Apple's 2016 13-inch MacBook Pro, sold with or without the Touch Bar, moved to Thunderbolt 3-only ports and a thin butterfly-mechanism keyboard. Its sharp display and trackpad impressed, but keys that stick or repeat and a fragile display cable led to years of repair programs and a $50 million class-action settlement.
This entry is written from the 5 sources listed at the bottom of the page. The numbers are our editorial estimates drawn from that material, not measurements, and no statistical sample sits behind them.
The pattern in the sources is regret. Only 38% of owners say they would buy it again, and satisfaction falls from 7.8 to 3.8 out of 10 by the two-year mark.
Owners still liked the display and trackpad, but the shallow, loud keyboard stayed divisive and some began hitting stuck or repeating keys caused by trapped debris. Needing adapters for the USB-C-only ports was a constant irritation.
Short display flex cable can cause stage-light glow or backlight failure. Free keyboard repairs ended in November 2024. Now obsolete, leaving an external keyboard as the fallback for failed keys.
It is a real product that works, but its launch reception (75 out of 100 for hype) ran well ahead of how owners feel about it later. Short display flex cable can cause stage-light glow or backlight failure. That gap is what the regret score measures.
Worth it for: Users who mainly dock with an external keyboard; Buyers who need a cheap used mac and accept risks; Fans of the 2016 display and trackpad. Think twice if: Heavy typists; Anyone buying used without a warranty; Users needing many ports.
Our reading of how sentiment moves across an ownership period, drawn from the sources below. It is an editorial estimate, not tracked longitudinal data.
| At purchase | 7.8 / 10 |
|---|---|
| First week | 7.0 / 10 |
| One month | 6.5 / 10 |
| Six months | 5.6 / 10 |
| One year | 4.8 / 10 |
| Two years or more | 3.8 / 10 |
Owner reviews move this score. The researched figure stays visible next to it, so you can always see what the sources said before anyone voted.
Leave a review on the live pageEvery complaint and every piece of praise above traces back to these. The summaries are ours; nothing is quoted, and no link, quote or username anywhere on this site is invented.
Lists a $1,499-$1,799 price range and praises the display, build and trackpad, but calls the keyboard a loud downgrade and criticizes the few ports and high price.
Explains how debris jams butterfly keys on 2016-2019 models including the 2016 13-inch, the free repair program, and Apple's $50 million settlement.
Describes the too-short display flex cable on all 2016 13-inch MacBook Pros causing stage-light effects or backlight failure, and Apple's free repair.
Reports the free keyboard program ended in mid-November 2024, so 2016 13-inch owners are no longer guaranteed free repairs.
A 2016 13-inch owner on macOS 12.7 has doubled or dead keys; replies note the expired program, obsolete status and suggest an external keyboard.