Received my 2020 13" MBP (4-port model) exactly one week ago (just 3 days after ordering!). Been using it quite a lot since then. For what it's worth, here's my review.
I didn't plan on buying this computer. I'm more of a MB Air guy. Love the Air's form-factor, the physical Fn keys, and don't really need the power of a MBP for 90% of my work flow.
I was thrilled when Apple announced the 2020 Air with quad-core i5 option and Magic Keyboard. I ordered one right away, intending to replace my 2018 MB Air.
I returned the 2020 MBA after 12 days. It ran hot and the fan was on quite often, not just when doing processor-intensive tasks but for everyday stuff. In side by side comparisons with my 2018 MBA, it didn't complete everyday tasks or processor-intensive tasks any faster, even tho the 2018 MBA has an older and supposedly much slower processor.
A couple weeks later, Apple announced the new MB Pros with Magic Keyboard. I ordered the $1799 MB Pro right away. It's been great, except for battery life. It's way faster than the Air (even the 2018 Air!) (that "!" was sarcastic, btw). The fans are usually off, sometimes run quietly, and almost never run loud. It can handle everything I throw at it, and then some. The display is more color-rich than the MB Air's display (tho the MBA display is very good IMHO). I like having thunderbolt ports on either side, and having four of them - I'm less dongle-dependent.
Two bummers - battery life and the Touch Bar.
On this new MB Pro, I'm only getting 5-6 hours of battery life per charge, maybe 7 hours if I have brightness down to 50-60% and don't use Zoom. Zoom is an effing battery hog, battery life falls about 35% per hour on a Zoom conference call. But even without video conferencing, battery life falls far short of the 10 hours Apple claims.
The Touch Bar for me is problematic. I type fast, and sometimes one of my fingers lightly grazes the bottom edge of the TB and causes a TB command to activate. I have my TB set to always show the "expanded control strip" quick action commands--the ones on the MB Air's Fn keys - brightness, volume, play/pause/rewind, etc. When I'm doing a lot of typing, I sometimes accidentally trigger the music app - which then opens on top of whatever app I was working in, so i have to interrupt my work to close it. Super annoying. Sometimes, TB commands seem to be triggered even when my fingers are nowhere near the TB.
There is a partial fix - customize the TB strip and remove all of the things you don't absolutely need, so that most of it is just blank space. But I don't like paying for a feature that I have to disable, and disabling it leaves me without most Fn keys or quick-access commands that I would have with the MB Air keyboard.
But my TB experience is not a deal-breaker, it's an annoyance. In every other respect, I'm very happy with the 2020 MB Pro.
I know many people are disappointed that the $1299 model is essentially last year's model with a Magic Keyboard and bigger SSD for the same money. But for people like me who aren't power users, I think it's a great option.
But if you can afford the $1799 model, I'd like to argue that it's a very good value:
Start with the $1299 model. I think it's a great computer for the money, but I need more than 256GB SSD. So add $200 for the upgrade to 512GB. I can live with 8GB RAM, but I prefer 16GB and Apple only charges $100 to upgrade to 16GB, so that's a no-brainer. So now I'm at $1599.
Compare this configuration with the $1799 model. The extra $200 buys you a 10th gen processor with faster performance and much better graphics performance, faster RAM, and two extra Thunderbolt 3 ports. To me, that seems like a lot of value for an extra $200.
The 13" MBP that Apple just introduced has the same design as the late 2016 model, not the new 14" design that's been rumored for a while. When the 14" model comes out, maybe I'll be kicking myself for buying this 13" model instead of waiting. But anytime you buy a computer or tablet or phone, there's always the risk you'll regret not waiting until the next model comes out the following year. People who bought a 2019 MB Pro with butterfly keyboard might be kicking themselves for not waiting now that the 2020 13" MBP comes with a Magic keyboard and bigger SSD for the same price.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the 2020 13" MBP. I know some of you disagree and I respect your opinions, but wanted to share mine in case it's helpful for people trying to decide what to buy.
Totally agree the 13" is on the edge for portability, but at least it is possible to be productive on it.
