compared my 2016 ntMBP to my old 2012 15" rMBP before I sold it and the newer models seem to be a slightly different shade of silver.
Hard to describe but agreed-- I was thinking the same.
I think this photo is a good one, but you really have to experience it in different lighting to know whats up. this is in sorta incandescent lighting,
The silver on my machine has arctic undertones for lack of a better explanation. I love it and against the mirror apple logo on back of the lid, looks really nice
Makes it less bleak than one would imagine that might be reason for them to jump to SG imo being bored with previous look.
In some lighting it lokks similar and maybe even identical perhaps to before when it was just a silver option on pro retina. In other lighting it has a white cast tone, just like how space grey looks/is grey in some lighting and in darkness has a black cast tone
I also think using the silver in darkness and having the illumination of the screen reflect off of its lighter surface, looks great!
In other words I think silver looks a lot more consistently brilliant than SG personally especially in this model particularly, accentuates body changes more prominently to the discerning while being somewhat off the grid from stare of a new laptop and potential questioning at coffee shops (oh how do you like it? What about the ports? What about touchbar/where is it/ what do you think of the pricing? Etc lol) the touchbar independent of color choice would get some rubber necking going on. An obvious sure tell sign you're on the bleeding edge.
Also silver seems to be the significantly less popular option which I'm ok with. Since most people are coming from silver only machine and are sick of it/seek change. Makes sense that's a driving reason why I got SG rMB when I did.
The silver on rMB always looked nice but by the end of the day sorta like a fake/bootleg air. Of the finest caliber no less, but just weird vibes to me.
Still, I should say I think silver rMB looks great and so does SG RMBP you can't go too wrong with either. That's why I'm happy with both my color choices
But the SG does certainly show dirt and scratches way more easily. Not the type to clean with a cloth. Only the screen when it's caked in crap heavily. I say this with certainty having had a SG machine a little over a year and a half now. I'm not the cleanest person but not the messiest either. And no I'm not gonna thoroughly wash my hands every single time I need to google something in a pinch, I'm not about to go into surgery and need de sanitization and I'm not handling a unique da Vinci piece, it's a really pretty but still mass manufactured slab of electronic bits. As long as my hands aren't caked in grease or grime visibly or feeling wise, I move on.
To be honest dirt and stuff is more of a turn off to me than scratches showing (assuming you aren't dragging it across fireplace brick, that wouldn't bode well for most finishes period), unless you for sure are going to flip the machine year over year and want to secure top dollar for a mint machine.
I'd also be livid if they went full black next year or in coming years since space Grey is officially dead on iDevices. A dark machine is cool , but grey in particular , doesn't exactly always add up for me in all lighting all the time
The SG with Apple logo on back from distance on a table at Apple Store does blend in and look like any old PC laptop manufacturer, if not a bit of a premium looking gaming style one (albeit way slimmer and simpler). That solidified it for
Me. For rMB you can easily tell it isn't a netbook or another manufacturer given its razor like design and uniquely small size