The new Macbook Pros from Apple that were announced last week are the first major design update to the series in four years.
Some rumours — such as the Touch Bar on top of the keyboard — were true, while others — such as the switch to an entire OLED screen — did not come to pass. People have had mixed response to the unveiling, with some praising the design choices while others not quite excited about the prospect of having to need adaptors and dongles to make virtually all of their legacy accessories work with the machines.
As before, the Pro comes in two sizes: a 13.3 inch model and a 15.6 inch model. The bigger model uses the faster four-core Intel Core i7 processor. Even though Intel has announced its seventh generation of the Core processors, the powerful quad-core variants — such as the one used in 15.6 inch Macbook Pro — will not be available until 2017. The bigger Macbook Pro thus understandably comes with a sixth generation Core i7 processor. Curiously though, the smaller Pros that use dual-core variants of Intel notebook processors also come with sixth generation chipsets. Perhaps the need for consistency was more important to Apple than the speed bump that the seventh generation of Core processors bring over the sixth generation. The outgoing models ran on the fifth generation Core processors.
Moving on, there is much to like and admire in the new Macbook Pros. Both models are thinner and compacter than their previous versions. The 13.3 inch model is 17% thinner and has about 23% less volume than the outgoing Macbook Pro. The larger 15.6 inch model is 14% thinner, with about 20% less volume than the previous model. Despite their smaller footprints, both models offer the same claimed battery lives as their predecessors — 10 hours. Apple generally does very well the battery life on its laptops, and if initial reviews are anything to go by, the latest Pros are no exception. Laptop Mag, in its review of the 13.3 inch Macbook Pro, found that it lasted more than 12 hours in its web surfing test, even slightly besting the older model.
Apple’s trackpads traditionally perform very well, and the company is promising to take its trackpads to the next level with the move to Force Touch. For the uninitiated, Apple introduced the Force Touch technology in its iPhone 7, doing away with a physical home button. The technology instead relies on a haptic feedback engine to simulate a button press. It is impressive in that you are convinced into thinking that you are actually pressing a physical button. The Force Touch trackpad in the new Macbooks promises to deliver a more consistent button-press feel to the user; and with the much bigger trackpads on the new models, this might not have been possible with the older design. The trackpads are significantly bigger than before: the smaller Pro comes with a trackpad that is 46% larger than before, while the bigger Pro comes with a trackpad that is twice as large.
Two big talking points in this edition of the Pro are the Touch Bar and Touch ID. The Touch Bar is simply an OLED touch screen that replaces the function keys on the outgoing model. But this new implementation allows the laptop to display different keys and options based on the software that you are currently running. So you will be presented different options when you are in, say, a browser and a word processor. Third party software companies though will have to implement their own Touch Bar functionality, which may take some time. The Touch ID works as it does on the iPhone. You can simply place your finger on it to unlock the laptop, which can be much more convenient than physically typing a password.
Making the laptops so thin also required a switch to a different keyboard design. Apple says the Macbook Pros come with the second generation of the butterfly keyboard that the company debuted on its Macbook lines in 2015. People have had mixed response to the original butterfly keyboard, but with an improved feel, it should be a matter of days before you are used to the new keyboard feel. Some reviewers have even come to prefer the typing experience on this new keyboard.
But there are compromises that have been made, compromises that may not have been essential. Connectivity is where the Pros get the most controversial, abandoning all legacy ports in favour of the new USB-C type thunderbolt ports. The entry level 13.3 inch Macbook Pro, which the company intends as a replacement for the now-outdated Macbook Air, will come with just two such ports (this model also skips on the Touch Bar and Touch ID). Other models in the lineup come up with four ports, but all are of the USB-C type. This means that you will have to use adaptors for just about every legacy connection. You don’t get anything else — no card reader, no HDMI port, no USB 3.0 port, which means you will have to rely on adapters for these. Apple is also not including any adapters in the box, and buying each adapter from Apple can cost a pretty penny — you may be looking at up to 200 dollars’ worth of adapters to make the new Macbook Pro work with your peripherals. Thankfully the laptop does come with a 3.5mm audio jack.
The new models also bring with them a bump in the list pricing over the older models. The lineup starts with the basic 13.3 inch Macbook Pro, which the company intends as a replacement for the Air. To get the Touch Bar and Touch ID, you will have to shell out another 300 dollars, which will also net you the two additional USB C type ports. Prices for the 15.6 inch Macbook Pro start at USD1,999 with the Intel Iris graphics. For upgraded graphics, the model with Radeon Pro 450 will set you back USD2,399 starting.