Why you should consider buying a MacBook Pro with higher SSD storage or not buying it at all
Back in late 2016 when I was about to buy the shiny new MBP, I opted for the 256 GB variant.
My intention was to use the internal SSD for the system and the apps, while storing all my user-files on an external drive.
I used a similar approach previously, when I had my iMac late 2012, which I upgraded with an SSD drive, while still keeping the HD inside and mounting it as my home directory. Being a long-time Windows user, who had to deal with lost data due to missing backups, I considered this to be an ideal solution for setting up a system, that can easily be recovered in case something breaks down — which thankfully never happened ;-)
After setting up my fresh new MBP, I quickly found out, that the approach of mounting the home directory to an external drive, was a bad idea. And yes, I know: I should’ve kept in mind, that I’m dealing with an portable machine now, and that re-plugging external hard-drives will become a pain in the a** — but hey, we all learn from our mistakes, right?
So I set everything back as it was before and only stored my project-files, photos, videos etc on the external SSD. I thought I can live with that, having this stuff stored externally, and knowing that I should be able to access it reliably each time I need it. — As it turned out, this wasn’t the case.
Which brings me to my main point of this story, or let’s say my next big mistake:
I opted for an MBP late 2016 with 256GB of storage to save money!
It’s now over a year since I use it as my daily machine for work, and I’d be lying if I wouldn’t admit, that I had more struggles than I ever had with any Mac before (iMac late 2012, MBP…etc.)
Besides the usual flaws I had with my shiny new machine, and I’m sure you’ve heard of most of them:
- loosing fingerprint on Touch ID
- faulty keyboard
- external display issues after sleep mode, etc.
There’s one major issue that really annoys my daily workflow — and it’s this little notification, which pops up a bunch of times, depending on how many external drives (or partitions/volumes) you have connected.
Yes… the system keeps ejecting all my external drives, during my workflow.
One can imagine how annoying this really is, especially when you’re in the middle of a project, which uses files that are located on an external drive. As a web developer, using Docker, this is not reliable at all.
Additionally I have another hard drive which serves as a TimeMachine backup. Right now, I’m afraid, that all these “re-pluggings” may corrupt some backed up data, which I might rely on in the future. — Only God knows, and maybe the guys at Apple.
Well, with that being said:
If you expect to store more than 256GB of data, which you’ll need for your every-day-usage, like project-files, photos, videos, etc… go at least for the 512GB option or maybe a bigger one, if you want to be on the safe side. And if you think that this might be too expensive for you, well then, don’t buy a MacBook Pro at all.
Unfortunately, I had to learn it the hard way, so therefore I’m sharing my experience with you, saving you from making the same mistake I did.
