MacBook Pro 2016 15 Inch

[Gaprofitt]

Hi All,

Purchased a MacBook Pro 2016 15 Inch about 2 weeks ago from Best Buy at $2799.00. Got it for $2500 out the door. Going to return it. Here is my take:

Pro's

• Fit and finish is top notch, really like the trackpad and keyboard. USB-C charging via either side is nice.
• Screen is great, bright, clear and nice.
• Performance has been snappy, no issues..
• Lightweight for it's size
• TouchID is super nice to have
• iMessage which doesn't exist on Windows

Con's

• For roughly $300-$500 less, I can get the new Dell XPS 15 loaded with ports, sd card, 1TB SSD, 16GB ram and a much much better Nvidia 1050 video card. Touchscreen, better display, sd card slot.
• Aside from the Touch ID the touch bar really is a gimmick. You have to take your eyes off the screen to use it which kinda defeats the point, not sure what Apple was thinking.
• 78kwhr battery vs 97kwhr battery in the Dell
• Limited ports
• No SD card, this one really annoys me
• Lack of docking stations, accessories for USB-C/Thunderbolt 3. I know they are coming..

Overall it's a hard sell to spend more money for less, and that's why I am returning it. Sure Windows in it's day was problematic, but those days have since passed. Unfortunately just like Samsung did to the iPhone, PC manufacturers have done to the MacBook line.. While I am an iPhone user, Apple really has taken a beating with technology advances and design the past few years.

 

[xmonkey]

Ok, thanks for the impressions. Enjoy your Dell.

 

[FrozenDarkness]

i think it's amazing that you purchased a computer when al your cons could've been completed with research.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Sure Windows in it's day was problematic, but those days have since passed.

Couldn't disagree more. Lots of bugs with Anniversary Edition. Explorer crashing/restarting when browsing folders or creating new ones. The fix for that is to create a new user account. Works more often than not (99/100 times).

There's been a recent issue with networks completely failing after an update. They connect but show as being limited. This happens on both Wi-Fi and Ethernet. Ipconfig /release + renew will spit up an error about devices not being connected. The fix for this is to Windows + I, Network & Internet, Network Reset, and Reset. Then restart the computer. However this fix won't work if Windows also has the bug with Metro apps immediately crashing.

Now the fix for Metro apps crashing would normally be to run a DISM repair through elevated CMD or PowerShell – however DISM repair pulls from the Internet, so this won't work. If you encounter the network problem and the Metro apps, you'll need to reimage the machine.

Also make sure your drivers are fully up-to-date. It's nice and easy to do this through Device Manager – Wi-Fi and iGPU are the main issues you'll encounter. Luckily DELLs are pretty good for drivers as they use decent/standardised hardware, so the automatic search will pull the newest ones you'll need. Be sure to install the GeForce Experience for your NVIDIA GPU too.

Generally in my experience, Windows 8.1 was considerably more stable and trouble-free. Hopefully you won't encounter any issues stated above (they're the biggest/most annoying ones), but the fixes are there.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy your new machine! If it does the job for you, that's the most important thing.

 

[blairian89]

Enjoy your new Dell...I am tempted to purchase one of the newly released models as well for sheit and giggles.

 

[Sanpete]

Is the new XPS already available, or are you saying you'll wait? I think you can always get a better machine later, if you wait.

I've made a detailed comparison between the new MBP 15" and the 2015 XPS UHD, most of which will still apply:

https://www.amazon.com/review/R27MBWO99H5LZJ/

The old XPS was a great bargain for specs, though many have been less satisfied with the implementation, including build quality.

The ports on the new Dell will be better than the old ones, but 4 Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports will still be more powerful and flexible than the new Dell ports, at the cost of some convenience.

The new Dell video card will be better, no doubt.

The XPS 4K screen is higher resolution, but it's not as bright, has lower contrast, and is less accurate--though the latter point can be fixed if you buy calibrating equipment and learn how to use it (vitiating some of the savings).

The touchscreen is a great feature for those who don't mind a smudgy screen. I can't get into that myself, but I can see the attraction.

The battery is only 13 WH bigger than the old one, which had far worse battery life than the 15" MBP does. The new Kaby Lake processor will save some power, but with the same screen and desktop RAM, it may not achieve a vast improvement in battery life.

I disagree that Apple has taken a beating in regard to new technology lately. It's always been ahead in some ways and behind in others, no more so now than before. Some people will find the things Apple does better worth paying for, and some won't, but it's still a matter of getting what you pay for.

 

[Wildkraut]

yawn

 

[Gaprofitt]

i think it's amazing that you purchased a computer when al your cons could've been completed with research.

Incorrect, the Dell 9560 wasn't out.. It was just recently announced and released.. Also it's about the experience, not all about specs..
[doublepost=1484172128][/doublepost]

Is the new XPS already available, or are you saying you'll wait? I think you can always get a better machine later, if you wait.

I've made a detailed comparison between the new MBP 15" and the 2015 XPS UHD, most of which will still apply:

https://www.amazon.com/review/R27MBWO99H5LZJ/

The old XPS was a great bargain for specs, though many have been less satisfied with the implementation, including build quality.

The ports on the new Dell will be better than the old ones, but 4 Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports will still be more powerful and flexible than the new Dell ports, at the cost of some convenience.

The new Dell video card will be better, no doubt.

The XPS 4K screen is higher resolution, but it's not as bright, has lower contrast, and is less accurate--though the latter point can be fixed if you buy calibrating equipment and learn how to use it (vitiating some of the savings).

The touchscreen is a great feature for those who don't mind a smudgy screen. I can't get into that myself, but I can see the attraction.

The battery is only 13 WH bigger than the old one, which had far worse battery life than the 15" MBP does. The new Kaby Lake processor will save some power, but with the same screen and desktop RAM, it may not achieve a vast improvement in battery life.

I disagree that Apple has taken a beating in regard to new technology lately. It's always been ahead in some ways and behind in others, no more so now than before. Some people will find the things Apple does better worth paying for, and some won't, but it's still a matter of getting what you pay for.

It's available to order, ships in two weeks. I ordered one today.. I expect the 97kwhr battery and Kaby lake processor to run circles around this unoptimized 78kwhr battery. I suspect there are some software bugs with Sierra. It shouldn't be quite this bad and inconsistent..

I'm not huge on the touchscreen really, I could do without. The SD card slot though, included ports, extremely higher powered video adapter are really appealing to me. I expect the battery to last much longer than this MacBook.

I'm not bashing the Mac, but apples for apples, (pun intended) the XPS is a better laptop and value.. Both are good laptops..

 

[Sanpete]

Two weeks isn't much of a wait, really. I hope it will work for you.

You're very likely to be disappointed with the battery life compared to the MBP 15, for the reasons I gave before. You may be under a misimpression about how good the battery life of the Mac is. It meets or exceeds the claims made by Apple, and far exceeds the performance of the old XPS (details are at the link), which is a lot like the new XPS. I look forward to learning with you and others how it will turn out.

 

[Marshall73]

Buy decent antivirus, ESET or Webroot otherwise enjoy your cryptolocker experience.

 

[xmonkey]

I'm not huge on the touchscreen really, I could do without. The SD card slot though, included ports, extremely higher powered video adapter are really appealing to me. I expect the battery to last much longer than this MacBook.

Are there benchmarks of the 1050 out? Genuinely curious. I don't think it's going to be 'extremely higher powered' compared to the 460 in the MBP (outside of CUDA applications obviously), but it'd be useful to see a good comparison...

Report back on the battery life if you can. I think it'll be an interesting result. You got the 4K screen, yes?

 

[Macalway]

Reads like a Dell advertisement.

 

[leman]

Did Dell fix the power consumption issues with their 4K display or is it still going to cut the battery life in half? Also, what is the weight of the model with the larger battery? 2.2kg?

Personally, I'd rather take the more mobile laptop and accept the 20% slower GPU...

 

[Macalway]

Enjoy your Dell. A fine machine

Note: The screen on the new Apple seems to be considerably better than the previous retina screen. It's hard to tell, but that's my take so far. This is important, no?

I just wish Apple had a lower spec 15" to get. I don't need a the huge power.

 

[leman]

Are there benchmarks of the 1050 out? Genuinely curious. I don't think it's going to be 'extremely higher powered' compared to the 460 in the MBP (outside of CUDA applications obviously), but it'd be useful to see a good comparison...

The main advantage of the 1050 is its higher clocked VRAM, which makes sense, as it's a gaming card. The DX11 benchmarks are around 20% better on the 1050, haven't seen the DX12 or Vulcan benchmarks though, which I suspect will be a smaller gap. All in all, the 1050 is only a minor improvement from the 960m. From the efficiency standpoint, the 1050 and the Polaris 11 in the MBP appear to be almost identical, with AMD having a slight edge. The Polaris is a 35W GPU while the Pascal part is somewhere around 45W. The AMD card is a more 'premium' one - it represents the creme de la creme of Polaris 11 yields. Of course it doesn't make it better, just rarer and thus more expensive.

 

[Sanpete]

Did Dell fix the power consumption issues with their 4K display or is it still going to cut the battery life in half? Also, what is the weight of the model with the larger battery? 2.2kg?

Personally, I'd rather take the more mobile laptop and accept the 20% slower GPU...

From what I've heard the weight won't increase, but it will still be a half-pound or so heavier than the MBP.

 

[leman]

P.S. I would bet that the status quo between the XPS and the MBP won't change much from the 2015. The Dell is still cheaper and offers better graphical performance. The MBP will most likely retain better battery life and faster storage. Also, Apple still has better build quality. In fact, if anything, the difference will shift in MBP's favor. It got improved mobility and a brighter screen with better contrast (Dell seems to use the same panel as the last year) and the difference between 460 pro and the 1050 gtx is much smaller than between the M370X and the 960M.
[doublepost=1484175441][/doublepost]

From what I've heard the weight won't increase, but it will still be a half-pound or so heavier than the MBP.

Dell website says that the weight is 2kg with 56Wh battery and touch display. Surely the 97wh model will weight more? I find it very annoying that Dell and co don't state these figures clearly...

 

[Gaprofitt]

P.S. I would bet that the status quo between the XPS and the MBP won't change much from the 2015. The Dell is still cheaper and offers better graphical performance. The MBP will most likely retain better battery life and faster storage. Also, Apple still has better build quality. In fact, if anything, the difference will shift in MBP's favor. It got improved mobility and a brighter screen with better contrast (Dell seems to use the same panel as the last year) and the difference between 460 pro and the 1050 gtx is much smaller than between the M370X and the 960M.
[doublepost=1484175441][/doublepost]

Dell website says that the weight is 2kg with 56Wh battery and touch display. Surely the 97wh model will weight more? I find it very annoying that Dell and co don't state these figures clearly...

Its .5 lbs heavier. 4.5 total.

 

[MrGuder]

While it's great that you realized it's a Dell you really need, why you spent $2500.00 on a Macbook when you knew what you were getting into, that is unless you didn't do your own homework. You knew about the lack of ports, smaller battery and that USB C was new and you would probably have to wait awhile for proper accessories. Since you mentioned Best Buy I'm sure you at least looked at the Macbook on the floor and played around with the TB, thus you would have known before hand your eyes will be taken off the keys to use it. So yeah I don't understand your Con's with relation to knowing what your buying beforehand.

I think the important question is why you would have spent $2500.00 on a laptop when you could have gotten everything you needed with a Dell. Hey a Dell is not bad, I had one for 8 yrs and it still works my first backlit laptop but just be prepared if you call Cust Service you might not get anyone that speaks good English.

 

[Gaprofitt]

The new Dell was just released. Can't do homework on something not released. The lack of ports isnt a huge deal, but it is a disadvantage for sure. This new model makes the cons list much much longer. I work as a virtualization engineer. Apple made a mistake reducing battery size and not waiting on the 7th gen processors. This would have offset the smaller battery given the efficiency gains of Kaby Lake procs. Removing the SD card slot is a total head scratcher. Again both are solid products, but my vote is the new XPS 15.

 

[MrGuder]

^^Your not following....the homework is on the Apple one you just spent $2500.00 on lol you didn't do your homework or you would have already known about those Cons. None of this makes sense to me but yeah after all this a Dell sounds like what you needed to begin with, it shouldn't have cost you $2500.00 to find that out if you had done your homework.

 

[Gaprofitt]

^^Your not following....the homework is on the Apple one you just spent $2500.00 on lol you didn't do your homework or you would have already known about those Cons. None of this makes sense to me but yeah after all this a Dell sounds like what you needed to begin with, it shouldn't have cost you $2500.00 to find that out if you had done your homework.

Huh? Who said I didnt already know the cons? I was pointing them out. You know how people are. One guy is getting 14 hrs on the battery, the next 4. One loves the keyboard, the next doesnt. Thats why return policies exist. Its gone.

 

[MarcBou]

You said SD card thing like 3 times, that doesn't count like 3 cons.

 

[shareef777]

Huh? Who said I didnt already know the cons? I was pointing them out. You know how people are. One guy is getting 14 hrs on the battery, the next 4. One loves the keyboard, the next doesnt. Thats why return policies exist. Its gone.

Along his point, it's like someone putting a con on the XPS because it doesn't run MacOS.

It doesn't make sense, as it's a given. No need to purchase it to make the determination. You can't dock it for not having ports outside USB-C. If that's what you needed, why buy it? Battery is also irrelevant. It's smaller, but my money is on the MBP still outlasting the Dell on similar tasks ... by a healthy margin. Then you talk about the touchbar being gimmicky (and I agree) but then talk about the touchscreen on the XPS (which is arguably gimmicky as well, touchscreen are for tablets or laptops that can convert to tablets, doesn't make sense on a notebook). Also, the MBP display is better than the XPS in everything except resolution. And at that point, why would it matter if it's 4K on a 15" screen? Do you plan on running it at a native resolution, if so, you should talk to your optometrist after a month.

One additional con to the MacBook is the keyboard, but one pro is the trackpad. Those are IMHO more important then anything else. If you use your keyboard a lot (coding, writing/documenting) then the XPS is likely better. If you use the trackpad more (PhotoShop, audio/video) then the MBP is better.

 

[fs454]

Who says the 1050 is "much, much" better than the 460? There's no data to support that. I'm sure it exceeds it by a little bit (and it better as it has a higher TDP), but the 460 offers some serious muscle for how small and low-power it is.