keyboard is my #1 gripe about it. i dont mind the low travel. i can still touchtype 100+ just like on traditional keyboard. problem is that random keys will stick for a week and go away later. the tight design of key means it should resist dust and dirt and other intrusion but somehow a few keys go wonky once in a while. and you cant simply pop it out and back in. (tried it, now my Tab has a permanent dead corner). i read apple replaces the whole key plate for those who bring in this issue


it does not run hot at all. atleast, not to its detriment. this machine wont die from heat fatigue. if so, it'd be about the worst engineered laptop in recent time.

specified operating temperature is <95*F. which is standard for this class of equipment. e.g. lenovo thinkpads are rated identically.

that said, in rooms exceeding 100*F.... i'd die before the laptop does.

*************

this being is 6th apple laptop or so after a bunch of Pros and Airs, its probably my least favorite to date. the performance has always been on the teetering edge of acceptability. meaning i never foresee running it beyond 1, 2 years max. luckily my laptop replacement rate is annually, anyway (and 3/yr for phones )

day to day stuff, dont notice performance lag. occasionally, it rears its head. i do do video production and lightroom/photoshop on it and it does fine. its just that i get the feeling that its on the limits.

dont mind so much about the new non-mag charging plug. do mind that theres only 1 of it. meaning if i want to run Zwift (intensive 3d cycling app that requires an external USB dongle)... but charge the laptop at the same time.... its not possible unless i get a USB hub. annoying. occasionally i need to transfer stuff via USB drive but forget to pack the USB C convert... annoying.

unfortunately theres no flush-mount aftermarket solution yet.

all that said, got off a flight this weekend where i needed frequent access to the laptop... carried it in a tiny gift shop bag with chocolates and such. i mean, a full fledged operating system with keyboard and high res screen - indeed my primary company - thats light as a feather and tiny in size..... really proves its worth

bought the new Retina MB 512G and 1.3Ghz M7, very happy with it. It's amazing compared even to my MBA I used to have (gave it to a family member.) Thrilled with this, it is a game changer for me because it's as big as an iPad basically but it's a full Mac. Really amazing. The sound, the keyboard, the screen, all top notch. The touchpad is awesome.

I was considering an 256GB M7 2016 but I think I'm going to get a refurb 2015 base model for $929 and upgrade in a year or two. The 2016 isn't a big enough upgrade to justify spending $1549 and keeping it for 4-5 years (the current age of my MBA). I think ultra portable laptop w/ retina screen segment is going to see some big improvements in the next couple years. I'm a little disappointed that it can't do 4k@60hz on an external monitor even after the update (USB-C limitation) and an extra port would be nice to charge my iPhone.

I played with the 2016 MacBook today and it felt like that the keyboard might have been slightly improved over the 2015 model. Was that actually the case?

I haven't seen it reported anywhere that the keyboard was changed/updated in any way.

It sure seemed like they added a tiny bit more travel or changed something with the internal mechanism to improve comfort, but perhaps that was a placebo effect or something.

There is no way the m7 will last 4 years. In performance terms. Not enough headroom compared to something like the Pro

I have a 1.3ghz (as fast you can custom configure) "1st gen" MacBook 12" w/256gb SSD and 8gb RAM. For comparison, I've also got a maxed out 11" MacBook Air and a maxed out 2013 15" MacBook Pro.

I have travelled with the 11" Air since I purchased it in and continue to do so. The 12" MacBook is great for presentations and demos and is fine for most of what I do: command-line coding, MS Office/Google Apps, Skype, and Photoshop for RAW image processing. It is not a fast machine, but I'm not doing enough heavy lifting with it to find it too slow for my uses. I have Parallels installed and VMs for Win7 and Ubuntu, but haven't spent enough time in them to decide if performance is good/bad. My biggest gripe is that like an iPad (similar internals, after all), it occasionally has to refresh/reload the tabs I have open in Chrome/Firefox upon resume from sleep. I'm not entirely sure why this is happening given the machine has 8gb of RAM.

I find the keyboard perfectly acceptable. There is a lot less travel on the keys vs a traditional scissor switch keyboard, but I got used to it after ~1 week as you can see with my image (slower speed is the MacBook 12") Still slower vs the keyboard on my other MacBooks, but not by much. Can't comment re: the durability of the keyboard - mine has had no issues after 11 months or so.

For anyone looking to buy a new MacBook, despite the recent updates, there are lots of rumors of more major changes coming to this year's WWDC.

There's some info here:

http://theusbport.com/macbook-pro-20...wwdc-2016/8423

Hard to ever really know in advance, but if you can stick it out for a month, you might get a much newer unit.

+100

It's a notebook that's as big as an iPad but is a real computer with real operating systems, real multitasking, mouse compatibility, etc.

It's the best notebook I've ever owned, especially for travel where it's a real gamechanger. Even the TSA x-ray scanners see it as an iPad, you don't need to remove it from your bag.

BJ

I am curious how the dock worked out. My MBA is nearing replacement time. I mostly use it as a traveling computer but the lack of ports is an issue with the MacBook. I often find myself in hotel rooms with limited power outlets so being able to charge my phone(s) thru the laptop (or my 12 South BugPlug)

I got the Ankor that includes USB-C and 3amp USB charging and it seems to be great for charging both phone, tablet and keeping the rMB fed. I'll be taking it on my trips.

Waiting to see exactly what will be on board. Going off their latest offerings those of that need to be a 'power user' will need more adapters and more splitters. I am hoping they keep multiple lightning and USB ports.

Where as the current crop they feel the need to make it ever so slightly thinner and dump as many ports as possible.

I don't think it has arrived yet, but either way the MacBook has been abandoned in my kitchen for weeks.