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After the dust settled, what is the consensus about 2016 MBPs?
- Thread starter Don-Lucio
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Hahaha. What's the consensus about Obama? Similar kind of question, with a similar kind of answer. Lots and lots of threads about the new MBP here, and quite a range of opinion.
It's damned awesome. Best MBP Apple have ever released. Incredibly well designed cooling system (Razer could learn a thing or two about that), great battery life, preposterous SSD speeds, and atrociously thin.
USB-C won't be an issue in the future and the supported bandwidth of each port, coupled with the fact it can be transformed into any peripheral you need it to, arguably means it's got the best longevity of any Mac to date.
It's so desirable in every way.
USB-C won't be an issue in the future and the supported bandwidth of each port, coupled with the fact it can be transformed into any peripheral you need it to, arguably means it's got the best longevity of any Mac to date.
It's so desirable in every way.
Consensus:
- Spec Chasers: Users who no matter what the specs won't do. "I'll only use Koby Lake, not cause I need it, but because it's new. I also need 32gb of ram (I do daily writing, light browsing individuals)
- "Me Too" Men: Users who read the forums to form an opinion not realizing listening to 320 different opinions won't benefit you, rather leave you conflicted.
- Those who can afford it, but it isn't the laptop they want.
- Those who can't afford it will say it's expensive and talk about the lack of innovation and battery life.
- 50% of those who read these forums searched for all of the cons, and apply individual experiences from these forums to what they've read, searching for problems that may (or may not) exist.
- The other 50% who read these forums read, were informed, and allowed their purchase to be a sole decision after researching more than forums and seeing the MB Pro fits their needs.
- Spec Chasers: Users who no matter what the specs won't do. "I'll only use Koby Lake, not cause I need it, but because it's new. I also need 32gb of ram (I do daily writing, light browsing individuals)
- "Me Too" Men: Users who read the forums to form an opinion not realizing listening to 320 different opinions won't benefit you, rather leave you conflicted.
- Those who can afford it, but it isn't the laptop they want.
- Those who can't afford it will say it's expensive and talk about the lack of innovation and battery life.
- 50% of those who read these forums searched for all of the cons, and apply individual experiences from these forums to what they've read, searching for problems that may (or may not) exist.
- The other 50% who read these forums read, were informed, and allowed their purchase to be a sole decision after researching more than forums and seeing the MB Pro fits their needs.
Junk. The battery life on my 13 tbMBP is atrocious. It's not appreciably faster than the past few iterations. The USB-C only issue is so far less annoying than I expected but will probably be the case once I do a trip with my d-SLRs. The form factor is nice though. Overall I'm using it as a glorified MacBook. I'll use my fully loaded 2014 15 inch MBP for real work. The price is ridiculous for what you get.
There is no consensus. Some people like it, some people dislike it, some people just use it. The majority of users is absolutely happy with their new MBP, if that is what you want to know.
The 2016 model, appears to be the most divisive Apple laptop in recent years.
People are divided over the battery, ports, keyboard, ginormous track pad, price, quality, touch bar
I think for some, its a nice computer, that fits there needs, but probably the first time in recent memory, many steadfast Apple fans are disappointed and/or disgruntled.
OP, regardless of how we all feel, the most important opinion is yours as you need to justify the cost. If you think the new MBP is worth the price, then get it. If not, find a tool that better fits your needs, budget and expectations.
People are divided over the battery, ports, keyboard, ginormous track pad, price, quality, touch bar
I think for some, its a nice computer, that fits there needs, but probably the first time in recent memory, many steadfast Apple fans are disappointed and/or disgruntled.
OP, regardless of how we all feel, the most important opinion is yours as you need to justify the cost. If you think the new MBP is worth the price, then get it. If not, find a tool that better fits your needs, budget and expectations.
I think my issue is... folks don't embrace change. Folks are saying they went back to older models as if in 2018 Apple's going to say "well lets go back to the old style". So sure there are plenty of people who went out and got 2015 MB Pros, and sure they will last them 3-4 more years (if that), but I think it's safe to say Apple isn't going to go back to the old style that people have grown used to. So it's like "get with it, or be left behind"
I don't know if that's really the case, because many people who have complained about the new MBP are willing to change platforms and that is something more significant then losing a few ports or dealing with a new style keyboard.
My opinion, is that we waited several years for Apple to introduce a major update and folks had raised their expectations for something really extraordinary. Yet Apple introduced a thinner machine with less ports, less battery, some initials benchmarks showed it slower then the prior model and to top it all off, Apple increased the price.
Within that framework of high expectations there's sub-plots of people not liking the keyboard, or upset of the loss of magsafe or SD port slot etc.
So we see the consensus!
My memory extends to every previous release when there were always many disappointed and/or disgruntled "steadfast" Apple fans. Apple gains and loses fans with each release. If you mean there may be more than the usual complaints, that could be, as there are more changes than usual.
That gives a rather misleading impression. Again, even though people keep suggesting the battery life is worse than before, it is in fact demonstrably better for all but the 13" TB, and despite being thinner, there's still room for a larger battery. The ports are far more powerful than before, of course, and there are a dozen improvements over the previous model, at least for the 15". The increase in price, $100 for the base 15" with 512 GB, is small compared to the additional and improved features.
My memory extends to every previous release when there were always many disappointed and/or disgruntled "steadfast" Apple fans. Apple gains and loses fans with each release. If you mean there may be more than the usual complaints, that could be, as there are more changes than usual.
That gives a rather misleading impression. Again, even though people keep suggesting the battery life is worse than before, it is in fact demonstrably better for all but the 13" TB, and despite being thinner, there's still room for a larger battery. The ports are far more powerful than before, of course, and there are a dozen improvements over the previous model, at least for the 15". The increase in price, $100 for the base 15" with 512 GB, is small compared to the additional and improved features.
True, there were people not pleased with just about every new revision, but this is different where the hue and cry is coming from Apple's most steadfast followers, and unlike prior times they seem to be looking to change platforms.
The battery is physically smaller then prior models, and people have complained that its not lasting as long, so my words are not misleading.
No argument that USB-C/TB3 is more powerful, but the fact remains for people who rely on HDMI, or SD ports, the MBP has less built in functionality and that' was my point. It has less ports which require that the user find different solutions to address that short coming.
There's some of that every time. The more blogs and such there are, the more noticeable it becomes. This time it's mostly about changes, other times it's mostly about lack of changes.
Whatever people's (often confused) complaints may be, it's an objective, demonstrable fact that battery life is better for all but the 13" TB. It's therefore misleading to suggest that battery life for the new MBPs is worse than before, unless you specify you're only talking about the 13" TB.
I hardly think the polarization surrounding a first gen re-design of rMBP compares at all to the polarization and impact that the decisions of a previously elected leader of a 'free nation' can have..
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I quite like my nTB 13", wouldn't pay $1500 for it but
'nice screen speakers keyboard I'm used to as an improved version of rMB, and I like its slenderness.
macOS Sierra isn't my favorite, but thats ok. rough start
I think competition is finally becoming. competitive enough to make the Mac luster wear away a bit more than ever, is where the criticism comes from ,
I don't think you are right. Similar outcry was there when retina MBP was introduced and I remember tons of ridicule when Air was first introduced (of course Apple was very smart back then not to outdate the legacy laptops immediately). With retina Macs, in fact, people were threatening (and also were) jumping ship left and right with cries of optical drive and non-upgradeable RAM and whatnot.
The main difference is that now Apple has more users than ever and also the 2016 MBP — as it seems — is their most successful model yet. So of course it generated a lot of controversy and a lot of media coverage by people who love to bash on everything possible, no matter whether its true or not. Like that self-proclaimed Apple hater computer repair person guy (forgot his name) who makes a long video ranting about how the MBP disconnects from WiFi when using USB3.0, while being completely silent of the fact that this is an officially documented issue and a large amount of devices suffer from it (plus, he being a computer repair guy, I can't believe that he didn't know about that — so it likely to be a deliberate black PR).
A Surface Book. He moved on to a Surface Book. Everybody knows that
(Sorry Q-6, I just couldn't save me this poke. I do appreciate out mutual rantings a lot and I weirdly enjoy your presence on this forum!)
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The competition is same as last year, with same drawbacks and advantages. On one hand of the premium-end you have the Dell XPS (cheaper, slightly worse build quality, faster GPU, worse battery), on another hand you have the Surface Book (same or higher price, excellent built quality, 2-1 design, stronger focus on GPUs, slower CPUs, compromises in form factor). It is true what maflynn says though, people were clearly expecting something more — which frankly baffles me to no end, as anyone even remotely familiar with technology can see that Apple and their suppliers have pulled off an incredible technological feat.
but, if you're referring to TouchBar with 'incredible technological feat' I think a lot of people beg to differ, by either not liking it but needing other features (4 ports on 13" or a 15" screen period, for example), not liking it and flexible enough to go to the Windows world with good hardware too, or opting for non touch bar..
It is cool its touchID, has its own processing chip, and an OLED bar in the keyboard thats dynamic in nature, and is a cool engineering feat, but its not really enough to wow people by itself, it needs to be ADDRESSING a problem people have with their daily work flow that this solution actively resolves. It's been deemed somewhat gimmicky by some people. Not all, but a notable amount of distaste. I'm part of that camp, $300 more wouldn't have killed me but I didn't see the value in it nor want it as it stands now (nor want a non-physical ESC edition). There is potential but I dont want to buy on potential alone. I'm doing just fine adjusting brightness manually instead of using a glide gesture.
If anything, touchbar reveals a gap in the Mac. They want to incorporate touch, but keep dismissing touchscreen enabled Macs and say it clutters both segments too much,
What about Nintendo switch? Capturing home console and portable in one. The verdict isn't out yet on how that will pan out, but MS seems to have carved out a nice market of happy customers enjoying Windows world with touchscreen overlay.
Mac is in a weird spot.
..with iPad for example, it was a magnificent engineering feat (even though some dismissed it as just a big iPod touch which I was part of the camp for, and still maintain to a way lesser extent, but the overall package and experience transcends just being a big iPhone, otherwise I wouldn't love it as much as I do). it resolved lugging a laptop around, needing a fan based computer with crap battery life, just to browse and check email. Jobs always said no market surveys because people dont know what they want but Apple does.
Here, I dont know that Apple does know what people want.
Inflated expectations have always been the status quo with Apple's customers too, that's not unique to this iteration of products.
Indeed the impact isn't comparable (and I made no comparison for that), but the polarization is, as can be seen even on this page. Opinions range (with only slight exaggeration now) from Tim Cook is Satan and the new MBP his evil archangel, to Apple is God and the new MBP Her greatest creation.
Some people love it. Others despise it. Like most Apple products, it couldn't be complete unless surrounded in controversy.
I like the overall design, although Apple didn't give me exactly what I was hoping for, but my opinion doesn't really matter given I constitute a pretty small percentage of the billions that Apple makes.
With such variation in opinions, the easiest way to tell, in my personal opinion, is probably taking one for an extended test drive, since only using it in the store for several minutes doesn't give enough time to adjust to the keyboard/trackpad differences (which some go on to like much more, some like much less, and others are just plain apathetic to it.)
I like the overall design, although Apple didn't give me exactly what I was hoping for, but my opinion doesn't really matter given I constitute a pretty small percentage of the billions that Apple makes.
With such variation in opinions, the easiest way to tell, in my personal opinion, is probably taking one for an extended test drive, since only using it in the store for several minutes doesn't give enough time to adjust to the keyboard/trackpad differences (which some go on to like much more, some like much less, and others are just plain apathetic to it.)
No, TouchBar is just an interesting side feature in my book, which has still to prove itself (I mean, its certainly gives the previously useless function bar more utility, but is it worth the added value? I don't know). I was rather referring to the fact that they are able to pack all that hardware into a 15.5mm thick laptop and still get a cool running laptop with excellent performance and battery life.
Feel free to take the following with a grain of salt.
I had a 13" with the touch bar, problem after problem with it. Sleep / wake, crashing, file corruption after crashing (obviously), and issues with the LG 4K UltraFine. I got rid of it as soon as possible.
Fast forward a 5k iMac, 2015 MacBook Pro (15"), and a 2015 MacBook, and I ended up getting a 2016 MacBook Pro 15" (long, long story), and to be honest, it just works.
I am running all of the same software as before, but with no issues at all. I do not have an external display, as I don't need it, but the machine sleeps and wakes fine. And it's solid as a rock.
That being said, my typical use is photoshop, illustrator, and brackets. I don't have any external devices with the exception of my iPhone, so thunderbolt ports don't bother me.
I did purchase an Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter just in case. And the USB-C to Lightning cable in the event that I need to charge my phone on the go.
So yeah, ultimately I have gone from hate it to love it. I'm used to the touch bar now from Mail, Pages, and Coda (I've been playing with this a bit). Affinity Designer and Photo both support it, and rumors are that Transmit 5 will as well. All of the apps that fit into my workflow.
Oh and the keyboard. I. Love. It. Hands down. I hope Apple releases one for the desktop.
Overall, I would recommend (now).
I had a 13" with the touch bar, problem after problem with it. Sleep / wake, crashing, file corruption after crashing (obviously), and issues with the LG 4K UltraFine. I got rid of it as soon as possible.
Fast forward a 5k iMac, 2015 MacBook Pro (15"), and a 2015 MacBook, and I ended up getting a 2016 MacBook Pro 15" (long, long story), and to be honest, it just works.
I am running all of the same software as before, but with no issues at all. I do not have an external display, as I don't need it, but the machine sleeps and wakes fine. And it's solid as a rock.
That being said, my typical use is photoshop, illustrator, and brackets. I don't have any external devices with the exception of my iPhone, so thunderbolt ports don't bother me.
I did purchase an Apple USB-C to USB-A adapter just in case. And the USB-C to Lightning cable in the event that I need to charge my phone on the go.
So yeah, ultimately I have gone from hate it to love it. I'm used to the touch bar now from Mail, Pages, and Coda (I've been playing with this a bit). Affinity Designer and Photo both support it, and rumors are that Transmit 5 will as well. All of the apps that fit into my workflow.
Oh and the keyboard. I. Love. It. Hands down. I hope Apple releases one for the desktop.
Overall, I would recommend (now).