned it.

Work IT for a private Insurance Company and I needed a laptop that was versatile durable and packed power. Yeah I could have gone windows but no matter what they always tend to bog down or have something wrong over time. Buddy who works with me bought one of these and I was very impressed. I went to a BestBuy not far from my job by train and got a great deal for being a silver member. I5 processor , 4gigs of ram [which I have upgraded to 16 by myself which is not hard to do] and it has a 500gb HDD which you can swap out for an SSD if you so choose[Im still thinking if its worth it]. Boot time is amazing, performance is amazing and everything just works. Use Citrix and 2X to remote into my work environment among others. Highly Recommended.

Bought for college. Fan started making ticking noise and was worried about overheating. Took to Apple store- got quoted some outrageous amount (close to replacement cost of machine) to repair/replace fan- said "it must have gotten wet". Could have bought 3 PC laptops (even the low end brands) for the same money and all 3 would still be working fine.

I bought this product (2012 model) after doing lots of research. I found this MacBook Pro to be the best investment for anyone interested in purchasing an Apple computer. Apple has put a lot of effort to plan out the obsolescence of their new line of computers. The new models (2014 models) have the RAM chips soldered to the logic board, so RAM upgrades are impossible. The product I am reviewing has the ability to upgrade the RAM, in fact, I have already ordered 8 GBs from Crucial. This product also grants you the ability to upgrade storage device, with OPTIONS!! I can either get a new Hard Drive, Solid State Drive, or a Solid State Hard Drive Hybrid. The new models may allow the end-users to upgrade the storage devices, but you must buy expensive Solid State Drive "Blades", which lack in reasonable storage capacity. This is the only remaining model with an Optical Disc Drive (CD/DVD Player), and Firewire port. The only downsides to this product, is how heavy it is, and no retina display. Those are really no big deal to me, but I think it is worth mentioning.

This computer is so much better than the p c it replaced. The fact that I can go to the Apple store and take classes, which I did yesterday, make this computer so much more valuable than my old one. It is a nice compact size so I can take it almost everywhere and hook up with the available wifi. Am just very happy with the ease of use and the performance of the unit and I bought the least expensive model but I do not feel like I got a cheap unit...just the opposite actually. Sure I paid almost 3 times as much than the p c I was considering, I feel like I got a much better product. I hope to take more class at the Apple store in the future so I can get the most out of my Mac Pro!

perfect size.. not many macs have a cd drive built in but this one does which is awesome! I like that you can buy cases and keyboard covers for protection unlike alot of laptops. Doesn't get hot or overheat like others i've had. would recommend to a friend or anyone buying a new computer.

There might just be some people like me who rushed out and got a new notebook that's using Windows 8. After a 3 week battle I decided I'd had enough and returned it. Meanwhile I have every other Apple device out there so why not round out the family. I had this machine up and running in less than an hour even though I've never used this OS before. Solid quality like always, and plain lovely to use, I'm glad I went ahead and got what I REALLY wanted. Once you've sat down and really used this great notebook, you'll be sold too. Keep in mind Apple makes products that really last so this might just be the best value out there. Solid battery life, and nice display, what shocked me most was the touchpad. This is the first one I've ever gotten the hang of. It really works. Now I can toss out my portable mouse and enjoy more mobile computing. By the way, go ahead and consider the extra 4 GB of RAM the day you buy. Max it out up front and then enjoy the speed. By the way, Best Buy couldn't have been more helpful. Wish there were more companies like this.

This is my second apple product (after the iPhone 4), switching over from the pc. I've been on the hunt for a new computer for a while, saving up money because I'm a poor college kid. Anyway, my previous computer was a compaq that I've had since I was in seventh grade (and I'm 21 now), so I desperately needed a new computer. At first I was looking at Sony products, but I've been told by multiple of my friends that the Mac was a great computer. I went to the Best Buy store to poke around on the apple computers and fell in love with this mac. After seemingly forever saving up for this computer, I bought it two weeks ago, named it Renly, and I love it. It's everything I wanted, so much more than I wanted, and runs great. The start up is fast, the set-up is fast, no over heating problems, fast in general, the picture is amazing, the sound is great, and it's easy to transport. I'm on the computer a lot browsing, doing school work, etc., so it might just be mindlessly being on the computer that makes the battery go by quickly, or maybe it just runs out quickly, but it also charges up pretty quickly so it's not that big of a deal. Everything else is perfect. Get this computer. Anything else doesn't compare. I promise.

So I finally bit the bullet and bought a new Macbook Pro last year. It was open box, but Geek Squad certified. I was elated when operating this machine for literally 13 months. Crisp screen, great browing repsonse, intuitive controls - just operated flawlessly..... UNTIL IT DIDNT. After the latest EL Capitan update installed, the HARD DRIVE FAILED. Apple wanted to charge me 320.00 to have a new one installed. I decided to get another one and do it myself..... and Best Buy helped me out tremendously. I ended up doing an upgrade of the hard drive and the ram while I had the case cracked open. A special shout out to Brian, " glasses Dave " and Manager on duty Mark G, who went above and beyond to make this right, and to make me feel like a valued customer. This started out as a nightmare with apple, but now my machine is running better than ever thanks to the great staff at Best Buy Saratoga !

I bought this mac as a certified refurbished by "geek squad" for a good price i say given its an apple product. But what a disappointment it was, it only work for a day and completely died on me. Not so geek after all. Returned it in store.

Would not recommend anyone buy recertified products from best buy. they did not inspect this product prior to shipment and were impossible to reach by phone to straighten out problems with computer. may have to resort to working with credit card company.

This was an open box that was certified by Geek Squad, but was very slow in getting on internet and to start up. The screen was also not very sharp had a dull look to it. The unit was also very heavy for a 13.3 inch computer. After trying two open box computers I have decided they are not for me.

I've been using computers for the past 25+ years, all of them on Microsoft based systems (Desktops & Laptops). Decided to switch to Mac because of computer capability of running both OS & Windows operating systems. I still need to run a windows based program (AutoCAD). Installed bootcamp to run Windows 7 and windows applications. Installed without any problem. Performance of the programs is very good. The 4 gb ram included is more than enough to run programs but i will upgrade to 16 gb mainly because of AutoCAD program. My last 3 computers have been laptops and i'm no fan of the touch pad input device in laptops, i always use a usb mouse. Same with this laptop. Apple has won me over and i'm very satisfied with this laptop !!!!!

I was lucky enough to get this computer before it was online and in all stores, so I was lucky to get my hands on one. I was a PC user and had some experience with Mac but the transition over to Mac was easy with iCloud. I'm going to be in college in the fall and going into the media communication field and I need a Mac in order to use some programs and so far it's running like a race horse. Well worth most of my graduation money and I plan on this Mac to last me for many years to come. Very pleased with it and would recommend to any PC user.

I have had this laptop for a year and upgrade the ram, hard drive for a solid state and put hard drive where cd drive is. This is a high performing machine; However do not expect to pay graphically intensive games on it. All things load extremely fast. This computer has never had a virus and i do not run virus protection on it. I run windows 7 on this as much as i do with osx. I Have however managed to play Need for Sped 2012, GTA Vice city, San Andres, and Portal 1/2 and all games run on it quie well. If you upgrade the Ram on the computer it will boost the video ram in video games. I recommend at least 8gb.

The employee that helped me warned me that this laptop was garbage and it was exactly that. It’s a very slow computer that lasted me less than a year due to kernel panic issues. Now, this broke college student has to go out and buy a PC. Thanks for nothing, Apple.

This is my first Macbook Pro. I went with the 13” for mobility and still being able to use the disk drive, memory slots and USB slots that the Air does not offer. I didn’t want an external hard drive to load everything onto an Air. Just seemed pointless for my needs. Especially being on the road so much, all that clutter would not work. I use it quite regularly for my video edits. It is very easy to use compared to the PC’s that I had been using prior to. Everything is right up front with how to use it. A lot of click and drag applications. There is so many hidden functions on a PC that I had a hard time figuring out. Also with the Mac the track pad is amazing. Swipes of two or three fingers in different directions gets your around with ease. Now that i’m use to this idea going to a mouse is always cumbersome. The battery life is amazing. I can use it all day without having to plug it in (depending on how hard you are working the laptop). Basic internet, pages ect. not an issue. Programs like Final Cut use more power. Lastly yes it worth the $1400. I payed cash for mine, but if you did need to there payment plan is very easy from they showed me. I am Mac for life.