Looking for people/photos who switched from 15inch Retina MBP (2012-15) to TB MPB 2016

[baargeld]

Hi,

i can find a lot of comparison reports/pics/threads from 'MBP 2016 vs MBAir' to 'MBP 2016 13 vs 15' etc etc.

But, surpringsingly, I cannot seem to find good pictures and hardware impressions from people who switched from the previous retina 15inch MBP (2012 - 2015) to a 15inch 2016 MBP.

How noticeable is the difference in size and weight in everyday usage?
Improvement in build quality?


I'm switching from a Mid 2012 Base 15inch MBP to the higher 2016 15inch model. Any comparisons much appreciated!

 

[dan9700]

I cwme from 2015 maxed out to 2016 maxed out and regret it, had it a day and so much is bad touchpad sound is horrible screen is pinky not white and even maxed out the lag is horrible my 2015 was quicker

 

[Dannejaha]

I had the better 2015 (not maxed CPU, max GPU, 512GB) to the maxed out 2016 (both CPU and GPU max, 1TB)

Mine is a lot faster, noticeable (they are clones). I do notice the screen is different but not in a bad way really, its white in my eyes but i do turn the light down (its really bright). I am okey with the keyboard or touchpad... but so far i have been using externals as i use MX cherry Brown and Razer Chroma at home.

Weight and form is noticeable. And i now have 1 cable in (Hub) instead of two (hub + power). So the desktop is cleaner and no dongle-crazy like all other seems to put themself in.

So... i like it.

 

[fotoflux]

I went from base 2012 15" retina macbook pro to base + 1TB 15" in the latest release. It's thinner, but really, I don't care, basically it's about the same height as if you removed the LCD from the old one. It's nice to finally put the power on the right side of the machine. I miss the mag-safe though because I have a toddler that likes to pretend he is me and play with the computer.

From a day to day standpoint I don't notice any speed improvements. I am not kidding. It performed operations on Lightroom slightly faster, but browsing the web and opening applications seems about the same. Copying files to the same disk is faster, of course.

The reduced key travel in the keyboard is easy to get used to. However, the keyboard is much noisier. MUCH noisier. I feel like I am using a typewriter!

I love the touch ID to log in. It takes away one small hassle.

I don't mind having the dongles. I bought a 4 port USB 3.0 hub with HDMI and I just plug everything into that for now. I could've bought new USB-C cables, but I still use half of my devices on other machines, so buying a HUB was easier.

I also don't mind the non-moving trackpad. The 2012 has a physical button, but the 2016 model has fixed glass. The haptic feedback is surprisingly realistic and I actually feel as if I am pressing a physical button.

 

[BiteSizeThumb]

I went from a 2013 to a 2016 15" MBP. Honestly not a crazy jump, and I'm starting to second guess if it was really worth it. The only reason why I made the jump was because I sold my 2013 for a lot more than I expected. TouchID is cool, TouchBar is a bit of a gimmick. I really like the keyboard and slimness (I travel 24/7 with my MacBook and always use Lightroom and Photoshop), and the Space Grey is beautiful (probably the only selling point for me). Oversized trackpad is a bit weird, not really needed but it hasn't bothered me. Don't really notice much of the display quality changing, but it is A LOT brighter (I think at least). Performance wise... can't really tell.

 

[fotoflux]

I went from a 2013 to a 2016 15" MBP. Honestly not a crazy jump, and I'm starting to second guess if it was really worth it. The only reason why I made the jump was because I sold my 2013 for a lot more than I expected. TouchID is cool, TouchBar is a bit of a gimmick. I really like the keyboard and slimness (I travel 24/7 with my MacBook and always use Lightroom and Photoshop), and the Space Grey is beautiful (probably the only selling point for me). Oversized trackpad is a bit weird, not really needed but it hasn't bothered me. Don't really notice much of the display quality changing, but it is A LOT brighter (I think at least). Performance wise... can't really tell.

+1 for the touch bar being gimmicky.... I would much rather have the physical "esc" key back so that i don't have to tap twice to get out of full screen mode while streaming Netflix. Also, I miss having easy access to adjust the volume, now it's buried under another layer most of the time.

 

[BiteSizeThumb]

+1 for the touch bar being gimmicky.... I would much rather have the physical "esc" key back so that i don't have to tap twice to get out of full screen mode while streaming Netflix. Also, I miss having easy access to adjust the volume, now it's buried under another layer most of the time.

I was able to compromise by customizing the TouchBar. You can also set it so that it shows the standard keys by default which is awesome. I'm using the FN key a lot more now to access my hidden uses. Overall, I'm quickly adjusting and don't mind it. Just something I could have lived without and would have been fine... But I also said to the missing headphone jack of my 7...

 

[littlepud]

I went from a late-2013 (2.2/16GB/512GB/GT750M) to a 2016 (2.9/1TB/460). The biggest differences are the wide colour display and the GPU. Potential dGPU issues aside (which may turn out to be just software), the new Radeons run very cool and quiet.

 

[Marshall73]

Went from a mid 2012 non retina MacBook Pro 15" to a 15" 2.7Ghz 460 2016 model. Love the keyboard, now t as loud as the 2012 was although I now type lighter and faster with the 2016 model.

Love the big trackpad (I use a Magic Trackpad with my iMac).

The screen is so much better, richer colours and far far less reflections. Reflections never once bothered me on the 2012 model but after having them side by side its hard not to notice them now.

The speakers and audio quality is by far the best I have heard from a laptop.

Its thinner than the bottom part of the old 2012 chassis and smaller dimension wise too, build quality is A+++ feels solid and the Space Grey finish looks fantastic.

Performance wise its much faster and cooler than the 2012 model with higher frame rates even when running at high settings, especially when running World of Warcraft Diablo 3 or Heroes of the Storm. Temps peak at around 73C and its so much quieter and cooler.

Same situation when in VMWare, fans quieter and temps down overall when compared to the 2012 and even my Retina iMac.

Dongles? I have 2 small usb A to C adaptors and for the rest of my kit I replaced the USB A cables with C equivalents. I also purchased a couple of 32GB dual USB A/C thumb drives.

Battery life? from a full charge today I am about to pop it on charge and have used t for just over 8 hours today on battery without further charging, quoting 2hrs 26 mins remaining.

To sum up, I love it.