Help with deciding re: keeping rMBP 2015 or cMBP 2011?

[KoolAid-Drink]

I recently bought a refurbished rMBP 2015 13" from Apple. I currently have a late 2011 MBP. I've been playing with the rMBP, and noticed a few things about the rMBP that has been bothering me.

a) The keyboard feels much smaller, and the keys feel "squishy"/less of a mechanical feedback.
b) The trackpad feels too "soft" (hard to explain), and clicks aren't as feedback-y as the 2011 version. I also sometimes have to click again or harder – it feels like there's less "grip" than my 2011 MBP.
c) The MagSafe power plug kind of feels flimsy, and falls out if I move my laptop too much. This didn't happen with the 2011 model.
d) Even though "auto brightness" for my display is disabled, my screen seems to kind of "adjust" and get darker/brighter from time to time.

It may be just me, but the 2011 MBP felt more solid/less flimsy in some ways. Having a much better display is really nice, and it's also nice having Handoff/AC WiFi, but I don't know. I got this (i7 3.1ghz, 512gb, 16gb of RAM) for $1779+tax, so not bad, but I'm not sure – the laptop just feels softer and less of a tank compared to the 2011 MBP, if that makes sense.

Are these issues normal for the rMBP 2015? Many thanks!

 

[andreyush]

MagSafe 2 is weaker than MagSafe 1 🙁.
You will get used with the new macbook after a while

 

[shanshor]

They keyboard is absolutely a step down-- I agree with you there. In fact, I was starting to think I was the only one that really noticed it. However, the 2015 model is a huge improvement and I think that outweighs the negatives. The screen and SSD alone are worth the sacrifices made with the keyboard and MagSafe.

 

[packeteer]

I have a 2015 13" retina mbp and a upgraded 2009 15" mbp. I much prefer the 13" in every aspect, except the screen size. with 8gb and sad's in both machines, both running El Cap, and both used in a similar fashion, the 13" just feels so much better. nicer keyboard, nicer touch pad, much lighter, better screen, better unibody.
All things to be expected for the 5+ year difference.

 

[T5BRICK]

a) The keyboard feels much smaller, and the keys feel "squishy"/less of a mechanical feedback.

I actually really like the keyboard on my early 2015. It felt nicer than the keyboard on my 2009 MBP.

b) The trackpad feels too "soft" (hard to explain), and clicks aren't as feedback-y as the 2011 version. I also sometimes have to click again or harder – it feels like there's less "grip" than my 2011 MBP.

The trackpad doesn't actually click on the 2015 model. The physical button is gone. It feels pretty normal to me, but it is adjustable in settings.

c) The MagSafe power plug kind of feels flimsy, and falls out if I move my laptop too much. This didn't happen with the 2011 model.

Yeah, MagSafe 2 isn't as strong as MagSafe 1.

d) Even though "auto brightness" for my display is disabled, my screen seems to kind of "adjust" and get darker/brighter from time to time.

Mine seems to adjust as well. I figured it's normal.

 

[packeteer]

isn't the auto brightness adjustable or just disable?

 

[Rkuda]

I recently bought a refurbished rMBP 2015 13" from Apple. I currently have a late 2011 MBP. I've been playing with the rMBP, and noticed a few things about the rMBP that has been bothering me.

a) The keyboard feels much smaller, and the keys feel "squishy"/less of a mechanical feedback.
b) The trackpad feels too "soft" (hard to explain), and clicks aren't as feedback-y as the 2011 version. I also sometimes have to click again or harder – it feels like there's less "grip" than my 2011 MBP.
c) The MagSafe power plug kind of feels flimsy, and falls out if I move my laptop too much. This didn't happen with the 2011 model.
d) Even though "auto brightness" for my display is disabled, my screen seems to kind of "adjust" and get darker/brighter from time to time.

It may be just me, but the 2011 MBP felt more solid/less flimsy in some ways. Having a much better display is really nice, and it's also nice having Handoff/AC WiFi, but I don't know. I got this (i7 3.1ghz, 512gb, 16gb of RAM) for $1779+tax, so not bad, but I'm not sure – the laptop just feels softer and less of a tank compared to the 2011 MBP, if that makes sense.

Are these issues normal for the rMBP 2015? Many thanks!

b) This is probably because it's a force touch trackpad that doesn't actually click down. You might try changing the click force to see if one of those options feel better. You might also try to disable force touch. Sometimes when pressing down a little too hard it seems to cancel out some operations.

d) Any chance the brightness change is happening when connecting/disconnecting from power? In System Preferences -> Energy there are checkboxes to dim display when on battery etc. you might also have to uncheck.