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So who actually likes their new MBP with Touchbar?

ozziegn

ozziegn

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 16, 2007
1,321
870
Central FL Area
I've been using an early 2015 13" MBP and it's served me well since the beginning. However, I usually get the itch to buy a new model about every two years. The new MBP with TB caught my attention when Apple first announced the laptop. Of course it was hard to find them in stores at first so I didn't think much about them. So now they're available in stores and I'm thinking about selling my 2015 model and take the plunge on a new 13" MBP w/ TB.

Problem is there are many negative reviews on YouTube that would go against buying one of these laptops. So I figured I would ask the people in this forum how they are liking their new 13" models? Are you happy with your laptop or do you regret your purchase?

Any information or advice will be appreciated.
 
ozziegn said:
I've been using an early 2015 13" MBP and it's served me well since the beginning. However, I usually get the itch to buy a new model about every two years. The new MBP with TB caught my attention when Apple first announced the laptop. Of course it was hard to find them in stores at first so I didn't think much about them. So now they're available in stores and I'm thinking about selling my 2015 model and take the plunge on a new 13" MBP w/ TB.

Problem is there are many negative reviews on YouTube that would go against buying one of these laptops. So I figured I would ask the people in this forum how they are liking their new 13" models? Are you happy with your laptop or do you regret your purchase?

Any information or advice will be appreciated.
Click to expand...


I love mine, but I replaced a really old machine. I don't think you will appreciate it as much coming from a newer machine. If I were you I'd wait for the next gen and take it from there. Rumors are late 2017, but I bet 2018 is more realistic.
 
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Don't regret buying the 13" tbMBP one bit. Quite the contrary, as a matter of fact. Like the poster above me, I upgraded from an older machine (2010 MBP), so that was quite the leap in and of itself.

Negative reviews about just about anything can be found anywhere where people can post reviews. As can positive ones. Neither should be taken at face value without doing some due diligence.
 
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I had the TB but returned / exchanged it for the nonTB... I found zero, nada, zilch, no use for the touchbar and to me, and for my usage (home use), it was a complete and 100% gimmick....
 
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I would like the TB for the simple use of the Touch ID feature. Not having to type in my password would be pretty sweet. I know that's a pretty price to pay just for that one feature but I'm sure the TB's uses will be more appreciated as time moves on.
 
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ozziegn said:
I've been using an early 2015 13" MBP and it's served me well since the beginning. However, I usually get the itch to buy a new model about every two years. The new MBP with TB caught my attention when Apple first announced the laptop. Of course it was hard to find them in stores at first so I didn't think much about them. So now they're available in stores and I'm thinking about selling my 2015 model and take the plunge on a new 13" MBP w/ TB.

Problem is there are many negative reviews on YouTube that would go against buying one of these laptops. So I figured I would ask the people in this forum how they are liking their new 13" models? Are you happy with your laptop or do you regret your purchase?

Any information or advice will be appreciated.
Click to expand...


I replaced an iMac 5k 2014 with a base 2016 15" MacBook Pro and find it a good change out, because I no longer needed a work station. Tested the battery and find it doing 8 to 11 hours, however I do have it mostly docked on adapter power. The smaller profile, mobile ease and comparable power to my iMac are just what I wanted for my needs. Very happy with the unit as a whole, but wish it was cheaper, however no Windows was the compromise on price. I looked at many WinTel laptops that were maybe 40% less in price, but after threading thru Windows to examine the computers...I said no and decided to pay the premium to stay with MacOs. Maybe just me!
 
Buying a Windows machine will never be an option for me. I gave up on Windows in 2007 when I bought my first iPhone. We use Windows PCs at work and they remind me every day why I hate that platform and why I look forward to coming home to my MacBook.
 
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I really like my new 13" tbMBP. I'm not gonna claim that the tb is a gimmick because I do find it useful in some occasions, but I wouldn't say I use the tb a ton. That being said, TouchID is a revelation for me (I don't have it on my cell), I'd be ready to pay $100-$200 just for that.

Despite my worst fears, I also happen to really like the keyboard. Surprisingly, going back to my 2011 MBA yesterday I realized I now prefer the new keyboard. Who would have thought.

More generally, the build quality of these machines is just amazing. It feels rock solid.

My two only true complaints:
1) I wish I'd have an extra 2 hours of battery life. Though honestly, mine is almost always plugged in so it has never actually been a real constraint so far. It's really just so that I could brag about my battery life.
2) The price. I'm fortunate enough not to have had to pay it out my own pocket. Not sure I would have, despite how nice the machine is.
 
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I like it a lot (not withstanding some first gen production issues).

PRO:
-screen
-keyboard
-speakers
-trackpad
-weight
-size

CON:
-no magsafe
-no sleep/charging/battery indicator on the hardware

SO-SO:
-touchbar

Cheers
 
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I returned mine and will buy it again if they fix the sticky keyboard.


Pros: It is fast. The speakers are AMAZING in it, so much bass! Thin (will also explain why that's a bad thing below)


Cons: too thin, no ports besides USB C. Battery isn't as good as they say (I get 7-8 hours on Chrome and the display on a quarter of brightness. The kicker: the keys stick and make a loud high pitched click which is extremely obnoxious. The key noise would be distracting when typing notes in class, so a big no-no.
 
Love mine. I haven't touched my 2015 5k iMac since I unboxed my MBP. Its handled everything I have thrown its way with ease. I find the touch bar fantastic for use with photoshop but rarely use it otherwise. I look forward to many good years with my MBP.
 
I replaced a loaded late-2013 MBP 15'' with this loaded late-2016 model. I am very happy. Zero issues with the computer.
 
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Love mine. Very happy. Outstanding keyboard, outstanding screen, very useful Touchbar, solid (8+ hours) battery life. It is pricy but feels like an absolutely top-end device.
 
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Love my 2016 15" tbMBP...I've had none of the issues people mentioned. Only thing I wish they had kept in some form is the Magsafe...though I'll be buying and adapter for that.

I love the keyboard also. Seems like it can take a punch and makes typing quicker easier as my fingers seem to equate "force" with "speed"...
 
raqball said:
I had the TB but returned / exchanged it for the nonTB... I found zero, nada, zilch, no use for the touchbar and to me, and for my usage (home use), it was a complete and 100% gimmick....
Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly - had the nTB then TB and now back with the nTB. It's a pure gimmick and would crash often which required a full restart. It was also slow to respond and just slowed me down. The nTB is simply beautiful. The lack of feedback is a killer too.
 
I really like mine (edited to change the word "love", no idea what I was thinking, i'll blame the light-headed feeling from no breakfast or caffeine.... its a chunk of metal), but I came from an 11" Air which was starting to show its age and was non-retina. If you have the money burning a hole in your pocket, go for it, but I don't think you'll notice as big a difference performance wise as your 2015 machine isn't that old.

TouchID is really nice but isn't integrated system-wide which is disappointing. I like the TB and use it all the time but its usefulness does seem to vary according to your own workflow and how you current use the keyboard and mouse/trackpad.

Am surprised you found a negative attention seeking review on Youtube though, that does sound very unlike so much of the content on there....
 
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My new 2016 15" is the best computer I have ever used and an amazing upgrade over the 2015 model. There is honestly not a single issue I can find with it (aside maybe of the low-quality webcam).
 
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Happy with mine but not blown away. I upgraded from a 2010 mbp.

Then again I don't stare at my computer and think "wow this hardware is amazing". I'm more interested in software.
 
ozziegn said:
I've been using an early 2015 13" MBP and it's served me well since the beginning. However, I usually get the itch to buy a new model about every two years. The new MBP with TB caught my attention when Apple first announced the laptop. Of course it was hard to find them in stores at first so I didn't think much about them. So now they're available in stores and I'm thinking about selling my 2015 model and take the plunge on a new 13" MBP w/ TB.

Problem is there are many negative reviews on YouTube that would go against buying one of these laptops. So I figured I would ask the people in this forum how they are liking their new 13" models? Are you happy with your laptop or do you regret your purchase?

Any information or advice will be appreciated.
Click to expand...
I have a 2.9/460 and price aside, I think it's "meh".

It has a good screen, it's quite portable, it's quite fast.

The fingerprint reader is a welcome addition but it's poorly integrated (for example, it has no Keychain integration) and the sensor itself is underwhelming. My phone's sensor (Huawei P9) is way more accurate.

It has no useful ports (for me), and the keyboard is quite bad. Every time I use my old 13" Air I am reminded how poor and unpleasant to type on the 15" keyboard is. Also, it has really uneven clicking. Center keys have a completely different sound from the edge keys, which I find distracting.

The trackpad has all sorts of issues, it doesn't reliably recognize three-finger-swipe and drag-and-drop. And it's unnecessarily large to boot, so when I rest my palm on the laptop, I always feel the edge of the trackpad digging in.

The laptop has sharp edges all around. It's not pleasant to use in the lap, it cuts into my wrists.

I thought the touch bar would be a gimmick, but it's actually worse than that (for me). To date, in almost one month of ownership, I haven't used it's specific app functions even once. I see stuff drawn for Safari (like bookmarks or tabs), but it's relatively low resolution and fuzzy, it's just easier to use the actual screen and your hand was on the trackpad to begin with.

What I didn't realize before is that I use the function keys a lot more than I thought I do - because of Eclipse. And it sucks for Esc or the function keys. There's no feedback, it's all drawn so muscle memory doesn't help, you basically have to look at it carefully to activate something. Ergonomically this is absolute crap. The whole touch bar idea is in my opinion a complete bust.

Battery life seems mediocre.

This laptop is overall poor value for money, has some really questionable design choices, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
 
I like min alot but thats because i came from a 2012 before, its to small difference from a 2015 to be worth a loss of money to get a 2016, better wait to next year atleast
 
I really like it. Design, build & colour are a big thumbs up for me. And I have to say I thought the touch bar would be more of a gimmick, but I have to say I use it way more than I thought I would. And since the touch bar is so close to the keyboard it's also almost effortless to use it.
 
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