(uplifting violin music)
- There has been a lot of interesting talk
about the 16 inch MacBook Pro.
For me, I have been using the same computer for the past six
years, so why is this the one that made me want to upgrade?
(uplifting violin music)
This is my 13 inch, 2013 MacBook Pro
and it's the best computer I've ever used.
It's been my main computer for almost six years now
and I've used it on all of my personal and professional work
in that time, building two high school digital media
pathways, editing photos, creating designs, producing client
work and editing the more than 150 videos
for this YouTube channel.
So I absolutely love this computer and if I love it so much
why on earth would I want to upgrade?
The new 16 inch MacBook Pro offers a pretty massive step up
in terms of power and as much as I love the 13 inch form
factor, the larger display makes editing
and multi-tasking so much easier.
I ended up going with the base model of the higher end
MacBook Pro, if that makes sense.
So, it's got an i9 processor, a dedicated GPU with 4GB
of RAM, 16GB of system RAM and a 1TB hard drive.
I'm not really a gamer, so I mostly use my computer
for video editing with Final Cut Pro and photo design work
with Adobe Creative Cloud and I also use it to run
my high school digital media pathway and that involves
giving a lot of lessons and presentations and workshops
and it has to drive all of that.
So, let's take a look at some this computer's key traits.
The 16 inch MacBook Pro is physically larger
than the previous 15 inch version, but since I'm coming from
a six year old 13 inch computer,
I don't really have a frame of reference for that.
What I can say is that it's much smaller and lighter
than the 15 inch MacBook Pro that I had back in 2010.
And I know that's ancient history, but in terms of size,
this 16 inch MacBook Pro is way more manageable
and easier to use than that older one was.
And the biggest issue for me when it comes to size is
whether or not the computer's gonna be easily transportable.
My daily bag is this Tenba DNA 13, it's built like a tank,
I've had it for years and it's basically the perfect bag,
but since this computer's bigger I did have to finally
update that to a slightly larger version
that can accommodate the 15 inch computer.
But beyond that the 16 inch MacBook Pro fits totally fine
into my regular backpack and my photo backpack.
So let's jump in and talk about the display.
There's not a lot I can say that hasn't already been said.
It's big, it's bright, it's beautiful and coming from a
13 inch screen, what I can say is this relieves
a lot of stress and eye strain that I didn't even realize
I was experiencing while working.
The display's not quite as bright as I would have expected
it to be, it's actually pretty much the same
as my 13 inch computer which is fine.
I guess if it were any brighter it would like burn
my retinas out and I don't think that
that's what Apple means when they call it a Retina Display.
So moving on from the display, I do wanna touch on Touch ID
for a second, which isn't a new feature if you've been using
any of the MacBook Pros with Touch Bars
over the past few years.
But for a newcomer like me, it's pretty awesome,
I think it's kinda underrated.
With macOS adding more and more security measures
with each release, it seems like I'm entering my password
more and more frequently and that doesn't even take
into account all the different apps and websites
that have their own accounts and logins.
And being able to just quickly enter my password
with a half second touch of my finger
is just flat out amazing.
I love everything about having Touch ID on a computer
and it really is super fast.
It seems like as soon as I touch it, it ID's me
and registers my fingerprint.
Touch ID moves us right into the newly redesigned keyboard
and this is really what clinched
the upgrade decision for me.
I love the scissor mechanism of the keyboard on my 2013 inch
MacBook and I've just been waiting for a long time
to see if Apple would come up with a new design
since I wasn't personally a huge fan of the butterfly
keyboard and this is basically the perfect keyboard.
It's really similar to the old keyboard on my older MacBook,
but it's a little bit different, it's a little new, updated.
The keys don't quite have as much travel
but it really feels great and it's just a joy to use.
And this computer's full of things like that.
The small features that make it a joy to use
and all of those details on their own might not mean much,
but when they come together, they create something
that I think is really extraordinary.
And speaking of extraordinary, Apple has made some pretty
extraordinary claims about the battery life
on this computer.
According to Apple, the new MacBook Pro,
the 16 inch one boasts an 11 hour battery life.
Through my experience so far, while using Photoshop
or Final Cut, the battery life seems okay.
Part of me feels like it drains faster than I'd like it to,
but that could just be the result of it being
a way more powerful computer, with a bigger display
that I'm used to.
I don't know if I would really get 11 hours of it,
but you know there's a lot of power in this computer
which does also mean that it gets noticeably warm.
It doesn't really get loud, it doesn't get so hot
that you're worried or concerned but it is noticeably warmer
than my 13 inch computer ever got.
But again, it makes sense 'cause there's so much more power
in here than there was in the old computer.
If we're gonna talk about battery life, it only makes sense
to go next into dongle life and more than three years
after the USB-C only MacBook Pros were introduced,
dongles are still very much a thing.
And I really do miss the SD card slot on my old MacBook
and MagSafe the magnetic charger was pretty much
one of the greatest ideas ever that has saved me
on many, many occasions.
So I do miss those things but realistically it's not hard
to find a USB-C cable for most of your accessories
and your peripherals.
Lots of things just come USB-C compatible now
and when you do need something that's not USB-C, a simple
adaptor like this one from Satechi
can kind of fill in whatever's missing.
It adds an SD Card slot, USB-A, HDMI out, all those little
things that are missing.
I haven't really found the "Dongle Life" to be a huge
inconvenience so far and I think it's only gonna get better
and better as time goes on.
So, despite the occasional inconvenience, I think
that the versatility of USB-C is pretty awesome.
The fact that every port can also be a charger
and I can find an external display
that can charge my computer, with a single cable for the
display and the charging is kind of mind blowing.
And when it comes to transferring large video and photo
files which I do like every single day, the added speed
of USB-C is a huge bonus.
It makes those large data transfers
so much more quick and easy.
My thoughts on the overall performance of this computer
and this might be a sin to say in the tech world,
but I don't really care about benchmark performance,
I care about how the computer handles the work and functions
every day when it's doing the things that I need it to do.
And this has always been I think
one of Apple's biggest strengths.
Since the hardware and the software are so tightly
integrated you get this performance that you might not
necessarily expect based purely on the specs alone.
And as a side note I did used to do a lot of live streams
on this channel, but my 13 inch MacBook just couldn't handle
them and so I stopped in order to like save my sanity.
But the added power of this computer, opens up creative
options like that.
Like live streaming that just weren't possible
for me before.
So, I appreciate that extra power and performance now
and I think going forward into the future, as more and more
of those little doorways open, I'll appreciate it even more.
So, in conclusion, I think that this is an amazing computer.
If you're like me and you've been sitting with a computer
that's several years old, or a couple of generations old,
the leap is gonna be absolutely insane
and I think you'll love it.
And even though I do think that this new MacBook Pro
is great, it is still expensive and I think that it's really
important when you upgrade a computer,
to upgrade with practicality in mind.
So my main point with saying how much I love my 13 inch,
2013 model was to really illustrate how long these MacBooks
can last and that really is part of their value
and part of the draw to them.
For some of us I think, upgrades are a fun way
to just sort of stay on top of the world of tech,
but for others, especially those concerned with budget
like me, you can get a lot of mileage out of these machines.
And I think that it's accurate to say that I use my computer
more heavily than the average user with all the video
and design work and educational work that I do with it.
And I've been totally fine doing all of that
on a six year old machine up until now.
So, knowing how long I plan to keep this computer
is also a reason that I did want to wait until Apple
released the version that was perfect for me and my needs.
Realistically, you don't need the latest and greatest
tech to do great work, but if you are like me again
in that position where you're ready to upgrade,
this 16 inch MacBook Pro is an awesome choice.
It effectively combines the best of both worlds when
compared to the previous two physical design generations.
And I think it's tough to quantify like joy of use
with a piece of tech.
There are a lot of things that play into that.
Just your overall, the vibe that you get from it.
But this computer really is like genuinely a joy to use
and if I can feel that every time I sit down to work with it
over the next however many years, then I think that this is
definitely a worthwhile upgrade.
Why did I close it?
I don't know, it's a great computer, I like it.
If you need a computer, you should buy this computer,
that's my review.
(gentle electronic music)