2016 MacBook Review Roundup: SSD Performance is Much Improved, Lack of Ports and 480p Camera Are Still Negatives

[doelcm82]

Including 2 USB ports = including heat shielding for atmospheric reentry?

I don't think having more than one USB port (in addition to the power port) is a bogus standard. In fact, just about every laptop on the market, Apple's included, meets or exceeds this standard. That's why I think the RMB is a mediocre product, but you're allowed to disagree.

btw, the driver counts as a passenger, so the original Insight actually has room for two

I do think having more than one USB-C port is bogus standard. It could have six of them, and I wouldn't be able to plug any of my firewire or USB3 devices in without an adapter or some kind of hub. Once you have a hub, the problem of ports becomes moot.

 

[Stalwart]

And yeah, I know that the software is made for x64 and its not that easy to convert everything to run on ARM. But Apple never had easy tasks to sollte (but still did)!

Migrations from PPC to Intel x32 to Intel x64, and from armv6 to armv7 to arm64 were just a matter of clicking a checkbox in Xcode project settings as long as developers were following Apple's guidelines. I did three of the four mentioned migrations in various projects, so don't try to convince me i'm wrong.

 

[El Cabong]

I do think having more than one USB-C port is bogus standard.

That's fine, and you're certainly entitled to your opinion. It should be noted, however, that the title of the thread states that most people disagree. We're probably all wrong for catering to a bogus standard

 

[toddzrx]

As a graduation gift I want this to be as simple and 'just works' as it can be. Something my daughter can use for 4 years of college (and after graduation) and not worry about. I will probably wait to June just to hedge any WWDC bet - but will probably end up getting her an MBA.

While the portability would be a boon, I can't imagine the MB being that great for a college student. I would think you'd want to get your daughter something with more flexibility like a 13" Pro.

 

[boast]

Someone should make one of these pics but with laptops

 

[toddzrx]

I went to look at the MacBook yesterday having looked at the first gen when that was released.

Again, I didn't buy. I love the size and weight, but one port and no SD slot makes it a no-buy for me. It also worries me that the MacBook has a port that isn't present on any other Apple product. I don't want to invest in USB-C if Apple end up not bothering with it in the future.

Just one more USB-C port and I'd buy. Two USB-C and an SD slot and there'd be no hesitation.

The chances of Apple NOT putting USB-C on their other computers is zero. We're already seeing it on plenty of other non-Apple products, and USB-C is the physical port standard for Thunderbolt 3. I fully expect to see redesigned Pros at WWDC with USB-C ports, amongst other things.

 

[Pbrutto]

I would be happy with any speed increase on this laptop....

 

[definitive]

Based on specs alone, the next update of 13" MB Air will probably crap all over the regular MB, and will probably cost $200-300 less. Only downside will be 1lbs more in weight, and no retina screen. For an extra pound and a half of weight, the 13" base rMBP craps all over the MB, and costs the same amount.

I'm sure that no one would miss the MacBook if Apple suddenly dropped it from production tomorrow, and added a retina screen to the Air line instead ... even if they raised their prices by $200-300.

 

[gpat]

Based on specs alone, the next update of 13" MB Air will probably crap all over the regular MB, and will probably cost $200-300 less. Only downside will be 1lbs more in weight, and no retina screen. For an extra pound and a half of weight, the 13" base rMBP craps all over the MB, and costs the same amount.

I'm sure that no one would miss the MacBook if Apple suddenly dropped it from production tomorrow, and added a retina screen to the Air line instead ... even if they raised their prices by $200-300.

Basically described the 13" rMBP

 

[Soccertess]

Unfortunately there is no room for another USB-C port.

It's a shame because I couldn't stand having one port. I'll have to pass again. They should really consider some sort of wireless charging solution. One day!!

 

[ColdShadow]

one single port,480p camera on a premiumly priced laptop in 2016..pathetic.

there was space for another port,same as possibility of a decent resolution camera instead of just 480p.

the 11 Inch MBA is very close to size and weight of this thing,yet it has many ports,all people wanted was a high res screen for MBA.
yet Apple came with this joke of a laptop instead.

 

[Manzzle]

Someone please tell me if I'm seeing this chart wrong, it's saying that the iPad Pro 12" is more powerful than this laptop?

 

[AliMacs]

I went to the store and found this pink laptop sitting as a demo unit. It looked copper-ish in color at the time I was looking at it perhaps the lighting changed the way the paint looked at specific angles...

anyway, the entire point of NOT owning this garbage is:

The unit is not ideal for doing anything other than light work such as web browsing and some YouTube streaming. For that sole purpose you have other cheaper options such as the IPP 9.7 and 12.9" which the 12.9" will be faster than this thing in exporting videos.

Also you get a 480p front camera. Before you say you don't care about that think about why people are angry. In 2016, you pay $1299 for a base model + taxes and you get parts in this laptop that are basically bargain bin parts. Imagine your shiny new BMW M3 that costs substantially more than a regular 3 series but instead of being the fastest best raw performance machine, the parts that are fitted in the M3 are from 2010 and the performance is substandard.

This laptop is targeted for the Kardashians, Paris hilton's, and rich kids of Beverly Hills. No one who is serious about doing real work on an apple machine would even consider this crap. Buy a real MacBook Pro 13" and save yourself the embarrassment.

The only thing this is good for is if you have too much disposable income and need to look rich while using a computer.

 

[Mac 128]

Why would I want lightning and USB-C ports? Aren't they the same kind of thing?

Yes, and that's the point. If Apple removes the 3.5mm headphone jack from the iPhone, and include Lightning based earbuds, all of their products will need to accommodate Lightning as a common native headphone port. Lightning is also the de facto charging connector for many of Apple's mobile and desktop products, which means that's likely to be the charging cable of choice with the rMB as well given that option, as it frees up the USB port for standard USB peripherals. And since Lightning 2 handles USB 3 data speeds, it handles the needs of most USB peripherals if two data ports are needed at the same time.

Including 2 USB ports = including heat shielding for atmospheric reentry?

I don't think having more than one USB port (in addition to the power port) is a bogus standard. In fact, just about every laptop on the market, Apple's included, meets or exceeds this standard. That's why I think the RMB is a mediocre product, but you're allowed to disagree.

btw, the driver counts as a passenger, so the original Insight actually has room for two

The very successful PowerBook Duo had just one port way back in the early 1990s. Customers willingly sacrificed multiple ports for ultimate portability, and paid handsomely for the privilege. The same is true today.

Unfortunately there is no room for another USB-C port.

It's a shame because I couldn't stand having one port. I'll have to pass again. They should really consider some sort of wireless charging solution. One day!!

Sure there is, just get rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack, and replace it with a second data port, and use an adapter or wireless for headphones.

Actually, it's a shame they didn't make the 3.5mm headphone jack capable of charging the rMB, just like the headphone jack doubles for a charging and USB 2 data port in the iPod Shuffle. That would certainly eliminate a lot of a certain type of complaints.

 

[Rigby]

To all the haters out there, please show me an alternative product that is;
- Exactly 2 lbs or under
- Has 41 watt-hour battery
- Retina equivalent display
- And the features you're complaining about, lol

Samsung ATIV Book 9. Almost exactly the same dimensions as the Macbook, 2.09 lbs, 35Wh battery, 2560x1600 display. Also, 720p camera, a real keyboard with some key travel, 2xUSB3 ports, Micro HDMI port, SD Card slot. Only downside: It doesn't run OS X.

 

[Mac 128]

Samsung ATIV Book 9. Almost exactly the same dimensions as the Macbook, 2.09 lbs, 35Wh battery, 2560x1600 display. Also, 720p camera, a real keyboard with some key travel, 2xUSB3 ports, Micro HDMI port, SD Card slot. Only downside: It doesn't run OS X.

Keep trying. It's bigger in every dimension, and heavier. 6 hour battery life compared to 10-11 hours. And internal storage appears to be limited to 256GB.

Again the rMB is designed to be as small and light as possible while providing maximum battery life. Close is not enough in this game.

 

[AliMacs]

Samsung ATIV Book 9. Almost exactly the same dimensions as the Macbook, 2.09 lbs, 35Wh battery, 2560x1600 display. Also, 720p camera, a real keyboard with some key travel, 2xUSB3 ports, Micro HDMI port, SD Card slot. Only downside: It doesn't run OS X.

That very last sentence sums up everything about buying any Apple product. It reminds me of the time when I was looking for an SUV. Without naming the brand/model (but you can probably guess it anyway) - the car included Microsoft's SYNC aka F__d MyTouch/F__d sync.

Instantly I removed that vehicle off my list of qualified cars to buy. So it really does come down to your flavor of operating system. If not for it running OS X, this laptop would make zero sense, period.

 

[Rigby]

Instantly I removed that vehicle off my list of qualified cars to buy. So it really does come down to your flavor of operating system. If not for it running OS X, this laptop would make zero sense, period.

Agreed. But OS X and the MBP are pretty much the only reasons why I'm still bothering with Macs (or more precisely laptops, since on the desktop side I have long given up bothering with Apple's inflexible and underpowered hardware). If Apple doesn't show drastically more engagement on the Mac side soon, I'll probably have to bite the bullet on the laptop side too. All I want is a nice expandable Mac Pro in a tower case like they used to be, and an Air-like laptop with a modern display. Is that really asking so much?

 

[Anonymous Freak]

The low-quality camera isn't a deal-breaker to me; nor even only having USB-C ports. It's the fact that it has only one. Add a second to the other side (heck, go ahead and remove the headphone jack!) that can both do data transfer and power, and I'll be set. I just like USB-C's "universal" nature - if you put one do-everything port on each side, you have the ultimate in flexibility. The Chromebook Pixel has a USB-C on each side.

Bonus points for making them full Thunderbolt 3-compatible.

 

[Johnny907]

So the compromise is spend more money on adapters and take a faith that a keyboard with very mixed results will pan out on a computer that seems somewhat overpriced for the Mac line.

As a graduation gift I want this to be as simple and 'just works' as it can be. Something my daughter can use for 4 years of college (and after graduation) and not worry about. I will probably wait to June just to hedge any WWDC bet - but will probably end up getting her an MBA.

Honestly, get her a 13" rMBP. They are only marginally thicker and heavier than the MBA, but 1) they are much more powerful so future proofing won't be an issue, which is a concern you mentioned, and 2) the current MBA lineup is the exact same model that's been on the shelf for over a year, for the exact same price, only now they've bumped the RAM from 4GB to 8. If you're ok paying an already-premium price for outdated tech, by all means go with the MBA, but if you want a machine that's going to be humming along 5 years from now with a much better display to boot, go with the rMBP.

 

[jbsiii]

I often use an MBA 11" w/ an Apple Cinema Display, and it is disappointing that there seems to be no easy way to use an RMB with the Display. It's not a big issue in the great scheme of things, but it is disappointing for ACD users that would like to use an RMB as their "go to" laptop.

 

[Johnny907]

The low-quality camera isn't a deal-breaker to me; nor even only having USB-C ports. It's the fact that it has only one. Add a second to the other side (heck, go ahead and remove the headphone jack!) that can both do data transfer and power, and I'll be set. I just like USB-C's "universal" nature - if you put one do-everything port on each side, you have the ultimate in flexibility. The Chromebook Pixel has a USB-C on each side.

Bonus points for making them full Thunderbolt 3-compatible.

I'm in the same boat. I instantly would have upgraded my 2015 to the 2016 if they'd just included a second USB-C port. It's such a weird decision when there is clearly room in the chassis for a second port, and as you mentioned, others are adding two ports so it's clearly possible from a technical standpoint as well. I love my rMB, I love the size, I love the weight, I love the screen, I love the speakers, but even using an adapter from HooToo that gives me 3 USB3 ports, a 4k compatible HDMI port, an SD Card reader as well as charge pass-thru capability, I am constantly cursing the lack of a second USB-C port that would negate my requirement for that 80 dollar adapter completely. Why put out such a wonderful device with such a stupid artificial handicap?

 

[Mac 128]

The low-quality camera isn't a deal-breaker to me; nor even only having USB-C ports. It's the fact that it has only one. Add a second to the other side (heck, go ahead and remove the headphone jack!) that can both do data transfer and power, and I'll be set. I just like USB-C's "universal" nature - if you put one do-everything port on each side, you have the ultimate in flexibility. The Chromebook Pixel has a USB-C on each side.

Bonus points for making them full Thunderbolt 3-compatible.

As much as I agree with you, even the PowerBook Duo had only one port. The saving grace there was that is had a separate dedicated power port. But even the modem port was optional.

And as much as I agree with you, I do think there's a whole new breed out there that doesn't need two ports. Heck I don't really even need two ports most of the time. I try to use port as little as possible in fact, using AirDrop, AirPlay, BT, and iCloud wherever possible. But sometimes the easiest and quickest thing is to just slap in a flash drive, and it's unfortunate that I may have to unplug something else to do it, especially if that something else is another drive I have to eject, more so if I'm transferring from one drive to the next. But I also recognize I'm more and more becoming the exception.

But I will still make the argument for redundancy on a Mac. iPads and iPhones aren't as critical because the port is not the primary means of transferring data, and it's less likely someone may plug in a peripheral that could harm the port. And having power and data combined on the same port means damage to one is damage to both. I have to say, I've had ports go bad where a 2nd port saved me, this is less of a problem now with wifi however. I've also had power ports go bad where being able to swap out the battery saved me. Now that the latter is not an option, one would hope they wouldn't put all of their eggs into one basket.

 

[Rigby]

Keep trying. It's bigger in every dimension

Actually it's thinner, and just millimeters wider and deeper.

and heavier.

Yeah, by 0.03 lbs. Perhaps we should start a poll to see if anybody thinks this is worth dropping all but one port and having a keyboard that feels like you're typing on a piece of cardboard?

6 hour battery life compared to 10-11 hours.

Obviously a software issue since the difference in battery capacity is much smaller.

And internal storage appears to be limited to 256GB.

Do you really want to start discussing hardware limitations?

Again the rMB is designed to be as small and light as possible while providing maximum battery life. Close is not enough in this game.

True, a laptop that's so compromised that it's merely "close" to usable is not enough.

 

[cylack]

People are gonna complain always about Apple products. Mainly too expensive. Mainly by people who can’t afford to buy. Sort of illogical. Akin to someone who can’t afford Lexus always complaing about the price.