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Touch Bar MacBook Pro Q&A
Update Published July 31, 2017
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What are all the differences between the 13-Inch "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models? What are the differences between these models and the "Early 2015" models replaced? Which is the better choice for me?
Please note that the 13-Inch "Early 2015" and "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models all have been discontinued. However, this Q&A is up-to-date and can be quite useful for anyone considering either of these lines on the used market.
There are three 13-Inch "Early 2015" Retina Display MacBook Pro models -- the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.7 13", "Core i5" 2.9 13", and "Core i7" 3.1 13" -- and five 13-Inch "Late 2016" Touch Bar MacBook Pro models -- the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.0 13", "Core i7" 2.4 13", "Core i5" 2.9 13" Touch Bar, "Core i5" 3.1 13" Touch Bar, and "Core i7" 3.3 13" Touch Bar.
Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (13" MacBook Pro Late 2016 with Touch Bar)
With even a quick glance at the "Early 2015" and "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models, it is obvious that there are significant feature and connectivity differences, but there are other differences that are less obvious and that are at least as important.
Consequently, a detailed comparison can be particularly helpful to decide which one is best for you.
External Differences
The "Early 2015" and "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models both use effectively "sealed" aluminum and glass cases that are uniformly thick, but the later models are even thinner, and more disposable, than their predecessors.
The "Early 2015" MacBook Pro models are 0.71 of an inch thick, 12.35 inches wide, 8.62 inches deep, and weigh a little under 3.5 pounds, whereas the "Late 2016" models are are 0.59 of an inch thick, 11.97 inches wide, and 8.36 inches deep and weigh a little over three pounds. Consequently, the "Late 2016" models are not only thinner and lighter, but also have a smaller overall footprint.
Both lines are available in a silver colored option, but the "Late 2016" models add a "Space Gray" color, a first for the MacBook Pro line, too.
The 13-Inch "Early 2015" and "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models both have LED-backlit 13.3" widescreen 2560x1600, 227 ppi "Retina" displays, but the "Late 2016" display has a wide color gamut (P3) and is an Apple reported "67% brighter" with a brightness rating of 500 nits.
Both lines have essentially the same 720p FaceTime HD webcams. Other exterior features have much less in common: Both lines have a full-size backlit keyboard, but the "Late 2016" MacBook Pro keyboard is much thinner with limited travel distance when you press on the keys; integrated stereo speakers, but the speakers in the "Late 2016" models are much louder; and "Force Touch" trackpads, but the trackpad in the "Late 2016" models is almost comically huge.
The higher-end 13-Inch "Late 2016" models -- the MacBook Pro "Core i5" 2.9 13" Touch Bar, "Core i5" 3.1 13" Touch Bar, and "Core i7" 3.3 13" Touch Bar -- also have three microphones and an integrated "Touch Bar" that replaces the traditional function keys (and the escape key) with a touch-sensitive control that adapts for different applications and provides Touch ID login and Apple Pay support. The "Early 2015" and non-Touch Bar equipped "Late 2016" models have dual microphones and traditional function keys.
Connectivity Differences
Connectivity is a huge point of differentiation between the "Early 2015" and "Late 2016" MacBook Pro lines. In fact, they have nothing in common except for support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
The "Early 2015" MacBook Pro models have two USB 3.0 ports, two "Thunderbolt 2" ports, an HDMI port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack that supports digital/audio line out, an SDXC card slot, Bluetooth 4.0, and a "MagSafe 2" power connector port.
The "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models, by contrast, have either two or four USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports -- two on the entry-level models with traditional function keys and four on the models with a Touch Bar, although note that for models equipped with four ports, the two ports on the right side of the notebook operate at reduced speed -- as well as a traditional analog only 3.5 mm headphone jack and Bluetooth 4.2. Power is provided via your choice of any one of the USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports, which lack a "MagSafe" safety feature, although a third-party option is available at extra cost.
Identification Differences
It is possible to differentiate just between the "Early 2015" and "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models themselves by Model Number. The "Early 2015" models are A1502 whereas the "Late 2016" models are A1708 and A1706, respectively, for the entry-level 13-Inch "non-Touch Bar" and "Touch Bar" versions.
However, as the A1502 Model Number also is shared by earlier notebooks and the A1708 and A1706 Model Numbers are shared by subsequent ones, Model Identifiers, in software, and EMC Numbers, externally, are better for unique identification.
Just as the site has done for more than two decades, EveryMac.com has diligently hand documented these details from the hardware itself for your convenience:
MacBook Pro |
Model ID |
EMC |
13-Inch (Early 2015) |
||
13-Inch (Late 2016) |
||
13-Inch (Late 2016, Touch Bar) |
Additionally, EveryMac.com's Ultimate Mac Lookup feature additionally can uniquely identify each of these MacBook Pro models by their serial numbers, which are listed in software as well as on the bottom of the system.
Internal Differences
Both lines are sealed and effectively intended to be disposable, but the "Early 2015" MacBook Pro models have removable "blade" SSDs, and therefore, more upgrade potential compared to their successors. They have little in common internally.
The "Late 2016" models use a newer architecture, albeit one that is not much faster, along with newer graphics processors that provide better external display support. There are significant differences between the entry-level models without a Touch Bar (A1708) and the higher-end models with a Touch Bar (A1706), though, perhaps most notably that the entry-level models, surprisingly, despite formally documented as using "onboard" storage, have a removable SSD module.
The major internal differences are easiest to understand as a chart:
MacBook Pro |
|
|
|
Processor Type |
Broadwell |
Skylake |
Skylake |
Graphics Processors |
Iris 6100 |
Iris 540 |
Iris 550 |
Ext. Display Support |
3840x2160 x2 |
4096x2304 x2 |
4096x2304 x2 |
Soldered RAM (LPDDR3) |
1866 MHz |
1866 MHz |
2133 MHz |
SSD Storage |
Soldered |
||
Battery Watt Hours |
74.9 W h |
54.5 W h |
49.2 W h |
Battery Life |
10-12 Hours |
10 Hours |
<10 Hours |
Battery Design |
Glued |
Glued |
Glued |
In a major disappointment to many, the "Late 2016" models have generally inferior battery life due to smaller batteries presumably in pursuit of thinness. All of these models, sadly, use a glued-in battery, as well. However, as first discovered by iFixit, at least the "Late 2016" line does have an easily removable trackpad, unlike the particularly stupid "Early 2015" design that discarded the trackpad along with the battery as part of the battery replacement process.
Comparison Chart
The major differences between the 13-Inch "Early 2015" and "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models are summarized below. Please refer to the specs page for the model of interest for complete details:
 13" Early 2015 Retina Disp. |
 13" Late 2016 No Touch Bar |
 13" Late 2016 Touch Bar |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture: | Broadwell | Skylake | Skylake |
| Processors: | I5-5257U I5-5287U I7-5557U |
I5-6360U I7-6660U |
I5-6267U I5-6287U I7-6567U |
| Cores: | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Speed: | 2.7 GHz 2.9 GHz 3.1 GHz |
2.0 GHz 2.4 GHz |
2.9 GHz 3.1 GHz 3.3 GHz |
| Std. Storage: | 128, 256, 512 GB | 256 GB | 256 GB, 512 GB |
| Storage Upgrade: | Removable | Removable | Soldered |
| Std. RAM: | 8 GB | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Max RAM: | 16 GB† | 16 GB† | 16 GB† |
| RAM Type: | 1866 MHz LPDDR3 | 1866 MHz LPDDR3 | 2133 MHz LPDDR3 |
| Video Card(s): | Iris 6100 | Iris 540 | Iris 550 |
| Ext. Display: | 3840x2160 x2 | 4096x2304 x2 | 4096x2304 x2 |
| Battery Life: | 10-12 Hours | 10 Hours | >10 Hours |
| Battery Capacity: | 74.9 W h | 54.5 W h | 49.2 W h |
| Touch Bar: | No | No | Yes |
| Touch ID: | No | No | Yes |
| Thunderbolt: | 2 (2.0) | 2 (3.0) | 2, 2* (3.0) |
| USB 3.0: | 2 (3.0) | No | No |
| HDMI: | Yes (1) | No | No |
| Optical Audio: | Yes | No | No |
| SD Card: | SDXC | No | No |
| MagSafe: | Yes | No | No |
| Microphones: | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 802.11ac: | 867Mbps | 867Mbps | 1.3Gbps |
| Bluetooth: | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Height (In): | 0.71 | 0.59 | 0.59 |
| Width (In): | 12.35 | 11.97 | 11.97 |
| Depth (In): | 8.62 | 8.36 | 8.36 |
| Weight: | 3.48 lbs | 3.02 lbs | 3.02 lbs |
| Order No (US): | MF839LL/A MF840LL/A MF841LL/A |
MLL42LL/A |
MLH12LL/A |
| Model No: | A1502 | A1708 | A1706 |
| EMC No: | 2835 | 2978 | 3071 |
| Model ID: | MacBookPro12,1 | MacBookPro13,1 | MacBookPro13,2 |
| Orig. Price (US): | US$1299-US$1799 | US$1499, US$1799 | US$1799-US$2499 |
| Orig. Price (UK): | £999-£1399 |
£1449, £1719 |
£1749-£2219 |
| Orig. Price (CA): | C$1549-C$2199 | C$1899, C$2259 |
C$2299-C$2909 |
| Orig. Price (AU): | A$1799-A$2499 |
A$2199, A$2679 |
A$2699-A$3479 |
† All of these MacBook Pro models could be upgraded to 16 GB of RAM, but only at the time of initial purchase. RAM cannot be upgraded after purchase in any of these models.
* The "Late 2016" 13-Inch MacBook Pro models with a Touch Bar have four Thunderbolt 3 ports, but the two ports on the right side operate at a slower speed.
For introductory pricing in dozens of other countries, see the "Global Prices" on the specs page for each Mac as well as the "By Global Original Prices" section of EveryMac.com.
So, which is the better choice for me?
Just compared to one another, and not subsequent models, the "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models are very much a "forward looking" design compared to the "Early 2015" lineup. The 2016 models are better for those most focused on physical size, beauty, display and sound quality, large external display support, and long-term convenience rather than those more focused on performance, upgrades, or immediate connectivity. The "Late 2016" MacBook Pro models also effectively have the same performance and inferior battery life compared to the "Early 2015" line that they replaced.
In the long-term, USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 no doubt will be more convenient, but at the time these systems were first released, it was a bit of a pain to use a bunch of adapters to connect peripherals to the "Late 2016" MacBook Pro. The "Late 2016" models also initially cost more, appear to have a number of bugs [reports no longer online], and with the exception of the entry-level model, have soldered storage, which will seriously reduce the lifespan of the notebook.
Consequently, just compared to one another, most users would be best off purchasing an "Early 2015" MacBook Pro. They cost less, are well tested in the real-world, have more connectivity, upgradable storage, better battery life, and essentially the same performance.
In the US, site sponsor Adorama sells new MacBook Pro models with free shipping. Other World Computing sells used and refurb MacBook Pro models at bargain prices with free shipping, as well. On the other hand, if you need to sell a MacBook Pro, A+ BBB-rated Cash for Your Mac and GoRoostr will buy your older notebook with an instant quote and prompt payment.
In the UK, site sponsor Hoxton Macs sells used MacBook Pro models with a one-year warranty and free next day delivery throughout the UK. Delivery across Europe also is available starting at just £9.99 for two-day delivery to France and Germany.
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