Thanks for your review!
How are you finding living with the Silver? I ordered the same, but having 2nd thoughts as work ones are mostly space grey! I liked the retro-ness of the silver after a few generations of the grey.
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MacBook Pro 2020 13" USER Reviews
- Thread starter citivolus
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How are you finding living with the Silver? I ordered the same, but having 2nd thoughts as work ones are mostly space grey! I liked the retro-ness of the silver after a few generations of the grey.
Got my 2020 base + 16GB RAM in silver. Love it so far. The fans never come on so it's silent which is amazing to me. This is my first Mac after years of Windows and I'm glad I switched. BTW, I'm getting good battery life even using Chrome, which is impressive!
That is great to hear on the battery life! I have a MB 12 and that was immense. Also have a 2020 Air which is pretty impressive too.
Snap on the model! I went base with 8th gen processor. Think it will be 'good enough'
Did you have previous space grey macs? Just wondering if the silver looks dated quickly! I like how the silver looks smaller... space grey looks bit more 'there' if that makes sense
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If I had a buck every time some salesman told me something 'should be better' ..
I'd have enough for another computer!I had the MacBook Air 16GB/i5/256 for a week which I returned back and We have now the MacBook Pro 10th gen/16/512 which I bought as present to my wife and we are inclined to keep it. I personally never had a Mac (but I love them and always wanted one) I Personally have and use a first generation surface book.
Both MacBooks are great machines but me and my wife notice a strange thing. We expected the trackpads to feel exactly the same but the trackpad in MacBook Air seems to have a lot firmer click than the pro even after changing the trackpad settings in pro to the Firmest setting and disabling the tap to click.
in different circumstances I would go myself to Apple store to check that I do not have a “strange” pro unit but sadly nowadays I cannot thus I would be grateful for people that had both laptops to comment on my experience. Is the MacBook Pro trackpad feedback slightly different than the MacBook Air maybe due to different size or just something is wrong with my unit?
just to make clear that there is nothing wrong with the trackpad of the pro if I did not have the air just before I would not notice anything wrong. Just the click is not so firm as on air.
Both MacBooks are great machines but me and my wife notice a strange thing. We expected the trackpads to feel exactly the same but the trackpad in MacBook Air seems to have a lot firmer click than the pro even after changing the trackpad settings in pro to the Firmest setting and disabling the tap to click.
in different circumstances I would go myself to Apple store to check that I do not have a “strange” pro unit but sadly nowadays I cannot thus I would be grateful for people that had both laptops to comment on my experience. Is the MacBook Pro trackpad feedback slightly different than the MacBook Air maybe due to different size or just something is wrong with my unit?
just to make clear that there is nothing wrong with the trackpad of the pro if I did not have the air just before I would not notice anything wrong. Just the click is not so firm as on air.
That is great to hear on the battery life! I have a MB 12 and that was immense. Also have a 2020 Air which is pretty impressive too.
Snap on the model! I went base with 8th gen processor. Think it will be 'good enough'
Did you have previous space grey macs? Just wondering if the silver looks dated quickly! I like how the silver looks smaller... space grey looks bit more 'there' if that makes sense
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If I had a buck every time some salesman told me something 'should be better' ..
The high-end MBP is better with eGPU. There has been some test in Final Cut Pro X, which showed that the base MBP + eGPU showed very little improvement. Even the high-end 13" MBP without eGPU was faster in some tests.
However the high-end model saw a big performance boost with the eGPU, almost double the performance. So it isn't some marketing from intel.
Thanks for your review. Sounds like your use case is pretty similar to mine including running the laptop open connected to an external display. I've just ordered a 13" 10th gen (i5/16Gb/1Tb) to replace my 2016 Macbook 12" so should be a substantial boost in performance.
Actually, until now I've tended to have a relatively powerful desktop for running VM's/etc and a lightweight laptop for portability. However my 5-year old desktop failed last week so I decided to try a new MBP 13" to see if it could replace both my desktop and laptop.
When I'm at home I tend to run my laptop open using it's keyboard connected to a 34" Ultrawide (3440zx1440) via the Apple USB-C>HDMI multi-adaptor. This actually works pretty well using my 12" Macbook (other than being limited to 30Hz/50Hz though I don't find that an issue for most apps). I'm hoping I don't encounter any issues connecting the 13". Though in theory I could use some kind of Thunderbolt to Displayport adaptor in order to run my monitor at it's native 60Hz which would be bettter? Will probably invest in somekind of dock/hub if I decide to keep the 13".
Will post my thoughts when it arrives next week!
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Well if there's been "some test" then it must be true!
I've seen results of the gpu on the 10th gen being very impressive. I'm more interested if there's actual benchmarking that shows egpu performance too. I don't do a lot of video editing and have mac pro and macbook pro with dgpu. It's more if it was worth getting an egpu for home.
😎🤘🤞
Yes- I also noticed the difference straight away. 2020 Pro 13’s (even going back a few years as well) have a different trackpad click than the MBA’s and older 15” Pro’s for that matter.
Thanks for your review!
How are you finding living with the Silver? I ordered the same, but having 2nd thoughts as work ones are mostly space grey! I liked the retro-ness of the silver after a few generations of the grey.
Space Grey is fine, but I liked the Silver better. Just love the gleam to it. Other than the 2013 MBP, I’ve always had dark laptops for both personal and work-issued. So Space Grey while nice, wasn’t my preference this time. Even though I currently have a black (but cool design) skin on, I can eventually get rid of it and go back.
So that’s just my reasoning and personal opinion shaped by experience. There’s no true right or wrong. Some people think the brighter Silver can be distracting from typing. I say, as long as you’re not under a bright, direct overhead light you’re fine. I think most who are familiar with the classic silver know this already though.
The differences aren't mindblowing and it might come down to ram, but the more integrated thunderbolt functions in the 10th gen compared to the separate thunderbolt controller in the 8th might provide some benefits. Here's something at least
Thank you very much for your response, I am really grateful, that was really helpful to us.
We will keep this unit then since we prefer overall the pro but I will miss that firm click of the air. It was so special to me I did not even bother to activate the tap just to experience this feeling!!!
if Apple could do something softwarewise to improve that in the Pro as well will be great since I do not feel any great difference between the provided 3 different firmness settings.
Hey that was really very interesting - thanks for that!
The new 10th gen is really impressive on video exporting!
I don't do that enough to warrant and have much faster options (mac pro), but I definitely would get 10th gen at home if I was! I actually don't like egpu's at home - takes up more space + noise!
I wonder how many people that buy this for home actually do video exporting? 🤷♂️🤔
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Please do! Apparently the usb-c using alt DP mode allows 60hz
I think this was confirmed in one of the YouTube reviews. It might have actually been a Max Tech video.
I'll keep it short and sweet, so:
Previous:
2016 MBPtb 2.9 dual i5 | 8gb | 512gb
New:
2020 MBP 2.0 quad i5 | 16gb | 1tb
Haven't had any keyboard issues on my 2016 yet, but thought I needed more ram since I've been experiencing a lot of slowness with multitasking. Plus, the 1TB was a welcome as well because I've been running near full for a while.
Surprisingly, I actually find the butterfly keyboard a lot more comfortable to type on. That led me to just try and restore my MBP from fresh, so I did a clean install. Ever since then it's been running smooth again.
Since I'm not seeing that much difference anymore, I think I'm going to return the 2020 and stick with this one for a bit longer.
Previous:
2016 MBPtb 2.9 dual i5 | 8gb | 512gb
New:
2020 MBP 2.0 quad i5 | 16gb | 1tb
Haven't had any keyboard issues on my 2016 yet, but thought I needed more ram since I've been experiencing a lot of slowness with multitasking. Plus, the 1TB was a welcome as well because I've been running near full for a while.
Surprisingly, I actually find the butterfly keyboard a lot more comfortable to type on. That led me to just try and restore my MBP from fresh, so I did a clean install. Ever since then it's been running smooth again.
Since I'm not seeing that much difference anymore, I think I'm going to return the 2020 and stick with this one for a bit longer.
I had been using the butterfly keyboard since the 2015 MacBook. It did take me a week or so to get re-used to the scissor-switch keyboard.
I have both a 2017 12” MacBook and the 2020 MacBook Pro. The 2017 is great for travel, but I like to have the MacBook Pro as my main Mac to run virtual machines, etc.
Hi all, I have been reading through all these pages of reviews and insight and it all makes for interesting reading.
I was wondering if someone has used the new 13inch MBP 10th Gen for some slightly more demanding things beyond Zoom, Outlook and Chrome.
Typically I use a use a Dell XPS 13 and a MacBook 12inch for software / game development. On the XPS side I normally have Chrome open with 30+ tabs, 2 versions of Unity, Twinmotion, Lumion, Photoshop and a few other utilities running. All of this works perfectly smooth with lots of ram and quad core i7.
Looking at merging all this so having everything on one system for primarily access to xCode without switching to and from XPS & MacBook which is starting to show it's age. With Parallels running most of the above software along with the Mac versions.
My main question is how hot does this push the system? As from previous experience of my old Macbook Pro 15 from 2012 which used to get super hot when rendering in Vue etc. My main concern is running this software constantly would just be uncomfortable. Especially as I prefer working in direct sunlight and shade outdoors and from the couch indoors.
Or is it wise just to stick with the XPS as it 'works' and is proven? Thoughts appreciated!
I was wondering if someone has used the new 13inch MBP 10th Gen for some slightly more demanding things beyond Zoom, Outlook and Chrome.
Typically I use a use a Dell XPS 13 and a MacBook 12inch for software / game development. On the XPS side I normally have Chrome open with 30+ tabs, 2 versions of Unity, Twinmotion, Lumion, Photoshop and a few other utilities running. All of this works perfectly smooth with lots of ram and quad core i7.
Looking at merging all this so having everything on one system for primarily access to xCode without switching to and from XPS & MacBook which is starting to show it's age. With Parallels running most of the above software along with the Mac versions.
My main question is how hot does this push the system? As from previous experience of my old Macbook Pro 15 from 2012 which used to get super hot when rendering in Vue etc. My main concern is running this software constantly would just be uncomfortable. Especially as I prefer working in direct sunlight and shade outdoors and from the couch indoors.
Or is it wise just to stick with the XPS as it 'works' and is proven? Thoughts appreciated!
Got my 2020 i7/32/1 TB MBP a little over a week ago. Coming from a 2011 MBP I can't believe how fast this thing is. Great build quality as usual. I'm a little concerned I've had 2 complete system freezes that required a hard power off in the short time I've had it. I was using Ring Meetings both times this happened so I'm pretty sure it's software/OS related. Other than that I'm happy with it.
I've been using a 10th gen MBP base model since Friday, and it's been great. I wanted an upgrade to my trusty 2015 i7 11" Air. The screen bezels really started to get to me (the MBPs bezels are razor thin compared to those things). I wanted some more power too, I set a requirement of getting twice the performance. This new MBP does it one better and triples the power.
When the new Airs came out I was pretty excited for those, quad core and a retina screen. On paper it seems amazing. I ordered a i5/16GB/256GB version. But I ended up returning it. It just wasn't a fast enough upgrade compared to my 11". In some ways the 11" felt faster in sustained performance, it didn't need to max out the fans as much. The y-series cpu of the new Air is just not made for the heavy tasks. The kind of tasks that you would buy a Mac for in the first place.
Thankfully the new Pros came out in the return window, so I sent back the Air. I thought about ordering the base 13" Pro, I think that's a good option for me. But I wanted 512GB and 16GB, and the 10gen CPU plus all the little upgrades made the base high spec perfect for me. Maybe apple's pricing is doing something to my brain, but it's just about my upper limit for what I would spend on a Mac.
And so far I really love this computer. All the downsides of the Air, are gone. And the differences in size to the 13" Air is barely noticeable. I do miss the size of the 11", but the performance of this is a good trade off. If Apple ever makes a 'Pro' MacBook in a super tiny size like the 11" Air or 12" MacBook... that would be the computer for me. But this size is just small enough to be okay. The size trade off is worth it for the extra performance.
And the performance is great in this, I have done a little Logic Pro and I don't think I'll get anywhere close to maxing it out. The headroom is good too though, since I can run it harder without needing the fan to kick in.
The GPU upgrades are also great, and are really the extra boost that makes this model worth it. I sometimes play games on Macs. My old Air (and the 2020 i5 one for that matter...) struggled to run Table Top Simulator, I had to run it at 720P with pretty low frame rates. This new Mac runs it no problem on an external 1080P. The fans kicked in of course. But it wasn't pushing 100 degrees playing like the Air before, both new and old. I'm finally debating using Bootcamp for games, so I can stop using my old Windows desktop. I think the GPU in the Mac is about as good (old gtx 750).
I also use OpenEmu, and like to use the CRT shaders. The MacBook Pro ran these great as well. The shaders would tax my old Air to the point of needing the fan, needing the fans for just a quick play of retro games isn't fun. This one runs it with low cpu and gpu usage... it seems like a background task. Maybe this has enough power to handle PS2 and Gamecube games...
I wasn't interested in the Touch Bar, but I might find some uses for it. Right now I'm kinda neutral on it. I used the function keys for certain things in Logic and this recreates that kinda thing and more. I'm curious if my muscle memory can get used to a touch screen instead of buttons. I'll have to play around with it to see if there's some customized way of using it that I'll like. If they still made the low spec Pro without it, I'd probably stick with that one.
Except for the tocuhbar and the size, everything else about this Mac is perfect. It's 3 times faster than my old Mac. It has good enough graphics to do the couple things I want from it. It's just small enough with enough ports. I see myself using this for a good 5+ years.
When the new Airs came out I was pretty excited for those, quad core and a retina screen. On paper it seems amazing. I ordered a i5/16GB/256GB version. But I ended up returning it. It just wasn't a fast enough upgrade compared to my 11". In some ways the 11" felt faster in sustained performance, it didn't need to max out the fans as much. The y-series cpu of the new Air is just not made for the heavy tasks. The kind of tasks that you would buy a Mac for in the first place.
Thankfully the new Pros came out in the return window, so I sent back the Air. I thought about ordering the base 13" Pro, I think that's a good option for me. But I wanted 512GB and 16GB, and the 10gen CPU plus all the little upgrades made the base high spec perfect for me. Maybe apple's pricing is doing something to my brain, but it's just about my upper limit for what I would spend on a Mac.
And so far I really love this computer. All the downsides of the Air, are gone. And the differences in size to the 13" Air is barely noticeable. I do miss the size of the 11", but the performance of this is a good trade off. If Apple ever makes a 'Pro' MacBook in a super tiny size like the 11" Air or 12" MacBook... that would be the computer for me. But this size is just small enough to be okay. The size trade off is worth it for the extra performance.
And the performance is great in this, I have done a little Logic Pro and I don't think I'll get anywhere close to maxing it out. The headroom is good too though, since I can run it harder without needing the fan to kick in.
The GPU upgrades are also great, and are really the extra boost that makes this model worth it. I sometimes play games on Macs. My old Air (and the 2020 i5 one for that matter...) struggled to run Table Top Simulator, I had to run it at 720P with pretty low frame rates. This new Mac runs it no problem on an external 1080P. The fans kicked in of course. But it wasn't pushing 100 degrees playing like the Air before, both new and old. I'm finally debating using Bootcamp for games, so I can stop using my old Windows desktop. I think the GPU in the Mac is about as good (old gtx 750).
I also use OpenEmu, and like to use the CRT shaders. The MacBook Pro ran these great as well. The shaders would tax my old Air to the point of needing the fan, needing the fans for just a quick play of retro games isn't fun. This one runs it with low cpu and gpu usage... it seems like a background task. Maybe this has enough power to handle PS2 and Gamecube games...
I wasn't interested in the Touch Bar, but I might find some uses for it. Right now I'm kinda neutral on it. I used the function keys for certain things in Logic and this recreates that kinda thing and more. I'm curious if my muscle memory can get used to a touch screen instead of buttons. I'll have to play around with it to see if there's some customized way of using it that I'll like. If they still made the low spec Pro without it, I'd probably stick with that one.
Except for the tocuhbar and the size, everything else about this Mac is perfect. It's 3 times faster than my old Mac. It has good enough graphics to do the couple things I want from it. It's just small enough with enough ports. I see myself using this for a good 5+ years.
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It's so disappointing the number of people who found the Macbook Air didn't deliver on the performance front. You look at it on paper specs and think (quad core i5, 16Gb DDR4 memory and latest gen Intel iGPU) it should be leagues ahead of something from a few years ago but it funny how that didn't see to actually be the case.
Likewise, I'd also be curious to know how you got on connecting it to an external monitor if you do! Mine should arrive next week so I'll post up some thoughts when I've had it for a few days.