Upgrade from 2012 Retina MBP?

[adityashah1989]

So I have the 2012 retina MBP (specs in the signature).

Its been 4 years & this is the first full redesign since.

Still I find real changes in the 2012 retina MBP & this 2016 version are few & far between.

My chip is still i7, RAM is still 16Gb, Battery life is better by 2 hours & storage is 1.2 Tb higher which is the only significant upgrade but that comes at a significant cost.

Coming to the touch bar, its a good to have feature but its definitely not must have.

Then we come to the ports & cords mess, I'm more than happy with my 2 USB 3.0 slots & 1 HDMI slot!

4 USB C slots is just trouble for me in the medium term, for one I need to buy a new cord just to sync my iPhone. The headphones that came in with my iPhone7 won't even work on the new 2016 MBP because they decided not be courageous with it & remove the headphone jack or add a lightning port! Their 2 latest devices the iPhone 7 & the 2016 MBP are not cross compatible with each other, is a complete joke.

Lastly my current MBP is working just fine & there are no problems with it as such. I was really looking forward to upgrading expecting a full redesign & big improvements in specs but sadly is not the case.

Did I miss something, is there a reason to upgrade to the 2016 MBP that I'm missing?

 

[gpat]

Just hold out on your 2012 MBP. It has been one of the most radical releases ever.

 

[VAGDesign]

Stay where you are, you will loose more than what you're going to get.

 

[NickPhamUK]

Quick buying guide:

Consider putting your NEEDS before WANTS.

If you really NEED that thinner and lighter form factor because you travel a lot, sure.

If you WANT that new shiny MacBook because uhm that Touch Bar is so cool that you can show off to your colleagues - then don't.

 

[RandomStranger4]

I have an almost-maxed-out 1st gen 15" retina, and have ordered the new one as it is showing its age, but I am not enthusiastic. I'll post a review back here in mid-December when I finally take delivery (currently scheduled to arrive just as I depart on a 3-week road trip).

From looking at the specs, I expect the SSD to be the most obvious upgrade. I'm hoping for a mild boost from the CPU running a tiny bit faster, but also a more recent generation from Intel so should be a little (not a lot) faster per clock-cycle too.

The USB-C only looks daunting, especially for charging my recently purchased Apple Watch - they do not even offer a USB C cable for that yet.

On the bright side, as long as I don't want to plug anything in, it looks like it should be more portable, once someone releases a matching *waterproof* carry-case of some kind. I learned the waterproof lesson the hard way when my 12" MacBook got caught in a shower running a 15 minute errand across town. (No, Apple Care does not cover getting caught in the rain.) I'll admit I was looking for a more powerful, not a more portable, notebook though - the 12" already covered my super-portable needs.

 

[dest]

I've decided to stick with my early 2011 2.0 i7, currently with 8GB RAM which I will upgrade to 16 if needed.
Its also got 2 SSD's and all the ports I use! Never do I think that its too slow, freezing or whatever, so at the moment it seems daft (and very expensive) to upgrade for the sake of it.
Until it either breaks or is no longer supported with the latest iOS then I will continue with it

 

[blondeziggy]

I hope OP won't mind...I have a question about weather it's worth it to upgrade from a 2012 13" rMBP to a 2016 rMBP. But my situation is a little more complicated.

I also have a 2012 13" rMBP (2.9 i7, 8gb Ram, 512 SDD). It's a great computer, although it usually crashes once or twice a day. Last week, my daughter dropped a phone on the screen and broke the LCD panel. I've taken the computer to Apple and one other local repair shop to get costs of fixing the LCD. It's going to cost around $600.

I don't know what to do. Should I have the LCD panel replaced and hope the computer doesn't crash as frequently, or should I be looking at buying a new rMBP? I have reservations about purchasing the 2016 rMBP, because of price and lack of ports. However, I don't know if it's a good idea to fix a costly repair on a four year old computer.

I would appreciate advice.

 

[adityashah1989]

Just hold out on your 2012 MBP. It has been one of the most radical releases ever.

Totally agree, the 2012 rMBP, was the best redesign & upgrade to a MBP ever! the 2016 MBP has more or less the same tech specs with some gimmicky features & a mess with all the ports, cords & extensions!

Stay where you are, you will loose more than what you're going to get.

Definitely, thanks for reassuring my thought process. I do lose a lot more than I get with the new MBP. Unless my 2012 rMBP has issues, I don't think I will even consider an upgrade! Btw the whole ports & cords situation is so unlike Apple! They should have just made the iPhone7 with USBC for charging & headphones!

 

[egraphixstudios]

I'm in a very similar situation.

Still works superb- battery needs replacing as its had over 1000+ charges (only getting 60% now ~4hrs).

Options are:

1. Upgrade existing SSD from 256gb to a 960gb and replace dead battery. Estimated cost £450 for SSD and £40 for battery. Then keep it until there is a "proper" pro spec laptop relased next year.

2. Sell Old MBP for around £800 (replace battery before selling for new owner). Add on £1400 and get new MBP with 512GB ssd.

I'm not in the "need" camp- its a "I want" camp...

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Totally agree, the 2012 rMBP, was the best redesign & upgrade to a MBP ever! the 2016 MBP has more or less the same tech specs with some gimmicky features & a mess with all the ports, cords & extensions!



Definitely, thanks for reassuring my thought process. I do lose a lot more than I get with the new MBP. Unless my 2012 rMBP has issues, I don't think I will even consider an upgrade! Btw the whole ports & cords situation is so unlike Apple! They should have just made the iPhone7 with USBC for charging & headphones!

You are of course completely ignoring 4 years of CPU and GPU innovation, plus screen changes and form factor, I still don't understand why the ports are a problem $20 on a few new cables and you are all good....

 

[adityashah1989]

You are of course completely ignoring 4 years of CPU and GPU innovation, plus screen changes and form factor, I still don't understand why the ports are a problem $20 on a few new cables and you are all good....

Yes, I know 16Gb RAM of 2016 is slightly faster than that of 2012, also the i7 processor of 2016 performs better than that of 2012, only just slightly. Retina display has improved but the difference isn't massive & its thinner & lighter, which is an obvious upgrade. Overall its not that exciting an upgrade given that my current MBP is working more or less fine. I went top of the line specs in 2012 & I'm glad I did because guess what, top of the line in 2012 & 2016 is still more or less the same.

About the ports & cables, the fact that I need a USBC to USB extension just to sync my iPhone/iPad, is frankly a bit inconvenient. Also the headphones that shipped with my iPhone7 are with lightning & won't work with the 2016 MBP, without a USBC to lightning extension, again a bit inconvenient. So its not about the money but more about the convenience factor.

The fact that iPhone7 & MBP launched in a matter of months & one device team had the "courage" to let go of the headphone jack & the other didn't is a bit daft. Least they could've done is add a lightning port on the new MBP's, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

Yes, I know 16Gb RAM of 2016 is slightly faster than that of 2012, also the i7 processor of 2016 performs better than that of 2012, only just slightly. Retina display has improved but the difference isn't massive & its thinner & lighter, which is an obvious upgrade. Overall its not that exciting an upgrade given that my current MBP is working more or less fine. I went top of the line specs in 2012 & I'm glad I did because guess what, top of the line in 2012 & 2016 is still more or less the same.

About the ports & cables, the fact that I need a USBC to USB extension just to sync my iPhone/iPad, is frankly a bit inconvenient. Also the headphones that shipped with my iPhone7 are with lightning & won't work with the 2016 MBP, without a USBC to lightning extension, again a bit inconvenient. So its not about the money but more about the convenience factor.

The fact that iPhone7 & MBP launched in a matter of months & one device team had the "courage" to let go of the headphone jack & the other didn't is a bit daft. Least they could've done is add a lightning port on the new MBP's, but that's just my opinion.

Oh no I'm not saying you need one keep what you have that's fine you don't need to buy every new thing.

I'm just saying that the overall user experience on the new machines will be down to far more than a few spec adjustments that you have quoted and that ignore some of the bonuses of architecture and thermal changes like heat and noise.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

I'm in exactly the same boat as you and w/ same thoughts about the new MBP. I really really really wanted to upgrade -- never had a laptop this long, though the 2012 still feels very usuable.

Along with a lot of others I don't feel dongles are acceptable for a portable "pro" device. A "pro" device should be a like a swiss army knife, ready to handle almost any common situation. But Apple was honest, comparing the Air to the new MBPs b/c that is what they really are, just bigger Airs.

Hoping next year brings something more robust in the 15"er. I don't mind paying $2400, but for that kind of money it needs to be an end solution, not just the start. For all the weight and width Apple shaved off the MBP it's just added back in the back in the bag with everything you need to actually use the MBP for anything other than a web or MS Office terminal.

 

[terraphantm]

I was planning to buy the new one, but after the reveal, I decided not to.

I did need more storage though (I had 512GB), so I bought myself a 1TB Samsung 850 evo mSATA along with an adapter like this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Qualit...087766?hash=item27fb321456:g:tWsAAOSwabhUXV0N

Restored my time machine backup to it, enabled TRIM, and everything works perfectly! Also bought myself an OWC Envoy enclosure for $35 (it was open box), and stuck my old SSD in there.

 

[tivoboy]

Same boat.. problem with the 2012 rmbp is lack of true 4K display out, which I have been missing. I have 4K monitors but can't get 4K out that was at least a 2013 displayport/thunderbolt upgrade.. So its one of my top reasons for wanting to upgrade. I've upgraded my SSD to 512GB, but I don't like the speed and performance. I might just try and find a nice deal on a 2015 or 2014 model and keep that for a couple years and sell this 2012 for something.

 

[terraphantm]

Mine does 4k @ 30Hz over HDMI. Not sure if 60Hz is possible (I want to say I was able to get it to do 60Hz in Windows.. but I haven't yet reinstalled windows after the SSD upgrade, so I can't test that).

 

[halfbad]

I have a rmbp 2012, 16 gb ram, upgraded to 480 gb. I use it for graphic work, it's starting to show it's age but only barely if I push it pretty hard. It's an amazing machine, I would hold on to if if your not having issues.

The CPU gains yoy have not been that great. I am entertaining an upgrade should there be 32 gb ram in the future.

But current 2016 are more of a want than a need at this point. Kinda sentimental over my 2012, it's held out so so well.

edit:

One con is the GPU shows it's age in comparison to newer ones, but that is the biggest issue IMO, but many people who don't press their card hard wouldn't know, unless they game or do higher end graphics/rending.

One thing to do is open it up and use some compressed air, those fans and vents get clogged with dust over time.

 

[tivoboy]

Mine does 4k @ 30Hz over HDMI. Not sure if 60Hz is possible (I want to say I was able to get it to do 60Hz in Windows.. but I haven't yet reinstalled windows after the SSD upgrade, so I can't test that).

How do you get 4K over HDMI

 

[tubeexperience]

Unless you need some specific feature in the 2016 model, it's pretty pointless to "upgrade" to the 2016 model.

And I put "upgrade" in quotation for a reason.
[doublepost=1478208671][/doublepost]

I hope OP won't mind...I have a question about weather it's worth it to upgrade from a 2012 13" rMBP to a 2016 rMBP. But my situation is a little more complicated.

I also have a 2012 13" rMBP (2.9 i7, 8gb Ram, 512 SDD). It's a great computer, although it usually crashes once or twice a day. Last week, my daughter dropped a phone on the screen and broke the LCD panel. I've taken the computer to Apple and one other local repair shop to get costs of fixing the LCD. It's going to cost around $600.

I don't know what to do. Should I have the LCD panel replaced and hope the computer doesn't crash as frequently, or should I be looking at buying a new rMBP? I have reservations about purchasing the 2016 rMBP, because of price and lack of ports. However, I don't know if it's a good idea to fix a costly repair on a four year old computer.

I would appreciate advice.

You can get a replacement display assembly from eBay for ~$200.

You can either replace the display assembly yourself by following instructions from iFixit or let your local repair shop do it.

I would also reinstall the operating system to deal with the crashes.

 

[terraphantm]

How do you get 4K over HDMI

I just plugged it in and it worked.

 

[5iMacs]

I would also reinstall the operating system to deal with the crashes.

Unfortunately random crashes can very well also point to a hardware failure, the OP's calculation of risk is valid in my opinion.

 

[tubeexperience]

Unfortunately random crashes can very well also point to a hardware failure, the OP's calculation of risk is valid in my opinion.

Maybe it has something to do with a failing dGPU which is a well known issue.

Apple has a free repair extension program for that.

 

[Shamgar]

The new one has a much faster SSD and significantly improved GPU if you spring for the 460. Both of those would be appreciated by me, but not to the tune of $4k CDN. The dongle situation is also atrocious for me. Grabbing an adapter every time I need to use a thumb drive would steadily wear on my nerves.

One other area the 2012 lags in is wireless, but it is inexpensive and fairly simple to add 802.11ac. Makes a huge improvement in WLAN speeds.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

The new one has a much faster SSD and significantly improved GPU if you spring for the 460. Both of those would be appreciated by me, but not to the tune of $4k CDN. The dongle situation is also atrocious for me. Grabbing an adapter every time I need to use a thumb drive would steadily wear on my nerves.

One other area the 2012 lags in is wireless, but it is inexpensive and fairly simple to add 802.11ac. Makes a huge improvement in WLAN speeds.

Thumb drives are cheaper than an adapter why would you not just buy a thumb drive with both USB c and a ports there are many out there.

 

[Shamgar]

Thumb drives are cheaper than an adapter why would you not just buy a thumb drive with both USB c and a ports there are many out there.

It's more often a client's drive and I've yet to see one with C. When it is my thumb drive, it's a high performance model that isn't available in C and A yet. Also, not cheaper than adapters. The all USB C port selection looks like a good choice for a 2019 model, but a nuisance today.