Hello everybody,
For quite some time I contemplated between buying the 2015 15 inch and the 2017 13 inch nTB. I ended up ordering the 2015, with luck though I was able to buy a mint condition 2016 512gb 13 inch TB from a relative for next to nothing, the deal was too good to pass up.
Here are my impressions after a week of use.
Display
The last Macbook I used was the Macbook Air. I couldn’t stand it. I had the rMacbook before (2016) which I adored, but it was too small for my only laptop as I can’t rely on my desktop anymore. The Airs grainy display was a sore to use, reading on it was terrible. I’m not that good on the technical terms, but this display is gorgeous! It’s not like the 5k iMac displays, but dear god is it better than the Air. I don’t know how much better it is than the 2012-2015 rMBP models, but the difference isn’t as noticeable when comparing to my partners 2014 rMBP.
Display size
The actual computer is small, portable and will surely be fantastic once classes begin in august. The 15 inch would surely be heavier, but I honestly think that I would have preferred it. 13 inches can feel slightly cramped, especially when photo editing. Whilst working when I have a few word documents open, some pdfs, safari, messages and mail I wish that I had some more screen estate. Multiple desktops help, but it’s not optimal. 15 inches would be slightly better. I’m considering picking up a portable monitor, has anyone used one? If so, which one? I’ve been eyeing this one: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/5/24/15684670/asus-zenscreen-mb16ac-portable-usb-c-monitor, keeping it at my parents cabin when I’m working.
Performance
I don’t game so I can’t really answer that, but so far it’s handled everything I’ve thrown at it (512gb 16gb i5). It handles my Capture One 10 catalogue of around 250gb images adequately, my graduate and work tasks are handled with ease (pdfs, word, excel, powerpoint, scanned documents etc). I want to try some swift coding in time, but for now I haven’t been able to test it. Sadly I’m not that fond of Capture One 10, is it possible to still purchase Lightroom without a subscription?
Keyboard
Louder than the older models, but I quite like it. The typing experience is different from the 2012-2015 models, but I don’t mind it. I was able to type without any major quarrels on the rMB 2016, albeit I preferred the older keyboards. The second generation of butterfly keys are a lot better than the first generation, a welcome improvement.
USB-C only
I have a HDMI and SD-Card USB-C adapter (with x2 USB-A adapters on order). I have an external HDD which is USB thankfully and a NAS which I connect to whenever I’m at home at my apartment through. A question, is there any software that will automatically syncronize changes made on my Mac to the external drive? E.g. if I’m working in capture one, importing and deleting images on my HDD, can a program mimic that on the external HDD, deleting and adding images from the internal HDD?
Carrying around a bunch of adapters isn’t fun, but I’ll manage. In a few years USB-C will hopefully be a lot more common so I hopefully won’t need to carry the same amount of adapters.
Touch Bar
A week in, the Touch ID is the only useful thing with it. I’m actually glad that I never ended up ordering the nTB 2017 as in the few days I’ve owned the machine used the charger regularly on both sides and used 3 ports actively at the same time. On topic though, so far the touch bar feels like a gimmick. I’m faster typing and keyboard shortcuts get the job done a lot faster (I don’t have to look down on my keyboard to type). As it stands I wish there were options of 4 port Macbook Pros without the touch bar, but with Touch ID somehow implemented.
Conclusion
Overall this is a fantastic laptop. Battery life is solid, the display is stunning, build quality is extraordinary, macOS is a blessing to use. I hope that it lasts for years to come, next time I upgrade though I’ll probably opt for the 15-inch model, for now though an external monitor will have to do.
For quite some time I contemplated between buying the 2015 15 inch and the 2017 13 inch nTB. I ended up ordering the 2015, with luck though I was able to buy a mint condition 2016 512gb 13 inch TB from a relative for next to nothing, the deal was too good to pass up.
Here are my impressions after a week of use.
Display
The last Macbook I used was the Macbook Air. I couldn’t stand it. I had the rMacbook before (2016) which I adored, but it was too small for my only laptop as I can’t rely on my desktop anymore. The Airs grainy display was a sore to use, reading on it was terrible. I’m not that good on the technical terms, but this display is gorgeous! It’s not like the 5k iMac displays, but dear god is it better than the Air. I don’t know how much better it is than the 2012-2015 rMBP models, but the difference isn’t as noticeable when comparing to my partners 2014 rMBP.
Display size
The actual computer is small, portable and will surely be fantastic once classes begin in august. The 15 inch would surely be heavier, but I honestly think that I would have preferred it. 13 inches can feel slightly cramped, especially when photo editing. Whilst working when I have a few word documents open, some pdfs, safari, messages and mail I wish that I had some more screen estate. Multiple desktops help, but it’s not optimal. 15 inches would be slightly better. I’m considering picking up a portable monitor, has anyone used one? If so, which one? I’ve been eyeing this one: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/5/24/15684670/asus-zenscreen-mb16ac-portable-usb-c-monitor, keeping it at my parents cabin when I’m working.
Performance
I don’t game so I can’t really answer that, but so far it’s handled everything I’ve thrown at it (512gb 16gb i5). It handles my Capture One 10 catalogue of around 250gb images adequately, my graduate and work tasks are handled with ease (pdfs, word, excel, powerpoint, scanned documents etc). I want to try some swift coding in time, but for now I haven’t been able to test it. Sadly I’m not that fond of Capture One 10, is it possible to still purchase Lightroom without a subscription?
Keyboard
Louder than the older models, but I quite like it. The typing experience is different from the 2012-2015 models, but I don’t mind it. I was able to type without any major quarrels on the rMB 2016, albeit I preferred the older keyboards. The second generation of butterfly keys are a lot better than the first generation, a welcome improvement.
USB-C only
I have a HDMI and SD-Card USB-C adapter (with x2 USB-A adapters on order). I have an external HDD which is USB thankfully and a NAS which I connect to whenever I’m at home at my apartment through. A question, is there any software that will automatically syncronize changes made on my Mac to the external drive? E.g. if I’m working in capture one, importing and deleting images on my HDD, can a program mimic that on the external HDD, deleting and adding images from the internal HDD?
Carrying around a bunch of adapters isn’t fun, but I’ll manage. In a few years USB-C will hopefully be a lot more common so I hopefully won’t need to carry the same amount of adapters.
Touch Bar
A week in, the Touch ID is the only useful thing with it. I’m actually glad that I never ended up ordering the nTB 2017 as in the few days I’ve owned the machine used the charger regularly on both sides and used 3 ports actively at the same time. On topic though, so far the touch bar feels like a gimmick. I’m faster typing and keyboard shortcuts get the job done a lot faster (I don’t have to look down on my keyboard to type). As it stands I wish there were options of 4 port Macbook Pros without the touch bar, but with Touch ID somehow implemented.
Conclusion
Overall this is a fantastic laptop. Battery life is solid, the display is stunning, build quality is extraordinary, macOS is a blessing to use. I hope that it lasts for years to come, next time I upgrade though I’ll probably opt for the 15-inch model, for now though an external monitor will have to do.
