Review of the new MacBook Pro

[Hieveryone]

First of let me say, it's a lot better than what many threads on the internet and what many youtube videos would have you believe.

I mean seriously...this laptop is legit. It's a great, great, great machine and a joy to use!

Pros:

1. the smaller foot print for me is noticeable, and I like it
2. the thinness for me is noticeable, and I like it
3. the lighter weight for me is noticeable, and I like it
4. the thinner bezels for me is noticeable, and I like it
5. I like the space grey color more than the silver, any day
6. the bigger trackpad is AWESOME. I haven't had any problem with palm rejection
7. the new keyboard lighting looks like something out of the future. it is NICE!
8. the speakers sound a lot better to my ears, they are amazing

Small tidbits:

1. I don't miss magsafe. I just keep my laptop plugged in a lot so not problem for me

2. the keys are louder but it's not something I notice or care about at all. I kind of like the "sound feeback" if you will

3. it runs kind of warm tbh. I'm not sure why, but it doesn't bother me.

4. the edges are sharp like some say, but it doesn't bother me one bit.

5. Yes the speakers are super nice, but not nicer than my bluetooth speaker I got for maybe ~100 bucks off amazon. So I wouldn't keep this laptop bc of the speakers.

6. Yes it's thinner, lighter, smaller foot print, and yes it's REALLY nice...but I never felt like my previous gen was not portable. Nor do I feel like the previous gen was difficult to take around. This is just easier and better for me to take around...

Cons:

1. the base clock speed of 2.0 GHz is low. Don't get me wrong, it's a fast laptop, but it doesn't seem that much faster than my 2013 2.6 GHz i5 for just regular stuff. I do wish it were a little faster like maybe 2.4 or 2.6 GHz

2. oh the dongle life. Man it's not fun. I still don't know how to connect this thing to my external monitor or my SD card slot. I did get a usb dongle so at least I can charge my fitness band and iPhone, but boy is the dongle life hard haha. I definitely am not appreciating that.

3. The screen. Now the screen is not a "con" per se, but I have it side by side with my 2013 rMBP right now, and maybe it's just my eyes but is it really as much better as people are saying? My eyes don't see it. In fact I like my 2013 screen way more. It has a better color IMO.

4. The keyboard lighting isn't bright enough for me. Like I've got it on max brightness and it looks dim to my eyes. Would really like it if they could make it a lot brighter.

5. Ok and lastly...the keyboard sucks y'all. I've typed this whole post on my new MacBook Pro and my fingers are tired and kind of hurt. I was going to say the keyboard is OK, but now that I've reached the end of the post, I can say after typing all this, it sucks. I like the old keyboard significantly more.

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EDIT: One more minor con is the power brick doesn't have those clips to wrap the cable. Come on Apple what happened to good cable management lol.

 

[Freyqq]

for monitor, you need a USB C to mini-displayport adapter, or whatever input your monitor has.

 

[LunchMercenary]

I do like the keyboard, but I do see how your fingers would hurt. My gaming PC had the k70 rapid fire switches which were the narrow travel switches (obviously not to this magnitude) and those actually made my fingers hurt less when it came to gaming. Idk, different switches for different folks I guess.

 

[Hieveryone]

I just clarify one more time, this laptop is a definite win. If someone asked me what I think, I'd say it's a really great laptop.

If someone doesn't have a MacBook Pro or just wants to burn some cash on a new toy, I would consider this laptop.

Sure there's always some complaints but overall it's still pretty darn amazing.

I wouldn't have even noticed many of the things I mentioned in the OP if it wasn't for YouTube reviews and forums (like sharp edges lol)

Now if someone has the previous gen, like I do, it doesn't seem vastly better. Sure the trackpad is incredible and what not but I mean it is an expensive toy. I would say someone would have to just see for themselves based on how often they use ports etc and decide.

Person A might have some cash burning a hole in their pocket and even though they have the previous gen they might want splurge. It's their money. I see nothing wrong with that.

Someone else might say well I have the cash but it's just not worth it. I'd rather go on a vacation or something. That's not a bad idea either.

So it really just depends on the person.

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[doublepost=1489290018][/doublepost]I should've added this "Pro" to my review, or at least stressed it more.

This new laptop LOOKS FREAKING AMAZING!!!!

Holy crap y'all I find myself just staring at this thing. It seriously looks like something out of the future.

They really nailed the aesthetics of this thing.

 

[Hieveryone]

Update:

The screen is flickering. It's going back. Oh well. I feel sad, but it is what it is

http://www.techradar.com/news/some-...r-from-screen-flicker-and-other-video-nasties

 

[jerryk]

Update:

The screen is flickering. It's going back. Oh well. I feel sad, but it is what it is

http://www.techradar.com/news/some-...r-from-screen-flicker-and-other-video-nasties

Where you running Adobe media encoder (or other Adobe products), like the video shows. If so, the issue would be with the software.

But, it does reinforce my feeling that the current 2016 is a version 1 product. I have no doubt they will get glitches like this, scratches during assembly, misalignment of parts, etc. fixed. But, since I have a 2015 rMBP, I am going to wait until the next rev before I consider putting my money down.

 

[coraregina]

Where you running Adobe media encoder (or other Adobe products), like the video shows. If so, the issue would be with the software.

They created a whole new thread to tell us about how this miracle machine was doing it while playing YouTube videos, LOL. And needed sense slapped into them to get them to take it back because they loved their particular screen so much (that statement right there tells you a lot about the truth of the screen lottery behind this "it's a lot better" piece of equipment, doesn't it).

 

[jerryk]

They created a whole new thread to tell us about how this miracle machine was doing it while playing YouTube videos, LOL. And needed sense slapped into them to get them to take it back because they loved their particular screen so much (that statement right there tells you a lot about the truth of the screen lottery behind this "it's a lot better" piece of equipment, doesn't it).

If it specific to Media Encoder, it has nothing to do with playing videos. Media Encoder is a tool to encode content, and used by content creators to create the video. Not to play videos

 

[Hieveryone]

Where you running Adobe media encoder (or other Adobe products), like the video shows. If so, the issue would be with the software.

But, it does reinforce my feeling that the current 2016 is a version 1 product. I have no doubt they will get glitches like this, scratches during assembly, misalignment of parts, etc. fixed. But, since I have a 2015 rMBP, I am going to wait until the next rev before I consider putting my money down.

Not sure it's during YouTube

 

[coraregina]

If it specific to Media Encoder, it has nothing to do with playing videos. Media Encoder is a tool to encode content, and used by content creators to create the video. Not to play videos

They specifically said the problem occurs during YouTube playback. It had nothing to do with them attempting to encode content themselves, it manifested while they were watching things online that other people had made.

 

[Hieveryone]

They specifically said the problem occurs during YouTube playback. It had nothing to do with them attempting to encode content themselves, it manifested while they were watching things online that other people had made.

It's during YouTube like when I play music

 

[coraregina]

It's during YouTube like when I play music

I'm glad you decided to take it back, I understand the screen lottery sucks massively and you were lucky to get a really good one, but graphics problems more or less out of the gate aren't worth trying to diagnose and fix just to avoid dealing with that IMHO (although you may find yourself going through several units to get another good display).

You tried to do a positive review on this thing and it's ended up being another negative one. Really glad I didn't bite on the 2016, they clearly need more time to sort out quite a lot of issues. (And I'm still mad about MagSafe being gone, computers that are kept plugged in are exactly the kind of computers that MagSafe is meant for!)

 

[thesaint024]

I'm glad you decided to take it back, I understand the screen lottery sucks massively and you were lucky to get a really good one, but graphics problems more or less out of the gate aren't worth trying to diagnose and fix just to avoid dealing with that IMHO (although you may find yourself going through several units to get another good display).

You tried to do a positive review on this thing and it's ended up being another negative one. Really glad I didn't bite on the 2016, they clearly need more time to sort out quite a lot of issues. (And I'm still mad about MagSafe being gone, computers that are kept plugged in are exactly the kind of computers that MagSafe is meant for!)

The word on the street is that if you even look at a 2016, it results in instant reproductive sterilization. A guy on MR knows a guy who knows a guy that this happened to. I continue to use mine knowing the risks because I just can't help myself.

 

[coraregina]

The word on the street is that if you even look at a 2016, it results in instant reproductive sterilization. A guy on MR knows a guy who knows a guy that this happened to. I continue to use mine knowing the risks because I just can't help myself.

I'm already reproductively sterile so I'd be immune to that particular side effect. You are so brave for soldiering on in spite of the risk.