If you have been holding out for the top-shelf MBP, the 15 and 13 inch Touch Bar-endowed MacBook Pro is officially shipping to retailers this week.
The 13 inch and 15 inch top-of-the-line MBP’s have been taking a while to reach consumers, whom, until recently could only order the non-Touch Bar version of the 13 inch MacBook Pro.
While a very respectable machine, the entry level 13 inch MBP is technically a “pro-sumer” version of the 12 inch MacBook Retina, and lower specs compared to the more advanced models with OLED Touch Bar.
Speaking of which, the Touch Bar has been the object praise and criticism. On one hand, critics have been taking aim at the fact that Apple chose to replace the physical function key row, including the Esc key. On the other hand, supporters of the new design seem to be very happy with the Touch Bar, as it opens new possibilities in regard to desktop apps, and new ways to use a MacBook.
Another wildly unexpected surprise is has been the integration of Touch-ID in the Touch Bar, something that many Mac users have been hoping for, as the implementation of a fingerprint reader closes the loop among Apple devices, may they run macOS or iOS.
The 15 inch version of the MacBook Pro includes 4 USB Type-C Thunderbolt 3 ports, that enable the new MBP to drive as many as four external 4K displays, or two 5K displays, simultaneously, at 60Hz refresh rate. By comparison, the 13 inch version has only two ports, and it’s capable of driving one external 5K display, or two 4K displays at 60Hz.
How soon will you get your MacBook Pro is hard to say, and it depends heavily on how steady will the supply be to start.
The choice of replacing all traditional ports with four USB Type-C has drawn some negative responses that have lead the company to lower the prices of USB Type-C adapters and dongles, which means a number of great deals on accessories, at least for the time being.
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.