Do I want to get the Macbook 12" instead of my MBPr 13"?

[solo118]

Hi All,

I currently own a late 2013 MBPr 13", which I think is a bit overkill and not to mention I think I want something a bit lighter/smaller for my travels. I was thinking to replace it with the 2016 Macbook 12" base 1.1 m3 in SG.

I am not a heavy user, I use my laptop to stream videos, do emails, imessage, internet browsing and a little bit of photoshop.Very rarely do I use high usage programs, although I have seen my current MBPr tend to bog down a bit some times if I have several Safari tabs open, doing downloads at the same time etc. I think the most intense app i use is Teamviewer to log into my work computer once in a while.

My general question is, would this be a downgrade in any way shape or from what I currently have? I know I do not have the latest/fastest laptop, but I do really like everything but it's size. I am hoping that this new Macbook 12" matches the performance of my current MBPr, just in a smaller package.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

[sziehr]

This will not work for you if your bogging down a 13 pro the base m3 is even slower. That bog will just be worse. The m5 and M7 will however slide straight across.

This is an ultrabook not a regular laptop or a desktop replacement.

I know old terms and terms apple would love for you to forget.

However the power in the macbook is Ultrabook+

 

[solo118]

Thanks. I will check out the M5, if that doesnt work I will keep what I have

 

[monty77]

I went from Late 2013 rMBP to m5 Macbook just recently. No regrets!

 

[asfalloth]

I went from a late 2012 i7, 15", 16gb, 750Gb MBP to this 2016 8gb 512gb ssd 2016 MB, love it no regrets (apart from a mate got the space grey one, which I like more )

Runs windows 10 pro in parallels and all my Xcode needs and RDP/teamviewer sessions perfectly well.

Super light, awesome keyboard (its the future people ) and amazing battery.

hope this helps.

Joe.

 

[redman042]

I'm considering purchase of my first Mac and am in a similar boat. I was planning on a 2016 model MBP (once they are actually released) or a used 2015 model to save some dough, but I'm taking a second look at the m5 MB now. It's such a nice design, and their most modern machine. Granted the CPU horsepower is less, but our computer usage at home has radically changed over the last few years and maybe it's a good fit for us after all.

This would replace a Core2Quad Windows machine that's long overdue for replacement. Most usage would be browsing, MS Office, photo viewing and organizing, occasional photo and video editing. I want to upload our entire photo/video collection to our iCloud account and manage it from the MacBook and our iPads/iPhones. I actually do most of my photo and video editing on my iPad Pro now, which performs perfectly.

We're not planning to run games on it, or really anything 3D except perhaps Google Earth (rarely). I do want snappy performance for photo browsing and editing, web browsing, and multitasking. Will a MB give me that?

For comparison, my work machine is a Surface Pro 4 i5. I know the m5 is not at the same level, but hoping it is close to that for the basic usage scenarios I described.

 

[mtneer]

You mentioned travel and photography. Keep in mind the 13" rMBP comes with an inbuilt SD card reader to import photos. You'll need a dongle with the rMB. You lose it on the road in some place without an Apple store, you are SoL downloading anything to your computer.

 

[infinitejest]

What really bugged me about the size of the MacBook - when I was playing around with it at an Apple Store - was, that you can't fully lay down your hands on the surface while typing, because the MacBook is just too small. I found that really uncomfortable for typing for an extended period of time - my hands were constantly laying down on the edges.
I didn't notice this until the third time or so I was playing around with it, but then it really annoyed me every single word I was typing.
Maybe it's just me. But keep that in mind when you're visiting an Apple Store next time, maybe it's not uncomfortable for you at all.
However, I think there are a couple more downgrades than just the screen size, when you switching to a smaller device.

 

[cursedearth]

What really bugged me about the size of the MacBook - when I was playing around with it at an Apple Store - was, that you can't fully lay down your hands on the surface while typing, because the MacBook is just too small. I found that really uncomfortable for typing for an extended period of time - my hands were constantly laying down on the edges.
I didn't notice this until the third time or so I was playing around with it, but then it really annoyed me every single word I was typing.
Maybe it's just me. But keep that in mind when you're visiting an Apple Store next time, maybe it's not uncomfortable for you at all.
However, I think there are a couple more downgrades than just the screen size, when you switching to a smaller device.

I've had my rMB for about 4 months now and I'm accustomed to its size, but when I see it in the Apple Store as I did a couple days ago, it looked like a prepubescent child.