The No Touch Bar 13 Macbook Version

[Nikhil72]

Holy hell, got my nTB today, set up everything, let iCloud Drive settle in, let Photos download and analyze everything (46GB or so), etc. and then unplugged. Screen is at 50%, I have 6 Safari tabs open, iTunes open but not playing anything, Word, iMessage, Mail, Notes open with WiFi connected and BT on and I'm getting 11-12 hour estimates, with use hovering between 4 and 8 watts (so that makes sense). This usage isn't particularly different from the touch bar model I'm replacing, so god knows what is going on.

Also have some utilities running in the background: Deliveries, Chroma (for Hue lights), Magnet, OneFocus, Amphetamine, and Battery Logger.

 

[vasatrya]

Just picked up a base nTB model for web dev school and looking forward to it! Great machine so far.

Got Best Buy to price match from MicroCenter.com for $1299

 

[clunkmess]

I guess we re all in the same boat.

ill be on nTB for now, if they come up with a solution in the next few weeks (doubt it with their secretive attitude) I might go back to TB...

Software update can fix it!

 

[hululu]

Software update can fix it!

Id love to believe

But no official word...

 

[Milan777]

I just picked up my base tb 13inch MacBook Pro today and so far I am loving the difference/performance boost.

I picked up the nTB moble around December 8th and used it up until today (holiday return period). I figured for $400 difference I am getting 2 more ports, better cpu, faster ram, and slightly better graphics.

Right away I can tell the difference in performance, battery life has been great so far no complaints. I use it for web browsing, YouTube, word, email, iMessage, FaceTime and the occasional Hearthstone game.

The touch bar is fine, not finding much use for it apart from when I'm editing and applying filters on photos, but I don't mind having it there and Touch ID is great so far.

Hope you guys find my experience helpful.

 

[maka344]

I just picked up my base tb 13inch MacBook Pro today and so far I am loving the difference/performance boost.

I picked up the nTB moble around December 8th and used it up until today (holiday return period). I figured for $400 difference I am getting 2 more ports, better cpu, faster ram, and slightly better graphics.

Right away I can tell the difference in performance, battery life has been great so far no complaints. I use it for web browsing, YouTube, word, email, iMessage, FaceTime and the occasional Hearthstone game.

The touch bar is fine, not finding much use for it apart from when I'm editing and applying filters on photos, but I don't mind having it there and Touch ID is great so far.

Hope you guys find my experience helpful.

Hi there. Same experience as me; I purchased the nTB with 512gb at launch and quickly thought about (in my case, the £280) difference to upgrade) the extra ports, performance and more importantly, Touch ID. You can feel the performance uplifts in some areas and as you've stated, the touch bar is neither here or there but should become it more functional in the coming months. Touch ID is is great and really helps to save time not having to type in passwords too much.

 

[iasix]

I just picked up my base tb 13inch MacBook Pro today and so far I am loving the difference/performance boost.

I picked up the nTB moble around December 8th and used it up until today (holiday return period). I figured for $400 difference I am getting 2 more ports, better cpu, faster ram, and slightly better graphics.

Right away I can tell the difference in performance, battery life has been great so far no complaints. I use it for web browsing, YouTube, word, email, iMessage, FaceTime and the occasional Hearthstone game.

The touch bar is fine, not finding much use for it apart from when I'm editing and applying filters on photos, but I don't mind having it there and Touch ID is great so far.

Hope you guys find my experience helpful.

Hi there. Same experience as me; I purchased the nTB with 512gb at launch and quickly thought about (in my case, the £280) difference to upgrade) the extra ports, performance and more importantly, Touch ID. You can feel the performance uplifts in some areas and as you've stated, the touch bar is neither here or there but should become it more functional in the coming months. Touch ID is is great and really helps to save time not having to type in passwords too much.

Out of curiosity: how did you notice the performance improvement? I went from nTB to TB and really, despite trying, couldn't notice a difference at all.

 

[maka344]

Out of curiosity: how did you notice the performance improvement? I went from nTB to TB and really, despite trying, couldn't notice a difference at all.

The Time Machine restore was much quicker.

 

[person123]

Battery life was the main reason. I was only getting 4 - 5 hours of normal browsing with it. I tried talking myself into ignoring it and that it wasnt a problem but it got to the point that i kept my eye on the battery percentage and was watching it decrease. If i wouldnt have been used to good battery life i think it would be different. I don't think its the end of the world to only get 5 hours on battery from a high powered laptop but when its advertised as 10 hours thats the problem.

Battery life has been great on the non touch bar so far. So far i am pleased with it and plan to keep this one.

What battery are you getting on the NTB? I have one but I think the battery isn't as good as it should be.
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I just picked up my base tb 13inch MacBook Pro today and so far I am loving the difference/performance boost.

I picked up the nTB moble around December 8th and used it up until today (holiday return period). I figured for $400 difference I am getting 2 more ports, better cpu, faster ram, and slightly better graphics.

Right away I can tell the difference in performance, battery life has been great so far no complaints. I use it for web browsing, YouTube, word, email, iMessage, FaceTime and the occasional Hearthstone game.

The touch bar is fine, not finding much use for it apart from when I'm editing and applying filters on photos, but I don't mind having it there and Touch ID is great so far.

Hope you guys find my experience helpful.

Ive noticed no performance difference at all. interesting that you did.

 

[vatter69]

CPU and GPU are virtually identical on TB and nTB. No person can really tell a difference except for prolonged rendering or similar CPU/GPU intensive tasks. Certainly not restoring a time machine backup - there must be different reasons for the observed difference.

 

[iasix]

^ agree. I had 2 nTB and 2 TB's and returning my TB now for my (final choice: ) nTB.

Battery life on nTB was 10+ hours with the same usage and really didn't find any difference in performance, which is why I was so curious about the observed difference.

 

[ascender]

Driving an external 4K display is much smoother with the TB 13" and using iMovie is definitely smoother too, but for most things I can't see a difference.

Having spent a lot of time with both now, it's TouchID, the TB and the four ports which I'd really miss if I went back to the nTB model.

 

[Milan777]

What battery are you getting on the NTB? I have one but I think the battery isn't as good as it should be.
[doublepost=1483648650][/doublepost]
Ive noticed no performance difference at all. interesting that you did.

Very subtle differences, programs feel a bit snappier, Hearthstone runs smoother and the fans don't kick in right away. For example, on the nTB when playing hearthstone the fan would kick in relatively quickly and the game would start to drop frames.

The battery life is not bad at all despite all the horrid reviews it has gotten. If you are willing to splash the extra cash I would recommend upgrading to the 13inch TB model or at least try it out for yourself.

For example on the nTB, just upgrading the CPU to an i7 is $480. For less than an $480 you upgrade the CPU to 2.9 i5, get slightly faster RAM, get slightly fast graphics, get Touch Bar, Touch ID, and 2 extra ports on the other side of the CPU which actually comes in handy when charging.

After a day of use I am really starting to appreciate the TB and Touch ID. For example, I was just face timing now and accepted/ended the call using the touch bar. Nothing ground breaking obviously but it was nice to have that option. Overtime I'm sure more uses will arise.

 

[jozero]

Driving an external 4K display is much smoother with the TB 13" and using iMovie is definitely smoother too, but for most things I can't see a difference.

Having spent a lot of time with both now, it's TouchID, the TB and the four ports which I'd really miss if I went back to the nTB model.

For what its worth that wasn't my experience. Have the new LG 4K, switched to the nTB, but did have the TB with 10.2.2 for a few days (which did fix numerous graphical glitches). If anything the nTB actually better because it just jumps, for example, into mission control. It doesn't "try" the mission control animation which were choppy as heck.

The *only* place I am noticing a difference is compile and run times are slightly slower for Xcode to iOS simulator.

And I definitely do not miss the touchbar. I hope it becomes must have with next few iterations. The touchID is missed for sure.

 

[WickedPorter]

I have the 2016 15" model with dedicated GPU, and the 2016 13" nTB model. I have a docking setup in my home office that accommodates both and includes a 23" 1080P external display (using HDMI from Apple USB-C Multiport Adapter) and a 4K external display (using an Accell USB-C to DisplayPort 1.2 cable). I also use the built-in display in this configuration, so effectively three screens and a lot of pixels. Neither struggles, and in a blind test I doubt I'd be able to tell the difference (maybe if running a game).

 

[person123]

^ agree. I had 2 nTB and 2 TB's and returning my TB now for my (final choice: ) nTB.

Battery life on nTB was 10+ hours with the same usage and really didn't find any difference in performance, which is why I was so curious about the observed difference.

You really got 10 hours? what brightness, what were you doing? I'm getting around 7 hours or so, I haven't really sat and tested it for more than a couple hours. but it drains around 1% per hour while sleeping. anyway, if you could tell me about your habits so I can know whether to keep or exchange this bad boy id appreciate it.

 

[iasix]

You really got 10 hours? what brightness, what were you doing? I'm getting around 7 hours or so, I haven't really sat and tested it for more than a couple hours. but it drains around 1% per hour while sleeping. anyway, if you could tell me about your habits so I can know whether to keep or exchange this bad boy id appreciate it.

Sure. Brightness on auto, I'm guessing 75% since my office is very bright. I had a full working day: STATA (statistics program for large databases), word, safari, iMessage, iTunes, mail, calendar, microsoft remote desktop connection. At the end of my working day I watched an episode of WestWorld through VLC player (MKV-file) in my (dark) room so I think the brightness was at around 30% there.
Hope this helps!

 

[Lou-X]

Tonight I tried to leave the ntb unplugged while downloading in transmission with a limited DL speed of 1,5MB/s and UL at 50KB/s.

I left at 1am with 100% battery.
I came back home at 1pm and it was at 45% battery life.

I was surprised, my old mb would have died during the night.

 

[thadoggfather]

I pretty much 'love' my 2016 nTB, it feels like class in real life, outside of a shop.

the design is a good one!

I find myself admiring it and its upgrades quite a bit, (P3 screen, keyboard/trackpad and yes battery life coming from 12", speakers, reduced weight in relation to <2016 pros, and trimmed bezels.

works for me

 

[vatter69]

Yep have to agree. Was a proud member of the 'Waiting for Skylake" thread.

Then we got the touchbar and it was a nogo. Was afraid the 15w CPU was too weak or the 1 fan solution getting too hot.

None of this is an issue.

Coming from an early 2013 13" with Ivy Bridge i7 and basically upgrading to 4x the GPU, 6x the SSD speed and finally 16 GB Ram.

Too expensive? Sure. Could Apple have included a free USB-C to A adapter? Totally.

Still a happy user and spacegrey looks gorgeous.

 

[ApplePersonFreak]

So are you guys happy with the nTB? I'm leaning towards that now that I've played with the touchbar..

 

[JustinCirello]

So are you guys happy with the nTB? I'm leaning towards that now that I've played with the touchbar..

I've had my nTB 2GBz/8GB/256 for 5 days now. I upgraded from a mid-2013 MacBook Air. Performance is noticeably better, much improved screen, speakers, keyboard and new color. They fit all this new stuff in a smaller size and same weight as my MBA... very impressive.

I decided not to go with the TB version, it would have cost me $1700 at B&H during the time of sale and decided $350 extra wasn't really worth it for my needs (I paid $1350). I like the idea of the TB and Touch ID, seem to be most useful when using intense apps like FinalCut/PhotoShop, etc.

My main reason for not getting TB version: iPhone Upgrade Program. I already know I'll be getting the new iPhone every year so why shell out money on touch capabilities on my MacBook? I'll always have the latest and greatest from Apple and mainly use my computer for light web browsing and music. I was curious to see if anyone else felt this way.

 

[ApplePersonFreak]

I've had my nTB 2GBz/8GB/256 for 5 days now. I upgraded from a mid-2013 MacBook Air. Performance is noticeably better, much improved screen, speakers, keyboard and new color. They fit all this new stuff in a smaller size and same weight as my MBA... very impressive.

I decided not to go with the TB version, it would have cost me $1700 at B&H during the time of sale and decided $350 extra wasn't really worth it for my needs (I paid $1350). I like the idea of the TB and Touch ID, seem to be most useful when using intense apps like FinalCut/PhotoShop, etc.

My main reason for not getting TB version: iPhone Upgrade Program. I already know I'll be getting the new iPhone every year so why shell out money on touch capabilities on my MacBook? I'll always have the latest and greatest from Apple and mainly use my computer for light web browsing and music. I was curious to see if anyone else felt this way.

That's very true. Ugh B&H has it for $1399 now. I wonder if they're gonna go back to $1349 again?

 

[JustinCirello]

That's very true. Ugh B&H has it for $1399 now. I wonder if they're gonna go back to $1349 again?

Probably soon. B&H: No tax, free shipping. Only issue is no returns when opened, so be sure in your decision! I'm not going to lie the MacBook was unopened for ~ 5 hours until I finally assured myself I wouldn't want to return it

 

[febLey]

So are you guys happy with the nTB? I'm leaning towards that now that I've played with the touchbar..

I'm really happy with it, I really like the keyboard, I love the screen, the huge touchpad is really convenient and the speakers are awesome. Also the battery life is very good.
I can even do light gaming with it, this week I played a bit Diablo 3 with it.