This morning, Apple CEO Tim Cook walked the stage for the Apple Special Event, dubbed “Hello Again”. While the keynote started with an introduction on a range of new Apple TV apps and features, including the upcoming TV app, the event was very much centered on the MacBook, with the extensively rumored new MacBook Pro, featuring a multi-touch TouchBar, among a number of innovations that, as we have predicted, are very derivative of the 12 inch MacBook.
Apple TV
The first part of the presentation hinged on Apple TV, and covered a few announcements including a port of Minecraft for iOS, and a new level of interactivity with Twitter and a variety of Apple TV apps.
The new TV app, which will be available in December, seems to be the embodiment of what Tim Cook hinted when he first mentioned that the future of TV is in apps, during the unveiling of the 4th generation Apple TV. The TV app works like a unified hub that allows to search shows and movies from all the apps available to Apple TV, whether apps are installed or not, and can open each app, or install a missing one, automatically, using the Siri remote. This concept ties in with Siri Live Tune-In, a feature that allows to watch live TV on Apple TV.
Finally: a MacBook Pro like you’ve never seen
At last, we learn that practically all rumors we heard were true. Not only we have a brand new, completely redesigned MacBook Pro, it also integrates the rumored multi-touch TouchBar, which completely replaces the traditional row of function keys.
This new MacBook marks the 25th anniversary of the first Apple laptop ever made: the Apple PowerBook, and Apple has decided to celebrate the occasion with three brand new MacBook Pro laptops, two featuring the TouchBar, and one with the traditional function keys, and slightly lower specs.
The new design features and all-metal body on all sides, similarly to the 12 inch MacBook, but as we have mentioned earlier, there is a lot more 12 inch MacBook Retina into the MacBook Pro than what meets the eye.
The 15 inch MacBook Pro is 15.5mm thin, and weighs 4lb, which is considerably lighter and thinner than the MacBook Air. This is only one hint that Apple is going to focus completely on its brand new generation of Macs, and no longer invest resources in redesigning, or rebooting the MacBook Air, as we have predicted since last year, when the 12 inch MacBook Retina was first announced.
The 13 inch version of the new MacBook Pro is even thinner, at 14.9 mm, it weighs in at 3lb, with the same features as the 15 inch version.
Needless to say. the entry level 13 inch version of the new MacBook Pro is the one featuring the traditional row of function keys.
The Force Touch Trackpad had been doubled in size across the three models, and the keyboard has been upgraded with an improved version of the 12 inch MacBook Retina keyboard with Butterfly mechanism.
Let’s talk about that TouchBar
For months, since KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo’s original note to investors, the TouchBar has been a recurrent topic, with an almost unanimous consensus towards it actually happening, yet with conflicting reports on whether it would happen now, or next year. Finally, we have it, in all its glory, and it is indeed, remarkably close to the concept renderings we have seen prior to today’s keynote event.
The TouchBar is a multi touch display replacing the traditional function keys, but it’s also a lot more than that. Consistent with earlier reports, the new MacBook Pro’s TouchBar adapts according to the currently open application. For instance, when browsing the web with Safari, the TouchBar can be used to access bookmarks and frequently visited websites, as well as social media apps.
Anything from creative applications, productivity suites, and multimedia apps can be used with the TouchBar, to perform quick actions, and activate features that are often buried into the user interface. Applications like Photoshop, for example, can use the TouchBar to control the size of a brush, scrub through edits history, and edit a composition in fullscreen mode.
Customizing the TouchBar is also possible and Apple has made it very easy, which comes down to simply clicking and dragging features for a control panel on the main display, to the bottom edge, in the same way as one would drag and pin an icon onto the Microsoft Windows 10 taskbar.
Touch-ID
The rumor of Apple introducing Touch-ID in Macs has been a urban legend up until this morning, when it was finally unveiled as integral part of the TouchBar, although in its own separate location on the far right end side. The Touch-ID can also be used to switch between Apple ID’s when multiple users share a MacBook, which is another feature rumored to be implemented in macOS Sierra.
The Touch-ID sensor built into the MacBook Pro TouchBar is powered by a new T1 chip, vaguely similar to the one embedded in the iPhone 7, but built specifically for the MacBook.
Specs
Starting from the top-of-the-line 15 inch MacBook Pro, this version is powered by a 2.7GHz Intel quad core i7, with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, and 8MB L3 cache. The next version down of the 15 inch MacBook Pro features a 2.6GHz quad core i7 with 6MB of L3 cache.
Storage and memory options start with a 256GB PCIe onboard SSD, configurable up to 2TB, and 16GB of LPDDR3 onboard RAM.
The rumors in regard to AMD Polaris powering the new MacBook Pro were also true. The new laptop’s native 2880 x 1800 x 220 ppi resolution display, is indeed powered by an AMD Radeon Pro 450 with 2GB of GDDR5 memory in the base configuration, and by a Radeon Pro 455 with 2GB of GDDR5 in the more expensive model.
Both low-end and high-end models feature a secondary Intel HD Graphics 530 GPU supportive of automatic graphics switching, when using applications that do not require a high-end GPU.
The 13 inch version of the new MacBook Pro, as mentioned earlier, comes in two models as well, starting with a 2GHz dual core Intel i5, with 8GB of onboard RAM, and a 256GB SSD (configurable to 1TB), featuring the traditional function keys, and a more powerful version featuring a 2.9GHz dual core Intel i5, with identical storage size, and same amount of RAM.
The most entry-level 13 inch model’s display comes with a native resolution of 2560 x 1600 x 227 ppi, and it’s powered by an Intel Iris Graphics 540. The more powerful version of the 13 inch MacBook Pro integrates an Intel Iris Graphics 550 GPU.
The more advanced version of the 13 inch MacBook Pro, as well as both 15 inch models, feature three microphones, and all models feature stereo speakers with high-dynamic range.
USB Type-C goes full mainstream
Another rumor concerning USB Type-C support in the new MacBook Pro, has been confirmed today, as all the new MacBook Pro laptops unveiled feature four Thunderbolt 3 ports, and no other port whatsoever. These ports can be used with a full range of adapters, for devices requiring USB 2.0, 3.0, DisplayPort, HDMI, but the biggest news is that the all new MacBooks no longer have, nor need, a MagSafe connector, as anyone of the four Thunderbolt 3 ports available can be used to charge these laptops.
Good news: the 3.5mm audio jack lives on
According to a recent survey, Apple has been contemplating the possibility of removing the audio jack from future MacBooks, just as it did with the iPhone 7. As it turned out today, the people hath spoken, and the audio jack lives on.
Battery
All new MacBook Pro models feature up to 10 hours of battery life, and this may be one of the features that was not borrowed from the 12 inch MacBook Retina, as this new design would not have been able to accommodate the terraced battery layout that exists in the 12 inch MacBook.
Pricing
Starting with the most entry-level option, the 13 inch MacBook Pro sans-TouchBar starts at $1499, while the TouchBar version is priced between $1799 and $1999, depending on specs.
The entry-level 15 inch version of the MacBook Pro starts at $2399, while the most powerful version powered by the 2.7GHz i7, starts at $2799.
All these will be available in 2-3 weeks, according to Tim Cook, but can be preordered now.
Conclusions
Towards the end of the keynote, Tim Cook has taken a fair amount of time comparing the new MacBook Pro to the MacBook Air, effectively casting a giant shadow on the aging laptop, with a not-so-subtle hint that the MacBook Air has reached the end of line.
It seems pretty obvious that Apple has finally come full-circle with the MacBook lineup, by officially confirming that the MacBook and the MacBook Pro will be the only two laptop categories that will be actively developed from this point forward, which spells good news for sales forecasts, as Apple has began to suffer from a similar slump experienced by other desktop and laptop PC makers.
As Tim Cook mentioned in the beginning of the keynote, it has been a very busy year for Apple, one in which the company has learned a lot from its own products, and consumer response, which has been very clear in regard to wanting new products and new features that go beyond what existing mobile devices like the iPad Pro and the iPhone can do. With these new MacBook Pro laptops, Apple seems to have reached a different level of understanding of consumers, both in regard to specs, and functionality.
Ready to shop?
If you are looking for the perfect MacBook, PortableOne has you covered with a great selection of Apple MacBooks, as well as the newly unveiled 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pro with TouchBar.