Macbook Pro- What is your review?

[0002378]

Yeah if I don't like what I see tomorrow for WWDC I am going to get a XPS 15(lol back to point A) and wait for it to go on sale for the 16gb ram and 512 SSD.

Damn, I am so lost! Went from OMG gonna get a MBP w/touchbar(last year) to gonna get a HP OMEN(became more budget friendly) to going to get a chromebook instead for senior year to Dell XPS 15(16gb ram, 512 ssd-it was on sale but missed it due to unsureness) to OMG gonna actually get the MBP w/touchbar to gonna do a desktop build to gonna get the Alienware Aurora R6 and now to the XPS 15.

Guess its hard since this desktop/laptop will last me for 4-5 years!!! Never owned any technology for that long. I always bought/had the cheaper bluetooth speakers, computers, etc. I either broke it or it no long could keep up!

To be honest, MBP isn't the only cool kid on the block ... at least not anymore. Competition inevitably brings out improvements in competitors, so you have plenty of good choices. That's the good news.

Now, for the bad news. With a $1500 budget and plenty of good choices, how the heck do you make up your mind which one is the best deal for you ?!

 

[ZapNZs]

I like the XPS-13/15 quite a lot - it is a great computer that most owners really like. But from a longevity perspective, I personally still favor the MacBook Pro. Long-term ownership studies favor Apple by a pretty significant margin in ownership satisfaction, satisfaction with customer support, and overall reliability. As I tend to keep my laptops for 4-6+ years, these factors have personally influenced my individual choice in Apple (and also Microsoft, for that matter, as I am also very happy with my Surface Pro 3.)

http://www.pcmag.com/news/351659/readers-choice-awards-2016-laptops-desktops

 

[Alphonsus]

To be honest, MBP isn't the only cool kid on the block ... at least not anymore. Competition inevitably brings out improvements in competitors, so you have plenty of good choices. That's the good news.

Now, for the bad news. With a $1500 budget and plenty of good choices, how the heck do you make up your mind which one is the best deal for you ?!

MBP use to be superior by far but now the race is getting tight, some may say PCs are actually ahead! I wish Apple was more people oriented and drop some of their laptops at least $100-200. If you have 10 people and only 5 of them by the MBP(no TB) that's $7,500 . however say you drop the computer to $1,300 now let's say 8 people will now buy it thus you get $10,400.
[doublepost=1496636444][/doublepost]

I like the XPS-13/15 quite a lot - it is a great computer that most owners really like. But from a longevity perspective, I personally still favor the MacBook Pro. Long-term ownership studies favor Apple by a pretty significant margin in ownership satisfaction, satisfaction with customer support, and overall reliability. As I tend to keep my laptops for 4-6+ years, these factors have personally influenced my individual choice in Apple.

http://www.pcmag.com/news/351659/readers-choice-awards-2016-laptops-desktops

Knowing me, as someone who always watching the latest tech or new computer I will probabably have it for 4-5 years only before I get a new one

 

[slitherjef]

And to people saying it's a great student laptop - the only good thing it's for is picking up the member of the opposite gender

I heard the lack of a glowing apple logo is a deal breaker for some

 

[macjunk(ie)]

I heard the lack of a glowing apple logo is a deal breaker for some

I wonder if the MBP is still the go to student laptop given its price. Years ago, almost every student I knew had an Air. I wonder if this trend will continue with the MBP 13 since that is supposedly a replacement for the Air

 

[The Mercurian]

I wonder if the MBP is still the go to student laptop given its price. Years ago, almost every student I knew had an Air. I wonder if this trend will continue with the MBP 13 since that is supposedly a replacement for the Air

Highly doubtful given the Air was a lot cheaper

 

[dyn]

Whatever you are going to buy, just make sure it can do what college will demand from you (aka get the right tool for the job). In the end that's the only thing that matters.

 

[CaptRB]

Listen, putting all of MBP choices aside, as a former PC guy with a TON of PC experience I can tell you this:

Get a Mac.

Those who say PC has caught up are mostly PC people. Windows, even in this highly improved state, remains inferior to Mac OS. Even my buddy who builds PC's will admit this.

So...the smart money is on a Mac laptop for a student. Assuming the money can be spent, it's the best choice. It's just one of those constants that remain in effect. I don't like Porsche much, but if someone asks me what the best and most reliable sports car is in the 150K range, I still tell the truth...it's Porsche. Fanboys will list THIER faves, but it's dishonest. And the same goes for computers. Apple is expensive, but they remain the best overall for a majority of users. That's not an "opinion" but rather a somewhat obvious conclusion.


R.

 

[Alphonsus]

Listen, putting all of MBP choices aside, as a former PC guy with a TON of PC experience I can tell you this:

Get a Mac.

Those who say PC has caught up are mostly PC people. Windows, even in this highly improved state, remains inferior to Mac OS. Even my buddy who builds PC's will admit this.

So...the smart money is on a Mac laptop for a student. Assuming the money can be spent, it's the best choice. It's just one of those constants that remain in effect. I don't like Porsche much, but if someone asks me what the best and most reliable sports car is in the 150K range, I still tell the truth...it's Porsche. Fanboys will list THIER faves, but it's dishonest. And the same goes for computers. Apple is expensive, but they remain the best overall for a majority of users. That's not an "opinion" but rather a somewhat obvious conclusion.


R.

Yeah, no offense to hardcore PC people, but I tend to believe people who have BOTH experience from PC and Mac. And by experience I don't mean try one week or a day of one or the other.

The only thing as mentioned earlier with the MBP 13 is whether they are able to handle gaming. But again I don't play the newer or high graphic games.

Also is their anything wrong with the heating of the MBP?

 

[CaptRB]

Yeah, no offense to hardcore PC people, but I tend to believe people who have BOTH experience from PC and Mac. And by experience I don't mean try one week or a day of one or the other.

The only thing as mentioned earlier with the MBP 13 is whether they are able to handle gaming. But again I don't play the newer or high graphic games.

Also is their anything wrong with the heating of the MBP?

We've had no issues with ours. I've been working with a group that's editing a feature with them and no issues. They even use them on hot locations. I've used my 2016 units on location as well, but I keep them out of the sun. As I said, we tried top tier dell and it was a rough fail that cost a lot of money. All of the hardware in the world is useless if the OS is inferior and Windows is still behind Mac.

I'm in Hollywood, work in film and photography...and the Mac remains the system of choice. What does that tell you?


R.

 

[grandM]

We've had no issues with ours. I've been working with a group that's editing a feature with them and no issues. They even use them on hot locations. I've used my 2016 units on location as well, but I keep them out of the sun. As I said, we tried top tier dell and it was a rough fail that cost a lot of money. All of the hardware in the world is useless if the OS is inferior and Windows is still behind Mac.

I'm in Hollywood, work in film and photography...and the Mac remains the system of choice. What does that tell you?


R.

i agree
worked for years on windows till i lost an entire word document the evening before delivery (as a consultant) and yes the tmp files were lacking too
i'm never buying a windows running system again

 

[CaptRB]

i agree
worked for years on windows till i lost an entire word document the evening before delivery (as a consultant) and yes the tmp files were lacking too
i'm never buying a windows running system again

When I started working with the new Dell machines I was initially very impressed. They really gave up nothing to the MBP, though they don't look as nice. But then we started having crashes. Tethering timeouts. It got worse and this was with two machines, one of which was tweaked by a client. The only thing that saved the day was my 13" touchbar that I had in my car. Think about that. A 1700 dollar computer took the place of 2 Dell machines costing over 6K in total. And the Mac was flawless as always.
You have to have the right tools for a job. It's not ALWAYS a MBP, but most of the time it is.


R.

 

[Mr. Bean]

I use both Mac and Windows -- they both serve different purposes for me.

Bought the late 2016 13" as soon as it was released. No regret. It's been working great for me, and more than sufficient for my line of work. Before that I was using a 15" MBP bought around 2008. That thing still works, but getting quite slow. Otherwise it has served its purpose. I'm only bringing this up to emphasise the longevity of Macs which are often forgotten when people discuss prices.

Oh, and the OS, of course. I recently came across a Windows 10 laptop, and within 2 minutes I wanted to punch right through the screen. My PC runs Windows 7, which is fine. The layout of Windows 10 is such a cluster**** in my opinion. The bottom line is that the Mac OS features have definitely enhanced my productivity more so than Windows in general.

So what I'm saying is that if the specifications serve your needs for whatever it is you're doing, and the price is within your budget, then go for it. If it makes you happy, then enjoy it. Don't pay too much attention to people complaining about it, because there will always be somebody somewhere complaining just because the machine does not deliver what they want. The only exception is if there are serious manufacturing flaws or bugs that are widely reported by users across the board, then you should take time to consider. Thus far I haven't heard of anything serious that is widespread regarding the late 2016 13" MBPs. There were some issues with the graphics for the 15", but I think they might have been resolved by now.

 

[raqball]

I like the XPS-13/15 quite a lot - it is a great computer that most owners really like. But from a longevity perspective, I personally still favor the MacBook Pro. Long-term ownership studies favor Apple by a pretty significant margin in ownership satisfaction, satisfaction with customer support, and overall reliability. As I tend to keep my laptops for 4-6+ years, these factors have personally influenced my individual choice in Apple (and also Microsoft, for that matter, as I am also very happy with my Surface Pro 3.)

http://www.pcmag.com/news/351659/readers-choice-awards-2016-laptops-desktops

Well and then there is this:

Read full article here and Apple is way down the list at #5 which makes sense to me..

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings

 

[ZapNZs]

Well and then there is this:


View attachment 702591

Read full article here and Apple is way down the list at #5 which makes sense to me..

https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings

I am aware of that. The article I linked to was in regards to actual owner satisfaction data versus reviewers. Specifically, it examined how happy people were that purchased a laptop over a period of years.

 

[addictzz]

PC or Mac, PC or Mac, PC or Mac. This fight never ends.

Use Linux.

But seriously though, I use almost 3 of them for my work & home usage purpose. Linux is good for security since there is less virus attacking Linux due to its low popularity among average users. Creating servers are also better to use Linux OS (RedHat release for example). Most of the open source app are good enough for normal use.
Mac is good for coding and web design. Fonts are rendered better in mac. Apache, mysql, RubyOnRails, Python are all native to mac. Audio creation is also better in mac.
Windows are good for the rest. Office work, file management (mp3 tagging, batch file renaming, folder management), graphic design (surprisingly, Photoshop and Illustrator feels better in Windows). Oh and gaming too if you're into gaming.

 

[kasakka]

It's the most disappointed I've been with an Apple laptop. For many years I considered them the only laptop worth buying but I feel with the latest one they've taken several steps back.

I have a MBP 2016 with Touchbar for work and these are the beefs I have with it:

• Keyboard feels like crap. Very short key travel, up/down arrow keys feel bad. Despite preferring a mechanical keyboard, I liked the previous MBP keyboards just fine.
• Touchbar is mostly useless. I can see them silently discontinuing the feature in a few years. I have yet to find any good use for it. None of the software I use every day makes any use of it.
• Battery life seems worse than my previous 2013 model.
• USB-C is a hassle. If I forget to bring adapters I can't connect anything. Having a single legacy USB port would not have been that bad at this point.
• Trackpad is too large for no good reason. I constantly move my cursor accidentally when typing on the keyboard. Never had that issue with the previous smaller one.

 

[dyn]

I'm in Hollywood, work in film and photography...and the Mac remains the system of choice. What does that tell you?

Absolutely nothing.

Some people use Linux, some use Windows and some use Mac. What does that tell us? Well, quite simply it tells us that any system can do the job. It just depends on what the job is. It also tells us that "Mac is better", "Windows is better", "Linux is better" is utter nonsense from people who don't know their stuff.

 

[CaptRB]

Absolutely nothing.

Some people use Linux, some use Windows and some use Mac. What does that tell us? Well, quite simply it tells us that any system can do the job. It just depends on what the job is. It also tells us that "Mac is better", "Windows is better", "Linux is better" is utter nonsense from people who don't know their stuff.

Right, an entire industry essentially prefer one system and that means "nothing."

This sort of talk doesn't help anyone. The reason why Mac is a primary tool for pro Film, TV and photography is because the OS is superior.

If you "prefer" not to believe this, that's your right, but you'd still be wrong. Stating otherwise is to simply ignore the facts.


R.

 

[dyn]

It does indeed mean nothing because there are many other industries that prefer or even require a different operating system. Finance is one of those where Windows is what you'd use. Mac and Linux are not systems that can be used because of the software that they use. The same can be said about science. There are actually people who use Linux because that's what they need in order to do what they need to do. A true professional picks the right tool for the job and doesn't force his tools upon others. Like I said, people who say that one OS is better than the others do not know their stuff. That kind of talk does indeed help nobody, not even you.

The only one being wrong and ignoring all the facts would be you. There simply are way too many examples and industries out there (finance, aviation, IT, chemical, science, etc.) that obliterate your anecdote (because that's all it is really). As a system engineer/administrator I simply cannot support your story at all and I have to stress that there is no such thing as 1 system that can rule them all. Look at the job and pick the tool that is suited for that job. That's how you should be handling IT. If not then failure is imminent.

 

[BenTrovato]

My satisfaction with the 2016 is outstanding but it's definitely a rip off in terms of value compared to what else is out there. I really like the keyboard, screen and aesthetics of it. If the dgpu was more powerful I would be somewhat okay with the price.

 

[CaptRB]

It does indeed mean nothing because there are many other industries that prefer or even require a different operating system. Finance is one of those where Windows is what you'd use. Mac and Linux are not systems that can be used because of the software that they use. The same can be said about science. There are actually people who use Linux because that's what they need in order to do what they need to do. A true professional picks the right tool for the job and doesn't force his tools upon others. Like I said, people who say that one OS is better than the others do not know their stuff. That kind of talk does indeed help nobody, not even you.

The only one being wrong and ignoring all the facts would be you. It makes you look like an extremely selfish and arrogant fool. There simply are way too many examples and industries out there (finance, aviation, IT, chemical, science, etc.) that obliterate your anecdote (because that's all it is really). As a system engineer/administrator I simply cannot support your story at all and I have to stress that there is no such thing as 1 system that can rule them all. Look at the job and pick the tool that is suited for that job. That's how you should be handling IT. If not then failure is imminent.

LOL, you just said it means NOTHING that an industry uses a system, only to refute that statement by stating that it actually DOES mean something and citing examples.

So those seeking to work in photography, film, video, post production etc. are best served by using Mac, which is what we all do.

Those working in finance can choose other systems. And we can LEARN something about those systems by understanding why they are used. Agreed.

BTW, do you OWN a new MBP? If not, why are you here?
Thank you,


R.

 

[raqball]

Absolutely nothing.

Some people use Linux, some use Windows and some use Mac. What does that tell us? Well, quite simply it tells us that any system can do the job. It just depends on what the job is. It also tells us that "Mac is better", "Windows is better", "Linux is better" is utter nonsense from people who don't know their stuff.

Agree.... And it is the internet so don't believe everything that is written.... I am a nuclear scientist (not really) and I use a Win 10 machine that dual boots Linux..

In all seriousness though you are correct. Some people prefer Windows, some Linux and some MacOS... I actually prefer MacOS but hate the new machines so a comparable Win 10 machine that plays well with Linux was in my cards...

My sister is a professional photographer in NYC and she does have a Macbook Pro but she also just recently purchased one of those Surface Studio's...

 

[grandM]

Back to reality
You don't want Linux
You need a tool lasting the ride which is affordable
All the windows pc's I've owned I kicked out after three years or so
I own a mac mini 2012 2.1 Ghz with a slow spinner hooked up to a Dell U2713h screen. This is my computer now. My hp 3.4 Ghz is on the attic collecting dust.
As a student you don't want a desktop. You want a laptop.
A touch bar is cool. Usb c is cool. Money is hard to come by. Buy an air or a base macbook pro with 256 SSD. Depending on the kind of studies you're doing. In case you're wondering: I'm coding ios apps on the mini. Only regret not having an SSD. Oh, don't go lower than 8 Gb ram.

 

[CaptRB]

Oddly I'm not at the Dell forum trying to tell people why I don't have a Surface Pro anymore. Nor am I in the BMW forum explaining why owners should look at Porsche or SRT. I wear a watch I prefer to the Rolex, but I have yet to visit the Rolex forums. Instead I'm in the Mac forum talking Mac as an experienced owner and professional. When asked what I do with a Mac, I can easily explain in detail. There's no use in spouting pointless numbers that really have no effect on workflow.

Apple has a large niche. They make premium machines and the cost is high. They tend to be a better built and more refined product, but not always class leading purely in specification. There aren't a whole lot of things a new MBP can't do. But if you need something else, or don't like it, by all means go ahead and buy something else and be happy. Hopefully your relative happiness does not hinge on trolling Apple forums.



R.