2017 nTB 13" Macbook Pro vs. 2019 TB Macbook Pro

[yyz9]

I had just purchased the 2017 nTB 13" Macbook Pro and looking to return and pay the extra $400 to get the just released 2019 Macbook Pro 2.4GHz Quad-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz.

Use it extensively for work but word processing, surfing etc. and nothing heavy duty like gaming, or video editing. Not a big fan of the Touch bar as well. Wondering if its worth the $400 difference to get the extra speed bump/keyboard and if so would I see a noticeable difference..

 

[casperes1996]

Honestly, I'd advice you do it. You may not see a noticable difference with your use, but it'll retain resale value better down the road, be more ready for future software, be substantially faster even if you won't notice it with your needs for now, it could be meaningful down the road, it has a better cooling system, and the new keyboard design might save you at some point, who knows?

 

[yyz9]

Thanks! Was thinking the same - All specs aside, it should at least assist in the resale. This is what upgraded come to now..lol

 

[Wags]

Don’t think you would notice the difference in performance based on your posted usage. Bigger SSD. Might be worth the extra $400 if keeping and peace of mind.

 

[applesed]

Depends on how much you dislike the touchbar

 

[yyz9]

The Touchbar will be sticking out as a sore thumb. What a serious waste and a total disregard for customer needs.

 

[Howard2k]

For $400, I'd take the newer one.

Quad core CPU.
Faster wifi.

 

[yyz9]

For $400, I'd take the newer one.

Quad core CPU.
Faster wifi.

What leads to the better Wifi?

 

[AppleHaterLover]

It's more like $500, isn't it?

Your nTB has a 4-year warranty for the keyboard. Plus it doesn't have the Touch Bar (awesome!!!) and the battery lasts a little longer. I'd only take the TB if I needed the power. Last year when I got mine I didn't.

 

[Howard2k]

What leads to the better Wifi?

The 2017 nTB is a 2x2 antenna setup.
All other MBPros from 2015 inclusive and onwards are 3x3.

So you can get up to 867Mb/s of bandwidth on the 2017, and 1.3Gb/s on the others from 2015 on.

Basically it (the 2017) will get 66% of the speed of the others in any given scenario, assuming wifi infrastructure is adequate.

Does it make a difference for light Internet use? No, not really. Some folks have reported benchmarks where it's been obvious, but if your home Internet connection is only 20Mb/s and you don't use NAS etc., it's not something to worry about.

If you're planning on using NAS or if you're planning on having a higher speed Internet service then it might be limiting.

 

[Beau10]

I have a 2016 nTB and a 2018 touchbar (quad)... I hate the touchbar as well, but in practice it's not as bad as I feared. The one nice thing is Touch ID, as well you can configure a lock on the touchbar so it's super quick to lock/unlock. If you work with sensitive data and regularly step away it's really nice. The battery life is probably going to be about the same if you had that concern.

So my vote would be to pay the extra. You're getting a lot more machine so you'll go longer between upgrades, better resale, etc.

 

[Kung gu]

It's more like $500, isn't it?

Your nTB has a 4-year warranty for the keyboard. Plus it doesn't have the Touch Bar (awesome!!!) and the battery lasts a little longer. I'd only take the TB if I needed the power. Last year when I got mine I didn't.

the 2019s have a 4-year warrenty as well

 

[yyz9]

Thanks a bunch for all the valuable inputs! Will go with the 2019s, as again at the end of the day we are suckers for filling Apple's pockets..lol

 

[nutmac]

The Touchbar will be sticking out as a sore thumb. What a serious waste and a total disregard for customer needs.

If you don't care much for Touch Bar, here's a nice workaround.

1. System Preferences
2. Keyboard
3. Touch Bar shows: Expanded Control Strip
4. Press Fn to: Show App Controls
5. Customize Touch Bar...
6. Drag your favorite keys into Control Strip

As a side benefit, Escape key will always be shown.

 

[ghanwani]

If you don't care much for Touch Bar, here's a nice workaround.

1. System Preferences
2. Keyboard
3. Touch Bar shows: Expanded Control Strip
4. Press Fn to: Show App Controls
5. Customize Touch Bar...
6. Drag your favorite keys into Control Strip

As a side benefit, Escape key will always be shown.

This post was an accidental find but I found this really useful! I only dragged the volume slider which was already there but now the Esc key never goes away.

 

[kp98077]

yes, yes, do it! will be much worth it and much upgraded, faster, newer, better, what's not to like?

 

[CrazyForCashews]

The 2019 MacBook Pros are superior than the previous models in every way but the touch bar can make or break the experience.

That's why the 2017 no Touch-Bar MacBook Pro is still worth considering.

 

[Kung gu]

The 2019 MacBook Pros are superior than the previous models in every way but the touch bar can make or break the experience.

That's why the 2017 no Touch-Bar MacBook Pro is still worth considering.

its not really 2nd gn keyboard, may or may not get flex gate with 2017. go for 2019

 

[Jaro65]

I also suggest to go with the newer MBP. As far as the TouchBar, I got used to it and don't mind it. I'm actually quite surprised how cool the 2019 MBP 13 runs. Mine is 2.8 GHz as that's what was available at the Apple Store. I was a bit concerned about how hot it would run, but turns out this is not an issue at all.