Well, no, because a longer USB-C cord doesn't solve the main problem the extension cable does, which is "I can't plug my power adapter in here because the wall wart is too large."
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How happy are you with you Macbook Pro 2016?
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Well, no, because a longer USB-C cord doesn't solve the main problem the extension cable does, which is "I can't plug my power adapter in here because the wall wart is too large."
Ha, the John Gruber test isn't a very useful one, especially to those of those who have never heard of him and don't base this on random value judgments. It's just a fact that extension cords do cost money to produce, and such costs do contribute to the cost of the product. Now only those who need it will bear the cost.
It's also a fact that Apple makes literally hundreds and hundreds of dollars in profit off a 15" MacBook Pro, and the cost of including a five dollar cable without raising the end-user price would be a rounding error on the cost and profitability of the product.
Sorry there is a limit to USB-C power cord length for it to be compliant
I think the top rated one 5A is only a metre for Gen2 and 2m for Gen1
You may be already maxed out with the supplied one
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You must access to facts the rest of us don't. We don't know what the margin is on the new MBP, particularly compared to previous ones. The 2016 includes hardware not included in earlier models, and a lot of the hardware is of higher quality than before.
It remains that those who need an extension cord will now bear the cost, rather than it being part of the cost for everyone.
I like my 15" base model very much. Compared to my Late 2013 13" rMPB it is soooo much faster. The extra screen size is nice, but I still would have preferred a 13" model with quad core CPU and dedicated graphics.
I think the screen is a bit less sharp than my previous 13" retina display, but it might just be the size of it, which I have to get used to.
I also like the new keyboard, but I mistype from time to time, so I hope I get more used to it. The trackpad is just amazing.
So, good choice, it will serve me well throughout the next years.
I think the screen is a bit less sharp than my previous 13" retina display, but it might just be the size of it, which I have to get used to.
I also like the new keyboard, but I mistype from time to time, so I hope I get more used to it. The trackpad is just amazing.
So, good choice, it will serve me well throughout the next years.
"How happy are you with you Macbook Pro 2016?"
I hate it.
Used it for 1 month and keyboard has broken (random double pressing).
I sent my MBP to Apple and now I'm waiting for new one more than month.
I spent more than $3000 on it and now I have to use my old windows laptop.
Thank you Apple.
I hate it.
Used it for 1 month and keyboard has broken (random double pressing).
I sent my MBP to Apple and now I'm waiting for new one more than month.
I spent more than $3000 on it and now I have to use my old windows laptop.
Thank you Apple.
Just wanted to add another anecdote that made me smile:
As a hobby, I video mountain bike trail rides using a GoPro Hero5 and a Karma stabilizers. I video in 4k and the rides are 1-2 hours long - so it winds up being about 50GB of video. On my 2013 MBP using a USB connection, it would take 2-3 hours to upload the video onto the MBP. When I went to connect the Karma to the 2016 MBP, I realized that they Karma is USB-C. I connected my USB-C/Thunderbolt cable and the videos were uploaded in ten minutes. Ten freaking minutes. First of any of my gadgets that is USB-C.
As a hobby, I video mountain bike trail rides using a GoPro Hero5 and a Karma stabilizers. I video in 4k and the rides are 1-2 hours long - so it winds up being about 50GB of video. On my 2013 MBP using a USB connection, it would take 2-3 hours to upload the video onto the MBP. When I went to connect the Karma to the 2016 MBP, I realized that they Karma is USB-C. I connected my USB-C/Thunderbolt cable and the videos were uploaded in ten minutes. Ten freaking minutes. First of any of my gadgets that is USB-C.
I genuinely HATE this machine. HATE it.
I suppose I should add that this is a 15" Late 2016 2.9Ghz 4 core rMBP w/ 16GB dram and 2.0TB SSD running 10.12.2.
This is probably by 20th Mac laptop, starting with a PowerBook 140 back when the world was black and white and George HW Bush was president, Bill Clinton had just met Paula Jones as Governor of Arkansas and Barack Obama was still in college. That PowerBook replaced a Mac Portable. Having used Macs for 33 years and Mac laptops for 26+, it would be fair to say I'm a loyal Mac user.
I love the build quality, as always. Except my "b" key is becoming unresponsive after about 90 days of use. Soon I'm going to have to get it fixed, which I understand may cost me use of my machine for a week.
I do like that the thing is thinner than my 2015 15" rMPB, but I was OK with the last one. The "thinness" lost me MagSafe, Thunderbolt and "normal" USB ports, I can adapt (literally) to USB-C in place of Thunderbolt and USB but Magsafe? Really? What the hell is Apple thinking? Magsafe was the perfect power connector for a laptop. No more ripping connectors out of motherboards or bending a chassis when someone trips over your power cable. I'm a big data consultant and am at customer sites nearly every day. I'm always sitting in conference rooms with a group of other people trying to keep my Mac powered up. Magsafe was perfect. USB-C? Might was well have an Android. Seriously... I HATE it. Jony Ive jumped the shark on the one.
By the way, Griffin make a "BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Breakaway Power Cable" for about $36. It TRIES to provide MagSafe functionality, but the designers were idiots. The cable is nearly as bug around and as stiff as a pencil so it continually comes unplugged, and the USB-C connector it 1/16" too long, so all of the stress is placed on the port itself instead of being supported by the chassis. Mostly it serves to reinforce how good the original MagSafe design was. Actually the right-angle one was best. Any of the MagSafe designs was better than the BreakSafe and incredibly better than USB-C.
Then there's the Touch Bar. Let's take that in two parts, starting with TouchID. I like it a lot. Big fan. I upgraded an iPad just to get TouchID and I've very happy to have it on my laptop. Now it's disabled too often, requiring entry of a password when it shoulddn't be necessary, but I can live with that. And hey, it's a real button which requires a real keypress, as one would expect on a keyboard. Score one for the 2016 Touch Bar rMPB.
The REST of the Touch Bar is simply nonsensical. More importantly, it often make doing standard, everyday tasks on my MacBook Pro extraordinarily frustrating. The Touch Bar has two primary modes: Control Strip (expanded and not) and application mode. The really issue here is that this monstrosity does NOT perform as you would expect a keyboard to perform. Every software defined "key" is ultra-sensitive to the slightest touch. Since when has this been a desirable design goal on a keyboard?
Hey, I'm all for touch screens. I'm a long time iPhone and iPad user. In fact, even Microsoft's Surface works as you'd expect it to. The keyboard is the keyboard and the touch interface is isolated from it. Not so with Apple's Touch Bar. Take the Escape key. No, really. Take it. Please. The Escape key, like the rest of the Touch Bar is ultra-sensitive. God forbid you let your pinky finger slip above the ~ key a graze it. BANG! Your are escaped out of whatever you were doing. Like entering text in the box I'm typing in right now. Why would anyone think I want an escape key that is an ultra-sensitive hair-trigger invitation to lose my last several minutes of work? When I want to use the escape key, which is rare, I will take the extra 2 milliseconds and expend the .3 microjoules of energy it takes to press an actual key Did not one Apple designer use this thing and say "Whoa! This really sucks right here!"?
Then there's application mode. Sure it's somewhat sexy to be able to use your finger to adjust a color in the color palette. But what you are REQUIRED to get as part of the bargain is an ultra-sensitive SEND key in Mail, right up there where your pinky finger will graze it. Thereby making you look like an idiot by sending countless partially complete emails to colleagues and clients. This is a FATAL flaw which has caused me to disable Application mode completely.
Can this be fixed? Perhaps. How 'bout making keys behave at least a bit like, well, keys? Add a duel time parameter to the Touch Bar which requires a stray finger over the key for more than a nanosecond before interpreting the action as a keypress. Ideally the Touch Bar would be pressure sensitive (like the trackpad) to software defined keys actually behave like keys.
A very useful fix would be to allow ALL software defined keys including Control Strip icons like Escape to be relocated by the user. Allowing me to move Escape an inch to the right would save me a LOT of lost productivity.
Another useful fix, one that would allow me to get at least some benefit from the Touch Bar's application mode, would be to allow the user to enable to disable application mode by application. Currently it's all or nothing. The Touch Bar would e useful in Photoshop. It's a deal breaker in Mail.
There are some other issues with this machine:
I find the fancy, huge new trackpad a mixed blessing. I like the real estate, but sometimes the trackpad doesn't respond if a modified key is depressed. Control-click often take multiple tries trying to find the sweet spot to make it work. I'd rather have a dumber trackpad that actually worked.
Finally, as has been stated elsewhere by countless users, battery life SUCKS. Please give me back 1/8" of thickness in exchange for more battery volume and realistic battery life. As it is now, the 2016 Touch Bar rMBP is more like the old Mac Portable than it is a 21st century high-end laptop. Working with it... that is working with it doing real work in the real world... is a constant hunt for a power outlet while trying desperately not to touch something that will ruin my day. Seriously Apple, you can do better than this. Your function-follows-form design mandate has gone too far. Every Mac I've ever had was a serious productivity enhancer. This thing is a productivity KILLER.
Every day using this MacBook Pro is a constant battle of trying to keep the machine from ruining my productivity. This is the first Mac laptop in 26 years I've felt that way about. In the past five years, we've all heard criticism from people claiming that "Apple has lost it's way since Steve Jobs passed." I like Tim Cook and I've always been admirer of Jony Ive's work, so I've always argued against that claim. But if this MacBook Pro is any example, I may be forced to come to the same conclusion. I think it's likely that morons have taken over the design team and have poor Jony locked in a closet somewhere.
Someone needs to put up signs at the new Apple spaceship campus. "THINNER is NOT always better. USEABLE is better."
Did I say I HATE this Mac?
[doublepost=1488235549][/doublepost]Did I say I HATE this Mac? Yeah, probably.
[doublepost=1488235606][/doublepost]Hate it, hate it, hate it. HATE it. Just sayin'.
I suppose I should add that this is a 15" Late 2016 2.9Ghz 4 core rMBP w/ 16GB dram and 2.0TB SSD running 10.12.2.
This is probably by 20th Mac laptop, starting with a PowerBook 140 back when the world was black and white and George HW Bush was president, Bill Clinton had just met Paula Jones as Governor of Arkansas and Barack Obama was still in college. That PowerBook replaced a Mac Portable. Having used Macs for 33 years and Mac laptops for 26+, it would be fair to say I'm a loyal Mac user.
I love the build quality, as always. Except my "b" key is becoming unresponsive after about 90 days of use. Soon I'm going to have to get it fixed, which I understand may cost me use of my machine for a week.
I do like that the thing is thinner than my 2015 15" rMPB, but I was OK with the last one. The "thinness" lost me MagSafe, Thunderbolt and "normal" USB ports, I can adapt (literally) to USB-C in place of Thunderbolt and USB but Magsafe? Really? What the hell is Apple thinking? Magsafe was the perfect power connector for a laptop. No more ripping connectors out of motherboards or bending a chassis when someone trips over your power cable. I'm a big data consultant and am at customer sites nearly every day. I'm always sitting in conference rooms with a group of other people trying to keep my Mac powered up. Magsafe was perfect. USB-C? Might was well have an Android. Seriously... I HATE it. Jony Ive jumped the shark on the one.
By the way, Griffin make a "BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Breakaway Power Cable" for about $36. It TRIES to provide MagSafe functionality, but the designers were idiots. The cable is nearly as bug around and as stiff as a pencil so it continually comes unplugged, and the USB-C connector it 1/16" too long, so all of the stress is placed on the port itself instead of being supported by the chassis. Mostly it serves to reinforce how good the original MagSafe design was. Actually the right-angle one was best. Any of the MagSafe designs was better than the BreakSafe and incredibly better than USB-C.
Then there's the Touch Bar. Let's take that in two parts, starting with TouchID. I like it a lot. Big fan. I upgraded an iPad just to get TouchID and I've very happy to have it on my laptop. Now it's disabled too often, requiring entry of a password when it shoulddn't be necessary, but I can live with that. And hey, it's a real button which requires a real keypress, as one would expect on a keyboard. Score one for the 2016 Touch Bar rMPB.
The REST of the Touch Bar is simply nonsensical. More importantly, it often make doing standard, everyday tasks on my MacBook Pro extraordinarily frustrating. The Touch Bar has two primary modes: Control Strip (expanded and not) and application mode. The really issue here is that this monstrosity does NOT perform as you would expect a keyboard to perform. Every software defined "key" is ultra-sensitive to the slightest touch. Since when has this been a desirable design goal on a keyboard?
Hey, I'm all for touch screens. I'm a long time iPhone and iPad user. In fact, even Microsoft's Surface works as you'd expect it to. The keyboard is the keyboard and the touch interface is isolated from it. Not so with Apple's Touch Bar. Take the Escape key. No, really. Take it. Please. The Escape key, like the rest of the Touch Bar is ultra-sensitive. God forbid you let your pinky finger slip above the ~ key a graze it. BANG! Your are escaped out of whatever you were doing. Like entering text in the box I'm typing in right now. Why would anyone think I want an escape key that is an ultra-sensitive hair-trigger invitation to lose my last several minutes of work? When I want to use the escape key, which is rare, I will take the extra 2 milliseconds and expend the .3 microjoules of energy it takes to press an actual key Did not one Apple designer use this thing and say "Whoa! This really sucks right here!"?
Then there's application mode. Sure it's somewhat sexy to be able to use your finger to adjust a color in the color palette. But what you are REQUIRED to get as part of the bargain is an ultra-sensitive SEND key in Mail, right up there where your pinky finger will graze it. Thereby making you look like an idiot by sending countless partially complete emails to colleagues and clients. This is a FATAL flaw which has caused me to disable Application mode completely.
Can this be fixed? Perhaps. How 'bout making keys behave at least a bit like, well, keys? Add a duel time parameter to the Touch Bar which requires a stray finger over the key for more than a nanosecond before interpreting the action as a keypress. Ideally the Touch Bar would be pressure sensitive (like the trackpad) to software defined keys actually behave like keys.
A very useful fix would be to allow ALL software defined keys including Control Strip icons like Escape to be relocated by the user. Allowing me to move Escape an inch to the right would save me a LOT of lost productivity.
Another useful fix, one that would allow me to get at least some benefit from the Touch Bar's application mode, would be to allow the user to enable to disable application mode by application. Currently it's all or nothing. The Touch Bar would e useful in Photoshop. It's a deal breaker in Mail.
There are some other issues with this machine:
I find the fancy, huge new trackpad a mixed blessing. I like the real estate, but sometimes the trackpad doesn't respond if a modified key is depressed. Control-click often take multiple tries trying to find the sweet spot to make it work. I'd rather have a dumber trackpad that actually worked.
Finally, as has been stated elsewhere by countless users, battery life SUCKS. Please give me back 1/8" of thickness in exchange for more battery volume and realistic battery life. As it is now, the 2016 Touch Bar rMBP is more like the old Mac Portable than it is a 21st century high-end laptop. Working with it... that is working with it doing real work in the real world... is a constant hunt for a power outlet while trying desperately not to touch something that will ruin my day. Seriously Apple, you can do better than this. Your function-follows-form design mandate has gone too far. Every Mac I've ever had was a serious productivity enhancer. This thing is a productivity KILLER.
Every day using this MacBook Pro is a constant battle of trying to keep the machine from ruining my productivity. This is the first Mac laptop in 26 years I've felt that way about. In the past five years, we've all heard criticism from people claiming that "Apple has lost it's way since Steve Jobs passed." I like Tim Cook and I've always been admirer of Jony Ive's work, so I've always argued against that claim. But if this MacBook Pro is any example, I may be forced to come to the same conclusion. I think it's likely that morons have taken over the design team and have poor Jony locked in a closet somewhere.
Someone needs to put up signs at the new Apple spaceship campus. "THINNER is NOT always better. USEABLE is better."
Did I say I HATE this Mac?
[doublepost=1488235549][/doublepost]Did I say I HATE this Mac? Yeah, probably.
[doublepost=1488235606][/doublepost]Hate it, hate it, hate it. HATE it. Just sayin'.
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Thinness didn't cost any of that. Maximizing the power and flexibility if the ports cost you that. USB-C makes those other ports, including MagSafe, redundant. (And MagSafe wasn't remotely perfect. The connection sometimes became unreliable with age, showing a connection when there wasn't one among other bad behavior. The cable covering was also problematic, degrading to the point that many had to replace the charger.)
Some others have also had trouble accidentally touching the touch bar, but it works fine for most people, so probably the only solution offered will be increased ease of customization. Some people have reportedly already moved the escape key to a different part of the bar with Better Touch Tool. You can already customize the bar for some applications, including Mail and Photoshop.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207055
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/touchbar.html
According to objective controlled tests and most user reports, the battery life of the 2016 15" is very good, significantly improved over the previous model. (Another point not hindered by thinness.) If you're getting bad battery life, there may be some easy things you can do to improve it.
The complaints, as always, are about adaptation for a minority of owners.
I have no issues with my new 15" and 13" TouchBar MacBooks and I hated MagSafe, which was too often on the wrong side of the machine and ruined two important events when the cable broke...and 80 bucks to replace each time. That's all over now and I can charge on either side and even from a power pack with more options coming soon.
Understand that, if you can't charge it without people tripping over it, this is hardly a COMMON situation. Most of us can safely charge devices without an errant Penguin runs across the room.
R.
I have no issues with my new 15" and 13" TouchBar MacBooks and I hated MagSafe, which was too often on the wrong side of the machine and ruined two important events when the cable broke...and 80 bucks to replace each time. That's all over now and I can charge on either side and even from a power pack with more options coming soon.
Understand that, if you can't charge it without people tripping over it, this is hardly a COMMON situation. Most of us can safely charge devices without an errant Penguin runs across the room.
R.
In my 2 wks of having the MacBook Pro I kept the TB on expanded and several times I would accidently hit the brightness up and down. The TB was too sensitive and worse I didn't like not being able to feel what I was touching I almost always had to look. I think Taptic feedback would help on TB2.
I got the 2015 MacBook Pro before I got the 2016 so I was able to use MagSafe for 2 wks before sending that one back as well. I had never used MagSafe before and one time I plug it in next to my bed as I always did before retiring for bed and tossed a pillow over on the laptop and realized in the morning that MagSafe fell off and the laptop did not charge at all overnight.
So with that and it being on the wrong side I was never a big fan of it. In fact when I got the 2016 later I found that USB-C charged much faster and preferred that connector being able to use it on either side.
[doublepost=1488241675][/doublepost]
I got the 2015 MacBook Pro before I got the 2016 so I was able to use MagSafe for 2 wks before sending that one back as well. I had never used MagSafe before and one time I plug it in next to my bed as I always did before retiring for bed and tossed a pillow over on the laptop and realized in the morning that MagSafe fell off and the laptop did not charge at all overnight.
So with that and it being on the wrong side I was never a big fan of it. In fact when I got the 2016 later I found that USB-C charged much faster and preferred that connector being able to use it on either side.
[doublepost=1488241675][/doublepost]
I do agree with some of what you wrote and I do hope Apple hears what you wrote. It obvious your a long time Mac user and Apple should really know why it's user base doesn't like certain features and how they can make them better on future updates.
Personally hated the touch bar so much that i went for the 13 nTB, even though i absolutely disliked the idea of a 15w MacBookAir like performance. But i was totally wrong.
The fans are off 90% of the time (like the 12") and when you start stressing it some it ramps up to 1200 (lowest it gets) which is still not audible.
So basically, Apple has forced me to buy my dream Macbook. A Macbook Air, with smaller footbprint but with retina and real power (cpu clocks up to 3.4 ghz) and as silent as the 12" in 90% of the cases with a decent gpu (540 iris pro) which even lets me play WoW or D3 at reasonable settings without turning the fan into airplane mode.
I just don't understand why they wouldn't offer all models with or without touchbar - i bet there are plenty of people who would like the 15" with touchid but without touchbar. I have yet to find anyone actually being serious about the features of it. To me it's even less than a gimmick.
Very anxious to see what the 2017 MacbookPro lineup will look like.
The fans are off 90% of the time (like the 12") and when you start stressing it some it ramps up to 1200 (lowest it gets) which is still not audible.
So basically, Apple has forced me to buy my dream Macbook. A Macbook Air, with smaller footbprint but with retina and real power (cpu clocks up to 3.4 ghz) and as silent as the 12" in 90% of the cases with a decent gpu (540 iris pro) which even lets me play WoW or D3 at reasonable settings without turning the fan into airplane mode.
I just don't understand why they wouldn't offer all models with or without touchbar - i bet there are plenty of people who would like the 15" with touchid but without touchbar. I have yet to find anyone actually being serious about the features of it. To me it's even less than a gimmick.
Very anxious to see what the 2017 MacbookPro lineup will look like.
What is the best cable for connecting the Samsung T3 SSD to a late 2016 MacBook Pro?
Thanks!
I am extremely happy with the machine itself. Its really fast, light, slim and looks great.
Now.
With that said. Having had 6 Macbook Pros in the last 6 days, with all of them having keyboard issues, and with the one I have right now being one of the worst of them all, I can't say that I am satisfied just yet. Its such a small thing that makes the whole product essentially fail.
I understand that its difficult to design, engineer and produce a product like the MacBook Pro, but for the love of god, the keyboard? Of all things that can be broken, why does the one thing that I take for granted should work, not work as advertised...
Now.
With that said. Having had 6 Macbook Pros in the last 6 days, with all of them having keyboard issues, and with the one I have right now being one of the worst of them all, I can't say that I am satisfied just yet. Its such a small thing that makes the whole product essentially fail.
I understand that its difficult to design, engineer and produce a product like the MacBook Pro, but for the love of god, the keyboard? Of all things that can be broken, why does the one thing that I take for granted should work, not work as advertised...
I'm using the black Belkin USB-C/Thunderbolt cable - got it at the Apple store. It's also on Amazon.
Sorry for the late reply. I'm using Bootcamp, running Overwatch at 1920x1080 at medium settings.
Returned mine, back on my trusty 2014 MB Air.
Getting a Lenovo X1 when it's out and I get the initial reviews read and out of the way.
No more MBP for me. Not because I don't want to but because Apple makes it impossible.
[doublepost=1488682034][/doublepost]
Of course it's much faster.
It's 7 YEARS NEWER.
Getting a Lenovo X1 when it's out and I get the initial reviews read and out of the way.
No more MBP for me. Not because I don't want to but because Apple makes it impossible.
[doublepost=1488682034][/doublepost]
Of course it's much faster.
It's 7 YEARS NEWER.
I'm happy with the 2016 tbMBP. I would have liked a larger internal drive, but the cost was too high.
I've been searching for external (portable) Thunderbolt 3 SSDs but there don't seem to be any that use Thunderbolt 3 speeds.
There is a line from Samsung called "Samsung Portable SSD T3." These appear to use the USB 3.1 interface, but they are not Thunderbolt 3.
The specs say:
"Interface Transfer Rate: 10.0 Gbps (USB 3.1)."
But then they say:
"Max Data Transfer Rate: 450 MB/s."
Any ideas? Do Thunderbolt 3 drives exist?
I've been searching for external (portable) Thunderbolt 3 SSDs but there don't seem to be any that use Thunderbolt 3 speeds.
There is a line from Samsung called "Samsung Portable SSD T3." These appear to use the USB 3.1 interface, but they are not Thunderbolt 3.
The specs say:
"Interface Transfer Rate: 10.0 Gbps (USB 3.1)."
But then they say:
"Max Data Transfer Rate: 450 MB/s."
Any ideas? Do Thunderbolt 3 drives exist?
EXTREMELY happy. I was so skeptical after reading this forum that it would be a disaster - boy was I wrong.
Keyboard: It's literally just a keyboard..it feels sturdier than the 2013 rMBP and I don't hear any change in sound when typing. This forum bloated the hell out of this being so "bad" - I like it. It springs up better and it's..it's a keyboard. I was expecting the worst feeling type of keys that would mess me up or something.
Touch Bar: Uhm..YES. This was something I initially thought I would feel indifferent about. I love this thing. The ability to scrub a song or video directly from the top of the keyboard while changing volume (I also thought that I would hate the volume slider since I am constantly changing the volume level during a song - but it works great) is incredible. I can't wait to explore more. It is a great compliment to the machine and is EXTREMELY easy to use.
The Screen: It's a marvel. Seriously. I came from the already incredible 2013 rMBP and this screen shocked me when I first saw it. It's detail oriented, brighter, more contrast, overall better.
Trackpad: So big and useful. No issues with resting my palms on it. At all.
Battery: Hours upon hours and is normal for what it should be. No issues. At all.
I haven't done anything intense yet to utilize the power - but I'll update. I have the 15" R460 + 2.7/512
I was expecting the worst and got the best. This machine is amazing.
Keyboard: It's literally just a keyboard..it feels sturdier than the 2013 rMBP and I don't hear any change in sound when typing. This forum bloated the hell out of this being so "bad" - I like it. It springs up better and it's..it's a keyboard. I was expecting the worst feeling type of keys that would mess me up or something.
Touch Bar: Uhm..YES. This was something I initially thought I would feel indifferent about. I love this thing. The ability to scrub a song or video directly from the top of the keyboard while changing volume (I also thought that I would hate the volume slider since I am constantly changing the volume level during a song - but it works great) is incredible. I can't wait to explore more. It is a great compliment to the machine and is EXTREMELY easy to use.
The Screen: It's a marvel. Seriously. I came from the already incredible 2013 rMBP and this screen shocked me when I first saw it. It's detail oriented, brighter, more contrast, overall better.
Trackpad: So big and useful. No issues with resting my palms on it. At all.
Battery: Hours upon hours and is normal for what it should be. No issues. At all.
I haven't done anything intense yet to utilize the power - but I'll update. I have the 15" R460 + 2.7/512
I was expecting the worst and got the best. This machine is amazing.