New 13-Inch MacBook Pro Sans Touch Bar is Marginally Faster But More Efficient Than Last Year's Base Model

[pier]

As much as I'm bothered by this, this is not completely Apple's fault.

On one hand Intel hasn't been delivering significant performance upgrades because it's increasingly difficult and expensive to make smaller transistors. Clock speed hit the limit a couple of generations ago and Intel is using all its tricks to get 10% performance increase. IIRC the Canon Lake CPUs will get 6 cores instead of 4.

On the other hand, yes Apple could have used more powerful CPUs on the low end 13''. Hell it could have made these machines a few millimetres bigger and added a bigger battery so that they could add 32gb of RAM too.

But given the option between performance and thinness anorexic Apple will pick thinness, always.

I'm tired of this and after a decade with Apple I'll be going back to Windows. My laptop will probably not be much faster than a MBP, but I'll have more options and won't have to pay an arm for a good laptop. In my country I can get a Thinkpad with 3 years of warranty by default and a good keyboard. I'll also have a kick ass desktop at a great price that I'll be able to repair/upgrade in any way I wish. Windows is ugly, no doubt about that, but Windows 10 is much more efficient than macOS and the blue screens of the Vista era are long gone.

Maybe in 5 or so years when Tim Cook is replaced we'll see a new Apple with a new focus on pros, but for now I'm done.

 

[callea]

Far better display,
better form factor,
better trackpad,
better keyboard,
better sound,
more efficient cpu runs cooler and quiet,
better beautiful design and color.

This machine is a great improvement.

 

[Jakexb]

So, the only improvement is being thinner, and maybe a bit lighter? Fascinating.

Thinner, lighter, better battery life and the base model is now faster than last year's midrange model.

 

[az431]

I don't know what to think about Apple at the moment, and I'm afraid I'm not alone.

You're not alone. It's you and maybe 50 others.

 

[sputnikv]

Slightly off-topic, but recent iPhone and MBP developments have kept me wondering what's wrong:

I've concluded that under Jobs we received explanations for design choices. Currently: No word about leaving MagSafe behind, no explanation for the non-industry-standard audio output on iPhone 7, no mention about the MBPs headphone jack (I'm sure they are just too scared to even mention the word), ...

Jobs' explanations were also fabulous. just think about "The problem with them is really sort of in the bottom 40 there." talking about this issue of those plastic keyboards on 'smart' phones during iPhone's amazing introduction.

I can present a case for the removal of the magsafe in favor of USB-c. We have notebooks that are getting lighter and lighter and in order for the magsafe to release on snagging, the magnets have to be made weaker. At a certain point you compromise the connection and run the risk of it being too flimsy and falling out in regular use. So if you have to go with another power connector that isn't magnetic you have 2 options, go proprietary or go with a universal standard. Universal standard makes more sense especially in the context of the mac. Further, you have data transfer so you've potentially addressed having multiple cables connecting to your notebook when at a workstation. Fewer ports as is the case with the MacBook allows for more space allocated to battery in an already thinning device. USB-c is also an upcoming standard that all new devices will likely eventually support.

 

[Hanzu Lao]

Actually, they will have better expansion because TB3 has twice the bandwidth of TB2 and 8 times that of USB 3.0. You can daisy chain quite easily.

Just stop with the ****ing bandwidth. People buying these mostly are just ordinary people. Almost no one will be doing any daisy chains on this overpriced, port lacking MacBook.

 

[manu chao]

Not if you're calling it a "pro". Saying 'it replaces the air' doesn't really mean anything when you've jacked up the price and called it a pro. We are livin in the twilight zone man

When the 13" retina MBP came out, it also jacked up the price by $500 on the entry level.

 

[Naraxus]

Obsolete before it ever came out.....Tim Cook's Apple.....

 

[finchna]

As has been noted, the 2Ghz (i5) and 3.1Ghz (i7) chips make the 2016 numbers impressive. Perhaps when they show the new 2.7 Ghz i7 numbers that will really make the point.

Now, had they done that in the 2015 shell/case (and added BTO 32Gb ram) I would have purchased one on the spot.

 

[magicschoolbus]

Okay I really don't understand how this works:

I have a 2.9 i7 Processor in a 2012 CMBP.

The new processors that come out are always clocked slower into an i5.. but somehow score higher then a 2.9 i7?

How is this possible? Is it efficiency?

 

[macduke]

You know what they always say, "Computers aren't getting any faster!"

WAIT WAT?

Seriously though, what is the deal? My 2012 rMBP is just about as fast as current models aside from the GPU and SSD speed. And really 2 second app launches vs 5 second app launches isn't a deal breaker for me. I just want a 4K external display at 60Hz.

 

[acksurf]

Don't think Apple helped themselves much by first releasing the MacBook 13 without Touch Bar. Went to Best Buy and played around with it and was so underwhelmed that I bought a refurb 2015 MacBook Pro.

 

[leman]

Okay I really don't understand how this works:

I have a 2.9 i7 Processor in a 2012 CMBP.

The new processors that come out are always clocked slower into an i5.. but somehow score higher then a 2.9 i7?

How is this possible? Is it efficiency?

Better instruction throughout, faster RAM, turbo boost.

 

[JorgTheElder]

Well, this model really replaces the 13-inch Air, not the 13-inch Pro. So a fairer comparison is against the 2.2 GHz MacBook Air, which scored 6561 in Geekbench. 6.2% boost.

That's how it seems to me too. . . Why would they focus on thickness and weight on the MacBook when that is the strength of the Air? Now there just isn't a high performance option .

 

[manu chao]

Guess you've been happy with the mostly spec-only updates since 2012.

Apple has always had spec-only updates for about four years between case redesigns. That was apparently never a problem in the so-called golden age of the Mac (the 2000s) but suddenly it is?

 

[obsidyen]

This will be my first Mac so I'm happy... I have been using a 15 inch Samsung for 5 years now. In Turkey where I live, Dell XPS and other top of the line 13 inch notebooks are priced similarly to new Macbook Pros. What drew me to the new Macbook Pro (sans-touchbar) is its P3 gamut screen that's brighter and has better contrast than anything else in the market, and it's very powerful speakers. I have not heard the speakers myself (my MBP will be shipped in a few days) but even the 12 inch Macbook has great speakers so these must be better. Also, Apple computers have higher quality headphone jacks than any other computer in the market. I won't have to use a Dac with my high-end headphones (such as Noble K10).

Performance wise... Well to be honest, this will be my personal computer. I'll download stuff, watch films, do web surfing etc. I have a very powerful Dell laptop for work which my company gave me. It's very good for working with large Excel files (I work in finance). But I don't need that raw power for a personal computer so Macbook Pro sans-touchbar is more than fine for me. That said, I can understand why people who'd do video-editing, music production etc. on these are mad. You'd probably need 32 GB ram for those.

 

[Ghost31]

When the 13" retina MBP came out, it also jacked up the price by $500 on the entry level.

I don't think it was? I remember buying it soon after launch. I got the 15 inch for $2200 and i think normally before that was it $1999

 

[Mainsail]

Far better display,
better form factor,
better trackpad,
better keyboard,
better sound,
more efficient cpu runs cooler and quiet,
better beautiful design and color.

This machine is a great improvement.

And, basically the same price as the older MBPr upgraded to the same 256GB storage.

 

[fokmik]

this is a replacement for the Macbook Air...this isn't the real 13" MBP...but we compare the benchmark with the last gen real 13" MBP...so it is an improvement for an 15W cpu

 

[TXCherokee]

So, the only improvement is being thinner, and maybe a bit lighter? Fascinating.

So...
(1) no performance improvement
(2) no battery life improvement
but
(3) slightly thinner

Sounds about right.

This article and these quotes are misleading in my opinion. I'm not going to apologize for Apple on the price (and I was lucky enough to snag a base 2016 13" on Amazon for $1140) but these machines are a much bigger improvement what is being emphasized.

A 7% CPU improvement and a 8% iGPU improvement are pretty good for ONE YEAR. However, some people will see a much bigger jump as they are replacing a much older machine (for example, my improvement from my four year old machine is 32% on CPU and 170-190% on iGPU).

And yes, thinner and lighter are important improvements in a portable machine. Anyone can stuff parts into a case and call it a powerful laptop (the 10lbs ASUS ROG comes to mind), but for some portability matters and the MacBook Pro (and Dell XPS) do this the best right now.

And I for one respect Apple for their engineering prowess. Making a smaller machine, that is more powerful, yet lasts just as long is a worthwhile goal. I like that they continually push the envelope of what is possible. I understand that that doesn't fit everyone's use case, but there is always Windows or Linux....

 

[manu chao]

This is true, but it is still baffling that they call it a Pro, instead of calling it "Macbook Air". It muddles the branding, cause now you have two new "Macbook Pros" which are fairly different. And you also have the "Macbook Air" which is old tech. I guess they just call it pro to try to justify the pricing.

The problem is that this laptop is case design-wise almost identical to the 13" MBP with Touch bar. It is only missing the Touch bar and two TB3 ports. Calling it the new MBA (or better a 13" MacBook) would create an even larger number of complaints.

 

[BootsWalking]

Far better display,
better form factor,
better trackpad,
better keyboard,
better sound,
more efficient cpu runs cooler and quiet,
better beautiful design and color.

This machine is a great improvement.

I agree with all this except the better keyboard. It's reported to be a better keyboard then the MacBook (improvement on butterfly design) but definitely a step down from the non-butterfly 2015 Mac book Pro.

 

[AfroAbel]

Buying the 2015 Retina MBP is turning out to be a masterstroke...

I hope you'll enjoy your dongle filled future.

 

[BootsWalking]

Okay I really don't understand how this works:

I have a 2.9 i7 Processor in a 2012 CMBP.

The new processors that come out are always clocked slower into an i5.. but somehow score higher then a 2.9 i7?

How is this possible? Is it efficiency?

Yes. More instructions executed per clock cycle.

 

[Born Again]

do you guys believe apple thinks their doing their best?