You remember the hype. Phil Schiller on stage, the sleek aluminum, that satisfyingly thin chassis. Back then, the Apple MacBook Pro 2017 felt like the future arrived early. But honestly? Looking back from 2026, it feels more like a cautionary tale of what happens when design priorities collide head-on with physics.
It was the peak of the "thinness at all costs" era at Apple. Jony Ive was still steering the ship, and the goal was simple: make a "Pro" machine that felt like a MacBook Ad. They succeeded at making it thin, but they kinda broke the soul of the machine in the process.
If you’re still holding onto one of these, or maybe you’re eyeing a "refurbished bargain" on eBay, we need to have a serious talk about what you're actually getting. It’s a polarizing piece of tech. Some people love the portability, but most professionals remember it for the repair programs and the clicking sounds of failing hardware.
The Butterfly Keyboard Disaster
We have to start here. There’s no way around it. The Apple MacBook Pro 2017 featured the second-generation butterfly switch keyboard. Apple promised it was more stable and responsive. In reality? It was a nightmare for thousands of users.
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A single grain of dust. That’s all it took. Because the key travel was so incredibly shallow—basically just a fraction of a millimeter—any tiny debris under the keycap would jam the mechanism. You’d go to type "Apple" and end up with "Appppppple." Or worse, the "E" key would just stop responding entirely.
It got so bad that Apple had to launch a massive Keyboard Service Program. They literally acknowledged that these keyboards were fundamentally flawed. If you bought a 2017 model, you were basically on a first-name basis with the Geniuses at the Apple Store. Even the replacement keyboards often failed because, well, the design itself was the problem. It wasn’t a manufacturing glitch; it was a physics problem.
Performance and the Dual-Core Trap
Here is a weird fact that a lot of people forget about the 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro 2017. Despite being a "Pro" machine, the base model without the Touch Bar only had a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor.
Two cores. In a Pro machine.
In 2017, that was already pushing it. By today’s standards? It’s basically a Chromebook with a fancy logo. If you try to run modern versions of Adobe Premiere or even a heavy Figma file on a dual-core 2017 machine, you’re going to hear the fans kick in within seconds. It sounds like a jet engine taking off.
The 15-inch models were better, of course. They packed quad-core i7 chips and dedicated AMD Radeon Pro graphics. But even those suffered from thermal throttling. The chassis was so thin that the heat couldn't escape fast enough. The CPU would ramp up for a few minutes of "Pro" work, get too hot, and then intentionally slow itself down to avoid melting. It was a cycle of frustration for video editors and developers who actually needed sustained power.
The Port Situation: Living the Dongle Life
The 2017 model was the year Apple really doubled down on "USB-C or nothing." Depending on which version you bought, you either got two or four Thunderbolt 3 ports. And that was it.
No SD card slot for photographers.
No HDMI for presenters.
No USB-A for... basically every peripheral that existed at the time.
It birthed the "Dongle Life." Everyone’s laptop bag suddenly became a tangled mess of adapters. While USB-C is clearly the standard now in 2026, back in 2017, it felt like Apple was punishing its most loyal users for the sake of a thinner side profile. Honestly, it was a bold move that just didn't land well with people who actually used their laptops for work on the go.
Display and Audio: The Saving Graces
It wasn't all bad news. Not even close. If you look at a Apple MacBook Pro 2017 screen today, it still looks better than 90% of the mid-range laptops being sold right now.
The Retina display with P3 wide color gamut was—and is—stunning. The brightness levels hit 500 nits, which was insane for a laptop back then. If you were a colorist or a photographer, the accuracy was industry-leading. Apple has always nailed the display game, and the 2017 model was no exception.
And the speakers? Magic.
Even on the 13-inch model, the soundstage was wide and surprisingly deep. It’s one of those things Apple does better than anyone else. They use the entire chassis to resonate the sound, making a thin laptop sound like it has a much larger set of speakers hidden inside.
The SSD Speed King
One thing Apple didn't skimp on was storage speed. The SSDs in the Apple MacBook Pro 2017 were absolute screamers. We're talking sequential read speeds of up to 3.2 GB/s.
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This is why these machines still feel fast for basic tasks like browsing Chrome or writing emails. The latency is almost non-existent. When you click an app, it bounces once and opens. That’s the "Apple Polish" at work. Even if the processor is struggling to keep up with 4K video, the storage is never the bottleneck.
Flexgate and the "Stage Light" Effect
Search for "Flexgate" and you'll see why the 2017 model (along with the 2016) is often blacklisted by savvy used-laptop buyers. The ribbon cable connecting the display to the logic board was just a tiny bit too short.
Over time, the simple act of opening and closing your laptop would wear that cable down. Eventually, you’d get a "stage light" effect at the bottom of the screen—dark spots that looked like theater lighting. Or, the screen would just go black if you opened it past a certain angle.
Again, Apple eventually opened a repair program, but only for the 13-inch models initially. 15-inch owners were often left footing a $700 bill for a full display replacement because of a cable that cost a few dollars. It’s these kinds of engineering oversights that gave this generation a bit of a "lemon" reputation.
Should You Buy One Now?
Realistically? Probably not.
If you find a 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro 2017 for $200 and you just need something for Netflix and writing, sure. But the lack of software support is the looming shadow. Apple has already started dropping these machines from the latest macOS updates.
Security is the big concern here. Once you stop getting OS updates, you're vulnerable. Plus, the battery in a 2017 machine is likely at the end of its chemical life. Replacing a glued-in MacBook battery is neither cheap nor easy. You’ll likely spend more on the battery and a new keyboard than the laptop is actually worth.
Actionable Insights for Current Owners
If you are currently using a 2017 MacBook Pro, you can actually extend its life with a few specific moves.
First, keep that keyboard clean. Don't eat over it. Seriously. Even a crumb can be fatal. Use a can of compressed air regularly to blow out the switches while holding the laptop at a 75-degree angle—this is the official Apple-sanctioned method, by the way.
Second, consider OpenCore Legacy Patcher. If you’re tech-savvy, this software allows you to install newer versions of macOS that Apple officially "unsupported" for your hardware. It’s a great way to keep the machine secure and functional for another year or two.
Third, check your Battery Cycle Count. Click the Apple icon > About This Mac > System Report > Power. If you’re over 1,000 cycles, your performance is likely being throttled to prevent unexpected shutdowns. Getting a fresh battery can actually make the laptop feel significantly faster because the CPU will finally be allowed to draw full power again.
Finally, if the keyboard starts acting up and you're out of warranty, don't pay Apple prices. Look for a reputable third-party shop that can replace individual keycaps or uses ultrasonic cleaning. It’s often a fraction of the cost of a full top-case replacement.
The Apple MacBook Pro 2017 was a beautiful experiment that taught Apple a lot of hard lessons. It paved the way for the incredible M-series MacBooks we have now, which fixed almost every single complaint people had about this era. It’s a piece of history—just maybe one you don't want to rely on for your daily bread anymore.