David Pierce, writing for Wired:
It’s a beautifully designed two-pound, half-inch-thick slab of aluminum. The 12-inch, 2304×1440 screen feels small, even compared to a 13-inch laptop, but the panel is spectacular. The trackpad is of course wonderful, even if Force Touch is pointless and you’ll instantly forget it even exists. The keyboard … well, the keyboard takes some getting used to. It’s shallow and light, almost like typing on a touchscreen. But you get used to it, and it’s a usable full-sized keyboard. The speaker gets impressively loud, though it does rumble through the chassis. The low-res webcam sucks. Generally, the MacBook is a laptop. It’s not a crazy convertible hybrid fold-y thing. It’s a laptop.
And:
A few things have changed, though. You’ll only see one: the new don’t-call-it-pink rose gold color. Personally, I love it. The smooth, matte finish is clean, quiet, and somehow calming. You might hate it. (Lots of people at WIRED hate it.) No worries. You can also get it in gold, silver, and space gray. Pick your favorite.
And:
My typical workflow is masochistic: 30 tabs open in two windows, one of which I forget about. I also keep Slack, and TweetDeck, and Evernote, and maybe Word running. Last year’s MacBook faltered under the load, but this one does just fine. It’s still too slow to play anything more intensive than Badland (and it could barely handle Badland) or open Photoshop in a reasonable amount of time. But that doesn’t matter to me, and it doesn’t matter to most people.
The review makes me want one, but it also makes me long for an update to the retina MacBook Pro.
I like the part about having 30 tabs open in two windows. Guilty.
It’s still too slow to play anything more intensive than Badland (and it
could barely handle Badland) or open Photoshop in a reasonable amount
of time. But that doesn’t matter to me, and it doesn’t matter to most
people.
Yup.
Those people, they’re in the market for a MBP, not a MacBook.
(Reminds me yet again that I want both models to have a touchscreen.
Because I wouldn’t have just bought a Surface 4 Pro if Apple could get with the 21st century and put a damn touchscreen on the damn laptops; I kept wanting to touch the screen of my 2G MBA to dismiss dialogs, and using Windows with a touchscreen has made me certain that’s an actively good design decision.
Combine that with the active digitizer pen and Apple didn’t get $1,800 and Microsoft did.
Considering that my preferred “general use” platform is OSX that’s saying a lot for the hardware – and how improved Win10 is.)
“even if Force Touch is pointless and you’ll instantly forget it even exists”
If by “forget it even exists” he means you’ll forget you’re using it because it becomes second nature, sure.
Maybe he’s just never heard of BetterTouchTool. It’s like macros for your touchpad.
Yeah, hoping for a redesigned MBP reveal this year. Not just a proc bump. Show us where pro laptops are going Apple. Make something HP and Lenovo and Dell laugh at…then cry at…then copy.
I’ve got the first of the Mk 2 MacBook Airs (from 2010), with the core2 duo. For about two years now I’ve been holding out for either a MacBook Air with retina, or a MacBook Pro that’s as light as the air. Either would do. Come on Apple, you know you want to!
This is a new machine year for me, and while I’m tempted to buy one of these things I’m waiting to see if WWDC brings a super-thin MBP with an edge-to-edge 14 or 15″ retina display.
The industry is aching for a new design to follow! Floundering around with all sorts of “MBP” convertibles and crap. Soon guys, Jony is going to show you the “obvious” design that you’ll pretend is yours eventually…..
If something bad happened to my trusty air 2013~14 I would love the same computer but with Retina too. Though the 13 and 15″ pro aren’t that much larger, price is a problem as well.. If I’m too poor I might grab an up specced mini and screen, then swap with wifey MBP 15 as that’s her studio computer and a mini would probably make more sense hmm swap time
the touch screen is a step back for a traditional computer… oye. At some point, Windows may improve.
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I don’t about anyone else but I would like USB 3.1 and ThunderBolt 3 in the new Mac Book Pro!
Definitely. And a new Thunderbolt 5K retina display that provides power over USB.
You’ll want one until you have to do some heavy lifting.
I am waiting for new Macbook Pros.
Better be good Apple. Competition is nipping at your heels.
The so-called “competition” still runs WIndows.
“Those people, they’re in the market for a MBP, not a MacBook.”
Not really and that’s the issue with the Macbook. My 2013 Air does all of that fine. Yes, for high end stuff, the Pro is where it’s at but the Macbook is still a big step back in processing power and really doesn’t justify it. It saves 8oz over my Air. It has a better screen and slightly better battery. It loses out or washes on everything else (i.e. it has a Force Touch trackpad which is a personal preference, etc).
I still think the Macbook is too much like the original Air – a huge compromise that isn’t worth it for most people. In 2-3 more years? It will be fine.