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New 13" Macbook w/ Touchbar or Old 15" Macbook Retina for Designing?

over 6 years ago from Sandeep Sharma, Full-TIme User-Interface Designer

  • Anton StenAnton Sten, over 6 years ago

    I have the new 13" Macbook w TouchBar (2.9ghz i5 with 15gb RAM) and it works like a charm with both Sketch and Photoshop. I now have it hooked up to the LG 5k but previously I've been using it with a Thunderbolt Display, both work very well.

    If you're moving around much like me, I prefer the portability of the 13" over the added screen size.

    2 points
    • Jim SilvermanJim Silverman, over 6 years ago

      is the TouchBar useful for Sketch or Photoshop?

      2 points
      • Anton StenAnton Sten, over 6 years ago

        No, not really to be honest. I use the Touchbar for unlocking with TouchID (and accessing 1Password)... Oh and autofill in Safari form fields.

        0 points
        • Clay MacTavishClay MacTavish, over 6 years ago

          So it's fairly useful, the touch bar? It seems gimmicky and a waste of real estate.

          3 points
          • Anton StenAnton Sten, over 6 years ago

            Useful is a stretch in my experience but it has potential. I would wait a year before I would call it a failure.

            2 points
          • Nat BuckleyNat Buckley, over 6 years ago

            TBH all the function keys were a waste of real estate. I used them almost never, and when I did it was for all the extra gubbins they’ve added to them, like brightness controls etc.

            2 points
            • Clay MacTavishClay MacTavish, over 6 years ago

              See I disagree. I use the brightness, volume, and media keys all the time so I don't think it was wasted real estate.

              4 points
      • Lee Williams, over 6 years ago

        If you write any code the touchbar is an actual hinderance since you lose the escape button and fkeys.

        2 points
    • Sandeep SharmaSandeep Sharma, over 6 years ago

      Thanks for your reply! I would also like to know about 13" display. Apple says it is 67% brighter display compare to previous one. What's your thought?

      1 point
      • Paul HermannPaul Hermann, over 6 years ago

        Hey there, I got the 15" w/ TB and came from a 2012 13" non-Retina. The screen is really impressive in its color and also brightness yes. I don't use an external display anymore, as a main screen it's enough for me. Also the 15" is only marginally larger than the old 13" that I had before (and weighs less).

        1 point
      • Anton StenAnton Sten, over 6 years ago

        I came from a 15" Retina and I would definetly say this is brighter. The previous one I always had cranked up to 100% in brightness whereas the 13" is good at around 70-80%. (Same goes for LG 5k Display, I have it at 80% whereas the Thunderbolt was always at 100%).

        1 point