13" MBP / 256GB [2016 vs. 2017]

[Mokang]

First - I have been eyeballing MBP for awhile and since the Mid year release... I keep saying as soon as there's a deal out there I will buy one. ($200+ off). Back in April I owned a 2016 and had no complaints.. i literally just bought it for a 2 week test run while also traveling for business. I just hate buying at MSRP so to speak.

BH Photo has a deal going for $100 off a 2017 (pretty normal deal) or just recently dropped $350 off the 2016 thus it's $1149! Of course this pricepoint has me a bit excited, but it reminded me to look around on here for true comparisons between the two. I feel like if i had a 2016 there would be no real good reason to buy a 17 and take the resale hit. In addition I am thinking the $250 or so less pricepoint certainly offsets the extra accys I plan for home desktop experience. (Adapter, Keyboard, Magic Mouse).

That being said I have seen claims about keyboard issues, 20% less performance/speed when compared to the new 2017. Give me your thoughts, opinions on the savings vs. older tech...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1293728-REG/apple_mll42ll_a_13_3_macbook_pro_with.html





My main motivations to purchase / functionality for me.

It seems I am anxious to purchase a new MBP as I recently sold a 2016 rMB. I have been limping along with an older HP laptop w/win 7 that I usually only use for minor gopro editing or racing data analysis (AIM softerware). I recently started back at college and definitely am not too pumped with my Ipad Pro 13" compatibility with some of the school programs. I find myself sending things to the cloud from my laptop and ipad as I tend to notate pdf's etc with my ipad.

Expected use:
30% Web browsing / couch entertainment
30% College work (office suite, web, pdfs, spotify, etc)
20% Gaming (Mainly console gamer, but intrigued to game more on laptop since the rMB i tinkered a bit)
20% Video Editing (Hero 5 black, 7+ footage & mavic pro that I just acquired) - newb editing status currently.


Location of use:
Coffee shops, flights to the east coast, camping trips(we go on a lot and have a travel trailer), hotel rooms... not that this matters, but I am a very mobile person.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Apple_Robert]

There isn't much different between the 2016 / 2017 models. Either one would do well for you. Get the one that will give you the best price.

 

[jmoore5196]

B&H's offer is somewhat illusory. The $1149 2016 version has a 256GB SSD, but it - and the processor - are substantially slower than the 2017 iteration. I know; I have had both.

The 2017 at $100 off is not a bad buy, but this is probably the price point at which the machine should have been pegged at launch. If it were my money, I'd opt for the faster SSD and faster processor. I imagine the $250 could be better spent, but the dog-slow 2.0 always weighs in my mind as a bad purchase on my part.

 

[CheesePuff]

B&H's offer is somewhat illusory. The $1149 2016 version has a 256GB SSD, but it - and the processor - are substantially slower than the 2017 iteration. I know; I have had both.

The 2017 at $100 off is not a bad buy, but this is probably the price point at which the machine should have been pegged at launch. If it were my money, I'd opt for the faster SSD and faster processor. I imagine the $250 could be better spent, but the dog-slow 2.0 always weighs in my mind as a bad purchase on my part.

The storage on the 2017 and 2017 tbMBP are the same speed - the performance gain was for the rMB 12" 2016 vs 2017, and a slight one for the 15" 2016 vs 2017.

 

[davygee]

Not sure in the states, but in the UK, there are good deals on the 2016 Macbook Pro with touchbar. I'm sure you can pick this model up for around the same price as the new non-touchbar 2017 model. With the 2016 touchbar model, it's a faster processor than the non-bar 2016 model...so that may be a compromise and you get the touchbar as a bonus flung in. Just an idea.

 

[Jamalogo10]

As a heads up the processors in the TB and nTB 2017 models are nearly identical in their day to day abilities. The TB is roughly 3-5% faster and isn't as strained under load. Don't let anybody tell you there's a big difference.

What you should be aware of is the difference between the 2016s and 2017s. Roughly a 25% increase in multicore scores across all models of the 13. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again. A base 2017 nTB reported higher single core and multi core scores then the 2016 i7 13in MBP w/ TB.