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2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

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Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#211

Post by r00fus »

sergiosgc wrote: post #89
Caballera wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The escape key is still there, it's on the Touch Bar, I have no issues with using it, and I haven't had to re-map it. Also you can hit the 'fn' key and the 'Function' bar and escape key will appear while using any other 'app' that changes the Touch Bar.

I have a Lenovo x1c with an oled touch bar. In the x1c it has function keys. It's a terrible solution. No tactile feedback is a deal breaker. Lenovo backtracked, and subsequent generations lost the "touch bar" and use regular keys.

Implementation details matter. This is one area where Apple has often excelled where others have failed.

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#212

Post by mamon »

illumin8 wrote: post #67
asragab wrote: post #22

I really appreciated the no nonsense, non-editorialized description of his experiences. Given the recent political climate, it is a nice change of pace. The external monitor and wifi issues seem egregious, could these be OS related issues?

From what I've heard, many USB3 interfaces have been causing Wifi and Bluetooth reception problems for a few years now. This is due to electromagnetic interference in the 2.4ghz. spectrum. I wouldn't expect a high-end Apple product to have this issue though; this is the type of problem you expect from cheap beige box PCs.

How about using Wi-Fi in 5 GHz channel ? Should solve the issue, shouldn't it ?

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#213

Post by st3v3r »

dom0 wrote: post #16
Bytes wrote: post #6

The problems with the new macbook "pro" seem to keep on growing. I am really surprised that Apple did not find the connecting to external display issue in internal testing.

I'm somewhat surprised by the whole touch bar thing, other manufacturers (e.g. Lenovo on the X1) tried it before and use acceptance was miserable.

Lenovo's attempt was pure crap, though. And other manufacturers had attempted things like fingerprint sensors on smartphones before that had flopped, but then worked well when Apple did it.

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#214

Post by tachion »

slantyyz wrote: post #210
otterley wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't expect the hub to work when the display is powered off or unplugged. I do, however, expect it to work when the monitor is "asleep", i.e., in power-saving mode. My Dell P2715Q display does work properly as a hub when it's asleep.

>> My Dell P2715Q display does work properly as a hub when it's asleep. The P2715Q has all sorts of quirks. I have a pair of them connected to my Windows computer, and when they go to sleep, Windows basically forgets where all the open windows were and disperses them somewhat randomly. Of all the monitors I've used, I've only ever experienced this with the P2715Q. I also notice that the power output of the USB ports…

That's interesting, because it happens randomly for my two Dells connected to a MacBook Pro and I was blaming OSX for this. Have you found any hack/solution to this?

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#215

Post by slantyyz »

tachion wrote: post #214
slantyyz wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> My Dell P2715Q display does work properly as a hub when it's asleep. The P2715Q has all sorts of quirks. I have a pair of them connected to my Windows computer, and when they go to sleep, Windows basically forgets where all the open windows were and disperses them somewhat randomly. Of all the monitors I've used, I've only ever experienced this with the P2715Q. I also notice that the power output of the USB ports…

That's interesting, because it happens randomly for my two Dells connected to a MacBook Pro and I was blaming OSX for this. Have you found any hack/solution to this?

No, I think it's the monitors themselves.

Instead of "sleeping", they appear to make the OS think they've been powered down/disconnected instead. When a monitor goes to sleep, I can hear the "device disconnected" chime in Windows, which should not happen.

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#216

Post by qyv »

lvh wrote: post #53
abakker wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

3 sounds like a doozy. Is there any way that the average person can learn to tell these apart once they are out of the packaging, or is it really just a guess and check?

My understanding is that Thunderbolt 3 cables should have the Thunderbolt logo on them.

And herein lies the rub of USB-C: It isn't a universal logical interface, it is a multi-use physical connector. By overloading the port's logical functions you introduce incompatible physical configurations.

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#217

Post by fit2rule »

I'm using a mid-2014 rMBP now, and I love it - its a great machine, and I'm seriously content with it.

But for work reasons, I'm upgrading to a new 2016 rMBP, and I'm a little hesitant .. the reason is, I'm a vi user. So I figure I'll get used to the difference in tactile response from the current ESC key to the Touchbar experience .. eventually.

But what I've been thinking is that I'll just map CAPSLOCK to Escape, since I hardly ever use Caps for anything important. This sort of amuses me a little, since I've heard of folks doing this for years, when a real Escape key was available anyway .. but they did it for ergonomics reasons. So, I'm hoping I'll be able to live with that experience as a dedicated vi user.

What I'd like to know - for you guys who are vi users and have a 2016-rMBP in front of you - is whether you think this is viable, or just not worth the hassle - i.e., just use the Touchbar escape and see how it goes. What do you think?

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#218

Post by ajford »

Freestyler_3 wrote: post #129
otterley wrote: post #9

We bought a 15" 2016 Macbook Pro ("Retina" is redundant; there are no 2016 MBPs that lack a Retina display.) We also bought a LG 27UD88-W monitor to go with it. (It's one of the few that has a USB-C input.) I have to say, I'm really impressed by the single-cable solution. The monitor charges the laptop (57W maximum, which is less than the Apple charger, but "good enough"), and the laptop sends both video and USB peri…

What do you think the effect of constant charging will be on battery life in the long term?

Assuming a properly engineered device, the battery shouldn't actually be constantly charging. It should intelligently switch between power sources, as well as enabling and disabling charging of the battery as needed.

I think what is more of a concern would be the possibility that some laptops now tend to unthrottle the CPU when on AC power (or more accurately throttle their already LV CPUs when on battery), which can mean the internal temp gets pretty high and can be bad for the battery.

That being said, we have no guarantee that the power management is being done properly, but Apple seems to really have a handle on the power usage of their devices (even if they can't quite figure out their connectors or software). It's definitely a concern on lower end laptops.

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#219

Post by undersuit »

slantyyz wrote: post #210
otterley wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't expect the hub to work when the display is powered off or unplugged. I do, however, expect it to work when the monitor is "asleep", i.e., in power-saving mode. My Dell P2715Q display does work properly as a hub when it's asleep.

>> My Dell P2715Q display does work properly as a hub when it's asleep. The P2715Q has all sorts of quirks. I have a pair of them connected to my Windows computer, and when they go to sleep, Windows basically forgets where all the open windows were and disperses them somewhat randomly. Of all the monitors I've used, I've only ever experienced this with the P2715Q. I also notice that the power output of the USB ports…

Same issue with my U2713HM when I let Windows go to sleep. I have only one of them attached to my desktop, but Win10 likes to set all my open windows to a small size when sleep happens. I guess the monitor get's reported as turned off and Windows starts up a 1024x768 "emergency desktop".

Re: 2016 Retina MacBook Pro Caveats

#220

Post by Freestyler_3 »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #166
Freestyler_3 wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you think the effect of constant charging will be on battery life in the long term?

There is no practical impact on modern batteries from being constantly connected to power.

I guess, I confused it with the batteries amount of charges before decline.

good to get it confirmed here.

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