Buying a used laptop is a gamble. Honestly, buying a used MacBook Pro Touch Bar 15 inch 2017 feels less like a gamble and more like a high-stakes poker game where the dealer might be hiding an ace up their sleeve—or a faulty ribbon cable. It was the peak of Jonathan Ive's "thinness at all costs" era at Apple. You remember that time. Everything had to be sleek, everything had to be USB-C, and traditional keyboards were sacrificed at the altar of minimalism.
It's 2026. This machine is nearly a decade old.
In the tech world, ten years is an eternity. For context, when this laptop launched, the iPhone 8 was the "new" thing. Yet, you still see these silver and space gray slabs all over eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and refurbished sites. They look modern. That's the trap. They have that four-port Thunderbolt layout and the Retina display that still puts most modern budget laptops to shame. But under the hood? That’s where things get messy.
The Butterfly Effect was real and it still hurts
Let’s talk about the keyboard. If you’ve never typed on a 2017 butterfly switch, imagine tapping your fingers on a granite countertop. There is almost zero travel. Apple called it "precise." Users called it a nightmare. The specific problem with the MacBook Pro Touch Bar 15 inch 2017 was that a single grain of dust—literally a crumb from a croissant—could get under a keycap and take down the entire operation. The key would either double-type "tthe" or just stop responding entirely.
Apple eventually lost a massive class-action lawsuit over this. They had a four-year repair program, but that’s long gone now. If you buy one today and the "E" key stops working, you aren't looking at a simple fix. Because of how Apple designed the "top case," you basically have to replace the entire upper half of the chassis, including the battery and trackpad, just to fix a sticky key. It’s expensive. It’s annoying. It’s a design flaw that defines this generation.
Power, Heat, and the Intel Ceiling
The 15-inch model was the "pro" choice because it packed a dedicated GPU—the Radeon Pro 555 or 560. Back then, having 4GB of VRAM in a laptop this thin was a big deal. It made video editing in Final Cut Pro feel snappy. However, Intel’s 7th-generation Kaby Lake processors ran hot. Like, "don't put this on your actual lap" hot.
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When you push a MacBook Pro Touch Bar 15 inch 2017, the fans kick in immediately. They sound like a jet engine taking off from Heathrow. Because the chassis is so thin, the thermal throttling is aggressive. You might have a Quad-core i7, but after fifteen minutes of rendering, the system slows itself down just to keep from melting. Compared to even a basic M1 chip from 2020, this 2017 beast feels sluggish and inefficient. It’s a classic example of hardware outstripping its cooling capacity.
The Touch Bar: A solution looking for a problem?
Then there’s the namesake. The Touch Bar.
Some people love it. Most people... don't. It replaced the physical function keys with a multi-touch OLED strip. In theory, it was brilliant. If you were in Photoshop, it showed brush sizes. In Safari, it showed tab previews. In reality, most of us just missed the tactile feel of the 'Escape' key. On the 2017 model, the Escape key is digital. If the Touch Bar freezes—which it does—you lose your Escape key. It’s a weirdly frustrating user experience choice that Apple eventually walked back in 2021 by bringing back physical keys.
Flexgate and the "Stage Light" Nightmare
Search for "Flexgate."
You’ll see photos of 2017 MacBook screens that look like they have stage lighting at the bottom. This happened because the flex cables connecting the controller board to the display were too short. Every time you opened and closed the laptop, you were slightly straining that cable. Eventually, it cracks.
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For the 15-inch 2017 model, this is a ticking time bomb. Unlike the 13-inch models from the same year, Apple was a bit more restrictive about repair programs for the 15-inch version. If your backlight goes out, you're looking at a full display assembly replacement. In 2026, that repair often costs more than the laptop is actually worth.
Software Support: The End of the Road
We have to be realistic about macOS. Apple is notoriously aggressive about cutting off older Intel Macs. The MacBook Pro Touch Bar 15 inch 2017 has already been dropped from the latest macOS versions. You can use tools like OpenCore Legacy Patcher to force newer versions of macOS onto it, but that’s not a seamless experience for the average person.
Running an unsupported OS means you miss out on security patches. It means some iCloud features might get buggy.
Who is this actually for?
Is there anyone who should buy this? Maybe.
If you find one for under $200 and you just need a machine with a gorgeous 15-inch screen for watching Netflix or doing light word processing, sure. The speakers are still surprisingly excellent. The trackpad is huge and feels great. The screen brightness and color accuracy (P3 gamut) are still better than 90% of the cheap Windows laptops you’d find at a big-box store today.
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But for a student? No. For a professional? Absolutely not.
Practical Steps Before You Buy (or Sell)
If you are looking at one of these right now, do these three things before handing over any cash:
- Check the Cycle Count: Go to "About This Mac" > "System Report" > "Power." If the battery cycle count is over 800, that battery is on its last legs. These batteries are glued in. They are a pain to replace.
- The Keyboard Stress Test: Open TextEdit. Type every single key five times. If any key double-spaces or feels "mushy" compared to the others, walk away. That keyboard is failing.
- Check the Screen at High Brightness: Turn the brightness to 100% and look at the bottom edge. If you see any uneven darkness or "spotlight" effects, the flex cable is tearing.
Ultimately, the 2017 15-inch Pro represents a specific moment in Apple history where form won over function. It is a beautiful piece of industrial design that is fundamentally fragile. If you need a reliable workhorse, look for a used MacBook Air M1. It’ll run circles around the 2017 Pro in every category except screen size.
If you already own one and it’s still working, treat it with kid gloves. Clean the keyboard with compressed air regularly. Don't let it overheat. Use it until the wheels fall off, but don't sink $500 into repairing it. It's time to let this generation of Mac hardware fade into the archives.