When in doubt... do nothing?

[Hyloba]

Here's my deal: I need a new laptop and it needs to be 13 inch. But the machine I want does not exist.

I absolutely like the newly designed MBPs, they seem like well crafted, solid laptops. The base non touch 13 inch is perfectly fine for my needs, save for one significant thing: only 2 ports. You basically have one port if power is plugged in. Or I can use and carry hubs for the rest of its life.
So obviously the touch bar MBP is the better deal for me, 4 ports is the sweet spot. You don't need hubs, just change your cables. Alright but then you have the lower battery life, a touch bar that I don't really want because I use my MBP 80% of the time in clamshell mode. Same with TouchID. And high price.

I don't know what to get anymore, I get a lot of compromises either way. Should I just keep my mind at peace and wait? I've waited for over a year already.

 

[Pootmatoot]

Here's my deal: I need a new laptop and it needs to be 13 inch. But the machine I want does not exist.

You can go the Hackintosh route.

 

[Hyloba]

You can go the Hackintosh route.

I don't know, I prefer my days of researching and solving technical problems to be over.

 

[Patron_Saint]

Here's my deal: I need a new laptop and it needs to be 13 inch. But the machine I want does not exist.

I absolutely like the newly designed MBPs, they seem like well crafted, solid laptops. The base non touch 13 inch is perfectly fine for my needs, save for one significant thing: only 2 ports. You basically have one port if power is plugged in. Or I can use and carry hubs for the rest of its life.
So obviously the touch bar MBP is the better deal for me, 4 ports is the sweet spot. You don't need hubs, just change your cables. Alright but then you have the lower battery life, a touch bar that I don't really want because I use my MBP 80% of the time in clamshell mode. Same with TouchID. And high price.

I don't know what to get anymore, I get a lot of compromises either way. Should I just keep my mind at peace and wait? I've waited for over a year already.

>complains about the need for a hub
>80% clamshell usage
>when clamshelled it's sitting stationary on a desk or similar

Do you get the point I'm making here? Because if you only use it mobile 20% of the time, your port issue is nonexistent. And since you'd need an adapter for most monitors anyway, you can get the multi port adapter which still allows pass through charging, with the addition of more ports.

Get the base model and be happy with it. The port issue really isn't a concern, especially in your usage case. Also, save a bit more by buying at Microcenter or price matching to them. $1299 out the door.

 

[dogslobber]

Here's my deal: I need a new laptop and it needs to be 13 inch. But the machine I want does not exist.

I absolutely like the newly designed MBPs, they seem like well crafted, solid laptops. The base non touch 13 inch is perfectly fine for my needs, save for one significant thing: only 2 ports. You basically have one port if power is plugged in. Or I can use and carry hubs for the rest of its life.
So obviously the touch bar MBP is the better deal for me, 4 ports is the sweet spot. You don't need hubs, just change your cables. Alright but then you have the lower battery life, a touch bar that I don't really want because I use my MBP 80% of the time in clamshell mode. Same with TouchID. And high price.

I don't know what to get anymore, I get a lot of compromises either way. Should I just keep my mind at peace and wait? I've waited for over a year already.

You're possibly better of getting the 2015 13" MBP. The 2 port model is a joke and there's no ways it's a Pro computer.

 

[Hyloba]

>complains about the need for a hub
>80% clamshell usage
>when clamshelled it's sitting stationary on a desk or similar

Do you get the point I'm making here? Because if you only use it mobile 20% of the time, your port issue is nonexistent. And since you'd need an adapter for most monitors anyway, you can get the multi port adapter which still allows pass through charging, with the addition of more ports.

Get the base model and be happy with it. The port issue really isn't a concern, especially in your usage case. Also, save a bit more by buying at Microcenter or price matching to them. $1299 out the door.

Thank you for your reply. Yes my use case is mostly clamshell, but the other 20% is important as well. I would need to bring my hub every time I would need to connect more stuff. It's not convenient to bring that block all the time or guessing when to bring it.

 

[Patron_Saint]

Thank you for your reply. Yes my use case is mostly clamshell, but the other 20% is important as well. I would need to bring my hub every time I would need to connect more stuff. It's not convenient to bring that block all the time or guessing when to bring it.

Not really. You could easily minimize your carry stuff to a dongle or two.

What exactly do you need to connect to your MacBook in the 20% usage while you're out and about?

 

[Hyloba]

Not really. You could easily minimize your carry stuff to a dongle or two.

What exactly do you need to connect to your MacBook in the 20% usage while you're out and about?

HDMI, about 2 usb periferals and sometimes an ethernet cable. But I guess you can manage to do that with dongles. Thanks for making me think differently about this!

 

[therealseebs]

Well, let's see. Power supply, card reader, possibly an external display, keyboard or mouse or trackball (the built-in ones can be sort of annoying-at-best, I often use a trackball, and I have more USB gizmos than bluetooth), things like that? It varies. I also usually keep the ethernet dongle around because I sometimes want ethernet. Also external drives sometimes.

And in older machines, there was less need for dongles, because more of these things were built in. Also they had more than two ports, and they didn't lose a data port to the power supply.

 

[dk808]

Why not get the 2015 13 inch?

 

[xraydoc]

Here's my deal: I need a new laptop and it needs to be 13 inch. But the machine I want does not exist.

I absolutely like the newly designed MBPs, they seem like well crafted, solid laptops. The base non touch 13 inch is perfectly fine for my needs, save for one significant thing: only 2 ports. You basically have one port if power is plugged in. Or I can use and carry hubs for the rest of its life.
So obviously the touch bar MBP is the better deal for me, 4 ports is the sweet spot. You don't need hubs, just change your cables. Alright but then you have the lower battery life, a touch bar that I don't really want because I use my MBP 80% of the time in clamshell mode. Same with TouchID. And high price.

I don't know what to get anymore, I get a lot of compromises either way. Should I just keep my mind at peace and wait? I've waited for over a year already.

If you're using it 80% of the time in clamshell mode, then the two ports shouldn't make a difference. Plug it in to a TB3 docking station like https://eshop.macsales.com/preorder/owc-thunderbolt-3-dock/ and there's no need to worry about ports.

When mobile, how often do you plan on having multiple things plugged in simultaneously?

 

[RoskO]

+1 for checking out a used/refurbed 2015 13". The processor is much faster than the new non-touchbar version, and it should be a cheaper rig.

The 2015s are awesome little machines, super solid/battle tested/lots of ports, and really not "big".

 

[therealseebs]

I had an Air for a while, and I sorta hated having only two ports, and that was when they were in *addition* to the power supply. YMMV.

 

[cambookpro]

HDMI, about 2 usb periferals and sometimes an ethernet cable. But I guess you can manage to do that with dongles. Thanks for making me think differently about this!

Satechi make a USB-C hub with Ethernet, HDMI, 3 USB-A ports, SD and microSD and passthrough charging. Even if you had a 2015 MBP, you would've had to carry an Ethernet adapter, so it's really no more of an inconvenience. Passthrough charging would even mean you'd have a port free, too.

I haven't personally used the hub (still waiting on my 2016 MBP), but it's what I would go for. Seems to have very solid reviews on Amazon and isn't that expensive relative to other hubs.

 

[PaulWog]

Here's my deal: I need a new laptop and it needs to be 13 inch. But the machine I want does not exist.

I absolutely like the newly designed MBPs, they seem like well crafted, solid laptops. The base non touch 13 inch is perfectly fine for my needs, save for one significant thing: only 2 ports. You basically have one port if power is plugged in. Or I can use and carry hubs for the rest of its life.
So obviously the touch bar MBP is the better deal for me, 4 ports is the sweet spot. You don't need hubs, just change your cables. Alright but then you have the lower battery life, a touch bar that I don't really want because I use my MBP 80% of the time in clamshell mode. Same with TouchID. And high price.

I don't know what to get anymore, I get a lot of compromises either way. Should I just keep my mind at peace and wait? I've waited for over a year already.

The 2016 Macbook Pro lineup is lacklustre all around.

But, Apple is catering to a specific market: Those who don't want to buy anything but Apple.

What alternatives does that leave you with? Change your mind, or wait. They've wagered both are unlikely for an antsy potential buyer who has been waiting already.

Such a business strategy will wear Apple's reputation and long-term brand thin. They are dipping into funds they haven't really taking into consideration: The value of their brand. Every time they pull stunts like this, they lose value on their brand in an immeasurable way, and reduce the likelihood of having as many people waiting anxiously for what's next.

 

[Patron_Saint]

HDMI, about 2 usb periferals and sometimes an ethernet cable. But I guess you can manage to do that with dongles. Thanks for making me think differently about this!

No worries. I was in the same spot you're in the other day. All the "what ifs" and such about lacking ports, plus the move to USB-C overall.

But today, having a day to get my non-TB set up and everything transferred, I really realized how little I have hooked up to my MacBook in general. Select cases? Sure. But you've got it - dongles cover the needs.

It's really not that bad, and in your case especially, since having a dock at your desk is going to cover your needs and then some 80% of the time. The other 20%? Toss a couple dongles in your bag and you're going to be set. When you're away from your desk you're likely not going to need much - and in many cases things that need more can wait until you're back at your desk.

Also another thought - a nice little dock/hub could mean a very neat desk setup with easily accessed ports. You could do a nice stand or mount for your MacBook that's out of the way, add in a nice (matching) hub, and you have a super clean, productive workspace.

Not to mention that you can save $5-600 by not going with the TB model and doing a price match on the non-TB. I walked out of Best Buy with mine for $1200 thanks to the various deals on them right now, including Microcenter. $5-600 buys a lot of dongles.

 

[Queen6]

Here's my deal: I need a new laptop and it needs to be 13 inch. But the machine I want does not exist.

I absolutely like the newly designed MBPs, they seem like well crafted, solid laptops. The base non touch 13 inch is perfectly fine for my needs, save for one significant thing: only 2 ports. You basically have one port if power is plugged in. Or I can use and carry hubs for the rest of its life.
So obviously the touch bar MBP is the better deal for me, 4 ports is the sweet spot. You don't need hubs, just change your cables. Alright but then you have the lower battery life, a touch bar that I don't really want because I use my MBP 80% of the time in clamshell mode. Same with TouchID. And high price.

I don't know what to get anymore, I get a lot of compromises either way. Should I just keep my mind at peace and wait? I've waited for over a year already.

As others have stated you can always pick up a 2015 13" rMBP as they are very solid notebooks with all the ports in place barring ethernet. After a year and a half with a Retina Macbook dongles & adaptors in the real world are nothing but a PIA; more to carry, more to manage, more to lose.

My solution which a few years ago I would have heartily laughed at is a Microsoft Surface Book, absolutely 100% impressed. Between the battery life and the port nonsense Apple has only succeeded in loosing another customer. USB C is a great advancement in connectivity, however outside of forums such as this it`s simply not relevant in the vast majority business & industry, nor will it be for another 3-4 years.

Q-6

 

[Apple_Robert]

Satechi make a USB-C hub with Ethernet, HDMI, 3 USB-A ports, SD and microSD and passthrough charging. Even if you had a 2015 MBP, you would've had to carry an Ethernet adapter, so it's really no more of an inconvenience. Passthrough charging would even mean you'd have a port free, too.

I haven't personally used the hub (still waiting on my 2016 MBP), but it's what I would go for. Seems to have very solid reviews on Amazon and isn't that expensive relative to other hubs.

I have the Santechi hub and used for about 4 days until I switched from the base non touch to the touch. The hub worked well during usage.