My16” arrived earlier today. I find it a bit heavy. I miss the Touch Bar.
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First Impressions From New MacBook Pro Owners: Benchmarks, Weight, ProMotion
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Honestly that’s one of the most positive things to hear for me. The 2012 was a fantastic machine (not just cos I upgraded the crap out of it) and the 2015 I have currently is a pleasure to use, so having that retro feel 2012 body and the added connectivity of the 2015 alone post the 2016 macs is a major step in the right direction
Just unwrapped my 16" M1 Max, 64GB, 1TB. Immediate first impressions:
- For a second, the screen seemed brighter than my Pro Display XDR. After a lot of back-and-forth, I think they are nearly identical but the the Pro Display shows more off-axis dimming just because it's bigger. Absolute black levels are slightly darker on the MacBook. Now I'm wondering if there is going to be a ProMotion ProDisplay XDR.
- It is hefty, but I like the density/weight ratio/perception more than the outgoing MBP. I always through the old ones felt really dense compared to their thin sides. The softer edges and more balanced weight make this feel more like a "normal" laptop. The weight isn't a problem for me, personally, as I want more of a mobile workstation.
- Those panel response time videos are either defective panels or (more likely) camera video sync tricks to make it look worse than it is. I tried to reproduce those between both the MacBook display and the ProDisplay and there is no difference -- and they certainly look nothing like the videos. I can absolutely tell the jump to ProMotion between them. Safari scrolling does not seem to benefit though.
- I'm going to echo some others here than the sound upgrade is whatever. I've always thought the MBP audio was perfectly good for the form factor, and this is more-or-less the same. But they had hyped this one really hard in the release. Not much to see here folks.
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I know, right? It blows my mind that since 2016, people have been complaining about the lack of mag safe, ports, thinner bezels, better cooling, and a decent webcam and then when Apple finally ticks all the boxes for a change, it’s not good enough because it’s not 1.5 pounds and 5 mm thin, HDMI isn’t the right spec, there’s no USB-A port.
I finally feel like I have a MacBook Pro that will actually last me another 5-7 years. From 2017 until now, I’ve been bouncing around because this last generation was just bad.
The bright side is the battery will last and you can browse net at Starbuck all day long ?
I picked up a 16" M1 Max today, coming from a 2017 15" MBP that is falling apart (lines on screen, bad speakers, keys getting unresponsive, etc.). I haven't read anyone else's comments, so here are my initial impressions after the most basic of setup & use:
1. Regarding weight:
-----------------------
The 2021 feels 3/4 pounds heavier than the 2017. I checked the specs, and indeed my intuition was 100% accurate. So a slight inconvenience for the '21.
2. Regarding shape / design:
--------------------------------
The '21 looks flat, modern & clean, whereas the '17 has a curved taper to the edges, and is modern & clean.
Here's the thing: WHEN I USE THE LAPTOP, WHICH IS WHY I BOUGHT IT, I DON'T LOOK AT THE LAPTOP'S SHAPE, I look at the screen, and sometimes the keyboard / trackpad. In this view, the '21 MBP just simply looks bigger (!) and certainly brighter (!!) than the '17.
Regarding body color: Silver looks nicer when looking at the MBP's body. However, Space Grey "disappears" more when looking at the screen. I just want the laptop's body to be "invisible" when I'm using it, so I went with SG.
3. Regarding the keyboard:
-------------------------------
Typing on the '21 MBP is much better than the '17, it feels so great. I know Apple updated the keyboard in '18, but I can only compare what I have. I don't miss the Touch Bar (which _used_ to be wretched, causing odd things to happen while I was typing....).
4. Regarding the screen:
---------------------------
BIG! BRIGHT!
I went to go view some of my purchased 4K HDR iTunes movies.... apparently they still play at 1080P SDR. Well, crud - how do we petition Apple about that?!?
So I gave up on iTunes and went to YouTube, searching for 4K HDR content: WOW! The details are so sharp, the highlights are so bright, and the screen is so black in the black areas.
Is there "blooming"? I made a point to look for it in some of the LG OLED demos on YouTube, as LG wants to stress the advantage self-emissive OLED has over segmented LED backlit LCD screens. When I focused on it closely, I *think* I saw very slight bleeding.
Really it just comes across as bright objects "radiating" out just a *very small* amount. I wondered if it was just my eye reacting with a tiny amount of glare to the super-bright object I was focusing on, and not the screen itself.
If this is what "bleeding" is, it isn't a noticeable or unpleasant effect - AT LEAST WHERE MOVIES are concerned. I watched a bunch of YouTube 4K HDR clips from "Interstellar" since that has star fields against the blackness of space, and I didn't notice anything negative - blooming or otherwise - in those scenes.
Since one of my uses is photography, I AM concerned about "blooming" - of any degree - with photo editing software. I assume *all* LED backlight segments are turned on for that, to keep the backlight constant?
Regarding "Pro-Motion": I don't notice anything negative typing here in Safari. YouTube 60FPS movies looked awesome. Is there something I should be looking for? I haven't installed text-focused BBEdit or Xcode yet.
What about the notch? I didn't notice *anything* after the first 15 seconds - literally, not BS-ing anyone - and that shows just how inconsequential that supposed issue is. When I do work and look at the screen, I look at the working area of it. When I enjoy content, the top and bottom are blacked out.
5. Regarding the sound:
------------------------
Music sounds great - definitely more bass than my '17 MBP. On the other hand, my '17 has broken speakers, so it isn't a fair fight.
6. Concerns
--------------
- Pricey. I keep my laptops for 5 years, but this pushes my limits.
- I HOPE reliability on the '21 MBP is better than my falling-apart '17!
- I need to get this on some kind of theft insurance ASAP. (Impact of price.)
- Professional Engineering tools: I HOPE that electronic design tool vendors support LINUX-ARM and ARM VMs / containers in the next few years. (There are some open source tools, I'll be pitching in to port them to ARM if needed.)
Summary after 2 hours:
-----------------
The 2021 16" MBP is awesome, beats my expectations, has quelled my concerns for now...
(...provided I don't look at my credit card account!)
Upcoming:
-------------
- Engineering Networking Tools install;
- Developement tools install;
- Getting Docker / VM tools installed;
- Doing some SPICE runs for benchmarking & fun;
- Looking at all x86 emulation options.
1. Regarding weight:
-----------------------
The 2021 feels 3/4 pounds heavier than the 2017. I checked the specs, and indeed my intuition was 100% accurate. So a slight inconvenience for the '21.
2. Regarding shape / design:
--------------------------------
The '21 looks flat, modern & clean, whereas the '17 has a curved taper to the edges, and is modern & clean.
Here's the thing: WHEN I USE THE LAPTOP, WHICH IS WHY I BOUGHT IT, I DON'T LOOK AT THE LAPTOP'S SHAPE, I look at the screen, and sometimes the keyboard / trackpad. In this view, the '21 MBP just simply looks bigger (!) and certainly brighter (!!) than the '17.
Regarding body color: Silver looks nicer when looking at the MBP's body. However, Space Grey "disappears" more when looking at the screen. I just want the laptop's body to be "invisible" when I'm using it, so I went with SG.
3. Regarding the keyboard:
-------------------------------
Typing on the '21 MBP is much better than the '17, it feels so great. I know Apple updated the keyboard in '18, but I can only compare what I have. I don't miss the Touch Bar (which _used_ to be wretched, causing odd things to happen while I was typing....).
4. Regarding the screen:
---------------------------
BIG! BRIGHT!
I went to go view some of my purchased 4K HDR iTunes movies.... apparently they still play at 1080P SDR. Well, crud - how do we petition Apple about that?!?
So I gave up on iTunes and went to YouTube, searching for 4K HDR content: WOW! The details are so sharp, the highlights are so bright, and the screen is so black in the black areas.
Is there "blooming"? I made a point to look for it in some of the LG OLED demos on YouTube, as LG wants to stress the advantage self-emissive OLED has over segmented LED backlit LCD screens. When I focused on it closely, I *think* I saw very slight bleeding.
Really it just comes across as bright objects "radiating" out just a *very small* amount. I wondered if it was just my eye reacting with a tiny amount of glare to the super-bright object I was focusing on, and not the screen itself.
If this is what "bleeding" is, it isn't a noticeable or unpleasant effect - AT LEAST WHERE MOVIES are concerned. I watched a bunch of YouTube 4K HDR clips from "Interstellar" since that has star fields against the blackness of space, and I didn't notice anything negative - blooming or otherwise - in those scenes.
Since one of my uses is photography, I AM concerned about "blooming" - of any degree - with photo editing software. I assume *all* LED backlight segments are turned on for that, to keep the backlight constant?
Regarding "Pro-Motion": I don't notice anything negative typing here in Safari. YouTube 60FPS movies looked awesome. Is there something I should be looking for? I haven't installed text-focused BBEdit or Xcode yet.
What about the notch? I didn't notice *anything* after the first 15 seconds - literally, not BS-ing anyone - and that shows just how inconsequential that supposed issue is. When I do work and look at the screen, I look at the working area of it. When I enjoy content, the top and bottom are blacked out.
5. Regarding the sound:
------------------------
Music sounds great - definitely more bass than my '17 MBP. On the other hand, my '17 has broken speakers, so it isn't a fair fight.
6. Concerns
--------------
- Pricey. I keep my laptops for 5 years, but this pushes my limits.
- I HOPE reliability on the '21 MBP is better than my falling-apart '17!
- I need to get this on some kind of theft insurance ASAP. (Impact of price.)
- Professional Engineering tools: I HOPE that electronic design tool vendors support LINUX-ARM and ARM VMs / containers in the next few years. (There are some open source tools, I'll be pitching in to port them to ARM if needed.)
Summary after 2 hours:
-----------------
The 2021 16" MBP is awesome, beats my expectations, has quelled my concerns for now...
(...provided I don't look at my credit card account!)
Upcoming:
-------------
- Engineering Networking Tools install;
- Developement tools install;
- Getting Docker / VM tools installed;
- Doing some SPICE runs for benchmarking & fun;
- Looking at all x86 emulation options.
On my '21 16" M1 Max that I picked up today, I just set my terminal to "white on black" and tried to duplicate what you're showing here (in "slo-mo").
I see none of this effect whatsoever - it just looks like I'm dragging a window as per normal. I even changed the window opacity to 100% - no ghosting/trailing whatsoever.
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I’m sure he’s doing fine at his new organization. And who’s to say he would have opposed the current design? It looks like the Titanium PowerBooks that he also designed.
I had a 16" Max BTO 64GB RAM order too, also set for middle of November.
I was able to pick one up today with the same exact config, at a local Apple retail store.
(This is in the Silicon Valley, perhaps other areas are not as well stocked.)
The stores in Chicago had the base 14” and 16” models plus the $2499 14” model available for in-store pickup, but that was about it.
SSD speeds will often vary depending on the capacity, so the upper limit might be on a higher spec model.
I received my new Macbook Pro 16 today and what a beast it is. To me it feels like it will last – not typical 5-7 years – but as long as 15-20 years! This is a true forever laptop! I just wish Apple came up with 20y Apple Care!
Anybody else on 20 year boat?
#ForeverLaptop #20yAppleCare #Hype
Anybody else on 20 year boat?
#ForeverLaptop #20yAppleCare #Hype
I hope it would have a keyboard combination that would allow quickly adjusting it by using F1 / F2 (Screen brightness) keys. For example FN+Control+F1 or something like that. Haven't received mine yet though, so no idea how it actually works.
You can use the Control Panel in the menu bar to adjust the keyboard brightness. I believe you can program that into the Fn keys as well.
I have a 16 M1 Max 32 core. I noticed while testing HDR in YouTube, after a while there it had a mildly warm center on the bottom. Very minor. Also, the machine was likely downloading my entire photos library in the background and other initial setup processes, and maybe downloading a few Adobe apps.
At one point while I was testing 4K video against the Asus Zephyrus M16 screen, which has a 16:10 screen with about 500 nits. The M16 just quickly gets so darn hot without even trying to push it, uncomfortable to touch and hold the area above the keyboard, heat radiating out the sides vents, and a rear rubber triangle bar foot, which is nearly the full width of the laptop, sticks out 1/4 inch tapered to a point, cuts into your legs. Meant to lift it for airflow, but putting it on your lap or in bed would block vents
At one point I had to step away for 10 minutes while testing videos between the two, so I set both laptops on a couch. I left the M16 plugged in, which was at 75% battery. When I can back, both had their screens off and should have been doing nothing. When I picked up the M16 to sit down and I was struck at how hot it was when it should of been resting. When I sat down, I was then met with a very hot seat where it had been resting. I couldn’t even rest my hand left of the track pad. While the Mac, still just slightly warm.
Regarding the screen, it seems like the M16 (matte finish) and MBP have similar brightness (SDR). The MBP had more depth, while the M16 seemed flat in comparison. Some how, even in bright scenes, the MBP had more contrast in darker spots and shadows. The bars at the top and bottom appeared pure black, where the M16 at full brightness glowed. The m16’s matte finish could be hurting contrast, but the LCD glow and bleeding does not help it. The MBP visually looked more like my 65 LG OLED C6, when it came to blacks. Darks scenes just left the M16 in the dust and revealed it’s common backlight bleed and other IPS glow issues.
Probably not enough bus... besides, you can get 4K/120Hz with a USB to HDMI adapter from Cable Matters if you need it.