UKC

I am getting a new Mac Book Pro on a new for old basis since I lost an old one to drowning in a flood along w a PC laptop too. I am allowed a 512Gb hard drive comparable to the previous one, but I am going to pay more than just the XS and upgrade the size of the SSD in order to try to future proof for as long as possible. So I can get a 1 Tb drive with normal keyboard or I can get 1 or 2 Tb drive with the Touch Bar keyboard.
So I wonder whether the Touch Bar is any good? If I had my preference it would be to get the 2Tb drive without the Touch Bar as I suspect that it is something else to go wrong, but this option is not available.
So what is everyone's experience?
Rob

In reply to veteye:
The new MBP is a bit of a 'different beast'. All of the old connections have been stripped away in favour of four USB-C which deal with power, USB and Thunderbolt 3. The keyboard has changed feel - some like this, others do not! All the prices have recently gone up and the price of the 2TB SSD is eye-watering! I would get a 1TB and an external HD.

My rule generally is not to buy the first iteration of any new design and there have been a number of complaints about these models. As well as the inevitable bag of dongles needed to use all of your older accessories. If you can wait later in the year to jump to this design when some of the wrinkles, particularly battery life have been ruled out that would be my recommendation.

Edited for typo.

In reply to SouthernSteve:
I could not really see the value of the touch bar for me so went without when my old MacBook died recently - from what I saw of the key note address it's not something of great value for word processing/spreadsheet/ basic photo stuff.

In reply to veteye:

I went for the touchbar one but that was because I wanted the most powerful 13" machine I could get, rather than for the touchbar. I rarely use the touchbar. I went for the i7 processor, 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM. It's lightning fast. I can edit Photoshop, Lightroom or Final Cut Pro from an external HD (LaCie Rugged 2TB, USB-C) while listening to iTunes on the same external drive. There's no lag on Final Cut Pro X either.

Negatives: The 'H' key did a double H every now and again after I got it but it is normal now so I assume it was a software issue which has now been fixed. Battery life could be better but I have nothing to compare it to as my last machine is an iMac and my work laptop is an HP which lasts about 30 minutes without being plugged in. This lasts me a few hours doing all the aforementioned things. Wouldn't call it 'all day' though. It can get hot when tasking the processor but it is silent so the fans aren't coming on (I've heard they don't come on until really late).

Overall it's great. I don't regret it. I wanted to future proof myself and I'm satisfied that I have. If I could have waited until iteration 2, then I would have done, perhaps for a faster processor again and better battery. I don't normally like to be an early adopter but I wanted a new machine now (old iMac still going strong from 2006 but it's not fast and won't run newer software which I need it to).

I don't understand dongle-gate either. I have a lightning to USB-C cable to sync my iPhone, I have a USB-C external hard drive and for everything else, I have a 4 USB/HDMI to USB-C dock. I carry a tiny USBA/C plug with me in case I every need to plug a pen drive in or something (but I never have yet...)

Hope that helps! Happy shopping

Phil

In reply to Phil West:

>RE: I don't understand dongle-gate either

We have multiple Thunderbolt devices, and routinely use two monitors, one on HDMI and also use Ethernet. We have the dongles for one machine and I am not impressed with needing multiple bits of plastic sticking out of the machine markedly increasing the footprint for a further reduction in machine thickness.

In reply to SouthernSteve:
For me with Macs it's best to go for longevity (and resale value if you want to upgrade) by buying the most up to date model. Though the prices of these new ones due to the Pound's fall are eye-watering, so if anything happens to my present 2012 MBP it's likely to be a PC laptop next, possibly running some form of Linux.

In reply to veteye:

Get the best spec machine you can from the insurance, this may have the Touch bar but may not, depending on the sum insured...

Do you usually use it as a laptop, or on a desk (+/- with a monitor)?

If so, once you have your 'free' new machine (!) then invest in an external thunderbolt-3 hub from Elgato, CalDigit or OWC, +/- and external drive if needed.

b

In reply to SouthernSteve:

Ok. So you have a Macbook that has all the ports of every type you need already and when technology improves, they should retain all those ports and add one, token new one? I tend to accept that I'm never going to find a computer with enough ports so I'm always going to need some kind of dock. I had a 5 port USB dock and a 7 port USB dock on my iMac because apple stupidly didn't think of my 12 USB port needs when creating a computer. I just thought ahead and bought a USB-C to USB-A dock in time for my Macbook to arrive. No problem. I find I'm using USB-A devices much less already. Give it a year and I guarantee I'll be thinking of them in the same way as cassette tapes.