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Is MBP 13 viewed as inferior now?

S

satchmo

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 6, 2008
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Is the current 13” MBP perceived, perhaps unfairly as a lower-tiered MBP now given the improvements with the 16”?
It lacks the scissor-keyboard, better speakers, thinner bezels and better thermals.
Value-wise, the 16” is better from a price-feature perspective.

Likely their most popular laptop, I just wonder if Apple is leaving money on the table if it doesn’t launch an updated 13” in early new year.
Obviously, I dont know how it’s selling, but are people sitting on the fence until the 13” replacement arrives?
 
It's always been inferior from a performance perspective. It's always been superior from a portability perspective. But if you're buying it because if how other people perceive it then you're probably not making the right choice.

Having said that, I would not buy one right now. Not with the new keyboard coming.
 
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The 13" has always been inferior from a specs prospective. 1/2 the cores of the 15/16". No dGPUs. Small SSDs. Less Memory. Less powerful cooling system.

When they come out with a 14" upgrade I expect there still to be a performance gap. They can close it a bit, but they cannot close it entirely without increases the price since a lot of the price gap is due to more expensive and powerful components.
 
I wouldn’t say that the 13” is viewed as inferior NOW. It always has been, the only thing that 13” has over the bigger brother has been the portability and that’s it. The 15” MBP, now the 16” one has bigger display, is more powerful, better speakers(loads better) etc.
 
I think the *current* version, with butterfly keyboard will be inferior and its second market price will go down if Apple releases new 13 MBP with new keyboard.
 
Howard2k said:
It's always been inferior from a performance perspective. It's always been superior from a portability perspective. But if you're buying it because if how other people perceive it then you're probably not making the right choice.

Having said that, I would not buy one right now. Not with the new keyboard coming.
Click to expand...
I don't care about optics or posing. Yes, it has been inferior from performance standpoint, but always felt it was the better value. Certainly if your needs didn't require massive computing power or intensive graphics. It sort of hit the sweet spot for prosumers. It was super portable but dockable to a large screen in a desktop environment.
The gap between the two has widened now, that I question if Apple will do something sooner than later. I would love to see the new model with improved thermals that just maybe allows for a dGPU.
 
satchmo said:
Is the current 13” MBP perceived, perhaps unfairly as a lower-tiered MBP now given the improvements with the 16”?
It lacks the scissor-keyboard, better speakers, thinner bezels and better thermals.
Value-wise, the 16” is better from a price-feature perspective.

Likely their most popular laptop, I just wonder if Apple is leaving money on the table if it doesn’t launch an updated 13” in early new year.
Obviously, I dont know how it’s selling, but are people sitting on the fence until the 13” replacement arrives?
Click to expand...
I still have a 2017 MacBook Pro and it is still as useful to me today as it was the day I bought it. I have enough money to buy a new MacBook Pro today, but that isn't going to happen as long as my 2017 MBP still serves my needs.

Is the 13" inferior? Absolutely not. Say what you want about the butterfly keyboard, I haven't had any issues with it.
 
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The current 13 is just a bit outdated at the moment, continuing to use an 8th gen processor when the XPS 13s (and other competitors) are using the new i7-1065g7. Assuming a refresh is around the corner, but the current prices on higher spec builds are a bad deal.
 
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Even if the 13-inch Pro is viewed as inferior, what are the options? The 16-inch is considerably larger and heavier, so it is not really an alternative.
 
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The 13" MacBook Pro isn't inferior; the laptop is designed for users who value portability over power. I am a prime example and can't see myself pulling a 16" out of my briefcase every time I have a meeting.
 
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I’ve always viewed the whole current generation of MacBooks as inferior. Not because Apple offered a better solution but because they should have.
 
Whoever says that the current 13” is inferior hasn’t actually used one in practice. I’m using one since last few months and it’s running like a champ. People have different requirements. Any laptop needs to be compared against that.

Here’s a video to give you some idea.

 
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Nathan King said:
The 13" MacBook Pro isn't inferior; the laptop is designed for users who value portability over power. I am a prime example and can't see myself pulling a 16" out of my briefcase every time I have a meeting.
Click to expand...

Yes, precisely.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro may be inferior to the 16-inch model, and it is in many respects. It is smaller, less powerful, has a lower resolution, and costs less.

But does it really matter? Let's be adults here. I can carry around my 13-inch Pro inside my bag every day, and the 16-inch would add unnecessary weight. I would not be able to use the 16-inch inside an airplane, due to its size. And in meetings it is harder to find a place in a disputed table to sit a 16-inch laptop.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro is perhaps the best laptop available in the world for sale right now. But it is not really convenient for me, and, at least for me, this is what really matters.
 
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If it fits my needs at a price I can live with, I'm good to go. :cool:

I think a lot of people buy more computer than they really need because of some "perceived need". JMO.
 
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