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Deciding between 2015 vs 2016 MBP

ourcore

ourcore

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 4, 2012
132
2
I'm looking for advice on which MBP to buy. Currently, I'm leaning towards the 2015 15" silver model mostly due to the diverse array of I/O with 16 GB or RAM and at least 500 GB of storage. I'm a web developer and I'd also be doing some video editing, but I'm not too sure which CPU I should go for.

I'd also like to have a smaller SSD and large HDD for storage like with my current 2011 MBP–is this possible with the 2015 model? Doesn't seem to be and I really don't need a huge SSD. My main concern is buying hardware that's possibly already inferior.

Thanks!
 
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I'd go for the 2015. I've now had two of the 15" 2016s, and they don't offer the value necessary to support their inflated prices. The keyboard and trackpad of the 2016s are huge negatives for me - the keyboard is awful and the trackpad erratic. And the lack of an SD slot, Magsafe, and any USB-A ports are also major negatives in my usage (and view).

And no, you cannot have an SSD and a platter hard drive in any of the retina models, as there is no optical drive to remove, as in your 2011.

Buy the 2015 and invest the money you saved. You'll come out ahead.
 
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You can buy the 256gb ssd model and add another 256 gb via SD card.

I'd get the 2015.

CPU performance is negligible. Not as much difference as compared to Dual cores vs Quad Cores.
I/O is important to me without using any dongles. What if you forget to carry one around?

The hardware isn't inferior, that's the marketing playing tricks with you.
 
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dilutedq said:
The ports are better in every way possible.

The trackpad and keyboard are technically superior in every way.
Click to expand...

For you perhaps but not for others... Because you like the KB everyone else must??? LOL

The KB will be a person by person decision as will the larger trackpad... The ports? Where O where do I even start? I don't mind USB C and dongle life but some will.... Meh, why bother....
 
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dilutedq said:
The ports are better in every way possible.

The trackpad and keyboard are technically superior in every way.
Click to expand...

"Better" is simply a value judgment, and it is the height of hubris to suggest your judgments are in any form more correct than others. Hand someone a brand new iPhone 7 in the box and a 2016 Macbook Pro in the box and ask them to connect them using only the cables in the respective boxes. Just don't hold your breath.

The trackpad is technically inferior to the one in either the 2014 or 2015, because it cannot reliably reject extraneous input - as many users have noted. And many have commented on how awful the keyboard is - I agree with them. As I noted in another thread, the best keyboard I think Apple has ever put in a laptop was the keyboard in the last generation Powerbook and first generation Macbook Pro. The tool should adapt to the person, not the other way around.
 
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I forgot to mention that the 2016 model has the worst keyboard I've ever used and worse battery life.
 
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I have the 2016 15" model and whilst I don't have any battery problems, and like the new keyboard and speakers, it's almost certainly not worth what I paid for it (£2500+ with education discount). Also, I did have some graphical issues which I don't find acceptable for a machine that costs this much.

Instead, I'm returning it and getting the refurbished 2015 model for £1499 (2.5, AMD R9). That's a whole grand cheaper. I'll most definitely purchase whatever comes out in 2018, though, as I'm sure it'll be refined and USB-C stuff more prevalent.
 
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raqball said:
Replied within the quoted message..
Click to expand...
Not sure how you got nope and debatable. USB-C ports are more compact than USB-A which allow for a slimmer overall device, and can be adapted to suit any purpose from power transfer to data transfer. Rather than having one each of a port that can only perform one function, you have four ports that can do anything you need them to.

I've also been able to reach higher typing speeds on the butterfly keyboard because less force is required to actuate the keys and there is less key travel before they bottom out.

The trackpad is still the best in the industry; it's smooth and responsive, and its size makes multitouch gestures easy to perform regardless of where you rest your hands.
 
ourcore said:
My main concern is buying hardware that's possibly already inferior.
Click to expand...

Well, this also depends on your budget, like another poster mentioned.

To be sure, with the 2015 model you will be buying hardware that's 2-4 years old (the SSD is more recent than the CPU/chipset, hence the range). If budget is a concern, then I would only get the 2015 model if you can get a really good deal like a refurbished notebook.

If budget is not your first concern, then simply get the latest and buy a couple of adapters, a hub etc.
 
Given your needs and usage pattern, I`d say stay with 2015.
It`ll be cheaper, more IO ports, and almost no added benefits for you (again, assuming you`re doing webdev stuff, light videoediting and generic stuff).

Let those 2016 hipsters found all flaws of new models, Apple - to fix them and lower the price, add 32Gb and new CPU.
 
Go for 2015, if you want the 2016 model I suggest to wait 1-2 years and if you ask why just read the forum...
 
how do you add more storage on the 2015 model? didn't think you could

I only have 2.2 GB left on mine.
 
The Game 161 said:
how do you add more storage on the 2015 model? didn't think you could

I only have 2.2 GB left on mine.
Click to expand...

Transcend has two products for that. One is to replace the internal SSD, the other is to put an SD card in your MacBook which is small enough to sit flush with the chassis:
https://www.transcend-info.com/apple/

OWC has internal SSD replacements too:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc

And finally, there's the Tardisk Pear, which also puts an SD card in your MacBook but then makes it into one volume with your internal SSD:
https://www.tardisk.com/
 
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cerberusss said:
Transcend has two products for that. One is to replace the internal SSD, the other is to put an SD card in your MacBook which is small enough to sit flush with the chassis:
https://www.transcend-info.com/apple/

OWC has internal SSD replacements too:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ssd/owc

And finally, there's the Tardisk Pear, which also puts an SD card in your MacBook but then makes it into one volume with your internal SSD:
https://www.tardisk.com/
Click to expand...
thanks for that, I'm pretty happy with my MacBook pro but storage has become an issue due to basically no storage left.
 
The Game 161 said:
thanks for that, I'm pretty happy with my MacBook pro but storage has become an issue due to basically no storage left.
Click to expand...

To be honest, all of them are either expensive or a bit of a hack. If you want a no-hassle solution, simply buy a new laptop and sell the old one. You can often get an excellent price for your old equipment.
 
The only benefit of the 2015 model is that it's cheaper. And also possibly a bit more convenient if you need to use other people's USB keys a lot. That said, if you don't feel like dishing out the premium for the 2016 model, the 2015 is more then adequate and will serve you for years to come.
 
My GF has my old 2015 MBP and I had it side by side with my 2016 TBMBP recently. I could not believe how antiquated the 2015 felt in comparison - the keys felt spongey and too small, the trackpad seemed prohibitively small, the screen looked dull, the heft of the screen and chassis were honestly shocking and the screen bezel seemed comically large. As for performance, the 2016 felt snappier in every regard (WP, browsing, app launches and file transfers), with a quieter fan and cooler running temperature.

Whichever way one wants to spin the pros and cons of the 2016 TBMBP, the 2015 is now a very dated machine and it is surely a sad state of affairs to invest in an old piece of tech that is still a relatively expensive investment just because the 2016 TBMBP doesn't quite do it for you. I would rather jump ship and buy a Surfacebook or Dell XPS myself although I am still stumped as to why anyone would think these machines are better than the 2016 MBP.
 
Go with the 2015. The touch bar is IMO nothing more than a gimmick and while the screen is better, the internals are not as big an improvement over the 2015 model as you may hope.
The maxed out versions of the 2015 and 2016 MacBook Pros perform fairly similarly in benchmarks and performance tests, but the 2015 models are way cheaper.
Better bang for your buck + no added cost for the dongles. Plus, battery life is better overall.
 
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maflynn said:
I'd also include that that battery is better, along with the keyboard. Plus the 2015 model has HDMI, SD slots and the magsafe connector (which are important to me)
Click to expand...

True about HDMI and SD card, I should have added that. The keyboard is a subjective preference, and there are still a lot of unclear things about the battery life. The controller tests I've seen show that the 2016 model performs better (I'm only talking about the 15" here). The user reports fluctuate widely. So yeah, there seems to be some software kinks that still need to be worked out, but when is it not the case?
 
leman said:
but when is it not the case?
Click to expand...
To be sure, Apple needs to fix the software bugs, but by the same token, the battery is smaller. I do wonder how it will perform under load (once the bugs have been resolved).
 
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