Macbook Pro with Touch Bar (2016 vs. Macbook Pro (2015)

Would you buy a Macbook Pro with Touch Bar (2016) or Macbook Pro (2015)?

  • 2016!

    Votes: 8 66.7%
  • 2015!

    Votes: 4 33.3%
  • Neither, I should rock my old MBP old school!

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    12

jsarino

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Jul 11, 2013
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My 2011 MacBook Pro 15" is getting long on the tooth, so I'm torn trying to decide between a MBP 2015, or the 2016 with Touch Bar. The old one has the SD slot and other ports which I use. But the 5K display, much larger trackpad, USB-C ports (I have a Nexus 6P that would use that), and space gray color have definitely an appeal to me. Would I really use the Touch Bar enough, would I really miss the lack of other ports (and having to buy more dongles), miss the Magsafe connection, and potentially slower processing speeds (vs the 2015) to justify the cost?

I want to hear from you all on this! Vote and tell me why you would pick one or the other...or neither! :)
 

macboer

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Feb 6, 2015
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I feel the same as you. The only problem is that if I buy the 2015 model I will be "stuck" with it until 2020/21.

I think it would be better especially when you compare the 15" 2015 with the 13" Touchbar.
Am I mistaken?
 

jsarino

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I think it would be better especially when you compare the 15" 2015 with the 13" Touchbar.
Am I mistaken?

I would if I want a 13" MBP. But, I want to stick with a 15". The specs I would want would be at $2799. At that price, it makes the 15" HP Spectre ($1149) a more compelling option. Or just "settle" for the 2015 MBP maxed out.
 

Ziich47

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May 6, 2015
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The 2016 MBP have the same resolution as last year (2880x1800) the only product that Apple has that is 5k is the iMac.

The HP spectre is only a 13inch laptop and for 1149 you are getting a dual core i7 with 8 gb of ram and a 1080p resolution with no p3 gamut.(1920 by 1180)
 

Ziich47

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May 6, 2015
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I would choose the 2016 model.
I am coming from the 2010 15 mbp that has been to hell and back. Twice.
For me a lot of my peripherals are out of date so along with getting a new mbp I will be getting new peripherals.

In terms of dongles you might not need as many on you think. sd card to usb c is a definite must but almost every other legacy port has a cable out there for it i.e. usb c male to HDMI male/Display port male/ usb a male/ thunderbolt male are all available so in reality most people need new cable and one maybe two dongles depending on the use case scenario.
 

vectro73

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I voted for 2015 model cause I think that is the last really Pro model. New model should have been called just macBook without Pro.
 

jsarino

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It's true the 2015 seems much faster...but are benchmarks of the CPU really telling the whole story? I'm not sure.

True, it's just going spec vs. spec. How does it work in the real world? Someone with money to burn (or someone here that has both) needs to do a head-to-head comparison. :)
 

Matty

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Two votes, and it's 50/50. So...why the 2016? Why the 2015?

Personally for me there are many reason why i would take the 2016 over the 2015.

Firstly the screen. I look at my screen for many hours of the day and its one of the most important things. So having a P3 wider colour gamut makes things look amazing.

Secondly, the touch bar. Having a youtube video open and then seeing the whole video time-lapse on the touch bar is just so awesome to me. Definitely worth the extra cash.

Having a bigger Track-Pad is also nice but not a game changer.
 

angusmatheson

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I too wish I could see real speed comparisons for real world tasks. I wonder if the geek bench scored really tell the whole story. Or if the 2016's faster SSD and RAM make up for it.
 

knoxDavid

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I have the 2010 MacBook Pro (which my wife now uses) and I have the 2015 MacBook Pro. I love the solid state quad core 2015 model and I could not justify spending the $$ on the 2016 version unless you really needed the ability to drive multiple monitors. I recommend getting the 2015 version for ports and price/performance. Hopefully in a year or two the new MacBook Pro will have come up in specs (a big part of that is Intel's fault) and down a little in price as they get better at producing the Touch Bars.
 

jsarino

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Thanks for the input so far, everyone! I'm still torn as of today on either one. If anyone saw my post on Windows vs. Mac, I even considered holding on to the MBP a little longer, get a Chromebook to hold me over (and leave the MBP at home), and wait until the Touch Bar option matures a bit.
 

macboer

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I have done a lot of research on this the last week. And ordered a 2015. I just dont want to be bogged down with dongles. Plus I am sure the machine will be fine for my needs. I would also not be able to afford 16gb RAM and 512gb storage on a newer version.

Thus, price and dongles are my reasons for going 2015. 👍🏼👍🏼✨
 

jsarino

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^^^I could very well head your same direction. :) My 2011 MBP has 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, so my requirements to have at least that would be steep on a 2016. Like you, I don't want to clutter myself with more dongles when I'm on the go. I mainly carry three cords now (USB to USB-C, HDMI adaptor, Magsafe). Going from the 2011 to 2015 will still have some nice upgrades out of the box: Force Touch trackpad, the Retina display, more efficient processor, longer battery life, discreet graphics option. I pretty much know what to expect with the 2015, while the newness of getting the latest and greatest may wear off quickly if I don't do much with the Touch Bar. I'm not the type to buy hardware and hardly utilize it to its fullest...I find that to be a waste of money then IMO.

So, I realize the poll so far is telling me to go for the 2016, but the cost, lack of built-in connections, the gimmicky support (for now) for the Touch Bar give me pause. So, I'm getting a 2015 instead. I can trade it in down the line when the Touch Bar matures in future models. Thanks everyone for your comments on this!

Side note #1, of course, if I won a 2016 MacBook Pro, I certainly wouldn't kick it out of bed. ;)

Side note #2, I can still get some value when I sell the 2011. Anyone want it? :D.
 

RBNetEngr

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If you like the 2016 models, but are put off by the higher prices, keep in mind a few things:

1) If you don't absolutely NEED a new computer RIGHT NOW, wait a few months for the holidays to pass, and for the 4-5 week order backlog to go away. Then, I strongly believe we will see some sale prices available. In fact, there have already been some minor sales from B&H and MacMall.

2) If you compare Apples to Apples [ ;-) ] as closely as possible, you'll find that the 2015 and 2016 models differ in price by a few hundred dollars, depending on whether you're comparing 13" models or 15" models. For the difference in price, you get a slightly faster CPU, MUCH faster SSD, better display, longer battery life, lighter weight, smaller size, Touch Bar, Touch ID, faster USB-C ports, larger trackpad, and arguably a better feeling keyboard (the 2015 keyboard feels mushy compared to the new keyboard).

Given all the benefits of #2, waiting 4-6 months to buy a 2016 model would be more than worth it if you find the current pricing too high.

-rb
 

Baltiervaan

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Feb 5, 2016
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2016!

even thought we have few set backs in 2016 model, like the magsafe and 2-4 uniform usb-c. i just like how the 2016 is design for the next generation (it's just things aren't ready yet) because users are still using the previous gen ports.

other than that, i like how light and compact the 2016. and i prefer the non-glowing-metal finish apple logo at the back. i also like how the trackpad and touch bar sync together with the functions/needs for each tasks and the screen looks great as apple wanted to upgrade each year.

i just hope they incorporated ports from previous gen, at least the magsafe.
 

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