2015 Pro still worth it?

[turbineseaplane]

May I ask what issues you had with the 2016 Mbp? I recently updated my 2015 mbp with a 2016 mbp.

It's sort of documented all over if you search through my threads in the last 2 months. I won't repost it all as to not bore everyone with old news.

 

[CaptRB]

BTW, regarding Mag-Safe and ports...

1) It was on the wrong side of the machine 75% of the time.
2) It means only ONE way to charge. USB-C allows power packs and other methods.
3) USB-C cables are cheap if they break. The Mag-Safe charger cost me 80 bucks twice.
4) It was not safe. Twice they failed and twice I had to buy new. One of those times was a job where I could not replace it fast enough and it screwed me up on a expensive shoot.

I carried dongles with my 2015 rMBP and I still carry them. Nothing changed except I have a lighter and more refined machine. One port to rule them all. I have two 4K monitors, multiple SSD and older drives, tablets, tethered pro cameras...it all works perfectly. My beautiful laptop bag has exactly ONE extra dongle. It's a tiny USB adapter. That 6 dollar purchase did not rock my world.


R.

 

[dogslobber]

The USB-C thing is annoying for sure. Schools, offices, and most places are not going to be adopting USB-C for a very long time. However, for home use if you don't use USB that often, it's not a problem.

The Professional the MBP is aimed at uses USB-A all the time. The stubbornness of Apple to support both on a single device is foolish and stops the 2016 being considered a Pro machine. USB-A is where the world's at and we will be there for a long time, Apple.

 

[turbineseaplane]

The Professional the MBP is aimed at uses USB-A all the time. The stubbornness of Apple to support both on a single device is foolish and stops the 2016 being considered a Pro machine. USB-A is where the world's at and we will be there for a long time, Apple.

I agree - It wouldn't have killed them to include some USB-A (even if just one) for a year or two here.

This adoption is going to take a long time and Apple forcing USB-C really won't help here given how MS isn't including USB-C at all on their new Surface products.

My preferred mouse is a Logitech that uses USB-A for the dongle (no bluetooth option) - no idea how I'd use that w/ a 2016 MBP... 😡

 

[CaptRB]

It's got a better everything, but it's "not professional" because I keep one of these in my bag or at the end of a cable?
LOL! You guys are funny.

PS: The one on the left is what you need.
PPS: Many different ones available. I keep that one in my bag. I use cheap (2 for 9 bucks) ones for any older stuff I need.

I have a shoot next week. I hope my client doesn't think I'm not a pro because of a dongle!



R.

 

[turbineseaplane]

It's got a better everything, but it's "not professional" because I keep one of these in my bag or at the end of a cable?
LOL! You guys are funny.

View attachment 700356

PS: The one on the left is what you need.
PPS: Many different ones available. I keep that one in my bag. I use cheap (2 for 9 bucks) ones for any older stuff I need.

I have a shoot next week. I hope my client doesn't think I'm not a pro because of a dongle!



R.

Are you responding to my post?

For a mouse dongle that's in all the time there's no way I want something that long sticking out at all times that can get knocked off and/or broken off inside the port!

 

[MrGuder]

It's got a better everything, but it's "not professional" because I keep one of these in my bag or at the end of a cable?
LOL! You guys are funny.

View attachment 700356

PS: The one on the left is what you need.
PPS: Many different ones available. I keep that one in my bag. I use cheap (2 for 9 bucks) ones for any older stuff I need.

I have a shoot next week. I hope my client doesn't think I'm not a pro because of a dongle!



R.

Your a nut!!
Sorry I had to say it with that pic lol
Seriously, I bought one of those adapters too for USB.

 

[CaptRB]

Are you responding to my post?

For a mouse dongle that's in all the time there's no way I want something that long sticking out at all times that can get knocked off and/or broken off inside the port!

I'm sorry you're using a dongle for your mouse. I haven't see that in a long time as most Mice use BT. I sympathize, but you're basically using Betamax in a BluRay world.


R.
[doublepost=1495225460][/doublepost]

Your a nut!!
Sorry I had to say it with that pic lol
Seriously, I bought one of those adapters too for USB.

LOL...I wanted to do the pic with an M&M, but I'm on a diet.


R.

 

[turbineseaplane]

as most Mice use BT

...but you're basically using Betamax in a BluRay world

Are you joking me?
No offense intended but that's a really narrow minded comment.

There are LOADS of peripherals that use USB-A connections & dongles, especially input devices.

I'm really exhausted with the attitude here of some that a new Mac should mean getting loads of new peripherals.
That asinine.

 

[CaptRB]

Are you joking me?
No offense intended but that's a really narrow minded comment.

There are LOADS of peripherals that use USB-A connections & dongles, especially input devices.

I'm really exhausted with the attitude here of some that a new Mac should mean getting loads of new peripherals.
That asinine.

Please explain how using a tiny USB adapter is an issue.

I have a total of 5 external drives, large format photo printers, laser printer, scanner, two 4K monitors, two tablets, and a Nikon D810, D800 and D500 set for my pro work that often operate tethered to my 15 or 13" touch bar Macs. I stuck a USB adapter onto the older stuff and that was the end of it.

I can't see how the tiny USB adapter is an issue for any of these. It's a pretty small inconvenience when you look at the MANY improvements of the new machines.

I spent a few bucks on the USB adapters and these are beautiful machines to work on. End of story.


R.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Please explain how using a tiny USB adapter is an issue.

A Mouse dongle is something I leave in at all times.
I take my laptop around with me - it sucks to have to remove the dongle, keep track of and put it back in. On my 2015 it simply lives in one of the USB-A ports and it's never an issue.

Honestly - I have no idea why there's such blind defense of going all USB-C.

So many people have use cases that would have been made so much nicer by offering a USB-A port or 2 for awhile, alongside USB-C.

USB-C is not there yet. It takes a long time to get a nice array of hubs and docks and peripherals to move over. Microsoft not going to USB-C on Surface means it's a long long wait. We Mac people are totally in the minority.

 

[CaptRB]

A Mouse dongle is something I leave in at all times.
I take my laptop around with me - it sucks to have to remove the dongle, keep track of and put it back in. On my 2015 it simply lives in one of the USB-A ports and it's never an issue.

Honestly - I have no idea why there's such blind defense of going all USB-C.

So many people have use cases that would have been made so much nicer by offering a USB-A port or 2 for awhile, alongside USB-C.

USB-C is not there yet. It takes a long time to get a nice array of hubs and docks and peripherals to move over. Microsoft not going to USB-C on Surface means it's a long long wait. We Mac people are totally in the minority.

USB-C works with everything. My new external drive is USB-C as are my new thumb drives. You've come up with a fairly unusual obstacle to support your statement.

Why do you want ANYTHING sticking out of your MPB? You carry it around like that and use the mouse? If you use it as a desktop setting, how would the dongle effect the already sore-thumb dongle?

I'm sure you know most folks don't want stuff sticking out of a MBP full-time and thus you're in a pretty small group. I mean, there are a gazillion solutions that don't require a dongle. Why not update and have a more streamlined machine?


R.

 

[Random14]

Sorry to start up another 2015 vs. 2016 thread. Mainly I was curious about the 8GB vs. 16GB thing, and that was mostly answered (thanks for that).

2016 does look nice, but its just my preference to stay with the older model. Especially as it will mostly stay at home, rather than be carried about, so the extra weight doesn't matter to me too much. (And yes, with that kind of usage I know I could just go for a desktop instead, but I still prefer a laptop more.)

 

[joema2]

Sorry to start up another 2015 vs. 2016 thread....2016 does look nice, but its just my preference to stay with the older model. Especially as it will mostly stay at home, rather than be carried about, so the extra weight doesn't matter to me too much. (And yes, with that kind of usage I know I could just go for a desktop instead, but I still prefer a laptop more.)

I'm a professional video editor and I own and use both 2015 and 2016 15" MBP models. When I got the 2016, the Apple refurbished price was exactly the same as an equivalent refurbished 2015 model. I was a bit concerned about the lack of SD and USB-A ports, but it hasn't been a big problem.

I have about 200 terabytes of disk storage on dozens of USB and Thunderbolt disk arrays and hard drives, and in the field we shoot up to 1TB per day, mostly to SDXC. Even on the 2015 MBP I already used a Thunderbolt dock so I could download from multiple camera cards simultaneously. Some of our cameras shoot to CF and some to micro-SD, so we needed adapters/readers for those anyway. So professionals are usually already using various cables and adapters, and adding a few more isn't that big a deal.

That said, I understand the concern about no SD reader in the 2016 MBP, and I really think Apple should have put one in. Likewise I wish they had used (say) two USB-C and two USB-A ports, or a 3:1 or 1:3 mix. In 2018 or 2019 they could have made one with only USB-C.

The 2016 screen is brighter, and it's somewhat faster on FCPX, especially on effects since the GPU is faster. The 2016 is quieter than the 2015 -- the fan doesn't spin up so quickly. When editing or encoding video the 2015 is quite noisy. So overall I'm glad I got the 2016, and for me the no-SD and USB-C thing is manageable.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Of course it is worth it. They are so much better then the 2016 versions...

 

[c0ppo]

Guys, pro = people who makes money on that laptop.
Those could be video editors, graphic designers, developers, and all the way to people who do facebook/google marketing (no real power from laptop required).

Pro is just a marketing term. Tim Cook doesn't do graphic design, or programming for Apple. But then again, I really do think that he falls into Pro category very easily 🙂

 

[moneymike0284]

Apple still sells these, right? There's refurbs too, but the selection is random. Anyway, I'm thinking of getting a 2015 Macbook Pro with at least 8GB/256GB, just debating about whether to bump that up to 16GB and/or 512GB.

I'm planning to use it mostly for web browsing (I like to keep lots of tabs open), video, some light gaming (Civ 5 shouldn't be a problem, for instance, no idea about Civ 6), and maybe Windows (VM or Bootcamp, though that would probably be more comfortable with more room).

I guess my main question is- 8GB or 16GB? I could just max out both, but I'm trying to keep the price down a bit. I know I don't need a Pro for web browsing, but I would like to upgrade to a Retina screen, and no thanks to the current Pro and Macbook (I'll stay with Magsafe and USB-A). If only Apple had just added a Retina screen to the Air line, but that's extremely unlikely now.

I've been using a Macbook Air for several years now, and its been great, it just slows down sometimes when I have too much open. Would the Pro's i5 be able to handle more on the regular 8GB, compared to the Air's i5? I know more ram is always better, just debating if its really necessary.

Same with the 256GB or 512GB. I guess I could store stuff on external hard drives or even an SD card, but its just more convenient to have everything on one drive. And especially if I add Windows, that usually takes at least... 20GB for the install alone? Something like that, and if I want to put stuff on that partition/VM, well, 256GB goes down fast.

Thank you in advance for any useful advice/thoughts. I figure even a 2015 Macbook Pro should last for quite a few more years of everyday use. Although I worry that Apple will remove it from their site after WWDC, with the rumors of the current Macbooks getting a speed bump, which is why I'm narrowing down my choice now.

I believe its definitely worth it to purchase the 2015 pro. I just purchased mine on sale for $1049 and have no regrets about my purchase at all. I had the air before this one and I hated the touch pad on it. The pro model touch pad with force touch is sooo much better. Not to mention the really nice retina screen. If you can find a new 2015 pro on sale there is no way you can pass it up in my opinion.

 

[instech360]

I believe its definitely worth it to purchase the 2015 pro. I just purchased mine on sale for $1049 and have no regrets about my purchase at all. I had the air before this one and I hated the touch pad on it. The pro model touch pad with force touch is sooo much better. Not to mention the really nice retina screen. If you can find a new 2015 pro on sale there is no way you can pass it up in my opinion.

That seems like an awesome price 🙂 I just paid $1600 for my refurbished 15" 2016 MBP from BestBuy. 16GB RAM, 256GB HD, 2.2GHZ. Wondering if I ought to return it and hold out for a cheaper model?

 

[ApolloBoy]

I tried out both the 2016 and 2015 models yesterday while I was browsing around at Best Buy, and I plan on buying a 2015 15-incher as my next Mac. I still like my rMB and it's still great for taking around the house and traveling, but when it comes to a bigger laptop I prefer having MagSafe and a variety of ports.

 

[TonyK]

My recent decision between the 2015 or 2016 MBP 15" units came down to features important to me. My income does not depend on the computer being a Windows based web application developer.

As ApolloBoy mentioned, it was the ports and magsafe and the savings realized on buying 1 generation back from the current line up that tilted my decision. There is also the keyboard.

My wife has a 2015 MBP 15" and I played with a 2016 MBP 15" at the AppleStore. I'm an old typist having taught myself on manual typewriters and graduating to IBM Selectrics for Dictaphone work in a past life. We both perfer mechanical keyboards for the feedback our fingers receive; the extra travel of the keys and the tactile sound/response. The keyboard of the 2015 is so much more comfortable FOR ME over the 2016 unit. The trackpad on the 2015 works better FOR ME and the fact the devices I own down have to be re-purchased for the new USB-C connector were deciding factors.

I used the cost savings to get a DiskStation DS216J NAS with 2 4TB drives so I can migrate my photo collection and my media collection from a MP3,1 and have access to these files anywhere in the house.

In the end, as has been noted, it comes down to your needs, desires and budget. While we can provide our thoughts regarding our purchasing decisions, it will be up to the OP to decide what is best for them.