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I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

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Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#11

Post by kylehotchkiss »

phil21 wrote: post #4
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #2

I got the 13in 2016 MacBook Pro sans-touchbar and absolutely love it. The screen is lively, USB-C has made traveling much easier (don't need dedicated charger, can use Anker USB-C battery to top laptop off), the build quality feels substantially better than my old Macbook Air, and the battery life has been fantastic. I've seen a lot more of these rants crop up and end up confused since my own experience has been subs…

If I didn't need 15" this is exactly what I would have done - I actually like the 2016 MBP 15", but the touchbar is utterly useless and a regression from having a physical escape key. I honestly don't know how you (the article author) could have a problem with the touchpad though - it's an improvement in every regard. Quite happy to do away with the mechanical bits there for better reliability, and it's very difficul…

I found a USB-C to Displayport cable on Amazon, not sure if it fits your use case but it ended up being much faster than HDMI on my Anker hub, which was limited to 30fps I think.

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#12

Post by AdeptusAquinas »

"And as a heavy vim user, I really don’t need a physical escape button for sure". Is that a complaint? There is a feature I don't need in my specific circumstances - but which is widely necessary for other people - therefore the product is bad? The escape button isn't niche like the touch bar - seems like a real stupid thing to complain about.

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#13

Post by ricardobeat »

makecheck wrote: post #5

I’m sure I would agree with all gripes against the Touch Bar, except I frequently see articles complaining about things that are technically customizable. For instance, yes many actions are useless or easy to hit accidentally, etc. but you can change what’s on the Touch Bar.

Have you found any useful applications for it? I’ve had mine for over six months now and still find it kind of useless.

The fact that it “adapts” to the focused app implies that it would do something useful for that app, which is rarely the case. It also seems impossible to customise it to look exactly like it’s physical counterpart all the time for the same reason.

That, and it’s much slower and clumsier for actions like changing volume or skipping a track, which I do dozens of times a day. Can’t wait to exchange for non-touch model (company policy yada yada, probably same problem as OP).

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#14

Post by sidyom »

phil21 wrote: post #4
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #2

I got the 13in 2016 MacBook Pro sans-touchbar and absolutely love it. The screen is lively, USB-C has made traveling much easier (don't need dedicated charger, can use Anker USB-C battery to top laptop off), the build quality feels substantially better than my old Macbook Air, and the battery life has been fantastic. I've seen a lot more of these rants crop up and end up confused since my own experience has been subs…

If I didn't need 15" this is exactly what I would have done - I actually like the 2016 MBP 15", but the touchbar is utterly useless and a regression from having a physical escape key. I honestly don't know how you (the article author) could have a problem with the touchpad though - it's an improvement in every regard. Quite happy to do away with the mechanical bits there for better reliability, and it's very difficul…

You're able to modify the touchbar (control strip?) to always have an escape key, if it bugs you as much as it does me.

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#15

Post by Anderkent »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #6

Every single one of these stupid blog posts goes a little something like "I wanted a 13 inch laptop but I got this 15 inch one instead just so I could gripe about how big it is" or "I don't like the touchbar but I got the one with the touchbar anyway just so I could gripe about it." or "I hammer my digits into the pavement like the smiting fist of an angry god at every keypress and now my fingers hurt." And this guy.…

What's your problem with the airs screen?

I work on a macbook pro, mostly because 'modern' 'everything-must-docker' software development seems to require 16GB ram and an i7 to run anything. But for everything else, whether video or web, I come back to an early 2015 air. I definitely sympathise with the OP.

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#16

Post by godfrzero »

These UX problems aside, am I the only one who feels like the latest generation has performance problems? My 2013 Air ran DotA, Sublime, iTerm and Chrome just fine. The 13" 2017 Pro that I'm using now heats up if I'm just using Sublime, and the fan even turns on. The 13" 2015 Pro didn't have this problem either.

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#17

Post by bawana »

smrtinsert wrote: post #8

Just got one of these. The keyboard feels like a cheap Bluetooth add on, the touch bar is like a state of the art touch screen phone from 2004 in bar form, and the touch pad picks up my palm all the time. Not a happy camper.

doesn't apple still make a macbook pro without the touchbar?

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#18

Post by mbreese »

sidyom wrote: post #14
phil21 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I didn't need 15" this is exactly what I would have done - I actually like the 2016 MBP 15", but the touchbar is utterly useless and a regression from having a physical escape key. I honestly don't know how you (the article author) could have a problem with the touchpad though - it's an improvement in every regard. Quite happy to do away with the mechanical bits there for better reliability, and it's very difficul…

You're able to modify the touchbar (control strip?) to always have an escape key, if it bugs you as much as it does me.

I just remapped caps lock to esc. Works great, but it takes me a minute to get my mind back around when I’m back using my normal (wired Apple) external keyboard.

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#19

Post by jamiewildehk »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #6

Every single one of these stupid blog posts goes a little something like "I wanted a 13 inch laptop but I got this 15 inch one instead just so I could gripe about how big it is" or "I don't like the touchbar but I got the one with the touchbar anyway just so I could gripe about it." or "I hammer my digits into the pavement like the smiting fist of an angry god at every keypress and now my fingers hurt." And this guy.…

I got the 13" without the touch-bar and I love it. Note for this blogger: you don't have to hit the keys hard.

Re: I go back to my old macbook air from my new macbook pro – because it was better

#20

Post by curmudgeon9 »

bawana wrote: post #17
smrtinsert wrote: post #8

Just got one of these. The keyboard feels like a cheap Bluetooth add on, the touch bar is like a state of the art touch screen phone from 2004 in bar form, and the touch pad picks up my palm all the time. Not a happy camper.

doesn't apple still make a macbook pro without the touchbar?

Yes but it's the May 2015 model.
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