I know you all have seen a ton of Youtube, bloggers, and news articles with people discussing their impressions with the new MBP. My problem with most of them are they are either not normal users, they are vloggers and only benchmark finalcut, or they think geekbench/benchmarks are the only tool you need to use.
Here are just a few of my own impressions and I encourage others to include theirs. Especially power users, so people can gauge if they need/want to upgrade.
I am coming from a 2017 MBP i7 2.8 (4 cores), 16GB ram, and a 1TB HD. I bought the i9 2.4 (8 cores), 64GB Ram, Radion 8GB, and 2TB HD. I made the switch because I am a photographer and working with massive image files my 2017 just didn’t have the Ram needed. It would set itself on fire and eventually crash.
edit: fixed bullet points.
Here are just a few of my own impressions and I encourage others to include theirs. Especially power users, so people can gauge if they need/want to upgrade.
I am coming from a 2017 MBP i7 2.8 (4 cores), 16GB ram, and a 1TB HD. I bought the i9 2.4 (8 cores), 64GB Ram, Radion 8GB, and 2TB HD. I made the switch because I am a photographer and working with massive image files my 2017 just didn’t have the Ram needed. It would set itself on fire and eventually crash.
- The new MBP is much faster. I am cutting minutes off long process times. I opened Photoshop on my old MBP and new. Opened a 35 bracketed photo panorama with each image being 50 megapixels (5DSr). My old MBP took 7:05 to stitch it together. New one took 4:10. I ran a 9-image panorama in Lightroom: 1:50 (old) 0:47 (new).
- I don’t think the maxed-out processor is necessary. Save the $200 and get the 2.3. I got the maxed because Photoshop uses more processor compared to graphic card, so I figured MORE POWER!
- Everything seems snappier. Little things that I might have gotten a small loading animation on my old MBP happen instantly on the 16”. This is probably the best part of the experience so far. You would be surprised how instant processes for small tasks make the workflow feel so much better and faster.
- I am never running out of ram now. old MBP I was maxing out ram whenever I had Lightroom or Photoshop open, and I made sure to close one when opening the other otherwise NO RAM FOR ME! With the new MBP I can run both at the same time and still have about 20GB left over for when it needs to ramp up during a task. I have successfully maxed out the ram, but it was for just a few seconds while creating a massive panorama.
- The new MBP wrist rest runs hotter. I don’t know if it is fan placement or what, but the wrist rests seem to run hotter. As someone who perspires, I don’t like having warm hands. It is a noticeable difference. My old MBP the wrist rests often were cool to the touch, even during normal use, not so with the new one. This could be due to fan management. My old MBP the fans would often slowly run, even on idle. The new fans don’t seem to run as much or as high until needed.
- The screen is noticeably larger. For only ½” change, I notice I am moving my eyes around a lot more and notice a lot more screen real-estate.
- I had issues with the old keyboard. I even had my old MBP serviced for a defective key. Whenever I have to get used to a new keyboard I hate it. So, it is early, but I don’t think I like the new keyboard. It feels smaller, the keys wobble a lot more than the old keyboard, and light leaks from under the keys. I am also more prone to typos, at least during the learning curve. I am not used to having to lift as much to type. With the old MBP you can slide fingers across the keys, now it’s a more traditional typing style with lift, move, press, lift…
- The updated touch bar is nice I guess. The thing I hate most about the touchbar is when it locks up, you press but nothing happens. It hasn’t happened yet, but that is software, so I am guessing it will happen with this and as well. But I dunno. I don’t use it much. I wish it were taller so it might be usable for more stuff, like being able to put the entire Photoshop palate on the bottom, but I guess that will be a 2021 thing.
- It is heavier. Something shocking to me was I noticed the difference in weight. When I held both laptops, it was harder to notice (I know weird). But walking around with just the new laptop closed in my hand I often will think for a second, “damn this thing is a heavy slab of metal.” Didn’t happen with old one. It isn’t a big deal, but did surprise me.
- Everyone is talking about the speakers. I played the same song on my old and new, at the same time and one after the other. The improvements aren’t as much as people are praising. The new ones aren’t some magical new experience, they are laptop speakers. Good enough for youtube and casual use, but don a pair of even half decent headphones and you will have a much more immersive experience.
- The new MBP feels more fragile. It might be just the new car feeling. until I get the first scratch I am uber careful, but the lid feels fragile. I believe the screen glass is thinner. That makes the screen image look better, but I think it will be more prone to scratches and cracks. The rubber gasket around the screen is also smaller, so make sure you don’t have any debris on the base or it will most definitely be smashed into the screen glass when closed.
edit: fixed bullet points.
