the greatest vintage apple-collection

Intel inside

The switch to Intel processors initially brought one thing above all else for many users: software headaches. Old programs no longer ran, drivers were missing, and not everything was immediately compatible. In retrospect, however, Apple's decision was the right one – the performance increase was enormous. It was a speed upgrade that felt just as dramatic as the switch from Intel to Apple Silicon (M1) many years later.

From 2006 onward, the devices were no longer called PowerBook, but MacBook (Pro). Initially, they were offered primarily in 15-inch and 17-inch versions. The glossy displays were a new feature, initially impressive, but problematic in everyday use: they were highly reflective and more distracting than helpful while working.

The MacBook Pro line continued to evolve in the following years. Models with 11-inch, 12-inch, 13-inch, and later 16-inch displays were added. Throughout all these generations, the platform ran on Intel processors – until it was finally replaced by the M series in 2020.

However, as the years wore on, the downside of the Intel era became apparent. The ever-increasing clock speeds of the aging processor architecture led to overheating problems, barely measurable performance gains, and a noticeable stagnation in the later models. Added to this were flawed design choices: unreliable keyboards and the Touch Bar, which, while modern in appearance, was hardly user-friendly in practice.

In retrospect, the 2015 MacBook Pro was, for me, the last truly good Intel MacBook Pro. Only with the return to Apple's own processors was the quality brought back to a level that lived up to expectations.

The graphics problems of the MacBook Pro models from 2010 to 2013 are a story in themselves. These could be circumvented—with some effort—through hardware and software patches. I was able to save and continue using many of these devices. Today, I sometimes wonder if I would go through those repairs again—they were doable, but anything but trivial.