2016 MBP TB 13 user - should I return and go for the 15?

[packeted]

Hey folks,

I've been using my MBP 13 with Touch Bar for over almost a couple of weeks now. It's the 3.3GHz i7 version with 512GB storage and 16GB RAM - set me back $2575 all inc with the educational discount. I upgraded from a 2013 MBA i7 8GB 512GB.

So I like the machine, it's nicely made, feels very solid, I like the keyboard, love the retina screen and the speakers are great. The TouchBar is nice but haven't found any compelling uses for it. The Force Touch pad took a bit of getting used to but I quite like it now.

One of the biggest disappointments is battery. I'm not a heavy user but I have plenty of tabs and use Google Drive, Slack, Chrome... I've been getting about 4 hours out of it which is a huge step down. I'm also intending to get more in to video editing as I recently started a YouTube channel.

I have a Mac Pro desktop but am considering replacing that with a one machine setup. I have Dell P2715Q 4K monitors at work and home that I plug in to (currently using a DisplayPort to USB-C cable).

So.... tomorrow is the last day I can return the laptop and I'm thinking about switching out for a 15" MBP with TB, the lowest spec version but with 512GB storage, which is just a few dollars more than the 13 I bought if I get it from B&H Tax free.

Any views from people who have done the same or own both and can speak to the relative battery life and performance differences? I haven't come across any benchmarks that compare the specced out 13 TB vs the bottom end 15 TB but would love to if anyone has any sources!

Cheers,
Francis

 

[xraydoc]

The 15" is big. Not enormous, but bigger by a couple inches all around and weighs a pound more.
That said, the display is beautiful and there's no doubt the machine is fast. Gets about 8 hrs of battery life - better than the 13" TB but less than the 13" nTB.
My GeekBench 4 results are below (2.7GHz).

I had the 13" nTB for two weeks. Loved it, but ultimately decided I really wanted the 15" for the big display. While I have an 27" iMac, I find I use the laptop 90% of the time I'm on my Mac (though my main computing device is still my 12.9" iPad Pro). The 13" screen just wasn't comfortable enough for my 47 yr old eyes.

 

[SweetLou122]

A bit confused, are you planning to replace your desktop with the macbook? The 15 is better in almost every aspect except portability, seems like a no brainer to me. You would be fine editing on both, but neither will come close to the airs battery life.

 

[packeted]

A bit confused, are you planning to replace your desktop with the macbook? The 15 is better in almost every aspect except portability, seems like a no brainer to me. You would be fine editing on both, but neither will come close to the airs battery life.

I guess I was planning to replace the Mac Pro with whichever MBP I ended up with. I guess it comes down to portability, it seems for the price I paid for the spec'ed out 13 the bottom end 15 is a lot more bang for buck.