Hi everyone,
I have two questions...
First of all, what is the equivalent of 150 nits of brightness on the macOS brightness scale (the 16 levels of brightness)?

And secondly, does anyone know how the battery is tested in this review, or how does notebookcheck.net does its battery tests in general? Is there an application or a script that I can use for the WiFi battery test to simulate the conditions mentioned in this review? I'm asking because I think my MBP 2017 w/o Touch Bar's battery is performing worse than stated in this review.

here is my detailed review over several weeks, as well as evidence of

overheating problems - with videos, screenshots of temp/fans and failing glue due to heat

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2017-macbook-pro-13-non-tb-review.2056971/

also is my terrible experience of Apple support, as a warning to anyone else

In summary:

• - this laptop can't play fullscreen Netflix, youtube or BBC iplayer on a 4k display without major overheating and extremely fans at maximum.
• - the overheating in clamshell mode will cause components to fail, for example the adhesive around the display failed on mine
• - yes - the keyboard is a disaster, not just ergonomically, but also for reliability, google it and you fill find dust destroying the entire keyboard - an expensive post-warranty repair

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I wish I had kept my 2015 MBP 13 - it was perfect except it couldn't drive a 4k display smoothly, but it didn't overheat and fail.

I just returned a 2017 MBP 13 w touchbar it was a refurb from Apple, looked brand new but I could never get it to last more than 2 1/2 to almost 3 hours from a full charge doing basic webstuff (youtube, facebook, gmail, general browsing).  It disappointed me so badly I returned it. 

I am considering the 2017 13 inch w/o touchbar, not sure if it is accurate but the battery shows as larger in the non touch model, and some further reading stated the speakers on non touch come out the top thru the grills vs the one with touch having speakers shoot thru the side vents, the non touchbar model doesn't have side vents but vents in the screen/hindge area can anyone confirm if this info is correct?

I think I will give it a go and try the non touch model 13, I already miss the macbook but with such horrible battery life I wonder if someone had done something to it who knows, even with screen brightness at 50% I couldn't get 3 hours out of a full charge watching youtube sadly.

If I go with the 13 non touch model I will buy a new one, i think my refurb was someone's problem/returned.

Bill

Thanks a lot for your extensive review !

yes, we measure contrast at the highest brightness setting

Is the contrast ratio for all laptops measured at the highest brightness?

Quote from: Andreas Osthoff on September 26, 2017, 09:42:04
We did not detect PWM for the non-tauchbar model (was also measured with the more sensitive device). I will add the screenshots later today.

THANKS!!!

I hope I didn't come off too arrogant in the previous post as I'm very appreciative of the amount of detail in your reviews...reminds me of old Anandtech circa 2013 before Anand left.

Based on your flicker free results, I went w/ the 13" without touchbar and really, really like it.

Also, as I think...I mentioned before, the first MBP 13" 2017 wo/ TB warmed up to almost hot and the fan went nuts to the point I thought I had a Panasonic 13K RPM shaver in the room! I returned it because I also had some issues w/ the chassis being uneven. The replacement has a backlight that's nearly perfect, stays quiet, and rarely warms up.

Perhaps, it's a lottery thing like a lot of electronics? I also don't have the problem with the imprints from the keyboard on the screen or the "sticking" keys when it warms up.

We did not detect PWM for the non-tauchbar model (was also measured with the more sensitive device). I will add the screenshots later today.

QuoteThe Kaby Lake processor from the entry-level model has the designation Core i5-7360U and the base frequency for the two cores is 2.3 GHz, but the maximum Turbo Boost is 3.6 GHz for both cores. However, this speed can only be maintained for a couple of seconds.

So I just ran some updates for safari, etc, another program install, and had a 4000+ Kbps chrome video being cast @ 3+ Ghz for at least a minute. Notebook's on my lap, got a touch warm...not hot at all and absolutely zero noise.

Here's the screenshot I snagged...after the installs whilst just casting and browsing.
(https://i.imgur.com/aA4ZHic.png)

Quote from: Oleg on September 25, 2017, 14:35:12
Are there any chances,  that PWM does not detected on non touch bar model, because of different measuring devices, used for tests?
For touch bar model  "We have used a more sensitive measuring device since the beginning of this year, which can detect higher frequencies".
Is it possible to update the test of non touch bar model, using new measuring device?

The non touchbar review is dated two weeks after the touchbar, so I would think the more sensitive testing device would have been used.

Unfortunately, Notebookcheck doesn't seem to be updating the review or replying here, so we may never know.

Are there any chances,  that PWM does not detected on non touch bar model, because of different measuring devices, used for tests?
For touch bar model  "We have used a more sensitive measuring device since the beginning of this year, which can detect higher frequencies".
Is it possible to update the test of non touch bar model, using new measuring device?

Quote from: Lornie on September 13, 2017, 22:53:17
Bottom line, would you buy the non touch bar model if you had a choice between the two two MBP 2017 13?

I did for one simple reason. No PWM detected on the non touch bar model. Although, I do very much appreciate having actual buttons for managing display and keyboard brightness and volume levels. AND, I scored the base model for $1100 out the door. :D

I've been extremely happy with it. I looked @ the Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360, and Microsoft Surface Laptop...none of them could compare to the overall package of the 13" base model MBP IMO.

Bottom line, would you buy the non touch bar model if you had a choice between the two two MBP 2017 13?

Thanks for the outstanding work. 

I think they are never going to finnish this review.

I was waiting several weeks back in july for this review to be ended, because I wanted to purchase one.

I finally did it -thought about completing the review by myself and sending it to notebookcheck-, and the truth is that the fan only kicks in when the CPU demand is high, with benchmarking software for instance. But the truth is, when the fan reaches the 4000rpm the high frequency pitch starts to be pretty noticeable (at least for young people). At 6000 rpms it is indeed annoying. Maximum fan rotation in this model is on 7000rpms. But as I said, with the heat of august and light tasks (such as media player, browsing or PDF reading) the fan was most of the time at 0 rpms. This is, fanless.

Also the batterylife is awesome, better than the 2015 macbook pro.

Hopefully this mini-review will complete the unfinished work and add another point of view. See ya.

When will you finish this review?