That's a very subjective statement to make.
My dislike of the lack of objectivity on these forums, is certainly subjective.
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Torn: 2017 MBpro 15" or 2015 MBPro 15"
- Thread starter bohdanz
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My dislike of the lack of objectivity on these forums, is certainly subjective.
Some people on this forum sure try very hard to sell the idea of newer laptop being "miles" better. The reality is, however, that over a year after the new model release, the 2015 is still popular, many people are still choosing it over the new one even at a very high price and Apple is probably making a lot more money off each 2015 model sold, than the new one, especially considering the deprecated hardware and how often people return them. I fail to name that many product where the previous generation model remained to be popular for so long.
You know, you hadn't responded to any of my rebuttals. I will take your silence as conceding.
Not sure why anyone would buy a 2015 laptop in (almost) 2018. No question go with a 2017 model or 2016 if the deal is good enough. Don't fall for the Anti-USB-C stuff.
Apple is simply too far out in front on USB-C, even two+ years after the 12" rMB. I don't have a single accessory or cable in my home or office that would plug into a 2016 or 2017 rMBP without an adapter or dongle. The most telling point here is that I can't even plug my frickin' iPhone into one of these without an adapter. Hello Apple, anyone home? Really.
Maybe you have to buy some? I don't have any issues. Both of my back up hard drives support USB-C and work great, my Mirrorless camera has a USB-C port as well so I have no complaints about USB-C. I love that all the ports can be anything I want them to be. Oh yeah I also connect my MacBook to a 4K TV without any issues at 60Hz.
Well, clearly, you're right about that!
But seriously: my numerous external drives are all A on the computer side. My monitors and TVs are all either DP or or HDMI. My cameras are all A on the computer side. There is not a USB-C connector on any of them.So either I spend $20K-$25K or more and replace all that stuff, or I spend somewhere between $250 and $500 on cables, docks and dongles. Here's a news flash: I don't need new monitors, TVs, cameras, drives or anything else: I am totally happy with how they work. So the single piece here that doesn't work is the computer.
I have both, using them side by side. There is nothing in the 2017 mbp that is better that 2015, not a single thing. But, there are many things in 2015 model that will make your life a lot more comfortable. Get the maxed out version of 2015
One of the main reasons why I chose 2015 is because I'm still using all the USB A devices and SD card.
In theory, newer is better. That's in theory. In actual use that "better" may not equate to a few hundred dollars of worth better.
Someone mentioned that you can buy adapters and new USB type C devices. Yes you can. But do you have to spend the extra money? If people have so much money, they won't even need to think too much, just get the newest model.
In theory, newer is better. That's in theory. In actual use that "better" may not equate to a few hundred dollars of worth better.
Someone mentioned that you can buy adapters and new USB type C devices. Yes you can. But do you have to spend the extra money? If people have so much money, they won't even need to think too much, just get the newest model.
Really, do you also video editing for example?
Also, for example "a lot of tabs open surfing" video playback etc, is there really no difference, also in case of volume of the fans for example?
I think the 2015 is a great machine, and surely some people might still prefer the model over the more recent ones. Each ‘new’ generation of mbps (as the 2016 model) inhabits its design decisions with its pros and contras. My claim, about 20% higher performance, pointed only to the cpu performance of the newer versions (2016 and 2017) vs the 2015 mbp. For a backup of this please see the really good and thorough reviews on notebookcheck. I clearly noticed the improvement between the 2015 and 2016 mbps in actual use in the studio. This performance difference however only makes the 2016 mbp a ‘better’ machine for a specific kind of user (eg statistical’ modeling, cpu rendering, real time audio processing), ignoring here, amongst other things, the obvious gpu improvements the new gen 2016 mbps brought.
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Well there a few things that are better (facts, not opinion) that you may have missed. The 2017 has a P3 wide color gamut display, it has a brighter display, a faster SSD, Is quieter under full load, has better speakers, has Touch ID, it's smaller, it's lighter, has a better track pad, It handle's 4K video (especially H.265) better, has a better video card, supports 4K displays/TV at 60Hz, I'm not going to keep going but you get the point.
Uh, no. The 2017 cannot reliably reject wrist/palm input, which leads to the cursor jumping at random times. The 2014 has no such problem.
The 2012-2015 models are the better balanced.
And much of your list reflect value judgments, not "facts."
It possible to improve the balance of a 2017/6 MacBook pro 15": just add 500 grams to the bottom of the machine. You'll get even better balance. If that's what you think is important ....
As far as wrist palm input issues, that depends on the user. Typically users adapt to new technology, while some cannot.
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The cost is pretty minimal. For instance:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1134199-REG/kanex_ku3ca107i_usb_3_type_c_male.html
A USB-3 to USB for you - $4.99. Its a nice white one too, so it must be good.
There's heaps of things that are cheap that use USB-3 too.
Most users will gain more weight by adding dongles than just to get the 2015 mode. And you loose the convenience of just "work out of the box". I still do not understand why Apple made this premature move. You can't even connect the newest iPhone out of the box. The move of all USB-C is at least 3 years too early.
If anybody thinks the USB-C move is like "removing the DVD drive" - they have nothing in common. I haven't used CDs/DVDs for an year before I got the 2012 rMBP. On this design generation I cannot tell the same thing. I use at least 2 USB-A devices every single day. I use the SD card reader every single week.
I assume the theory was that by going all USB-C they'd push device and peripheral manufacturers to USB-C as well, and USB-C is a much better experience with devices that support it. I have one cable from my MBP to my display, which delivers power and allows peripherals to be connected through the display. It's a great experience.
I also carry around multiple usb-c / usb-a adaptors everywhere, but they weigh maybe a gram.
I also carry around multiple usb-c / usb-a adaptors everywhere, but they weigh maybe a gram.
I can say that for me it isn't about weight all, it's simply about the pain in the butt of making sure you always have that stuff with you and, depending on which type of adapter, the reliability of it has been very spotty for me.
It is amazing how often on the spur of the moment I've needed to plug in a thumb drive or output to a TV and in a situation where I just never would've had all the stuff with me to do that and wouldn't have been able to if the ports were not just there built-in.
The iPhone doesn't connect directly - you need a cable. So yes, the iPhone doesn't connect directly. But the iPhones only directly connects to lightning docks.
Incidentally, the new Samsung high end phones, use the same USB-C connection that the new macs are using. My wife's HP charges with USB-C. My infra camera that goes on my cellular phone - its charge port is USB-C. Everything is going to USB-C. You can go down the shop and buy 8 USB-A to USB-C converting cables, for $40. Or 4 for $20. Clip the on to your devices, and off you go. Its not a difficult issue. To get excited by it is similar to all those that complained about how Apple switched from their 30 pin connector, which was a fat and limited one direction connector, to Lightning, which was a more powerful, two direction smaller connector. The difference with USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, is that we now have a universal adapter size, that everyone is switching to, that is both two directional, small, powerful, and that also handles Thunderbolt 3's gigantic data capability. Which gives you super fast SSD connect ability. And also, cheap external drives via USB-C. USB-A is a fat and old, its just like Apple's 30 pin connector.
2015 without a doubt. Too many compromises for me with the 2017s. (Keyboard travel, keyboard reliability, touchpad too large, lack of various ports etc).
Aside from the potential issues with the keyboard, I'm having trouble getting my brain wrapped around spending almost 2k (or over 2k) on a laptop that is around 2 1/2 years old.
I think generally the positives outweigh the negatives in the 2017 vs 2015 comparison at this stage - just my $.02