New 13" MacBook Pro - Week One

[stockcerts]

I've enjoyed a MacBook Air for the past five years. It was my second computer. My MacBook Air was thrown into my backpack daily and I would take it with me to coffee shops for basic web browsing. It was also my companion while traveling.

With the recent updates to the entry level MacBook Pro I decided it was time to update. I could have gotten by with a new MacBook Air, but I figured for just a few hundred dollars more there would be much more horsepower, and I was intrigued by the Touch Bar. Amazon recently had a one day sale with $100- off, so I emptied my pocket book and pulled the plug. I upgraded to the 256 SSD and I went with space gray.

So far, I'm really enjoying my new MacBook! The Retina display is awesome, and I do like the Touch Bar. I love how it displays the formatting options while in Word, and of course the emojis while texting. I also use Lightroom, but I need to buy an adapter before I can use it (so I can hook up my external drive).

I've got my display set to dark mode which is easy on the eyes, and I think it looks classy. So far....I'm very happy with my purchase!!

 

[gregrichards]

I've enjoyed a MacBook Air for the past five years. It was my second computer. My MacBook Air was thrown into my backpack daily and I would take it with me to coffee shops for basic web browsing. It was also my companion while traveling.

With the recent updates to the entry level MacBook Pro I decided it was time to update. I could have gotten by with a new MacBook Air, but I figured for just a few hundred dollars more there would be much more horsepower, and I was intrigued by the Touch Bar. Amazon recently had a one day sale with $100- off, so I emptied my pocket book and pulled the plug. I upgraded to the 256 SSD and I went with space gray.

So far, I'm really enjoying my new MacBook! The Retina display is awesome, and I do like the Touch Bar. I love how it displays the formatting options while in Word, and of course the emojis while texting. I also use Lightroom, but I need to buy an adapter before I can use it (so I can hook up my external drive).

I've got my display set to dark mode which is easy on the eyes, and I think it looks classy. So far....I'm very happy with my purchase!!

Congratulations on your new MacBook Pro and thank you for sharing your experience of it. I am going to buy the same model so it is great to get a first hand opinion of it.

 

[DougFNJ]

Congratulations! How do you like the keyboard compared to the Air, have you taken to it quick, or small learning curve?

 

[stockcerts]

Congratulations! How do you like the keyboard compared to the Air, have you taken to it quick, or small learning curve?

I'm a fast touch typist and it works just fine for me. I have an iMac also, so I'll be going back and forth between the two keyboard types. Quite honestly the new MacBook keyboard has a different feel, but it works just fine for me.

 

[macjunk(ie)]

Do you see the issue where the laptop shuts down once it reaches a 25% battery level?

 

[0906742]

Do you see the issue where the laptop shuts down once it reaches a 25% battery level?

Or issue that battery Full Charge Capacity drops under load (like when you run Cinebench and monitor battery with CoconutBattery during test)?

Also do you notice Charge Cycles increasing faster than actual 100% battery use?

 

[ApplesandOranges]

I purchased the exact same MBP about three weeks ago. I am also enjoying my MBP and have not had any problems, battery or otherwise. The only issue I have is because of the way I type I sometimes hit the Touch Bar by accident which leads to some headaches and mistakes depending on what App I am using and what menus are being displayed on the Touch Bar.

There are some things that took a while to get used to like accessing Mission Control. I now have to keep remembering to swipe up with three fingers on the trackpad to do the same. Navigating the Touch Bar to get to the same function that used to take just the one push of a button now takes more time and effort. Same goes with brightness controls and volume. Used to just hit a single button.

 

[0906742]

I purchased the exact same MBP about three weeks ago. I am also enjoying my MBP and have not had any problems, battery or otherwise.

So you can run it on battery almost empty without it turning off before battery percentage is 0%?
You do not notice charge cycles increasing faster than percentages you actually use the battery, or you do not see Full Charge Capacity dipping under high load? Or you just never tested any of that / or don't care?

 

[ApplesandOranges]

So you can run it on battery almost empty without it turning off before battery percentage is 0%?
You do not notice charge cycles increasing faster than percentages you actually use the battery, or you do not see Full Charge Capacity dipping under high load? Or you just never tested any of that / or don't care?

I've had my battery down to 3% and then plugged it in to charge. No issues. I know based on your other threads and comments that you are interested in measuring every aspect of the MBP and comparing it to other models. That is fine it's very interesting reading. But another perspective is the person who forms and opinion based on real world usage.

I charge up my laptop, take it with me to work, use in the field, use it all day, come home, and plug it in until charged. I have not ran any benchmarks, installed any monitoring tools, or noticed any adverse performance since I purchased my MBP. I can say the battery does not last as long as my previous MB Air, but is much much faster, with a much better screen.

The keyboard takes some getting used to, and the Touch Bar (with it's cool factor) is a take or leave it option for me. I am beginning to think I would prefer a computer without the Touch Bar. I do like the fingerprint reader. I rarely have to enter a password anymore.

But to answer your question, I have not tested my MBP, really have no reason to. On the other hand if I felt that battery life was really poor, or performance was lacking I may take notice. Fortunately I have no issues at the moment.

 

[0906742]

I know based on your other threads and comments that you are interested in measuring every aspect of the MBP and comparing it to other models. That is fine it's very interesting reading. But another perspective is the person who forms and opinion based on real world usage.

There is obvious misunderstanding as my opinion is especially based on real world usage... I have also included measurements based on programs to prove what I see. I know if just going by the feeling, it is almost impossible to say how something really is, but when you note down your own finding vs measurement from programs, you have hard facts you can verify your findings against.

Obviously not so many care about how their machine performs against its specifications and that is fine for me, ignorance is a bliss, I've heard. I wish I was once of those peoples.

I charge up my laptop, take it with me to work, use in the field, use it all day, come home, and plug it in until charged. I have not ran any benchmarks, installed any monitoring tools, or noticed any adverse performance since I purchased my MBP. I can say the battery does not last as long as my previous MB Air, but is much much faster, with a much better screen.

Do you see you are getting anywhere near advertised 10 hours use on full battery?

The keyboard takes some getting used to, and the Touch Bar (with it's cool factor) is a take or leave it option for me. I am beginning to think I would prefer a computer without the Touch Bar. I do like the fingerprint reader. I rarely have to enter a password anymore.

Yeah, keyboard is fine once you get accustomed to very short key travel. I actually like it more and more I use it. I have previously updated my desktop keyboards to short travel laptop like keyboards (Logitech Craft) but even those have longer key travel, but I'd say Macbook keyboards were fast to get use to after that. It took me much longer to get used to Logitech Craft after using traditional desktop keyboards for all my life.

But I've noticed having Air 2018 before I got my Entry MBP 2019 that even those two have the same key travel, just one generation older butterfly in Air 2018, is that they feel and sound quiet different. I actually liked Air 2018 keyboard more. It was little less clicky / more silent and did not need that much force to press the keys. But I will get used to this.
My point, is that I really prefer short key travel keyboards. I guess they are even more healthy in long term if you type much, there is much less strain for fingers and joints due to short key travel (when you get used to that you do not need to hit the keys as hard as you are used to with traditional keyboard, if you don't you will break both your fingers and the keyboard).

About Touch Bar, it is rather neutral for me. I don't much use it and some functions need more presses to access than traditional function keys but it also has some nice features traditional keyboard lacks, like you have slider for volume and screen brightness (and you can also use stepping if you want, just like before). Also it looks cool, and it has many features I have not even used yet.

 

[stockcerts]

Do you see the issue where the laptop shuts down once it reaches a 25% battery level?

I haven't had that issue, but I usually charge before I get that low.
[doublepost=1565469473][/doublepost]I'm really enjoying the Touch Bar and the T2 security chip. I'm coming from 5 year old MacBook Air, so these new additions are really awesome! I also love the retina screen, and space gray is awesome!!

 

[0906742]

I haven't had that issue, but I usually charge before I get that low.

Just out of curiosity, did your machine come with SMP/Simplo or DSY/Desay battery?
What is your unit manufacturing factory and week (it show that in serial numbers 1st, 4th and 5th character)?