Initial thoughts on upgrade from 2012 rMBP to 2019

[twanj]

After about 7 years, I've upgraded from an i7/16GB/256GB MBP, the first retina MBP.

I picked up the 2019 8C i9/32GB/1TB, supposedly the last of this model (TouchBar/USB-C?).

Things I LOVE:

Autologin with Apple Watch!!!
TouchID!
Longer battery life than a 4 year old battery (I had it replaced once)
The space! I have room to breathe. It was confining having the same space on my phone as on my laptop. I can't hold all my music & photos on here, but I can keep a good amount.

Things meh:
Faster, but not much more so for doing day to day stuff. I haven't compiled much or used many VMs yet, but I did some iMovie video editing and it's faster but not ridiculously so.
Lighter/Thinner? than 2012 model? But that wasn't really a problem that needed solving. Just glad it still (relatively) fits in my old Uinta ColcaSac thingy.
USB-C. Now I also have Lightning, Apple Watch puck, & USB-C. Hopefully the iPhone & Airpods will go to USB-C soon. The Lightning connector feels sturdier than USB-C unfortunately.
USB-C connection stability. I have not liked how sturdy USB-C is when physically connecting with some Lenovos & Dells at work. It feels more solid on the MBP tho.
Keyboard. I do not quite hate the butterfly keyboard. I guess I'm getting used to it, but I'm still hitting wrong keys. Mostly the Apple/command key. I don't like the layout as much, noticeably the arrow keys (& of course lack of ESC).
Screen. I mean, I think I can tell it's brighter than my 7 year old screen. It just looks like a newer version of the same screen, not an improvement.
Trackpad. I had to turn off a settings option, because click and drag wouldn't even work. Awful.

Things I hate:

Touch Bar. I'm sorry, but it's dumb. It's smooth, & much less touching-but-not-looking friendly. There should be a physical ESC key at least, bookending with the TouchID. The things I use most are probably volume control & screen brightness, and these are harder to use now. There's extra presses to get to it & you can't find it by touch.
Price. It's a bit extravagant, especially the 1 -> 2 TB upgrade.
Power Adapter Extension Cable NOT included. You have to buy this separately for $19? Come on. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK122LL/A/power-adapter-extension-cable

All in all, I like it. I was just hoping I'd love it for the price and for how long I waited to upgrade.
If the keyboard ends up needing to be replaced, like will quickly turn to hate.

 

[Hazmat401]

After about 7 years, I've upgraded from an i7/16GB/256GB MBP, the first retina MBP.

I picked up the 2019 8C i9/32GB/1TB, supposedly the last of this model (TouchBar/USB-C?).

Things I LOVE:

Autologin with Apple Watch!!!
TouchID!
Longer battery life than a 4 year old battery (I had it replaced once)
The space! I have room to breathe. It was confining having the same space on my phone as on my laptop. I can't hold all my music & photos on here, but I can keep a good amount.

Things meh:
Faster, but not much more so for doing day to day stuff. I haven't compiled much or used many VMs yet, but I did some iMovie video editing and it's faster but not ridiculously so.
Lighter/Thinner? than 2012 model? But that wasn't really a problem that needed solving. Just glad it still (relatively) fits in my old Uinta ColcaSac thingy.
USB-C. Now I also have Lightning, Apple Watch puck, & USB-C. Hopefully the iPhone & Airpods will go to USB-C soon. The Lightning connector feels sturdier than USB-C unfortunately.
USB-C connection stability. I have not liked how sturdy USB-C is when physically connecting with some Lenovos & Dells at work. It feels more solid on the MBP tho.
Keyboard. I do not quite hate the butterfly keyboard. I guess I'm getting used to it, but I'm still hitting wrong keys. Mostly the Apple/command key. I don't like the layout as much, noticeably the arrow keys (& of course lack of ESC).
Screen. I mean, I think I can tell it's brighter than my 7 year old screen. It just looks like a newer version of the same screen, not an improvement.
Trackpad. I had to turn off a settings option, because click and drag wouldn't even work. Awful.

Things I hate:

Touch Bar. I'm sorry, but it's dumb. It's smooth, & much less touching-but-not-looking friendly. There should be a physical ESC key at least, bookending with the TouchID. The things I use most are probably volume control & screen brightness, and these are harder to use now. There's extra presses to get to it & you can't find it by touch.
Price. It's a bit extravagant, especially the 1 -> 2 TB upgrade.
Power Adapter Extension Cable NOT included. You have to buy this separately for $19? Come on. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK122LL/A/power-adapter-extension-cable

All in all, I like it. I was just hoping I'd love it for the price and for how long I waited to upgrade.
If the keyboard ends up needing to be replaced, like will quickly turn to hate.

Do yourself a favor and buy AppleCare!

 

[twanj]

Do yourself a favor and buy AppleCare!

Duh!

You'd be crazy not to.

 

[maflynn]

You'd be crazy not to.

Seems like a sad state of affairs, that buying AC is a requirement.

I'm not down on your purchase, and it looks like you're happy but something isn't right if the mindset is that people feel that they have to buy the extended warranty.

 

[calliex]

After about 7 years, I've upgraded from an i7/16GB/256GB MBP, the first retina MBP.

I picked up the 2019 8C i9/32GB/1TB, supposedly the last of this model (TouchBar/USB-C?).

Things I LOVE:

Autologin with Apple Watch!!!
TouchID!
Longer battery life than a 4 year old battery (I had it replaced once)
The space! I have room to breathe. It was confining having the same space on my phone as on my laptop. I can't hold all my music & photos on here, but I can keep a good amount.

Things meh:
Faster, but not much more so for doing day to day stuff. I haven't compiled much or used many VMs yet, but I did some iMovie video editing and it's faster but not ridiculously so.
Lighter/Thinner? than 2012 model? But that wasn't really a problem that needed solving. Just glad it still (relatively) fits in my old Uinta ColcaSac thingy.
USB-C. Now I also have Lightning, Apple Watch puck, & USB-C. Hopefully the iPhone & Airpods will go to USB-C soon. The Lightning connector feels sturdier than USB-C unfortunately.
USB-C connection stability. I have not liked how sturdy USB-C is when physically connecting with some Lenovos & Dells at work. It feels more solid on the MBP tho.
Keyboard. I do not quite hate the butterfly keyboard. I guess I'm getting used to it, but I'm still hitting wrong keys. Mostly the Apple/command key. I don't like the layout as much, noticeably the arrow keys (& of course lack of ESC).
Screen. I mean, I think I can tell it's brighter than my 7 year old screen. It just looks like a newer version of the same screen, not an improvement.
Trackpad. I had to turn off a settings option, because click and drag wouldn't even work. Awful.

Things I hate:

Touch Bar. I'm sorry, but it's dumb. It's smooth, & much less touching-but-not-looking friendly. There should be a physical ESC key at least, bookending with the TouchID. The things I use most are probably volume control & screen brightness, and these are harder to use now. There's extra presses to get to it & you can't find it by touch.
Price. It's a bit extravagant, especially the 1 -> 2 TB upgrade.
Power Adapter Extension Cable NOT included. You have to buy this separately for $19? Come on. https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MK122LL/A/power-adapter-extension-cable

All in all, I like it. I was just hoping I'd love it for the price and for how long I waited to upgrade.
If the keyboard ends up needing to be replaced, like will quickly turn to hate.

Does the old Power Adapter Ext Cable work with new charging brick. My guess is No since I have two of them on my 2012 rMPB was hoping I could use them when I make the plunge.

 

[collin_]

Does the old Power Adapter Ext Cable work with new charging brick. My guess is No since I have two of them on my 2012 rMPB was hoping I could use them when I make the plunge.

Yes. From its purchase page on Apple's store:

The 1.8-meter Power Adapter Extension Cable is an AC extension cord that provides extra length for your Apple power adapter. Use it with MagSafe and MagSafe 2 power adapters, 10W and 12W USB-A power adapters, and 29W, 30W, 61W, and 87W USB-C power adapters.

 

[flat five]

The things I use most are probably volume control & screen brightness, and these are harder to use now. There's extra presses to get to it & you can't find it by touch.

there aren't extra presses.. you don't have to change your finger position to the slider.. just touch the volume icon and start sliding left or right.. same for brightness..

it's not obvious that you can do it like this but it does work

Seems like a sad state of affairs, that buying AC is a requirement.

I'm not down on your purchase, and it looks like you're happy but something isn't right if the mindset is that people feel that they have to buy the extended warranty.

idk, I recently bought one and didn't buy AppleCare
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[BuCkDoG]

I think you will be very happy with your purchase! Its an excellent machine overall except for the keyboard but hopefully Apple FINALLY addressed the keyboard this year.

 

[smirking]

idk, I recently bought one and didn't buy AppleCare
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I used AppleCare on a 2016 MBP that I sold. They were very generous in how they handled repairs with AppleCare. It was an awesome experience. I'm always going to be getting AppleCare for a MBP from now on. I had a failing battery and some funky screen discoloration. I half expected them to tell me that the screen wasn't covered, but they not only didn't bat an eyelash, they went to town and repaired a whole bunch of things I wasn't even complaining about.

I took it in for a topcase replacement and a screen replacement. I ended up with basically a new case, new keyboard, new screen, new logic board, new GPU, and new ports. I'm not sure why they gave me a new logic board and GPU, but it sure made the guy who bought the machine from me happy. The work statement didn't say they replaced the SSD, but they may have done that too as it was completely wiped when it came back.

I would get it for the battery coverage alone. If your battery drops below 80% at any point during your AppleCare period, you can get a new topcase. I either have awful luck with batteries or my usage pattern murders most batteries as most of my laptop batteries meet untimely ends.

 

[smirking]

Things meh:
Faster, but not much more so for doing day to day stuff. I haven't compiled much or used many VMs yet, but I did some iMovie video editing and it's faster but not ridiculously so.
Lighter/Thinner? than 2012 model? But that wasn't really a problem that needed solving. Just glad it still (relatively) fits in my old Uinta ColcaSac thingy.
USB-C. Now I also have Lightning, Apple Watch puck, & USB-C. Hopefully the iPhone & Airpods will go to USB-C soon. The Lightning connector feels sturdier than USB-C unfortunately.

I went from a Unibody 2012 to a 2016 MBP so I know what you mean by being not blown away by the speed improvements, but one area where I really appreciated the improvements was in Web browser performance. Everything just renders instantly. There's even a noticable difference in this between the 2016 that I had and the 2018 I'm using now.

The lighter and thinner might grow on you. It did on me. I had no desire to cut my load, but then I noticed that I started using my laptop differently. I started using it in places I never would have before and I started bringing it with me without much thought. I used to stop and ask myself if I really wanted to haul a chunk of aluminum around with me and would often end up needing my computer for something and having to try to get something done on my iPhone.

USB-C is awesome if you use an external monitor or you have an external hub. Grabbing my MBP on the way out the door used to involve removing 2 USB plugs, a power plug, DisplayPort plug, and sometimes an Ethernet line. It's just a one cable operation now.

 

[LogicalApex]

Does the old Power Adapter Ext Cable work with new charging brick. My guess is No since I have two of them on my 2012 rMPB was hoping I could use them when I make the plunge.

It does!

This was the reason I was able to pick up the extension cable on eBay for $1 w/ free shipping lol

I agree that it should still be included tough.

 

[twanj]

there aren't extra presses.. you don't have to change your finger position to the slider.. just touch the volume icon and start sliding left or right.. same for brightness..

it's not obvious that you can do it like this but it does work

aHA! That's not very smooth or intuitive. Thanks!

Yes, as others have said AC+ can pay for itself many times over. Even if it's just one battery, it's worth it.

 

[one1]

I think coming from a 2012 you’ll enjoy the 2019. If you’d bought a 13-15 model then upgraded you’d feel a bit ripped off. As many have expressed, losing all the ports, dealing with the keyboard, having to work clicking extra steps to do simple things like dimming and volume, no glowing apple (on a macbook!), and the price make many people who left the a1502 model with buyers remorse.

 

[twanj]

This may change as I upgrade peripherals to ones that support USB-C...

Things I miss:
Magsafe & charging light indicator

Things I like:
Being able to charge from either side
Better Speakers

Don't miss yet:
Glowing Apple logo.
Extra ports. I didn't use them much besides HDMI & USB for external storage. But I was just using AirPlay mirroring more and I have the USB-A -> C adapter.

 

[pcd213]

Have you considered enabling the expanded touch strip setting on the touch bar? I find that it makes the touch bar a bit easier to work with, albeit still more complicated than a physical keyboard.

 

[x-evil-x]

download better touch tools for the touchbar. I have 2 finger scruB anywhere on the touch bar for brightness and 3 finger scrub for volume. You can customize it the way you want in the app and they have haptic feedback option too. It uses the haptic sensor in the trackpad for it.

 

[pcd213]

download better touch tools for the touchbar. I have 2 finger scruB anywhere on the touch bar for brightness and 3 finger scrub for volume. You can customize it the way you want in the app and they have haptic feedback option too. It uses the haptic sensor in the trackpad for it.

Thanks for the recommendation. I downloaded it but it was way too overwhelming for me; there were way too many options. I did download "haptic touch bar", which I really enjoy. A bit of haptics really makes the touch bar much easier to work with. It's not the same as a physical function row but it's much better than a row of glass without any feedback.