16" MBP Owners: What do you dislike about the 16"?

[faust]

For that kind of chip, your demand can only be met if Apple offers a mobile workstation level laptop with thicker casing. I'd love to see that with equivalent of mobile 2080.
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Well heck. I don't know. Only Apple knows, and given how they just updated the screen, I wouldn't bet it for next several years.

Well, the 5700 hits near enough to 2070 performance that it'd be a really good GPU on all platforms if not for AMD's horrible Windows drivers kneecapping it's ability to handle much. Anyways, I was actually wondering something, does AMD handle dGPU for their Mac dGPUs, or does Apple produce & release the drivers?

Either way, I'm a big fan of AMD. I was so happy when Ryzen came out. I upgraded my gaming computer from an Intel Core i7-7700K to an AMD Ryzen 3700X, and unfortunately? I suffered the unmitigated terror of AMD's handling of GPU drivers when I built a gaming rig in late 2015 with a PowerColor Radeon R9 390X and honestly won't ever be using AMD GPUs on my Windows gaming rig until they have several years of proven reliable driver updates. They just can't compete with how Nvidia handles drivers for their cards! It's like, yes, AMD GPUs are by far the cheapest option flat out, but that cost saving value is quickly diminished once you realize AMD has no idea WTF it's doing with it's Windows GPU drivers.

 

[powerslave12r]

It's s good screen otherwise, excellent color reproduction and max brightness. Just wish the resolution and response time were a bit better.

It does seem to use PWM.

 

[Super Spartan]

Yep, makes sense. But on my 16" i use 1536*960 most of the time, which is 2:1 as well.

Same here, any other scaling level just doesn't look as sharp.

 

[jinnyman]

Well, the 5700 hits near enough to 2070 performance that it'd be a really good GPU on all platforms if not for AMD's horrible Windows drivers kneecapping it's ability to handle much. Anyways, I was actually wondering something, does AMD handle dGPU for their Mac dGPUs, or does Apple produce & release the drivers?

That I'm also wondering. Given the nature, Apple and AMD jointly produce the drivers perhaps?

Either way, I'm a big fan of AMD. I was so happy when Ryzen came out. I upgraded my gaming computer from an Intel Core i7-7700K to an AMD Ryzen 3700X, and unfortunately? I suffered the unmitigated terror of AMD's handling of GPU drivers when I built a gaming rig in late 2015 with a PowerColor Radeon R9 390X and honestly won't ever be using AMD GPUs on my Windows gaming rig until they have several years of proven reliable driver updates. They just can't compete with how Nvidia handles drivers for their cards! It's like, yes, AMD GPUs are by far the cheapest option flat out, but that cost saving value is quickly diminished once you realize AMD has no idea WTF it's doing with it's Windows GPU drivers.

Boy you wouldn't want to know how their current navi (5700 etc) has hard time when it comes to driver in Win 10. To summarize, let's say you have 4 versions of graphic drivers, and some games only A, B, D version is good, and other games, only A, C, D etc

AMD is about to launch a real highend navi 21 for gaming, but their software side is really not up to the task. It's really shame since what they offering now after last several years of dark age is really good. CPU is great, and GPU is finally contending, but boy their drivers!

 

[Viamusic10000]

For that kind of chip, your demand can only be met if Apple offers a mobile workstation level laptop with thicker casing. I'd love to see that with equivalent of mobile 2080.
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Well heck. I don't know. Only Apple knows, and given how they just updated the screen, I wouldn't bet it for next several years.
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that's one area it will have negative impact, but 4k is great so why not?

Idk if I have a choice between battery life and a 4K screen on a laptop I can barely tel the difference with the mbp16 inch resolution I’d choose battery life. I have a 27 inch 4K monitor I use at home. You buy a laptop for the portability and battery life is important. I could get behind a micro led screen but the premium for that will be insane for the foreseeable future.

 

[jinnyman]

Idk if I have a choice between battery life and a 4K screen on a laptop I can barely tel the difference with the mbp16 inch resolution I’d choose battery life. I have a 27 inch 4K monitor I use at home. You buy a laptop for the portability and battery life is important. I could get behind a micro led screen but the premium for that will be insane for the foreseeable future.

I generally agree, but we are talking MBP 16" here. The task that significantly prolong the battery life on MBP is simple enough that it can be handled by more portable options that Apple offers. The task that require MBP level of performance will require enough battery power that going 4k will not really change the effective battery time.

It all depends on what your option is, but to me, 16" MBP is already more on performance than portability and maximum battery life. I'd rather take MBP 13" or perhasp MBA if I don't require the performance as much as 16" and need battery life.

 

[Viamusic10000]

I generally agree, but we are talking MBP here. The task that significantly prolong the battery life on MBP is simple enough that it can be handled by more portable options that Apple offers. The task that require MBP level of performance will require enough battery power that going 4k will not really change the effective battery time.

It all depends on what your option is, but to me, 16" MBP is already more on performance than portability and maximum battery life. I'd rather take MBP 13" or perhasp MBA if I don't require the performance as much as 16" and need battery life.

Idk I’d have to see actual test of battery life to agree with what you’re saying. An hour or an hour and a half of battery life gone to render for retina 4K isn’t something I’d trade for. Others may disagree though yes, the 13 in is more portable but the 16in is still pretty light and fits in a backpack easily.

 

[bevsb2]

There is nothing I dislike about my 16" MacBook Pro. I was concerned about popping in the speakers, but since the 10.15.2 update I no longer get any popping in normal use for me.

 

[Viamusic10000]

There is nothing I dislike about my 16" MacBook Pro. I was concerned about popping in the speakers, but since the 10.15.2 update I no longer get any popping in normal use for me.

Have you tried repeatedly tapping scrub in safari. That does it for me. When I updated first it didn’t happen unless I closed the screen with a video playing but I had to reinstall from recovery mode and now it’s happening more often

 

[Strangedream]

I'm let down by the screen tech. Aside from True Tone, it's the same tech from 4 years ago ... Apple can do better.

 

[baypharm]

I want a larger screen

 

[Hexley]

I want a larger screen

It would have been nice if Apple were able to have 2mm thick bezzles on all 4 sides.

This would allow them to offer a 4K 17" display

 

[kp98077]

it just doesn't seem like a big difference from the 15" TBH except the key board which is awesome.... stellar machine overall!

 

[jerryk]

electric shocks? dude, exchange it.

Or use a grounded plug. Floating grounds are common in electronic devices and using a grounding plug takes care of this.

 

[Viamusic10000]

Or use a grounded plug. Floating grounds are common in electronic devices and using a grounding plug takes care of this.

I'm not using a grounding plug and no ones shocking me

 

[jerryk]

I feel like a 4K screen on a laptop isn’t worth it. You have to be within a foot and a half of the laptop for it to make a difference from 1080p and doing retina scaling at 4k would kill the battery (and there are already complaints about battery life with an 100wah battery).

Agreed. I can hear the cries now of people complaining that their battery life dropped by 40%.

No really, I do hear about people with 4K Dells complaining about the battery life.
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I'm not using a grounding plug and no ones shocking me

How dry is where you are? And we are not talking about an true electrical shock. Just a light tingling ever once and a while. More often on a dry day when you have your hands on the keyboard and trackpad a lot. Also, it varies from person to person

Read this post. https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/ht505170

 

[fs454]

CPU/GPU horsepower is great in such a thin package coupled with a 100wh battery.
Gaming performance on Windows is much better than I was expecting - Halo Reach full native res at 60fps on "Enhanced" graphics, for example (my 2016 Pro 460 got like 15fps in the same settings).

Keyboard is a dream come true after dealing with multiple replacements of my other one. Feels like the golden days of the 15" rMBP.

Display is great, noticeably bigger and a few notches brighter than my 2016. No ghosting or brightness issues here, all within spec.


The only negative I can say is that while I appreciate them perfecting the Mac platform in their own way, I can't help but imagine if SJ was still around we'd be pushing boundaries with the computing platform as a whole rather than just iterating on a decades old interface, device form factor, and input method. The iPad Pro is great, but that doesn't mean there's no room to innovate with the Mac. Apple unfortunately doesn't agree.

 

[Sp00k]

The screen resolution. The PPI has barely changed since 2012 (226 up from 220), and there are better displays on the market now, in the same price range. Everything looks fuzzy at the default scaled resolution, so I am forced to run it at native and deal with a smaller amount of screen space.

I fell feel that it's a great display. It's in between about 1440p and 4k, and I cant notice pixels unless I get within an inch of it.
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Ive had a great experience with my 16". The only problem I had with the hardware is the left subwoofer that blew, but I took it back and got a new model in about three hours with absolutely no problems (I took it back to my store, they refunded me immediately, and I got a new one delivered within an hour). The only two software problems I've had with it is wifi disconnection, but my wifi is in a crammed space at the other side of the house, so my fix would probably be an Xfinity wifi extender. Other than that, everything is according to plan

 

[fs454]

I fell feel that it's a great display. It's in between about 1440p and 4k, and I cant notice pixels unless I get within an inch of it.

Yep. Love the display - I do feel the scaling options are a bit odd in terms of Apple ditching true 2x, but at the end of the day the default one seems crisp to me. I think these are a perfect balance right now of brightness, color performance, pixel density, and power consumption. To get a 4K display of this same size to the same 500 nits requires significantly more power to the backlight. What I don't love about the display is that auto brightness and True Tone mask the true performance of the display itself. With auto brightness on and the brightness at "maximum", you're not actually seeing the maximum. Uncheck auto brightness and watch as the screen smoothly brightens up over the course of ~10 seconds. Really odd behavior - if I max out the brightness slider I expect the display to respond to that command regardless of if it is set to automatically adjust.

I'm sure something will come along down the line that's better, but I more see them going OLED or mini/microled without bumping the res.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

I love my 16"... There isn't anything per say I hate about it really.

Major upgrade coming from a 13" dual core from 2017, especially regarding the keyboard because I ain't afraid that it breaks down when I'm on work trips

 

[emraha06]

CPU/GPU horsepower is great in such a thin package coupled with a 100wh battery.
Gaming performance on Windows is much better than I was expecting - Halo Reach full native res at 60fps on "Enhanced" graphics, for example (my 2016 Pro 460 got like 15fps in the same settings).

Keyboard is a dream come true after dealing with multiple replacements of my other one. Feels like the golden days of the 15" rMBP.

Display is great, noticeably bigger and a few notches brighter than my 2016. No ghosting or brightness issues here, all within spec.


The only negative I can say is that while I appreciate them perfecting the Mac platform in their own way, I can't help but imagine if SJ was still around we'd be pushing boundaries with the computing platform as a whole rather than just iterating on a decades old interface, device form factor, and input method. The iPad Pro is great, but that doesn't mean there's no room to innovate with the Mac. Apple unfortunately doesn't agree.

Could you please share a photo taken in dark room with black background with %100brightness to discuss backlight bleeding. www.lightbleedtest.com may help you. Thanks

 

[leman]

I don’t like the wobbly space bar, other than that it’s a great machine. Very quiet, great battery life, great GPU performance.

 

[MrGunnyPT]

I don’t like the wobbly space bar, other than that it’s a great machine. Very quiet, great battery life, great GPU performance.

How's the Touch Bar treating you thus far?

 

[leman]

How's the Touch Bar treating you thus far?

I like the new implementation better. There are some subtle geometric changes That makes it more difficult to trigger the Touch Bar by mistake, while still making it straightforward to operate. Getting the escape key back is also nice - I didn’t really miss it on the previous model but I admit that a hysical key here is more convenient after all.

In summary, I think the new geometry is pretty much perfect.

 

[chucker23n1]

Do you think we can expect 4k UHD panel with 2x FHD retina this fall?

Seems unlikely to me they'll change the panel again so soon.

Maybe they're waiting to get LTPO to work on the display, so they can temporarily bring it up to 120 Hz like on the iPad Pro, and down to 1 Hz like the Apple Watch. This would also alleviate battery life concerns.