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2016 MacBook Pro: Model Cannot Sustain Performance

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While testing the 2016 MacBook Pro, a consistent pattern was noticed in that performance declines with each iteration of a test in Photoshop. For example, with 10 iterations of of the Photoshop sharpening test, the 2016 MacBook Pro declined in performance at later examples.

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No such pattern was seen on the iMac 5K or 2013 Mac Pro.

As well, there are strange delays at times with the 2016 MacBook Pro that MPG has never experienced with the 2013 MacBook Pro.

It seems fair to ask: has Apple degraded the 2016 MacBook Pro as a tool that can offer reliable performance? By making it more thin, its ability to shed heat is impaired.

Decline in performance with sustained usage

2016 MacBook Pro, 2.9 GHz

Below are times for 424 iterations of the Photoshop sharpening test with results for the 2013 MacBook Pro further on.

Observe that at first, the 2016 MBP runs the test in the 3.2 to 3.3 second range. But with later iterations, the time increases to an average of 4.0 seconds, which is a 23% degradation in performance.

Accordingly, all benchmarks with the 2016 MacBook Pro are dubious; the performance in sporadic use may be significantly faster and in sustained use, significantly slower. And with extended use, significantly slower. MPG used 10 iterations for Photoshop filter tests, which offers a more balanced look.

424 iterations of sharpening:

3.2, 3.2, 3.4, 3.2, 3.3, 3.3, 3.2, 3.3, 3.2, 3.6, 4.0, 4.3, 3.9, 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 4.4, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.3, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.1, 4.1, 4.1, 4.2, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 3.9, 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 4.0, 4.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.2, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.3, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.3, 4.0, 4.1, 4.3, 4.2, 4.0, 4.3, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 4.2, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.2, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 3.9, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.2, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 6.1, 4.1, 4.2, 4.1, 4.5, 4.2, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.1, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.2, 4.2, 3.9, 4.1, 4.0, 4.0, 4.0, 4.1, 4.0, 4.2, 4.0, 4.0, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 3.9, 4.1, = 4.0

2016 MacBook Pro 13" dual core, 2.4GHz

The dual-core 2.4 GHz 2016 MacBook Pro 13" model oscillates around 7.0 seconds, substantially slower than the 15" model, but it does not degrade in performance at all.

313 iterations of sharpening: 7.2, 6.7, 6.6, 6.8, 7.0, 7.0, 7.1, 6.9, 6.9, 7.1, 6.7, 7.0, 7.0, 7.1, 7.1, 7.2, 6.9, 7.3, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.0, 6.7, 6.8, 7.2, 7.3, 7.2, 7.2, 7.4, 6.9, 7.1, 6.9, 7.2, 7.0, 7.1, 6.9, 7.3, 7.1, 7.4, 7.1, 7.4, 7.2, 7.3, 7.1, 6.8, 7.2, 7.0, 6.9, 6.7, 7.1, 7.4, 6.9, 7.0, 7.0, 7.0, 6.9, 6.9, 6.9, 6.9, 7.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.1, 6.9, 7.0, 7.2, 6.8, 7.1, 7.0, 7.0, 7.0, 6.9, 7.0, 7.3, 7.0, 6.9, 7.3, 6.8, 7.3, 7.1, 6.7, 7.2, 6.7, 6.8, 7.0, 7.3, 7.1, 7.1, 7.2, 6.7, 7.0, 7.0, 6.9, 6.8, 6.8, 7.6, 7.0, 7.2, 7.1, 6.8, 6.9, 7.1, 6.8, 7.1, 6.8, 7.1, 7.3, 7.2, 7.1, 6.9, 6.8, 6.9, 7.4, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.2, 7.0, 7.1, 7.0, 7.1, 7.0, 6.9, 7.1, 7.0, 6.9, 7.1, 7.4, 7.2, 7.0, 7.0, 7.0, 7.1, 7.3, 6.8, 7.2, 7.1, 7.2, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.0, 7.0, 7.0, 6.8, 7.0, 6.9, 7.3, 7.0, 6.8, 7.5, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 6.9, 7.1, 7.1, 7.1, 7.0, 7.2, 7.1, 6.9, 7.1, 7.0, 7.4, 7.1, 6.9, 7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 6.8, 6.9, 6.8, 6.7, 6.9, 7.0, 7.2, 6.6, 6.6, 7.1, 6.7, 6.9, 7.0, 6.8, 6.9, 6.9, 7.1, 6.8, 6.7, 6.9, 6.7, 6.9, 7.0, 7.1, 6.7, 6.7, 6.9, 6.8, 6.7, 6.7, 7.1, 7.0, 6.8, 6.7, 7.3, 6.9, 6.7, 7.5, 7.2, 7.1, 6.8, 6.7, 6.8, 6.8, 6.8, 7.3, 6.7, 6.6, 6.9, 6.8, 7.0, 7.1, 6.9, 7.0, 6.7, 6.8, 7.1, 6.8, 6.7, 6.9, 7.1, 7.0, 7.0, 6.7, 6.9, 6.8, 6.9, 6.9, 6.9, 6.8, 7.1, 6.8, 6.7, 7.0, 6.9, 7.1, 7.1, 6.9, 7.0, 6.8, 6.9, 6.8, 6.8, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.7, 7.1, 7.0, 6.8, 6.9, 6.7, 7.2, 7.1, 6.7, 7.0, 6.7, 6.8, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.9, 7.1, 7.1, 6.8, 6.7, 6.9, 6.9, 6.7, 7.1, 6.7, 7.0, 6.9, 6.7, 6.8, 6.8, 7.1, 6.9, 7.0, 6.7, 7.0, 7.2, 7.0, 6.9, 6.7, 6.7, 6.7, 6.9, 6.9, 7.0, 6.9, 6.7, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 7.0, 6.7, 7.3, 6.9, 6.9, = 6.98

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2015 MacBook Pro, 2.8 GHz

The 2015 MacBook Pro is prone to obnoxious fan noise, and it seems to have trouble keeping cool, more so than the 2013 or 2016 models. However, its performance decline is at most 14%, see how on the 10th iteration it hits the point of slowdown.

300 iterations of sharpening: 4.06, 4.13, 4.24, 4.26, 4.14, 4.29, 4.14, 4.13, 4.19, 4.5, 4.75, 4.6, 4.58, 4.57, 4.67, 4.62, 4.59, 4.61, 4.56, 4.59, 4.61, 4.59, 4.59, 4.57, 4.65, 4.61, 4.63, 4.58, 4.65, 4.61, 4.58, 4.64, 4.61, 4.61, 4.63, 4.6, 4.62, 4.62, 4.53, 4.63, 4.58, 4.63, 4.58, 4.69, 4.69, 4.56, 4.59, 4.71, 4.65, 4.73, 4.83, 4.7, 4.78, 4.81, 4.8, 4.69, 4.68, 4.59, 4.71, 5.69, 4.86, 4.79, 4.7, 4.75, 4.92, 4.84, 4.82, 4.84, 4.82, 4.65, 4.71, 4.57, 4.59, 4.61, 4.75, 4.58, 4.6, 4.67, 4.68, 4.66, 4.67, 4.62, 4.73, 4.51, 4.65, 4.65, 4.61, 4.61, 4.78, 4.59, 4.62, 4.64, 4.67, 4.61, 4.65, 4.61, 4.58, 4.7, 4.62, 4.7, 4.66, 4.56, 4.64, 4.59, 4.66, 4.72, 4.66, 4.75, 4.58, 4.64, 4.61, 4.62, 4.48, 4.64, 4.6, 4.69, 4.58, 4.58, 4.58, 4.59, 4.63, 4.6, 4.61, 4.63, 4.6, 4.85, 4.79, 4.56, 4.72, 4.73, 4.76, 4.64, 4.69, 4.59, 4.56, 4.7, 4.5, 4.58, 4.67, 4.6, 4.58, 4.57, 4.58, 4.77, 4.61, 4.65, 4.55, 4.57, 4.57, 4.64, 4.59, 4.65, 4.68, 4.67, 4.67, 4.56, 4.64, 4.7, 4.64, 4.57, 4.57, 4.58, 4.72, 4.59, 4.53, 4.58, 4.57, 4.57, 4.53, 4.59, 4.56, 4.57, 4.59, 4.62, 4.56, 4.58, 4.55, 4.56, 4.56, 4.57, 4.54, 4.63, 4.55, 4.57, 4.56, 4.93, 4.61, 4.65, 4.61, 4.73, 4.67, 4.61, 4.7, 4.71, 4.64, 4.61, 4.58, 4.75, 4.63, 4.6, 4.61, 4.62, 4.62, 4.63, 4.82, 4.69, 4.58, 4.7, 4.62, 4.59, 4.62, 4.73, 4.7, 4.61, 4.62, 4.67, 4.77, 4.7, 4.62, 4.95, 4.58, 4.73, 4.6, 4.59, 4.7, 4.67, 4.6, 4.64, 4.6, 4.6, 4.73, 4.64, 4.6, 4.63, 4.73, 4.65, 4.64, 4.72, 4.62, 4.61, 4.74, 4.62, 4.63, 4.62, 4.68, 4.54, 4.69, 4.62, 4.68, 4.78, 4.61, 4.56, 4.66, 4.66, 4.61, 4.76, 4.73, 4.69, 4.61, 4.78, 4.63, 4.62, 4.6, 4.64, 4.66, 4.59, 4.59, 4.78, 4.63, 4.64, 4.59, 4.64, 4.66, 4.67, 4.61, 4.62, 4.62, 4.67, 4.74, 4.62, 4.82, 4.63, 4.61, 4.76, 4.61, 4.75, 4.7, 4.64, 4.69, 4.63, 4.63, 4.57, 4.64, 4.72, 4.59, 4.71, 4.74, 4.65, 4.6, 4.61 = 4.63.

2013 MacBook Pro, 2.6 GHz

The 2013 MacBook Pro declines in performance by 15%, which is less of a decline than the 23% of the 2016 MacBook Pro. The 2013 MBP is 3 years old and so probably has a lot of dust on its internal components, so its performance might have been better when new.

This differential helps explain why the 2016 MacBook Pro is slower than the 2013 MacBook Pro on the Lightroom import test.

100 iterations of sharpening: 7.06, 7.21, 7.06, 7.09, 7.08, 7.79, 7.61, 7.98, 7.41, 8.36, 8.59, 9.91, 8.69, 8.66, 8.49, 8.47, 8.56, 8.53, 8.81, 8.92, 8.64, 8.72, 8.69, 9.66, 9.16, 8.96, 9.31, 9.07, 8.64, 8.57, 8.7, 8.49, 8.27, 8.19, 8.39, 7.93, 8.13, 8.23, 8.15, 8.22, 8.15, 8.17, 8.11, 8.23, 8.3, 8.26, 8.43, 8.11, 8.15, 8.31, 8.3, 8.21, 8.14, 8.24, 8.31, 8.24, 8.2, 8.17, 8.62, 8.16, 8.32, 8.15, 8.21, 8.27, 8.26, 8.18, 8.17, 8.21, 8.3, 8.0, 8.1, 8.16, 8.08, 8.14, 8.36, 8.15, 8.11, 8.23, 8.28, 8.11, 8.25, 8.32, 8.32, 8.17, 8.35, 8.26, 8.14, 8.11, 8.34, 8.14, 8.15, 8.45, 8.09, 8.15, 8.16, 8.17, 8.14, 8.15, 8.17, 8.13 = 8.27

Reader comments

Andrew A writes:

This is a sad sad day of recognition for me. I really wanted to keep on loving Apple, have their phones (7 and 7+) laptops (2011 15” MacBook Pro and a 13” 2015 MacBook Pro), 2013 Mac Pro, their Airport Express (use it with my DAC and HiFi) and Airport Extreme router, and 24” Cinema display plus several iPods. Most of all I used to really loved their software. All since 2003 when I first starting buying their equipment and stock I looked forward to their next innovation and improvement eagerly. Not anymore. Seems like everything need several updates to repair problems newly created. Now, no more display or router, high priced crappy performance for new machines, everything is soldered and or requires a series of connectors and a dock to use all for the sake of small and light. What happened to useful and reliable??? They may have had a vision of where we should be going (at least with Jobs), but I think their vision has turned to greed and is very much shortsighted (cannot see the tree before the forest with each amputation of their product lines). My 2013 machines may be the last Mac products I ever buy at least for quite a while. Hopefully they will last 10 years (I have a 2006 iMac that still works well; gave it to my daughter with an upgraded SSD). Most of the software I use for my visual and musical entertainment and work should be good enough for my needs for the next 5 years maybe more. Even the iPhone will soon be no different than the rest. Eventually the only thing they will be selling is the phone at over $1,000 (my current 7+ cost over $800 with the 128GB up from $600+ for the iPhone 6+) and service subscriptions for things that used to be free (TV and music); don’t forget the fee for storing your stuff in the Cloud. Microsoft and Adobe are not too far behind and getting all of us hook on a perpetual fee service. Perhaps that is where the world is going, everything is rented or leased with a few owning all the capital assets. Hopefully no Soylent Green in my lifetime, please…

MPG: Apple Core Rot moves to hardware? But in fact all of the prior laptops also slow down, so the 2016 15" MacBook Pro is just continuing that behavior, albeit in a more pronounced way.

Apple should be very glad that Macs are only 5% of their business because I receive emails from former Apple fans who still want to love Apple products, but are tired of being kicked in the groin.

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Test machine notes

All systems are/were the fastest available in their category excepting the 13" 2016 MBP.