MacBook Pro 2020 13" USER Reviews

[Yebubbleman]

Are there any lingering issues that people are having with their 2020 13" MacBook Pros? I may very well be getting one sooner rather than later (as the ability to virtualize x86 operating systems and have Boot Camp available are important features to me such that I won't be waiting for ARM here). The only issue that I've heard is that USB 2.0 support (presumably via an adapter) seems to have issues on both this machine as well as the 2020 MacBook Air. It's likely not going to come up often, but I know that when it comes up, it'll be important that it not be an issue.

Anyone else have any insights?

 

[hungryghosty]

I love the size of the laptop but after using it for a couple hours I found that the screen is just too small for my 50+ year old eyes.

What are you planning on getting to replace it?

Are there any lingering issues that people are having with their 2020 13" MacBook Pros? ?

I never noticed any issues/niggles with the one I had other than a problem with the display which was the reason I returned it. Other than that it was great. Still undecided whether to buy another one?

 

[interbear]

MacBook Pro 13 10th gen just came in yesterday and it's running like a champ.

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports)
2.3 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
16 GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4
1 TB SSD

The new keyboard is amazing and significantly better than the old.

How is it connected to an external monitor in terms of heat / fan noise? I’m currently frustrated with my MBP 16 inch for this reason, considering alternatives.

 

[jiholl]

Picked up a 2020 13” i5 16GB 1TB model at the Apple store today and love the size. No evidence of any thermal issues and the fans were silent except for when I was installing software. Even had it connected to a caldigit ts3 driving two older external monitors and had no problems. I will however be returning it. I love the size of the laptop but after using it for a couple hours I found that the screen is just too small for my 50+ year old eyes.

Hi...the 50 + eyes thing concerns me as well....I have been using 15 inch pros for many years...was thinking of going to 13 but concerned about same thing? Its not so much about losing real estate, but about everything being to small...was that your experience?

 

[Ocnetgeek]

Hi...the 50 + eyes thing concerns me as well....I have been using 15 inch pros for many years...was thinking of going to 13 but concerned about same thing? Its not so much about losing real estate, but about everything being to small...was that your experience?

Yes. While you can scale the display to handle some of that I found things like text and icons in the menu bar were just too small for me.

 

[sub150]

My only gripe about the new 2020 MPB (other than the TB) is the screen brightness. Seems much darker than my 2014 MBA it's replacing.

For the TB, I need to get BTT.

 

[ludalex]

Will getting the maxed out CPU (2,3Ghz) increase temps and fan noise?

And can it drive 1x 1440p@120hz + 1x 1440p@60hz in clamshell without catching fire / hearing excessive fan noise?

 

[christcc2]

How is it connected to an external monitor in terms of heat / fan noise? I’m currently frustrated with my MBP 16 inch for this reason, considering alternatives.

I'm using an eGPU and a Thunderbolt dock and fan noise is at a minimum - both from the MBP and my graphics card's fans - which only kick on when I'm gaming. When I'm in Photoshop, Illustrator or Premiere I haven't heard any jet engines.

 

[mfram]

How is it connected to an external monitor in terms of heat / fan noise? I’m currently frustrated with my MBP 16 inch for this reason, considering alternatives.

I have a 2020 MBP13" connected to a TB3 adapter with two HDMI connectors on it going to 2 external 4K monitors. There's no extra heat or noise for me connecting to external monitors. My MBP acts the same with or without the external monitors. Remember, the 13" only has the integrated Intel graphics. It's fine for me to do desktop (web browsing, email, etc.) to external monitors.

 

[someoneoutthere]

I recently picked up the 10th gen i5/16/512 model. This is arguably the best Mac I have ever owned. It got warm first day downloading, installing and indexing everything; fan noise has been very acceptable. Trackpad/palm area gets slightly warm, but nothing too crazy. It handles WOW and some of my Steam titles just fine (I have realistic expectations running games with iGPU so I haven't bothered trying ultra settings, and yes fans kick in when I'm gaming). Xcode, Photoshop, Lightroom and productivity apps (Office 365, etc.) run smooth as butter. Same thing goes for video conferences.
Battery life is AMAZING. Yesterday and today, on and off I have been browsing the internet (SAFARI), streaming some music and running some productivity apps - I believe I am close to 12-13 hours of usage - and battery has just gone south of 15%. Of course your mileage may vary if you're using Chrome (for the love of God at least don't use Chrome on the go), screen brightness, ambient temperature, etc.
I was on the fence for getting the i7/32/2tb model (the only i7 model that is readily available at the Apple Store) but I am glad I didn't. For what I use it for, this is an amazing machine and I am loving it. Unless you have a crazy demanding work flow, the new i5/16/512 model should be more than plenty for most of you out there.
I also use Sidecar actively so I haven't bothered plugging in my 4K monitor. Sidecar runs smoothly and it hasn't caused fans to kick in - so if you have a relatively new/compatible iPad laying around somewhere, you may find that a viable option if you are concerned with fans kicking in when you connect an external monitor (yes I can plug in my monitor and give you guys feedback later this week)
My next project is to install the PB of Big Sur using Parallels when it becomes available and see how this setup handles running a VM. I am sure it will be just fine.
Hope this helps someone. Cheers!

 

[Boomer5100]

My only gripe about the new 2020 MPB (other than the TB) is the screen brightness. Seems much darker than my 2014 MBA it's replacing.

For the TB, I need to get BTT.

Have you tried turning auto brightness off? To get full brightness (500 nit), I had to turn off auto brightness.

 

[sub150]

Have you tried turning auto brightness off? To get full brightness (500 nit), I had to turn off auto brightness.

Did your full brightness get brighter with auto brightness off?

 

[sixtydashone]

How is it connected to an external monitor in terms of heat / fan noise? I’m currently frustrated with my MBP 16 inch for this reason, considering alternatives.

I have mine (2020 MBP 10th gen i7) plugged into an LG 3440x1440 monitor and it's very quiet, usually inaudible. I am working from home and been using it as my workstation 40hrs/wk and the fans can rarely be heard.

 

[iRun26.2]

My only gripe about the new 2020 MPB (other than the TB) is the screen brightness. Seems much darker than my 2014 MBA it's replacing.

For the TB, I need to get BTT.

Really?! When I turn the brightness up all of the way...it is so bright that it nearly hurts my eyes! Much brighter than my 2015 MacBook.

 

[antipodean]

I have mine (2020 MBP 10th gen i7) plugged into an LG 3440x1440 monitor and it's very quiet, usually inaudible. I am working from home and been using it as my workstation 40hrs/wk and the fans can rarely be heard.

I concur. I've had my (2020 MBP 10th gen i7/32GB/1TB) for almost a month and nearly always plugged in to my 4K Dell u3219q. Whether clamshell closed or open it is extremely quiet. For light tasks (including in some cases 1080p YouTube) I routinely see fans at 0 rpm and CPU temp around 50C. When the fans are on, they are usually around 1300 rpm which is inaudible to me.

Only when doing something like a Handbrake transcode or FCPX export do they really ramp up above 3500 rpm, which is the point that they become noticeably loud.

One final snippet is that I typically have the MBP on a rain design mStand. This advertises itself as providing a large heat sync because it is all aluminium. I was very sceptical of this claim because the stand has rubber pads preventing direct metal to metal contact with the MBP. I do wonder though. Perhaps it makes a small difference? The stand is a fairly large chunk of metal, so I guess it would absorb a decent amount of heat.

 

[naturalstar]

How is it connected to an external monitor in terms of heat / fan noise? I’m currently frustrated with my MBP 16 inch for this reason, considering alternatives.

I have mine connected to a 27” 4K monitor. I’ve used both the USB-C and DisplayPort connections, now just USB-C. Never had any heat or fan noise with it hooked up. Wattage is really low. I also regularly use my 13” MBP with the lid open. I use it in clamshell based on what I’m doing, but I’m not forced to at all.
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Yes. While you can scale the display to handle some of that I found things like text and icons in the menu bar were just too small for me.

Did you use SwitchResX? Great tool to open up a plethora of resolution options. Absolutely worth it.

 

[sub150]

Really?! When I turn the brightness up all of the way...it is so bright that it nearly hurts my eyes! Much brighter than my 2015 MacBook.

Full bright is really bright on the new one. But "normal" brightness is like 75% for me, and anything below that seems dark.

I guess like 40% on the 2014 MBA seemed "right" and 75% on the new 2020 MBP seems right, so it's making me think I'm losing battery to get the same level of brightness. Probably doesn't work that way, just a change in sliders that gives you more granular control on the low end and the high end is basically "normal" vs "in the sun-doing color work, need max".

 

[iRun26.2]

Full bright is really bright on the new one. But "normal" brightness is like 75% for me, and anything below that seems dark.

I guess like 40% on the 2014 MBA seemed "right" and 75% on the new 2020 MBP seems right, so it's making me think I'm losing battery to get the same level of brightness. Probably doesn't work that way, just a change in sliders that gives you more granular control on the low end and the high end is basically "normal" vs "in the sun-doing color work, need max".

You are right! It almost seems like the scale they use for brightness isn’t the same as it used to be. It gets very bright very quickly and is pretty dark everywhere else.

 

[benredacted]

I concur. I've had my (2020 MBP 10th gen i7/32GB/1TB) for almost a month and nearly always plugged in to my 4K Dell u3219q. Whether clamshell closed or open it is extremely quiet. For light tasks (including in some cases 1080p YouTube) I routinely see fans at 0 rpm and CPU temp around 50C. When the fans are on, they are usually around 1300 rpm which is inaudible to me.

Only when doing something like a Handbrake transcode or FCPX export do they really ramp up above 3500 rpm, which is the point that they become noticeably loud.

One final snippet is that I typically have the MBP on a rain design mStand. This advertises itself as providing a large heat sync because it is all aluminium. I was very sceptical of this claim because the stand has rubber pads preventing direct metal to metal contact with the MBP. I do wonder though. Perhaps it makes a small difference? The stand is a fairly large chunk of metal, so I guess it would absorb a decent amount of heat.

I suspect at least some of the benefit of the mStand comes from better air circulation compared to the laptop sitting directly on the desk or (worse) on your lap.

 

[kory108]

Full bright is really bright on the new one. But "normal" brightness is like 75% for me, and anything below that seems dark.

I guess like 40% on the 2014 MBA seemed "right" and 75% on the new 2020 MBP seems right, so it's making me think I'm losing battery to get the same level of brightness. Probably doesn't work that way, just a change in sliders that gives you more granular control on the low end and the high end is basically "normal" vs "in the sun-doing color work, need max".

I noticed the same thing - I think it also may be partially due to the different screen treatments. The Pro is all glass so reflections tend to be a larger issue. Overall though I haven't noticed an issue with battery life on the new Pro, even when working outside at close to 100% brightness; still getting around 7 hours (using Safari).

 

[antipodean]

I suspect at least some of the benefit of the mStand comes from better air circulation compared to the laptop sitting directly on the desk or (worse) on your lap.

Yes, that would make sense. Combining all these factors (10th gen efficiency, mStand acting as simultaneous "heat sync" and improving air flow) results in a cool running machine even when driving a 4k display at retina 2560x1440. What impresses me the most is that it runs quieter than my 2015 27" iMac did driving the same 4k display. I never really considered the iMac a noisy machine, but the fan did ramp up when viewing YouTube video on the external display.

So, for me the 2020 MBP is working out very nicely.

 

[AjTee]

I have MacBook Pro 13" 2020 model since 30th June. This device is great. No overheating notified. Very smooth running.
I have model with 10th Gen i5 CPU, 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB SSD. Recommend everyone to go with 10th gen and 16 GB RAM instead of 8th gen and 8 gigs of ram. Very good device for such price. Keyboard works great 10000% better then butterfly

 

[Mr D]

How is it connected to an external monitor in terms of heat / fan noise? I’m currently frustrated with my MBP 16 inch for this reason, considering alternatives.

I'm using a LG Ultrafine 5k Display, so it'd be the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connection.

Haven't had heat issues - in terms of fan noise I'm using Mac Fan Control to increase fan usage to keep the computer at a lower temperature overall. Therefore, I get more fan noise due to my control.

Replacing fans is cheaper than replacing any other part inside lol

 

[Leet Apple]

Very happy with my 2020 13" MBP I did i5/32/512, had it for about a month and I find it rarely getting hot and very snappy for 99% of the things I need it to do (LR+PS)

my previous MBP was a 15" 2010 and this is worlds apart. I've read up on other peoples issues but I've had none (fingers crossed) I mean worst case I always got Applecare+

 

[WorldIRC]

I've had my i5 10th gen/16/512 for just over two weeks now. Finally have it all set up and working how I want, with 2x Dell 2720q UHD external monitors over USB-C. I have one of the monitors actively charging the laptop, and the other monitor acting as my "USB 3" docking station.

All in, everything has been pretty good. No fan noise unless I open up Windows in Parallels, but that goes away after a couple of minutes. Otherwise, the laptop is very quiet.

Only thing I am trying to figure out is the random waking from sleep mode, but its not a big deal. It may be the monitors.