A happy buyer of the new 13'' tbMBP

[NiCk-]

I've been a member of these forums for the past 10 years. I initially made an account back when I wanted to buy my first Mac and was looking for a word of advice. The members of this forum back then convinced me to buy a 15'' Core Duo MacBook Pro and ever since I haven't looked back.

In 2012 I bought my second 15'' MacBook Pro (rMBP) and this year I decided to switch from the 15'' form factor to the 13'' for extra portability. So, after selling my 15'' rMBP, I ended up with a 13'' tbMBP with 16GB of RAM.

I created this topic because in all of these years that I've been a member I have never seen so much negativity and I thought that this forum needs something positive for a change. I'm not going to spend a lot of time analyzing its features because there are sites and people who can do this better than myself but I'll just say that this computer is a joy to use and those of you who have the money and are on the fence, then you should definitely buy one.

Now, I have to admit that I'm not a photographer or a video editor. I'm an English Literature teacher and I guess you can say that I'm closer to what people refer to as the "Starbucks user". I buy Apple products and pay a premium though because I believe that they are the best in the market and in my opinion this 13'' tbMBP is undoubtedly that.

It has an amazing design, a gorgeous screen, all-day battery, a fantastic keyboard - which by the way has nothing to do with the 12'' MacBook that I personally hate- and a touch bar which apart from looking extremely cool makes every day tasks easier and a bit faster. Yes it lacks some ports but it will only take an adapter or two (at most) for the majority of people to solve all of their problems. I don't see this being too difficult if you can't wait another year or two for the industry to catch up.

So, in conclusion I personally feel that I made the right decision and I wanted to share it with you. Macs have always been about the overall package and not about the specs list. It is the combination of their design, performance and software that makes these computers stand out and their new 13'' iteration is no different. Give it a chance and stop being so negative !

 

[montanaco]

Happy for you! I'm also enjoying my tMBP quite a bit

 

[keviig]

Good to see someone sharing their positive experiences with the tbMBP! I just got mine a couple of days ago after a months wait, but it was scuffed badly out of the box, so i'm back to another 2-3 week wait I'm sure it will be great once i get an undamaged one!

 

[Agmnu]

Macs have always been about the overall package and not about the specs list. It is the combination of their design, performance and software that makes these computers stand out and their new 13'' iteration is no different. Give it a chance and stop being so negative !

Thank you for the article It was nice to read something positive. I completely agree with you. Everyone is comparing the latest macbook to specific good things in other laptops. I think the latest macbook tries to attain a balance of different features.
I am concerned about the battery life though. How is the battery life in your experience?

 

[EndlessBuffoonery]

Are you sure you aren't an Apple shill? I was told that the MacBoo Pro is a stupid device because it's not pro enough for real pros and it's too expensive for the non-Pros. But it sounds like you've had, overall, a very positive experience. Why would you lie to us like this? Surely the armchair analysts at MacRumors now best whether or not the MacBook Pro is a complete failure of a device.

 

[Agmnu]

Are you sure you aren't an Apple shill? I was told that the MacBoo Pro is a stupid device because it's not pro enough for real pros and it's too expensive for the non-Pros. But it sounds like you've had, overall, a very positive experience. Why would you lie to us like this? Surely the armchair analysts at MacRumors now best whether or not the MacBook Pro is a complete failure of a device.

Buffoonery indeed.

 

[Ghost31]

I like posts like this. I feel like you are the silent majority that never speaks while the vocal minority of angry "I'm a pro and I don't like this" users get all the air time to vent. So yeah...

The angry users (like me in a lot of ways) have very very valid complaints...but the everyday person that can afford them? They'll love it just as much as their last Mac. Barring any bugs that need to be worked out. It's like standing in a room with 100 people and 98 are quietly enjoying their new MacBook and quiet about it while 2 of them are shouting at the top of their lungs

Glad you're enjoying it.

 

[Chrystal Ocean]

I, too, am delighted with my new 13" MBP with Touch Bar. But that's having come from using a 9-1/2 year old Mac mini with Lion. That mini was my first Apple product and I've not looked back since; waited this long to get a replacement for it. Did worry about the expense, though, which is why I didn't order the 15" model. If this MBP lasts even half as long as my mini (hoping for 5-6 years), then I'll consider it money well spent.

Keyboard - great feel to it and am loving having a backlit one for a change
Touch Bar - useful and fun. I forgot about it at first, but now I use it regularly
Startup - Yowza! No more waiting for my computer to wake itself up and get ready for work!

Going from a HDD to SSD, and from 2GB to 16GB RAM has made such a big difference.

Had I the money to burn, I'd have liked to get the 15" model, though, for the screen real estate, extra trackpad space and greater speaker area. But I'm glad that I didn't, given some of the negativity especially concerning the larger model.

 

[skids929]

My story is similar to yours..Got my first Mac 11 years ago joined and lurked for a few years before joining..Never looked back to any other type of machine. Only difference is my first Mac, lasted those 11 years! Only upgraded RAM and HDD and it is still giving me service, to my kids anyway.

I am overall thrilled with 13 in TB as well. Love the form factor and the overall design. It's really an impeccable laptop. Does it have things that could be improved, sure, what machine doesn't. Overall I feel the way you do.

Happy you are enjoying your laptop. Congrats!

 

[Salaryman Ryan]

Congrats. The new Macbook Pro is an amazing machine regardless what model!

 

[sarc]

We need more posts like this. I love the new MBP. I'm coming from a 2011 MBP and think this update is great.

 

[malikkamran]

I have 2012 retina mbp and I am too going to buy new touch bar mbp congrats won't be disappointed

 

[NavySEAL6]

I've been a member of these forums for the past 10 years. I initially made an account back when I wanted to buy my first Mac and was looking for a word of advice. The members of this forum back then convinced me to buy a 15'' Core Duo MacBook Pro and ever since I haven't looked back.

In 2012 I bought my second 15'' MacBook Pro (rMBP) and this year I decided to switch from the 15'' form factor to the 13'' for extra portability. So, after selling my 15'' rMBP, I ended up with a 13'' tbMBP with 16GB of RAM.

I created this topic because in all of these years that I've been a member I have never seen so much negativity and I thought that this forum needs something positive for a change. I'm not going to spend a lot of time analyzing its features because there are sites and people who can do this better than myself but I'll just say that this computer is a joy to use and those of you who have the money and are on the fence, then you should definitely buy one.

Now, I have to admit that I'm not a photographer or a video editor. I'm an English Literature teacher and I guess you can say that I'm closer to what people refer to as the "Starbucks user". I buy Apple products and pay a premium though because I believe that they are the best in the market and in my opinion this 13'' tbMBP is undoubtedly that.

It has an amazing design, a gorgeous screen, all-day battery, a fantastic keyboard - which by the way has nothing to do with the 12'' MacBook that I personally hate- and a touch bar which apart from looking extremely cool makes every day tasks easier and a bit faster. Yes it lacks some ports but it will only take an adapter or two (at most) for the majority of people to solve all of their problems. I don't see this being too difficult if you can't wait another year or two for the industry to catch up.

So, in conclusion I personally feel that I made the right decision and I wanted to share it with you. Macs have always been about the overall package and not about the specs list. It is the combination of their design, performance and software that makes these computers stand out and their new 13'' iteration is no different. Give it a chance and stop being so negative !

Do you regret not getting the 15? I'm on the fence about the size. I think more portability would be nice but I'm wondering if they've shrunk the 15 down enough for the size difference to be negligible.

 

[skids929]

Do you regret not getting the 15? I'm on the fence about the size. I think more portability would be nice but I'm wondering if they've shrunk the 15 down enough for the size difference to be negligible.

They didn't, it's still a large laptop to toss around. But the answer to this can be subjective since people use their machines differently. I go all over the house with mine, like I would an iPad, which I don't own. I go from upstairs bedroom to downstairs family room couch, to Kitchen island, to (dare I say) bathroom...I had both the 15 and the 13, I returned the 15 after about a week. The screen was awesome, don't get me wrong, but the screen in the 13 is too, and the portability of the 13 is a marvel of modern computers. They did trim the "volume" of the 15, but to think it's going to be close to the 13 or an late model 13 is just not true.

To me the 15 was just too large to toss around and carry like the 13. I feared I would smash it into something and it never stable in my lap, it was more wobbly than the 13 in lap mode. It felt like a nice machine for someone who was tethered to a desk more often with occasional mobile use.

Overall it's all about trade offs, but the 13 is just incredible to me and gives a nice balance of size and power.

 

[Easttime]

I'm really warming up to 13" MBP-TB too. Out of the box a week ago I got 6.5 hours of intense battery time setting it up. Charged it once and since then I've just closed the lid after working on it then opened the lid next day and went right back to work. Not long sessions, just enough to show work to a customer or adjust a document. Still at 65% on that first recharge. Enjoying the easy sync to all my Apple devices. So far so good and almost worth the premium to me, though I still feel uneasy about the price.

 

[Antairez]

They didn't, it's still a large laptop to toss around. But the answer to this can be subjective since people use their machines differently. I go all over the house with mine, like I would an iPad, which I don't own. I go from upstairs bedroom to downstairs family room couch, to Kitchen island, to (dare I say) bathroom...I had both the 15 and the 13, I returned the 15 after about a week. The screen was awesome, don't get me wrong, but the screen in the 13 is too, and the portability of the 13 is a marvel of modern computers. They did trim the "volume" of the 15, but to think it's going to be close to the 13 or an late model 13 is just not true.

To me the 15 was just too large to toss around and carry like the 13. I feared I would smash it into something and it never stable in my lap, it was more wobbly than the 13 in lap mode. It felt like a nice machine for someone who was tethered to a desk more often with occasional mobile use.

Overall it's all about trade offs, but the 13 is just incredible to me and gives a nice balance of size and power.

Cheers to 13". Love the balance of 13". I believe Apple is really proud of their 13" as well
If you visit MacBook Pro product page, the first thing they show you is -------- the 13"

 

[NiCk-]

Thank you for your kind words guys ! I'm glad that I can give something back to this forum that has helped me many times in the past.

I am concerned about the battery life though. How is the battery life in your experience?

I have only used it for a week but I can say that I'm satisfied with it so far. I use it on 65% brightness (the screen is really bright) mainly to browse the internet, listen to music, type documents in Word and connect it to a projector in order to show Powerpoint presentations. I can easily get through the day and have 30-40% to spare.

I would say that it is closer to 7 hours instead of the 8 hours that Apple claims though.

Do you regret not getting the 15? I'm on the fence about the size. I think more portability would be nice but I'm wondering if they've shrunk the 15 down enough for the size difference to be negligible.

No, not at all ! The reason that I sold my old rMBP was because I wanted a 13'' model for the extra portability. The 13'' size may be a bit smaller physically but the fact that I'm working on a 1440x900 environment has made the transition much easier and almost negligible. If you don't need the extra CPU/GPU power that the 15'' has to offer, I would highly recommend the 13''.

 

[JohnnyGo]

I'm really warming up to 13" MBP-TB too. Out of the box a week ago I got 6.5 hours of intense battery time setting it up. Charged it once and since then I've just closed the lid after working on it then opened the lid next day and went right back to work. Not long sessions, just enough to show work to a customer or adjust a document. Still at 65% on that first recharge. Enjoying the easy sync to all my Apple devices. So far so good and almost worth the premium to me, though I still feel uneasy about the price.

I'm loving my 13" tbMBP ! Coming from a 2013 13" MBA the size, the screen (oh the retina screen finally !), the built quality, everything feels like an upgrade.

Would I liked if it had a little bit more battery life ? Certainly. Do I really need the extra battery life ? Probably not. Hard to be away from an outlet for more than 8-9 hours these days. Planes, trains, lobbies all have AC outlets. Plus, UBS-C means we will be able to give a little charge with external batteries as well.

Everyone complained when the iPad3/4 got bigger because of the retina display/extra battery... Apple is following the breadcrumbs... probably the sales of the retina MB where better than expected... As others have posted, most "pros" don't really need all the power of a Core i7 quad-core CPU anyway.

 

[maflynn]

Congrats and enjoy your new baby.

 

[mctrials23]

Cheers to 13". Love the balance of 13". I believe Apple is really proud of their 13" as well
If you visit MacBook Pro product page, the first thing they show you is -------- the 13"

I think thats just because it is the prettier of the two models. The 15" has always looked a bit like the skinny lanky kid at school. The keyboard, trackpad and speakers all look like they are sitting in a bit too much space on the 15".

 

[Ma2k5]

.... all-day battery, a fantastic keyboard - !

I don't think it is people not giving it a chance, some people just have strong reservations on these two points on the machine as a whole. A lot are not getting all day battery life and many do not like the keyboard.

 

[JohnnyGo]

I don't think it is people not giving it a chance, some people just have strong reservations on these two points on the machine as a whole. A lot are not getting all day battery life and many do not like the keyboard.

True.

Still, I feel some of the criticism around 10h battery life a self inflicted problem by Apple. Have they come out and said up to 8h, every one would be feeling better about their battery life.

Secondly, with all MBPs, the light use battery life was always different than a 100% workload battery life with 2012-2015 MBP models getting 4-5h of battery.

IMO the light use case is less impacted than the full workload as the efficiency of Skylake CPUs impacts downtime (with lower energy states and faster switching 0-100) than 100% utilization. But both use cases benefit from the new technologies and better cooling (less throttling and much less noise from fans).

There's always a tradeoff. Apple went mainstream and left some of the edge cases behind.

 

[Spudlicious]

I'm pleased for the OP that his new Macbook Pro is right for him.

 

[Macalway]

Yeah, these are better than the previous models simply because they are lighter. After all, portability is what laptops are all about.

The other stuff is nice too

 

[JohnnyGo]

Yeah, these are better than the previous models simply because they are lighter. After all, portability is what laptops are all about.

The other stuff is nice too

Add the following to the list:
- screen: gorgeous
- speakers: amazing
- trackpad: improved/larger
- storage: faster SSD
- bluetooth: updated to 4.2

I read the wifi is worst but I am getting connectivity strength at 800-900mbps with Wifi AC @5ghz

So no complaints from me