MacBook VS MacBook Pro - Help me decide!

[ryanwarsaw]

I have a 2014 13" rMBP, just spent 2 weeks with a rMB m5, and have tried out the new 13" non-TB in a store.

I really like the rMB. I'm a software dev and didn't really sense it break much of a sweat compared to my slightly older MBP. I'm mulling over whether or not to get the new non-TB MBP or the M7 rMP. I think I'm going for the MBP for these reasons

- Better (contrast, color, brightness) screen, which will be more workable when used outside. The extra screen size and real estate is also a boon
- Better keyboard. This is neither here not there though -- the v2 butterfly mechanism feels much better to me, but it also is louder. This could be distracting in a classroom/meeting room environment, but I work remotely so it's not much of an issue.
- While I'm on the move some of the time, it's not enough that I would really care much about the extra pound. The extra footprint, for me, is more comfortable for a machine that is in use 8+ hours a day.
- Performance is about 15% better per geekbench (~6300 vs. 7200). Not a huge thing, but it is enough to be notable.

If I were a student, I probably would opt for the rMP. The pound will make a difference when moving about, the quieter keyboard will work in more situations, and the footprint will be better when using on a desk. The only thing I would think might be truly in the MBP's favor is the performance of the screen, which is a real thing if you plan to use it outside much.

You seem to be a professional, as such you owe it to yourself to go get some ports. The pure processing power out weighs the down sides. The dongle expansion opportunities also are better than the rMB. You could buy a single hub but what stops any of us from editing 4K videos of our kids?

This is important to me as a father and avid mac user for the past 15 years. I am afraid d of the day when my kids don't have USB ports. It is a tough decision but try to be brave.

Signed,

Timothy

 

[Beau10]

You seem to be a professional, as such you owe it to yourself to go get some ports. The pure processing power out weighs the down sides. The dongle expansion opportunities also are better than the rMB. You could buy a single hub but what stops any of us from editing 4K videos of our kids?

This is important to me as a father and avid mac user for the past 15 years. I am afraid d of the day when my kids don't have USB ports. It is a tough decision but try to be brave.

Signed,

Timothy

Honestly, the port situation is not a problem for me - I'm laptop only, no external monitors or devices the majority of the time. It is something to be considered though... there doesn't appear to be a good hub that mimics the older MBP port array + USB-C passthrough, so having more than 1 USB-C port can probably be seen as a boon at this time. In general only having USB-C ports is pretty much a drag for probably the next year or so but it's where Apple has left us.

 

[macintoshmac]

Which doesn't matter because the road you are on is a 35mph zone. Really if the OP is using it as described is is more than enough for this.

Hahahahaa classic reply this!

 

[MTD's Mac]

I spent 10 years bouncing between Macs (Mini, Pro, Air, work iMac, home iMac, rMBP, etc.)

Last year I finally settled on what is the perfect setup for me. It's an iMac at home (Retina 5K) and a 12-inch MacBook that I carry to and from work. It's the perfect machine for everything I do at work (I'm a teacher) and great on planes, in coffee shops, on my lap in meetings, everywhere. Then when I want to see something on a big, beautiful screen, or need to do heavy processing work, I have the iMac at home.

With both of my MacBook Pros, I found it was a lot of weight to carry for power that I rarely needed. I'm disappointed with the weight of the new models too, so I'll be looking for an upgraded MacBook down the road.

 

[supajam]

Judging from recent experience, I think you should base the decision on screen size.

I bought a BTO m7 MB a few weeks ago and it was a brilliant machine for pretty much every mainstream task (multiple tabs, iTunes, PDF reading, general computer navigation... etc) I through at it - no lag whatsoever. However I returned it as I felt I'd regret having a 12" screen as my only computer (also need more processing grunt for some intensive tasks).

I just got a non touch base 13" MBP and can instantly feel the benefit of that extra real estate. It definitely feels "bigger" than the 1 inch on written on paper (I'm not talking about resolution). However I doubt the MBP will feel any quicker for the tasks you've written; I'm certainly not finding that to be the case anyway. Interestingly I found both keyboards to be identical. Maybe they've rolled out the gen. 2 on new MB's now, I dunno, but I can't tell any difference. The difference in other aspects isn't that noticeable either. Yes the MBP has the those dual firing speakers, better screen colour gamut, extra port and other performance increases already mentioned in this thread, but all those things are still terrific on the MB to start with.

If portability is the order of the day then get a MB - you will hardly feel it in your backpack (I suggest the m5 model). But if value screen real estate then get a MBP.

Hope that helps.

 

[airly]

My experience with 2016 MacBook m5 512GB is slightly different to others.
I upgraded from Late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina i5 512GB.
the MacBook is a lot lighter and quieter, but I think it is a bit underpower.
From time to time I see the beachball for 2-5 seconds when I switch between apps or open new app.
I have safari with 5 tabs open, itunes playing music at the background, torrent app running at the background.
sometime the beachball appears when I open a pdf file.

But having said that the portability is definitely a huge advantage, and the battery life is on par with my 3 years old MacBook Pro.

 

[skizuki]

for travel reason, no doubt to go for a rMB. You will feel suffer on that 0.5kg different, trust me.

remember to get a m5 rMB instead of m3.

 

[blesss]

My experience with 2016 MacBook m5 512GB is slightly different to others.
I upgraded from Late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina i5 512GB.
the MacBook is a lot lighter and quieter, but I think it is a bit underpower.
From time to time I see the beachball for 2-5 seconds when I switch between apps or open new app.
I have safari with 5 tabs open, itunes playing music at the background, torrent app running at the background.
sometime the beachball appears when I open a pdf file.

But having said that the portability is definitely a huge advantage, and the battery life is on par with my 3 years old MacBook Pro.

this isn't normal, i would get it checked out.

 

[Mike Boreham]

this isn't normal, i would get it checked out.

Agreed...I have the identical model

 

[macintoshmac]

My experience with 2016 MacBook m5 512GB is slightly different to others.
I upgraded from Late 2013 MacBook Pro Retina i5 512GB.
the MacBook is a lot lighter and quieter, but I think it is a bit underpower.
From time to time I see the beachball for 2-5 seconds when I switch between apps or open new app.
I have safari with 5 tabs open, itunes playing music at the background, torrent app running at the background.
sometime the beachball appears when I open a pdf file.

But having said that the portability is definitely a huge advantage, and the battery life is on par with my 3 years old MacBook Pro.

1. By any chance, is your SSD near full?
2. Check the memory pressure graph in Activity Monitor. Post a shot here, too.

 

[Ma2k5]

I am thinking of buying either a 12" MacBook Retina or the New 13" touch-bar MacBook Pro but I can't decide which one to get!

Price-wise, the ones I'm interested in had only $350 difference, which I do not mind at all.

I have to take the laptop to school everyday and type a lot in class and after school. Also, I'd like to have ~10 chrome tabs open while looking at PDF files. Occasionally, I also watch videos on the internet (e.g. YouTube). I don't play games on my laptop because I already have an imac.

Could someone help me decide which laptop to get?

The price difference isn't much so I'd go for the PRO because of improved keyboard/screen technologies.

If you really want the rMB form factor, I would actually wait the refresh, which would likely have

- A better facetime camera
- P3 screen which uses 30% less energy
- The above will mean either an even smaller machine or much better battery life
- Butterfly keyboard v2
- Kabylake CPU
- Thunderbolt capabilities (currently gen doesn't have this)

 

[AlfaLavala]

I'm also debating between the rMB and the late 2016 MacBook Pro, although the non-touch bar one. They're virtually the same price (m7/256 and i5/256 models). I played with both in Best Buy.

According to a whole bunch of videos, the rMB can handle everything you'd want to do. Interestingly the CPU benchmarks are almost identical - the MBP is about 10% faster on single and multicore according to Geekbench, probably not noticeable.

MBP does have 2 USB-C (which are thunderbolt 3) vs the one Gen 1 USB-C of rMB. All I ever plug in is an SD card to copy photos every so often (maybe once a week), so one port isn't an issue for me. The "future proofing" in me says the MBP is better, but I know I've bought so many things in the past for "future proofing" and never used them.

The MBP keyboard did feel like it had slightly more travel than the rMB. It was hard to tell if they were good or not as I only typed a few paragraphs.

The MBP screen is larger, and you have a larger effective resolution so more space. Not sure if the colors/brightness is better/noticeable. I didn't put them side by side.

Most importantly, the rMB comes in Gold or Rose Gold

I'm struggling to decide, the "specs conscious" part of me says MBP but the "I want for reasons" part is saying rMB!

 

[Ma2k5]

I'm also debating between the rMB and the late 2016 MacBook Pro, although the non-touch bar one. They're virtually the same price (m7/256 and i5/256 models). I played with both in Best Buy.

According to a whole bunch of videos, the rMB can handle everything you'd want to do. Interestingly the CPU benchmarks are almost identical - the MBP is about 10% faster on single and multicore according to Geekbench, probably not noticeable.

MBP does have 2 USB-C (which are thunderbolt 3) vs the one Gen 1 USB-C of rMB. All I ever plug in is an SD card to copy photos every so often (maybe once a week), so one port isn't an issue for me. The "future proofing" in me says the MBP is better, but I know I've bought so many things in the past for "future proofing" and never used them.

The MBP keyboard did feel like it had slightly more travel than the rMB. It was hard to tell if they were good or not as I only typed a few paragraphs.

The MBP screen is larger, and you have a larger effective resolution so more space. Not sure if the colors/brightness is better/noticeable. I didn't put them side by side.

Most importantly, the rMB comes in Gold or Rose Gold

I'm struggling to decide, the "specs conscious" part of me says MBP but the "I want for reasons" part is saying rMB!

The refreshed rMB is likely to be so good, and only a few months away, that it feels criminal to pay the current price for this model. It's tech is outdated by Apples standard. No P3 screen, crappy keyboard, crappy webcam and no thunderbolt.

I'd wait it out or by the rMBP just for the new p3 screen.

 

[Mike Boreham]

The refreshed rMB is likely to be so good, and only a few months away, that it feels criminal to pay the current price for this model. It's tech is outdated by Apples standard. No P3 screen, crappy keyboard, crappy webcam and no thunderbolt.

I'd wait it out or by the rMBP just for the new p3 screen.

Not going to happen (IMO)! If they added all those things to the rMB soon they would undercut sales of the rMBP.
The rMB has been refreshed this year already.
BTW I think the keyboard difference between the rMB and rMBP is overstated. I couldn't tell the difference and seen others describe it as subtle.

 

[Ma2k5]

Not going to happen (IMO)! If they added all those things to the rMB soon they would undercut sales of the rMBP.
The rMB has been refreshed this year already.
BTW I think the keyboard difference between the rMB and rMBP is overstated. I couldn't tell the difference and seen others describe it as subtle.

I believe you are wrong.

What do you mean undercut sales? You can argue the non-touch bar will cut sales of touch bar, and the 13" touch bar might cut 15" touch bar sales too. Also the new rMBP non-touch will cut some of the 12" sales too, doesn't mean they didn't go ahead with it.

Apple like to be in a position where, their products are competing with each other, rather than against third parties. Because no matter what the customer ends up picking, it goes in their bottom line.

End of the day, the differentiating factor between the systems isn't suppose to be screen, sound, or port technology.

It is: 12" with m processor vs 13" with 15w processor vs 13" with 28w processor + touch bar vs 15" 45w processor with touch bar.

I can bet money they do all those upgrades, with the exception of the web cam, not sure if they will do that.

The new P3 screen using 30% less energy will also mean that the device will either get a HUGE battery boost, or Apple will make the machine thinner.

As for alternative speculations, there could also be a new sized rMB. I actually think I may want to trade up by non-touch new rMBP for an updated rMB! Love the size.

 

[Mike Boreham]

I believe you are wrong.

What do you mean undercut sales? You can argue the non-touch bar will cut sales of touch bar, and the 13" touch bar might cut 15" touch bar sales too.

End of the day, the differentiating factor between the systems isn't suppose to be screen, sound, or port technology.

It is: 12" with m processor vs 13" with 15w processor vs 13" with 28w processor + touch bar vs 15" 45w processor with touch bar.

I can bet money they do all those upgrades, with the exception of the web cam, not sure if they will do that.

The new P3 screen using 30% less energy will also mean that the device will either get a HUGE battery boost, or Apple will make the machine thinner.

Don't get me wrong....I'd love you to be right, I'd be first in line. From Apple watching for many years I don't think they will do those things soon. The 12", 13" and 15" are now a consistent design style family group, none more than six months old. If the 12" isn't enough get the 13" etc. I am sure they will upgrade the 12", just not imminently.

 

[Ma2k5]

Don't get me wrong....I'd love you to be right, I'd be first in line. From Apple watching for many years I don't think they will do those things soon. The 12", 13" and 15" are now a consistent design style family group, none more than six months old. If the 12" isn't enough get the 13" etc. I am sure they will upgrade the 12", just not imminently.

The 12" got an update in April. It is a very popular product and I would be very shocked if it didn't get an annual upgrade same time next year.

 

[Trixs]

The 12" got an update in April. It is a very popular product and I would be very shocked if it didn't get an annual upgrade same time next year.

A processor update. It will likely get a processor update again in April. A redesign is very doubtful. Maybe the better webcam.

 

[Ma2k5]

A processor update. It will likely get a processor update again in April. A redesign is very doubtful. Maybe the better webcam.

It getting a P3 screen and updated keyboard to me doesn't strike as a "re-design". Similarly to how the rMBP lineup got Force-touch trackpad's . Gen 1 butterfly keys have have various issues and I am sure it has cost Apple a lot in QA/repairs of them, so it would make sense for them to move on to the improved v2 version.

 

[Trixs]

It getting a P3 screen and updated keyboard to me doesn't strike as a "re-design". Similarly to how the rMBP lineup got Force-touch trackpad's . Gen 1 butterfly keys have have various issues and I am sure it has cost Apple a lot in QA/repairs of them, so it would make sense for them to move on to the improved v2 version.

Yeah you're right, it's definitely possible. But they may just keep the screen as a differentiating factor for the Pro. If it gets all this, it would be awesome for me because there would be hardly any difference with the 13" pro. Just screen size, slightly better CPU performance and better graphics.

 

[Ma2k5]

Yeah you're right, it's definitely possible. But they may just keep the screen as a differentiating factor for the Pro. If it gets all this, it would be awesome for me because there would be hardly any difference with the 13" pro. Just screen size, slightly better CPU performance and better graphics.

Screen size, better CPU/GPU class is a big enough difference if you ask me. 4.5w to 15/28w CPU's is a big difference - the benchmarks don't tell the whole story and make it look like there is only a 10-20% difference in performance, when really it is much more different in real word scenarios and prolonged loads.

 

[Zazoh]

I'm struggling to decide, the "specs conscious" part of me says MBP but the "I want for reasons" part is saying rMB!

I was where you are. I picked up the rMB and glad I did. So incredibly light to cary around. I hardly use ports at all except to charge, so that wasn't a factor to me. Coming from a 2011 15" MBP, I'm happy. I thought I wouldn't like the screen, but I have good eyes and you really see about the same amount anyway, and if you need more screen you can always
plug into a bigger monitor.

 

[09mac]

I recently received the 13" NTB MBP but will be sending it back. I've ordered the m7 512 MB. As someone who travels a lot, it's all about the portability to me.

 

[supajam]

I'm struggling to decide, the "specs conscious" part of me says MBP but the "I want for reasons" part is saying rMB!

I too was in the same position and that's why I bought the rMB initially - it is a very appealing machine. However I soon realised it was a heart over head decision (for reasons I've put above). If you don't need ultra portability then get the ntbMBP as it's better in every other aspect.

 

[DaMax85]

Any rMB users running Final Cut Pro X? I do some light editing, but nothing too advanced.