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Pyali

macrumors member
Jul 22, 2016
53
27
Just got my non touch bar with upgraded SSD to 512. Absolutely loving this machine (so far). The keyboard is pretty great although I haven't used any other laptop keyboards in a few years so don't really have a baseline. Been typing on it for a less than an hour and I'm not really making any mistakes that I usually wouldn't. Very glad I didn't go with a dell, macOS is an incredible experience with all the gestures and whatnot.

If anyone has any questions about anything, I am more than happy to respond.
 

ascender

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2005
5,021
2,897
Also just noticed that the new MBP is giving my electrical shocks (vibration when moving your hand over the surface) while plugged in. doesnt happen with my MB 12" tho

Its ok, thats not a shock - its quite "normal" and you can sometimes feel the sensation on iPhones and iPads too.
 

kattskrall

macrumors regular
Apr 8, 2012
182
235
Just got my non touch bar with upgraded SSD to 512. Absolutely loving this machine (so far). The keyboard is pretty great although I haven't used any other laptop keyboards in a few years so don't really have a baseline. Been typing on it for a less than an hour and I'm not really making any mistakes that I usually wouldn't. Very glad I didn't go with a dell, macOS is an incredible experience with all the gestures and whatnot.

If anyone has any questions about anything, I am more than happy to respond.
Do you think the keyboard is loud?
 

Acronyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
912
396
I got my no touchbar 13 rMBP (512 SSD /16 RAM) a few days ago and I feel the keyboard is definitely a little louder than my 12 rMB. Feels about the same but I never had any problems with the new MacBook's keyboard.

Another thing I noticed is the trackpad doesn't feel as smooth as my retina MacBook. Not sure if it's just because I've been using the MacBook for five months or if the new MBPs use a different type of glass material for the trackpad.

Overall I'm really liking it though. Just what I needed to replace my rMB and become my primary machine and so far I think I'll keep it.
 

manny88

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2016
65
30
Another thing I noticed is the trackpad doesn't feel as smooth as my retina MacBook..

Yeah when I was testing my uncles base model out, I thought to myself, my finger doesn't really glide across the trackpad. An analogy could be, it's like moving your finger over very very fine used sandpaper vs glass. I.e. there's a bit of resistence.
 

DerRolf

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2016
10
4
Germany
Today i got my non touchbar and i like it :) only keyboard and trackpad is to loud :(
but the speed, screen and design are good :)

i run all with one dongle only
external hdd
fullhd screen 1080p/60hz
lan cable


I have read of some people complaining that they accidentaly click on the trackpad while typing on the keyboard - has this happened to you, too?
 

Acronyc

macrumors 6502a
Jan 24, 2011
912
396
Yeah when I was testing my uncles base model out, I thought to myself, my finger doesn't really glide across the trackpad. An analogy could be, it's like moving your finger over very very fine used sandpaper vs glass. I.e. there's a bit of resistence.

Perfect description. It doesn't feel as glassy smooth as my other Macs. It's not a huge deal, though I'm curious as to why there was the change.
 

ascender

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2005
5,021
2,897
The keyboard on the new MBP is in between the 12" MacBook and the Magic Keyboard. There's more travel and a different sort of noise to the keys compared with the retina MacBook, but less travel than on the Magic Keyboard.
 
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stockscalper

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2003
917
235
Area 51
I got my no touchbar 13 rMBP (512 SSD /16 RAM) a few days ago and I feel the keyboard is definitely a little louder than my 12 rMB. Feels about the same but I never had any problems with the new MacBook's keyboard.

Another thing I noticed is the trackpad doesn't feel as smooth as my retina MacBook. Not sure if it's just because I've been using the MacBook for five months or if the new MBPs use a different type of glass material for the trackpad.

Overall I'm really liking it though. Just what I needed to replace my rMB and become my primary machine and so far I think I'll keep it.

I noticed that too when I was trying one in BestBuy, but I just thought it needed an adjustment in the Trackpad settings.
 

SaddleSC

macrumors regular
Apr 9, 2010
137
126
Yeah when I was testing my uncles base model out, I thought to myself, my finger doesn't really glide across the trackpad. An analogy could be, it's like moving your finger over very very fine used sandpaper vs glass. I.e. there's a bit of resistence.

Perfect description. It doesn't feel as glassy smooth as my other Macs. It's not a huge deal, though I'm curious as to why there was the change.

I noticed that too when I was trying one in BestBuy, but I just thought it needed an adjustment in the Trackpad settings.

Just out of curiosity...were all of these Space Grey models? The reason I ask is that I just purchased the new MBP in Silver and the trackpad feels just as slick as the one on my 12" rMB. I wonder if something in the anodizing process is causing the increased "grittiness" on the Space Grey models?
 

vddobrev

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2016
962
833
Haskovo, Bulgaria

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
Surprising thing
I was looking at GeekBench 4 results for the New Macbook Pro w/o touch bar and decided to compare it against Dell XPS 13 9360 (the one with Kaby Lake). It seems like Macbook;s CPU being lower clocked, and an older generation and the same TDP gives the same and even in some cases slightly higher results

https://browser.primatelabs.com/v4/cpu/compare/983217?baseline=989057

This has pretty much been the case. Prior to people getting their hands on the no TB variant they expected poor results, when in fact it is benchmarking very close to the Maxed out 13" pro from 2015. It sits between the mid level and maxed out pro from last year....and that is the base 13" with no TB.
 
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theultimateone

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2016
8
7
Just measured again, Brightness 13/16, just streaming HTML 5 Video via Wifi with Chrome Browser i`m getting about 5,2 hours Runtime.
Same thing with Safari is about the same - 5,3 hours.

Might be the higher Screen Brightness, but if i put it to 8/16 or 10/16 i personally find it to dark, sitting next to a Cinema Display in a daylight lit Room (not sunny - where is bad here at the moment ;-)).
 

hj576

macrumors regular
Oct 31, 2016
249
255
Netherlands
Just measured again, Brightness 13/16, just streaming HTML 5 Video via Wifi with Chrome Browser i`m getting about 5,2 hours Runtime.
Same thing with Safari is about the same - 5,3 hours.

Might be the higher Screen Brightness, but if i put it to 8/16 or 10/16 i personally find it to dark, sitting next to a Cinema Display in a daylight lit Room (not sunny - where is bad here at the moment ;-)).

On higher brightness and on video loop, lower battery life is expected I guess. And 5.3 hour is not bad at all if you ask me,
You can easily go through 2 movies I guess. On normal surfing and use without continous video playback over Wifi, the hours would be better
 

burgman

macrumors 68030
Sep 24, 2013
2,797
2,383
Yeah when I was testing my uncles base model out, I thought to myself, my finger doesn't really glide across the trackpad. An analogy could be, it's like moving your finger over very very fine used sandpaper vs glass. I.e. there's a bit of resistence.
Eat more bacon...
 

WickedPorter

macrumors 6502
Sep 28, 2012
290
233
Perfect description. It doesn't feel as glassy smooth as my other Macs. It's not a huge deal, though I'm curious as to why there was the change.

Mine didn't either, at first. After a week of use, it's just as smooth as my others. There may be some sort of coating on it that wears off, I'm thinking.
 

manny88

macrumors member
Oct 31, 2016
65
30
OK, my macbook pro came today, and now I can give a better opinion then the 30 minutes I got to play around with my uncle's one last week.

Even though I'm annoyed I bought the i7 upgrade (before the benchmarks were out), as there's only a 500 point score difference on average. And I was planning to return it, and save the money on that upgrade, or choose a 1TB hard drive instead (which would have cost around the same price when combined with the base cpu). I think I've decided to keep it. I honestly can't be bothered to wait another week, and I doubt I'll ever fill up my 512GB SSD, because I have 2 external drives anyway with a combined total of 6TB's.

So here is my short review on the laptop:


Pros:

1. The keyboard is decent, I have no problem typing on this keyboard, but I can't compare it to the macbook retina butterfly because I never used it.

2. The speakers are by one of the best things about this laptop. They are loud and clear, one of the best things I must say. You won't need external speakers, unless you prefer them.

3. Speedy. This laptop is very speedy. I think this is due to the stupidly fast SSD drive in the laptop. Fastest SSD in any laptop, and it makes a difference.

4. I'm not experiencing that touchpad gritty feeling as I did with my uncles model anymore. Maybe I'm use to it now, or his was slightly more resistant to movement.


Cons:

1. Yes the laptop is really loud. I didn't notice it last time (because I was in a room filled with people and the TV on). But I can see this getting very annoying very fast, especially if you have to type a lot, like a document, programming, or even this forum post.

2. I don't like the display as much as the Asus 4k screen I returned. I can notice the difference. I like my text to be crystal clear, even when using the native (non scaled resolution). And you just don't get that with this resolution and having the laptop on your lap.

3. I also find the colours on the display a bit oversaturated. I was watching the angry birds trailer, and the red on the Red bird was a bit too much. I couldn't distinguish the shades of red as I can on other high quality screens. However the colours in general are much more vivid and brighter.

4. There have been a few times when typing this post, that my trackpad has moved and clicked somewhere else in the text box, and I've had to backtrack and fix it.

5. The battery life is a bit of a disappointment. I have to have the brightness 3 or 4 less than the highest setting, otherwise the screen becomes too dark. And battery is only lasting around 6 hours.


The good thing about point 5, was I was thinking about getting the touchbar model recently since it would cost me the same price as this model (due to the stupid cpu upgrade), while giving me practically the same CPU, but with a better GPU, and the same 512GB SSD; oh and of course that stupid touch bar. But with it being a smaller battery and less energy efficient CPU, plus a touch bar to power, I can't even imagine the battery life on that model. Though all those upgrade are tempting for the same price as this model.

Anyway that's it for now. Anyone thinking of upgrading to the touchbar model at all? I might test this for another 12 days, and decide whether to return it or not (backing it up at the same time via time machine).
 
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WickedPorter

macrumors 6502
Sep 28, 2012
290
233
Just measured again, Brightness 13/16, just streaming HTML 5 Video via Wifi with Chrome Browser i`m getting about 5,2 hours Runtime.
Same thing with Safari is about the same - 5,3 hours.

Might be the higher Screen Brightness, but if i put it to 8/16 or 10/16 i personally find it to dark, sitting next to a Cinema Display in a daylight lit Room (not sunny - where is bad here at the moment ;-)).

Have you tried with Safari? I've heard Chrome is quite a resource hog and not very battery friendly. I've also heard that the Chrome development team is working on this issue... but in the meantime, I'd try the same test with Safari.
 

Fliu

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2016
18
1
Has anyone who owns this laptop been disappointed with its everyday performance?
I'm seeing a bit of stutter when scrolling in Chrome and switching between Spaces...
 

WickedPorter

macrumors 6502
Sep 28, 2012
290
233
Has anyone who owns this laptop been disappointed with its everyday performance?
I'm seeing a bit of stutter when scrolling in Chrome and switching between Spaces...

Only initially, I believe spotlight indexing along with initial time machine backup was sucking up a few resources. Take a look at activity monitor, also keep an eye on Chrome.

UI is fast and silky smooth after my initial time machine + indexing was complete.
 
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hj576

macrumors regular
Oct 31, 2016
249
255
Netherlands
Only initially, I believe spotlight indexing along with initial time machine backup was sucking up a few resources. Take a look at activity monitor, also keep an eye on Chrome.

UI is fast and silky smooth after my initial time machine + indexing was complete.
thats a relief :p
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
OK, my macbook pro came today, and now I can give a better opinion then the 30 minutes I got to play around with my uncle's one last week.

Even though I'm annoyed I bought the i7 upgrade (before the benchmarks were out), as there's only a 500 point score difference on average. And I was planning to return it, and save the money on that upgrade, or choose a 1TB hard drive instead (which would have cost around the same price when combined with the base cpu). I think I've decided to keep it. I honestly can't be bothered to wait another week, and I doubt I'll ever fill up my 512GB SSD, because I have 2 external drives anyway with a combined total of 6TB's.

So here is my short review on the laptop:


Pros:

1. The keyboard is decent, I have no problem typing on this keyboard, but I can't compare it to the macbook retina butterfly because I never used it.

2. The speakers are by one of the best things about this laptop. They are loud and clear, one of the best things I must say. You won't need external speakers, unless you prefer them.

3. Speedy. This laptop is very speedy. I think this is due to the stupidly fast SSD drive in the laptop. Fastest SSD in any laptop, and it makes a difference.

4. I'm not experiencing that touchpad gritty feeling as I did with my uncles model anymore. Maybe I'm use to it now, or his was slightly more resistant to movement.


Cons:

1. Yes the laptop is really loud. I didn't notice it last time (because I was in a room filled with people and the TV on). But I can see this getting very annoying very fast, especially if you have to type a lot, like a document, programming, or even this forum post.

2. I don't like the display as much as the Asus 4k screen I returned. I can notice the difference. I like my text to be crystal clear, even when using the native (non scaled resolution). And you just don't get that with this resolution and having the laptop on your lap.

3. I also find the colours on the display a bit oversaturated. I was watching the angry birds trailer, and the red on the Red bird was a bit too much. I couldn't distinguish the shades of red as I can on other high quality screens. However the colours in general are much more vivid and brighter.

4. There have been a few times when typing this post, that my trackpad has moved and clicked somewhere else in the text box, and I've had to backtrack and fix it.

5. The battery life is a bit of a disappointment. I have to have the brightness 3 or 4 less than the highest setting, otherwise the screen becomes too dark. And battery is only lasting around 6 hours.


The good thing about point 5, was I was thinking about getting the touchbar model recently since it would cost me the same price as this model (due to the stupid cpu upgrade), while giving me practically the same CPU, but with a better GPU, and the same 512GB SSD; oh and of course that stupid touch bar. But with it being a smaller battery and less energy efficient CPU, plus a touch bar to power, I can't even imagine the battery life on that model. Though all those upgrade are tempting for the same price as this model.

Anyway that's it for now. Anyone thinking of upgrading to the touchbar model at all? I might test this for another 12 days, and decide whether to return it or not (backing it up at the same time via time machine).

good review. What task are you doing where you battery life is so poor. I do very light task, but am getting between 10-11 hours each time.
 
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