Holiday return window + 2016 15" MBP battery issues

[MrGuder]

In case anyone is interested they just loaded up several 15" refurbs online Apple Store.

 

[TigerWoodsIV]

I'm sort of on the fence about this myself. My Touch ID button is ever so slightly loose compared to the floor models in my local Apple Store, so I have a genius bar appointment later today. Maybe I'll try to exchange it, but I'm not sure. The battery may or may not be good. I haven't drained it all the way, but it seems like I'm in the "acceptable" range. Not sure if it's worth the risk to swap for another one. The 2015 is definitely out of the question for me though.

 

[lobo1978]

Conclusion from 2015 review of MacBook by ArsTechnica:

The bad

• Good battery life for light workloads, but it drops off quickly under load.

Now is 2016 and again battery is dropping under load in MacBook.

Shocker! No way, you need energy to run MacBook? Oh I know - Apple się not innovating anymore. They should go beyond amperes and volts. MacBook should be thin as knife and have +24 hrs battery life and keyboard with 1 cm key travel - adjustable for every frickin user preference, 2xXeon and 128 GB RAM (for free) and almost forgot - 6K screen or 7K screen just to make sure that on paper will be better than PC crap.

Eh, every frickin year the same dilemmas flooding this forum...


NFC

 

[sunapple]

I do not see a large change to Kabby. The change your thinking about is the mid cycle refresh where they move up the standards.

They did this in the 2012 to 2014 units where suddenly 16 gigs was the standard on 15 units.

So I think that is a bit farther down the turn pike.

They are going to lower the price of the 15 until the mid product cycle refresh in 2018 when the chips support 7 stream 5k on the IGPU.

Thanks intel for making all of us who just want 5k displays buy 400 dollar more expensive machines cause you could not muster the "Courage" to make an IGPU worth a damn for a few product cycles.

You're thinking about upgrades as a result of new processors, but I'm thinking about Apple making the MacBook more affordable because the market demands it. So if you get 512GB for 2600 euros instead of 256GB, it already becomes better value and I think the upgrade suits the product better.

Apple never cared for making products affordable, but a 15" that starts at 2600 euros were it used to be less than 1900 four years ago? It's a new generation which usually starts higher, but it has to come down at some point.

Just guesswork here, I'm happy with my secondhand 2000€ 2015 model with the R9 graphics (planning on buying it tomorrow). Last of its kind Pro machine (with ports! many ports!) always retains a good secondhand value which makes it a lot more affordable...

 

[augustya]

Yup, Kaby Lake is practically a fact and fall is most likely: https://www.macrumors.com/2017/01/03/intel-announces-kaby-lake-processors/

I hope they sort out the battery issue in the next iteration the fall 2017 edition of the 15" rMBP !

 

[sunapple]

I hope they sort out the battery issue in the next iteration the fall 2017 edition of the 15" rMBP !

While it is also software related, the hardware could see improvements as well next time:

Apple planned to introduce "higher capacity battery packs" that would have been terraced and shaped to the inside compartment of the computer, boosting battery life in the process. According to a person familiar with the creation of the MacBook, the battery failed a "key test," so instead of delaying the laptop and missing the holiday shopping season, "Apple decided to revert to an older design."

https://www.macrumors.com/2016/12/20/larger-battery-gold-color-macbook-pro/

 

[BigSky20]

I was ready to return mine after reading about all of the battery issues on this forum and the CR "Don't Buy" recommendation. Once I actually received the laptop though, I realized how awesome the new computer is! The screen is amazing, I love the new track pad, I find the touch bar useful and it will only get better. The thinness is amazing and the space grey looks fantastic. I got the maxed out version (except for only 1 TB SSD), and it runs lightroom and FCP fast and smooth. Of course, I would like 32 GB RAM, but in my opinion Apple has put together a pretty impressive laptop overall. And the best laptop running Mac OS.