You’re looking at a silver or space gray slab of aluminum that, honestly, defined an entire era of Apple’s design philosophy—for better or worse. The macbook pro 2017 15 inch is a weird beast. It’s the machine that sits right in the middle of Apple’s most controversial experimental phase.
Back in 2017, Phil Schiller and the team at Cupertino were doubling down on the "thin at all costs" mantra. They gave us the Touch Bar, the massive trackpad, and that polarizing butterfly keyboard. If you’re thinking about buying one used today, or if you’re still clinging to yours for dear life, you're probably wondering if it's a relic or a tool. It's a bit of both. It was a flagship. It cost a fortune. It still looks modern, but the beauty is definitely skin deep when you start digging into the hardware reliability.
What the macbook pro 2017 15 inch actually brought to the table
When this machine launched, the jump from the 2015 "Legacy" models was jarring. People lost their SD card slots. They lost MagSafe. But what they gained was a screen that still holds up remarkably well against modern mid-range laptops.
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The 15.4-inch Retina display is a 2880-by-1800 native resolution panel. It supports P3 wide color. It hits 500 nits of brightness. Even in 2026, looking at a 2017 screen doesn't feel like stepping into the past. Colors are vibrant. The blacks are deep enough for photo editing. It’s a professional-grade panel.
Under the hood, you were getting 7th-generation Intel Core i7 processors (Kaby Lake). Most units shipped with the 2.8GHz or 2.9GHz quad-core chips. You could even spec it up to a 3.1GHz i7. For graphics, Apple went with AMD Radeon Pro 555 or 560 options. It was the first time many users felt like they could actually edit 4K video on the go without the machine turning into a literal space heater, though the fans definitely let you know they were there.
Memory was capped at 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM. That was a huge sticking point for "Pro" users back then. People wanted 32GB. Apple said no, claiming it would destroy battery life. It’s funny looking back now that we have M-series chips that sip power while handling 64GB or more, but in 2017, 16GB was your ceiling.
The Butterfly in the room: Keyboard and Reliability
We have to talk about it. The second-generation butterfly keyboard.
If a single grain of dust—literally a crumb—found its way under a keycap, the whole thing could fail. Keys would double-type. Or they wouldn't type at all. Apple eventually launched a massive Keyboard Service Program because of this. Honestly, it's the biggest "buyer beware" for the macbook pro 2017 15 inch today. If you’re buying one now, that service program has likely expired for that specific unit, as it generally covered machines for 4 years after the first retail sale.
Then there’s "Flexgate."
The internal display cables were slightly too short. Over years of opening and closing the lid, the cable would fray. This resulted in a "stage lighting" effect at the bottom of the screen or a total display blackout. Unlike the 13-inch model, the 15-inch wasn't always officially covered under a specific repair program for this, which left a lot of pro users high and dry with a $700 repair bill. It’s these little engineering choices that make the 2017 model a risky vintage pick.
Real-world performance today
So, how does it actually run?
If you’re doing basic office work—spreadsheets, 50 Chrome tabs, Slack, Zoom—it’s fine. Better than fine. It’s snappy. The SSD speeds in these machines were actually ahead of their time, often hitting sequential read speeds of up to 3.2 GB/s.
But try to render a complex 3D timeline in Blender or export a 20-minute 8K video in Final Cut Pro? You’ll feel the age. The quad-core Intel chips just can't keep up with the efficiency of modern silicon. Also, Intel Macs run hot. This thing will get "lap-burning" hot if you're pushing the CPU and GPU simultaneously.
Thermal throttling is real
Apple’s obsession with thinness meant the cooling system was always right on the edge. In a dusty environment, those fans clog up. Once they do, the CPU throttles. You might pay for a 2.9GHz chip but find yourself running at 1.5GHz because the thermal ceiling is so low.
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Battery health
Most 2017 units on the market today have high cycle counts. Apple rated these for 1,000 cycles. If you’re looking at a used one with 800 cycles, expect to spend about $200 at a repair shop to get the battery replaced soon. You can't just swap it yourself easily; it's glued to the top case.
Why some people still swear by it
Despite the flaws, there’s a segment of the population that loves this specific era. Why?
The size. It’s incredibly thin for a 15-inch laptop. It fits in sleeves meant for 13-inch laptops from five years prior. The four Thunderbolt 3 ports (all full speed on the 15-inch model) offer a lot of flexibility for docking stations.
And then there's the Touch Bar.
I know, I know. People hate it. But for certain workflows—like scrubbing through a video timeline or picking colors in Photoshop—it’s actually kinda useful. It’s a niche preference, but it’s there. The 2017 model was also one of the last to support certain older versions of macOS natively, which is vital for people running legacy software that doesn't play nice with the ARM-based M1 or M2 chips.
The Software Ceiling: macOS Support
This is the big one. As of now, the macbook pro 2017 15 inch has been dropped from the latest macOS updates. It officially supports macOS Ventura, but it was left off the list for macOS Sonoma and Sequoia.
You can use something like OpenCore Legacy Patcher (OCLP) to force newer versions of macOS onto it. People do it all the time. It works surprisingly well, but it’s not "official." If you aren't tech-savvy, being stuck on Ventura means you’ll eventually lose app support and, more importantly, security updates. You’re basically on a ticking clock for software relevance.
Comparing the 15-inch to its siblings
In 2017, you had the 12-inch MacBook (the super thin one), the 13-inch Pro, and this 15-inch Pro.
The 15-inch was the only one with a dedicated GPU. That’s a massive distinction. If you tried to edit photos on the 13-inch, you were relying on Intel Iris Plus integrated graphics. The 15-inch gave you that Radeon Pro 555/560 with 2GB or 4GB of VRAM. It made a world of difference for anything involving pixels. Even today, having that dedicated VRAM helps with UI fluidity on external 4K monitors.
What you should check before buying one
If you’re scouring eBay or Facebook Marketplace for a deal, don't just look at the price. A $300 macbook pro 2017 15 inch can quickly become a $900 nightmare.
- The "S" Key Test: Type a long paragraph. If any letter doubles or skips, walk away. The keyboard is failing.
- Screen Flickering: Open the lid halfway, then all the way. Watch the bottom edge for "spotlights."
- Battery Cycles: Click the Apple logo > About This Mac > System Report > Power. Check the cycle count.
- The Smell: This sounds weird, but smell the exhaust. If it smells like heavy "smoker's house" or "burnt electronics," the internals are likely coated in grime that will lead to overheating.
Actionable Steps for Owners and Buyers
If you currently own a macbook pro 2017 15 inch, your best move is to keep the fans clean. Get a pentalobe screwdriver, pop the back off (carefully), and use some compressed air to blow out the dust. This can drop your operating temps by 10-15 degrees Celsius. Also, consider staying on macOS Ventura for stability unless you absolutely need a feature in a newer OS and feel comfortable with OCLP.
For those looking to buy: Honestly, look at a used M1 MacBook Air instead unless you specifically need the 15-inch screen and have a very tight budget. The M1 will outperform the 2017 i7 in almost every task while staying silent and lasting three times as long on a charge.
If you must have the 15-inch 2017 model, prioritize the Radeon Pro 560 models. The extra VRAM is worth the slight premium. Avoid the base 256GB SSD if possible, as it fills up instantly with modern OS caches and "System Data." Aim for the 512GB or 1TB versions to give the drive enough "breathing room" for wear leveling.
The 2017 15-inch Pro is a piece of history. It represents a time when Apple pushed the limits of hardware design and hit some very hard walls. It's a beautiful, flawed, powerful machine that requires a bit of "babying" to stay functional in the modern era. Treat it well, keep the keyboard clean, and it can still be a decent secondary workstation for creative tasks.