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Apple is replacing my late-2013 MBP, should I get the 2015 or 2016 MBP?

T

theordinary

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 21, 2017
4
4
Hi everyone,

I am currently having a dilemma in choosing between the 2015 and 2016 touchbar macbook pro.

So I have a late 2013, 13" MBP that is being replaced by apple under apple care. The current equivalent of my model is:
  • 13-inch MacBook Pro - Silver
  • 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
  • 8GB 1866MHz memory
  • 256GB PCIe-based SSD
  • Intel Iris Graphics 6100
  • Two Thunderbolt 2 ports
This laptop is worth $1789 CAD.
I was planning on increasing the ram to 16GB and paying $240 CAD + taxes for the difference.

However, I was wondering if it would be worth my money to get the newer touch bar version.
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
  • 16GB 2133MHz memory
  • 256GB PCIe-based SSD
  • Intel Iris Graphics 550
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
This would cost me $750 CAD ($2539-$1789 = 750) plus taxes.

I will be using the laptop for web dev and some design (photoshop, illustrator, sketch) and of course just leisure video watching, browsing, etc. I will not be doing any video editing or anything 'heavy'.

For the 2016 MBP, I will have to buy a USB hub that seems to be around $100 CAD. I would like to purchase apple care regardless of which model I go with. So all in all, it would cost me about $1300 for the 2016 one whereas the 2015 one would be around $600.

Is the 2016 tb-MBP, with the specs listed above, worth the $700 more I would be paying?
Which one would you go with?

Thank you!
 
  • Do you find that you have a preference for one keyboard style versus the other, the larger vs smaller trackpad, or the function keys versus the touchbar?
  • Does the greater capability of USB-C/ThunderBolt3 outweigh the drawbacks of losing the SD card slot, Magsafe, and other ports for your use/preferences?
  • Are the lesser weight, brighter screen, or better speakers on the 2016 features you would benefit from?
  • If the touchbar 13 gets noticeably less battery life than your 2013 did when new, is this going to interfere with your work?
  • Is the 2016 nTB a possibility?
 
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Reactions: theordinary
theordinary said:
Hi everyone,

I am currently having a dilemma in choosing between the 2015 and 2016 touchbar macbook pro.

So I have a late 2013, 13" MBP that is being replaced by apple under apple care. The current equivalent of my model is:
  • 13-inch MacBook Pro - Silver
  • 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
  • 8GB 1866MHz memory
  • 256GB PCIe-based SSD
  • Intel Iris Graphics 6100
  • Two Thunderbolt 2 ports
This laptop is worth $1789 CAD.
I was planning on increasing the ram to 16GB and paying $240 CAD + taxes for the difference.

However, I was wondering if it would be worth my money to get the newer touch bar version.
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
  • 16GB 2133MHz memory
  • 256GB PCIe-based SSD
  • Intel Iris Graphics 550
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
This would cost me $750 CAD ($2539-$1789 = 750) plus taxes.

I will be using the laptop for web dev and some design (photoshop, illustrator, sketch) and of course just leisure video watching, browsing, etc. I will not be doing any video editing or anything 'heavy'.

For the 2016 MBP, I will have to buy a USB hub that seems to be around $100 CAD. I would like to purchase apple care regardless of which model I go with. So all in all, it would cost me about $1300 for the 2016 one whereas the 2015 one would be around $600.

Is the 2016 tb-MBP, with the specs listed above, worth the $700 more I would be paying?
Which one would you go with?

Thank you!
Click to expand...

I'd personally go with the 2015. But I'm just not ready to give up ports
 
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ZapNZs said:
  • Do you find that you have a preference for one keyboard style versus the other, the larger vs smaller trackpad, or the function keys versus the touchbar?
  • Does the greater capability of USB-C/ThunderBolt3 outweigh the drawbacks of losing the SD card slot, Magsafe, and other ports for your use/preferences?
  • Are the lesser weight, brighter screen, or better speakers on the 2016 features you would benefit from?
  • If the touchbar 13 gets noticeably less battery life than your 2013 did when new, is this going to interfere with your work?
  • Is the 2016 nTB a possibility?
Click to expand...

Thank you for listing these questions, really helped me rethink my needs vs wants
For some reason, the nTB model is not an option offered to me.
  • I barely had the time to interact with the new keyboard so I'm not sure what my preferences are.
  • I rarely use the trackpad since I have clammy hands/fingers so I opt for a mouse instead.
  • I've been reading a lot of posts where the touch bar, while a nice feature, is not something that's needed.
  • I use the hdmi and usb ports constantly so having to spend another $100 on top of the $750 and $279 on apple care, makes me sad
  • The weight, screen, speakers... all are nice-to-haves but I'll be fine without them
  • Battery life is important to and I'm usually out with my laptop most of the day, but I always carry my charger with me

^ I think these all point to the 2015 with the ram upgrade.
 
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Reactions: jerryk and iNarcoleptic
theordinary said:
Hi everyone,

I am currently having a dilemma in choosing between the 2015 and 2016 touchbar macbook pro.

So I have a late 2013, 13" MBP that is being replaced by apple under apple care. The current equivalent of my model is:
  • 13-inch MacBook Pro - Silver
  • 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
  • 8GB 1866MHz memory
  • 256GB PCIe-based SSD
  • Intel Iris Graphics 6100
  • Two Thunderbolt 2 ports
This laptop is worth $1789 CAD.
I was planning on increasing the ram to 16GB and paying $240 CAD + taxes for the difference.

However, I was wondering if it would be worth my money to get the newer touch bar version.
  • Touch Bar and Touch ID
  • 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
  • 16GB 2133MHz memory
  • 256GB PCIe-based SSD
  • Intel Iris Graphics 550
  • Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
This would cost me $750 CAD ($2539-$1789 = 750) plus taxes.

I will be using the laptop for web dev and some design (photoshop, illustrator, sketch) and of course just leisure video watching, browsing, etc. I will not be doing any video editing or anything 'heavy'.

For the 2016 MBP, I will have to buy a USB hub that seems to be around $100 CAD. I would like to purchase apple care regardless of which model I go with. So all in all, it would cost me about $1300 for the 2016 one whereas the 2015 one would be around $600.

Is the 2016 tb-MBP, with the specs listed above, worth the $700 more I would be paying?
Which one would you go with?

Thank you!
Click to expand...
Not to state the obvious, but the price difference is something only you can decide. If it means feeding your kids or not, go with the cheaper one. Aside from that, @ZapNZs has a good breakdown of differences between the two years. The noticeable performance won't be very different, so the specs listed aren't that useful for deciding. The SSD is significantly faster though, but that may or may not come into play in your use. But there are a lot of interface differences that boil down to personal preference, ports, keyboard, trackpad, touchbar. I err on the side of the latest model unless there is a dealbreaker that rules it out.
 
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thesaint024 said:
Not to state the obvious, but the price difference is something only you can decide. If it means feeding your kids or not, go with the cheaper one. Aside from that, @ZapNZs has a good breakdown of differences between the two years. The noticeable performance won't be very different, so the specs listed aren't that useful for deciding. The SSD is significantly faster though, but that may or may not come into play in your use. But there are a lot of interface differences that boil down to personal preference, ports, keyboard, trackpad, touchbar. I err on the side of the latest model unless there is a dealbreaker that rules it out.
Click to expand...

I think for my uses, the 2015 will serve me fine. I do have the money to spend on the 2016 version without breaking my back but I don't want it to be "wasted". I couldn't decide if the extra 700 bucks would be a reasonable price to pay for the differences the new one would have in comparison to the old one.

I think I'll stick to the 2015 for now, it will do what I need it to do and I'll save money. Thank you for your input!
 
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Reactions: iNarcoleptic and thesaint024
I was pretty much in the same position as you but decided to go for the latest instead of getting a model that is pretty much 3-4 years old, and supposed to last you 3-5 years more. Think about it as that you'll never get an opportunity to pay $700 for the new model ever!
 
Went for the newer model.

No point in such an old model when apple love to remove features from older models.

And why are people saying $700 more for a touchbar? It's more than that
 
theordinary said:
Thank you for listing these questions, really helped me rethink my needs vs wants
For some reason, the nTB model is not an option offered to me.
  • I barely had the time to interact with the new keyboard so I'm not sure what my preferences are.
  • I rarely use the trackpad since I have clammy hands/fingers so I opt for a mouse instead.
  • I've been reading a lot of posts where the touch bar, while a nice feature, is not something that's needed.
  • I use the hdmi and usb ports constantly so having to spend another $100 on top of the $750 and $279 on apple care, makes me sad
  • The weight, screen, speakers... all are nice-to-haves but I'll be fine without them
  • Battery life is important to and I'm usually out with my laptop most of the day, but I always carry my charger with me

^ I think these all point to the 2015 with the ram upgrade.
Click to expand...

I think the 2015 is the better computer for your needs, both financially and functionally.

The price difference between it and the 2016 means you can get the 16GB of RAM and the AppleCare, and would have enough money left over to cover a hefty chunk of the Transcend JetDrive Lite 256GB internal storage expansion card, or a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 dock (the TB2 models like the 2015 CAN operate TB3 docks with the TB3-->TB2 adapter [as it is bidirectional], meaning you can get USB-C on this computer if you want.)
[doublepost=1490208025][/doublepost]
monkeydax said:
I was pretty much in the same position as you but decided to go for the latest instead of getting a model that is pretty much 3-4 years old, and supposed to last you 3-5 years more. Think about it as that you'll never get an opportunity to pay $700 for the new model ever!
Click to expand...

If the 2015 is 3-4 years old, is the 2016 2-3 years old? :D
 
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ZapNZs said:
I think the 2015 is the better computer for your needs, both financially and functionally.

The price difference between it and the 2016 means you can get the 16GB of RAM and the AppleCare, and would have enough money left over to cover a hefty chunk of the Transcend JetDrive Lite 256GB internal storage expansion card, or a Thunderbolt 2 or Thunderbolt 3 dock (the TB2 models like the 2015 CAN operate TB3 docks with the TB3-->TB2 adapter [as it is bidirectional], meaning you can get USB-C on this computer if you want.)
[doublepost=1490208025][/doublepost]

If the 2015 is 3-4 years old, is the 2016 2-3 years old? :D
Click to expand...
Haha well I did mean the design, and CPU architecture, but yeah
 
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