Anybody Go from 15" to 13"? (iPhone 7 Sold Me on the New MBP...)

[MICHAELSD]

I've been mulling over the idea of dropping down to a 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar after owning a 15" model for upwards of eight years.

Price isn't the main factor as I've gladly purchased the 15" MBP that met my spec both times, but with the reduced size and weight of the new MacBook Pro the 13" just feels oh so portable. Ironically I haven't ever transported my MacBook Pro, opting for using my iPhone on-the-go as it is very capable, but I feel like if I'm not going to jump over to a desktop like an iMac then I should go all-in on portability even if it's just for comfort around the house.

Either way I'm looking into building a 4K monitor setup for it if I don't go for a new iMac instead. Side question: Is anyone here using the MacBook Pro as their keyboard/touch bar/touchpad and using a monitor as the primary display? I don't see that type of setup too often, but I feel like the MacBook Pro already has the best of all three worlds so there's no reason to purchase inferior external peripherals.

My main concern is performance, as the non-Touch Bar 13" MBP didn't feel perfectly smooth to me and though the Touch Bar model is better-specced the GeekBench score is ~ 2000 points lower than my 2012 15" rMBP. After four years, performance-wise it could feel like a downgrade depending on how it feels in actual usage perhaps due to smaller improvements like faster flash memory.

Going back to the title, as I suspected it would the iPhone 7 Plus' significantly better, more vivid display is readjusting my expectations to viewing the 15" rMBP's Retina Display as more dull and less satisfying. Considering I already use my iPhone for 98-99% of my computing tasks I'd like something that reinvigorates my passion for the Mac. The iPhone having a much more enjoyable display will only discourage my use of a laptop further.

Evidently the iPhone, as it always has been, is still the best marketing tool for the Mac.

 

[darkloki]

I never went to 13" because of the lack of a dedicated card. But seeing as how they're pretty much the same keyboard I suppose now would be the best time to switch if..... you didn't require a dedicated card. I personally told myself years ago that I wouldn't never go below 14 inches on any laptop, and I felt that 15" has always been the right size and weight for me to carry. I literally use my laptop everyday and it doesn't bother me spending the additional cash to get the 15"

 

[MICHAELSD]

I never went to 13" because of the lack of a dedicated card. But seeing as how they're pretty much the same keyboard I suppose now would be the best time to switch if..... you didn't require a dedicated card. I personally told myself years ago that I wouldn't never go below 14 inches on any laptop, and I felt that 15" has always been the right size and weight for me to carry. I literally use my laptop everyday and it doesn't bother me spending the additional cash to get the 15"

The dedicated GPU was one of my main justifications for getting a 15" last time, but with the integrated graphics improvements that occurred over the past few years as long as the UI and video editing feel smooth I'd be happy. I've given up on using a MBP for gaming so that's not a factor either, just video/photo editing apps which leverage Apple's Mac OS graphics technologies.

I use my 15" MBP a lot less than I did eight years ago which makes the price harder to swallow. At least with the 13" size maybe I'll be more persuaded to carry it around.

There are also now external GPU docks that will smoke the 15" MBP's dGPU.

 

[Itsedstech]

Went from the top stock configuration 15 tbPro down to a completely maxed out BTO 13 inch tbPro, took me 2 days to get used to the size, but I love it! (went back and forth 4 times between the sizes.) the 13 inch maxed out being more expensive then the 15 inch top stock spec lmao

 

[darkloki]

Knowing myself, I'd go to a Razer Blade 14" before I went to a macbook pro 13"

 

[MICHAELSD]

Knowing myself, I'd go to a Razer Blade 14" before I went to a macbook pro 13"

It's a very nice piece of kit but I just don't like Windows. All the apps I use are Mac-only or better on Mac IMO.
[doublepost=1483425027][/doublepost]

Went from the top stock configuration 15 tbPro down to a completely maxed out BTO 13 inch tbPro, took me 2 days to get used to the size, but I love it! (went back and forth 4 times between the sizes.)

How's the performance difference in real-world use? I re-checked the base 13" tbPro actually scores about 3000 points lower than the base 2012 15" rMBP.
[doublepost=1483426099][/doublepost]In fact, after watching some videos on YouTube I realized how much I'd enjoy a 12" MacBook because I absolutely love the extreme portability/lightness that the Air pioneered -- if the low-powered hardware catches up.

A 12" MacBook or an Air with Pro-level performance, however many years off that is, I would buy in a heartbeat.