Macbook Pro 13 inch 2016 TB vs 2017 nTB

[ZZxx]

Hi,

I'm upgrading my prehistoric MacBook and deciding between the 2016 2.9GHz 8GB MBP with Touch Bar and the 2017 2.3GHz 8GB MBP without the Touch Bar. They come at pretty much the same price, both with 256GB storage.

Can't find any direct comparisons of the two, but hopefully someone can advise which one performs better? Is the Kaby Lake really that much better to justify getting the 2.3 over the 2.9? Are the improvements in the graphics even noticeable to the average user?

I am not too fussed about the touch bar (would almost prefer not having it) but the 2 extra ports are tempting. My main criteria would be battery life and overheating. I will be travelling through SEA where it can get pretty hot and humidity is high.

I will do the occasional graphic design project in Illustrator and InDesign and sometimes use Photoshop, but nothing too fancy or too demanding. 80% I will only use it for web, watching movies and spotify. I know they're both more than good enough performance wise but considering there is almost no price difference I might as well get the more powerful one in case I end up doing more design work than I'd like.

Or I should I just save about $200 and get the 2016 base version (2.0 GHZ 8GB no Touch Bar)?

Thanks!

 

[andy9l]

Objectively speaking the 2016 TouchBar model provides these benefits:

• better performance over time when under load due to better cooling design, an extra fan and higher base clocks
• better connectivity through more ports
• Touch ID benefits (Apple Pay, login) and a more flexible/efficient Fn key row

and these disadvantages:

• old Butterfly v2 key design (v3 isn't out, but v2 has been changed on 2017 models due to the widespread issues)
• worse CPU performance over short bursts
• worse graphics performance over short bursts

Pick what's important to you and make an objective decision.

FWIW, for your usage, I don't think you'll notice a thing between the two. Touch ID is the only differentiator in your use case. And that's a benefit.

 

[ZZxx]

Thanks Andy, the way I see it the Touch ID is a disadvantage for me

And what about the 2016 no TB? Would it work fine or would I just start hating life any time I open an Adobe app?

 

[Jamalogo10]

Get the 2017 nTB with 256. It'll have a significantly better battery than the TB 2016 and the base clock of the 2017s are significantly faster than the highest GHz 2016 model.

The 2017s saw a huge performance boost. Look at the benchmarks then make your decision!

 

[andy9l]

Thanks Andy, the way I see it the Touch ID is a disadvantage for me

And what about the 2016 no TB? Would it work fine or would I just start hating life any time I open an Adobe app?

It's a professional notebook that's under a year old. You're not going to hate anything about it, including its performance.

However, I would advise getting the best you can for the budget you have. Anything else is ultimately a false economy.

If you have no interest in Touch ID, I would suggest the 2017 nTB from what you've told us so far.

 

[JesterAZ]

Get the 2017 nTB with 256. It'll have a significantly better battery than the TB 2016 and the base clock of the 2017s are significantly faster than the highest GHz 2016 model.

The 2017s saw a huge performance boost. Look at the benchmarks then make your decision!

Appleinsider video outlined this. Saying the highest upgraded 2016 model was still 20%? slower than the slowest 2017.

 

[ZZxx]

Thanks for your help. I just ordered the 2017 one.