Received my 14”. Underwhelmed… Put it aside and use my M1 MacBook Air instead. Will return it
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My first impressions with the MBP14" entry config...
- Thread starter prism
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Great to hear your perspective!
It has been hard to find “regular productivity use” comparisons amidst all the scores and benchmarks.
I remember the old days when we cared about boot up times…
I have a 2019 MBP 13 i5 and I’m wondering what kind of improvement I would get if I upgrade. My main concern with my current setup is I use my MBP in clamshell mode driving two 4K monitors (using y two separate usb c ports), and it kind of struggles at times. Specially when opening multiple apps while videoconferencing (which is practically my whole WFH routine).
@prism, have you had the chance to use multiple external monitors?
If you had iCloud setup on your old machine and set it up on the new, it will restore all the files/folders to their respective places. It doesn't do any settings, apps, etc though - I think people get confused when they start seeing those files reappearing without having to do anything.
OP, does your Display Preferences screen show the ‘Color’ button or any other access/button to edit or create color profiles to bring up the Display Calibrator? I cannot figure out how to create and apply a color profile on my 14”. This has always been such a basic task.
no I haven’t yet but have no doubt it can handle flawlessly. Will report once I do.
This is the one thing that really annoys me with Apple, each new OS shuffles stuff all around the place. I cant seem to find it either!
Can you go more into detail please.
I had the MPB 13 intel 2020 version. Picked up the base MBP 14 and to be honest I do not see much of a difference, other than the build quality is pretty damn good. Tempted to return it but I'll likely stick with it.
Why? What was wrong with it? Considering you went with the base 14, it’s certainly not issue of underperformance
Really? Why?
I've had a fantastic computer for a year which replaced a five year old 12" MacBook. It's half the weight of the new systems and does absolutely everything I need it to do (and more).
I don't feel terrible at all, I'm very happy to have been using my M1 MBA for nearly a year.
The reason why I would feel terrible is because the new MBP has everything I was seeking, a fresh chassis, more powerful SoC, much better screen, more ports, better camera, better speakers, better keyboard, even faster SSD. The M1 MBA and MBP have just two thunderbolt ports and the worst part is that they are on the same side! All this would have compelled me to get rid of the M1 MBA or MBP to replace it with the 14".
I agree, leaving aside the M1 Air and Pro are cheaper (+ longer battery life which doesnt matter if you charge it overnight anyway), the new 14" model is just superior in every way. I skipped the M1 models, because I knew those would be just the M1 entry-level chips put in old intel chassics. Having just 2 TB ports on one side is inconvenient and those bezels look old as well. No MiniLED, mediocre speakers and webcam. So yeah, those who wanted to buy the rumored 14/16" models but hadn't the patience to wait a few months (after these hadn't been released in June), well... yeah. I am glad I have waited.
By the way, I just tested an external monitor through the HDMI port. Wow, no initial flickering, the external monitor appeared as an extension in less than a second with native resolution and refresh rates (75Hz). I must say that I am utterly impressed. I will also test with dual monitor setup and report back in due course!
You can use Migration Assistant. But if all you need is photos from iCloud then simply sign in to iCloud and you're done.
Coming from a 15" 2017 MBP - got my 14" yesterday. My thoughts:
Keyboard - way better
Build quality - it's bulkier but in a good way. Feels great.
Display - maybe it's me but I don't see a huge difference in the screen quality right off the bat. I am still adjusting from the 15" display I had before.
Notch-not really a big deal
Silver on this 14" looks better than my space grey 15".
All my apps that I normally use are open and memory pressure is only at like 25%. I don't need the Max/32GB, etc. I am not sure it's worth it for the cost.
Overall: my only issue is getting used to 14" from a 15". Anybody else have any a similar experience?
BTW, I used an external 32" LG display also.
Keyboard - way better
Build quality - it's bulkier but in a good way. Feels great.
Display - maybe it's me but I don't see a huge difference in the screen quality right off the bat. I am still adjusting from the 15" display I had before.
Notch-not really a big deal
Silver on this 14" looks better than my space grey 15".
All my apps that I normally use are open and memory pressure is only at like 25%. I don't need the Max/32GB, etc. I am not sure it's worth it for the cost.
Overall: my only issue is getting used to 14" from a 15". Anybody else have any a similar experience?
BTW, I used an external 32" LG display also.
I would return this 16" since the screen was the biggest factor for me @tekksan , but yea I agree the display seems the same. However, Brave browser runs the display at 120hz all the time. I love the keyboard mainly due to the sound and increased travel from 2018. Keeping this MBP since my old one is out of warranty and has speaker issues.
What was missing from the MBP 14 that you were expecting? I'm curious.
It sounds like you bought it thinking it might be much faster than your M1 Air for casual use, which we could predict it wouldn't be. The MBPs will shine when you push them harder, which is where you would see the limitations of the older M1s. i.e. tasks that are stressing the memory or disk bandwidth, are using all available CPU cores and require greater GPU processing power. The reality is that this is only likely to be relevant to a small percentage of Mac owners, even if most of us like to consider ourselves to be "power users"
I have the 10 core 14 inch machine. I cant even hear the fan when encoding video (which this machine does 2.5x faster than my 2020 M1 MBP). The 2020 M1 fan was noisy although not as noisy as my previous intel macbooks. This thing... dead silent.