Tag: macbook pro

The MacBook Pro line has been in serious need of some love. They’ve been struggling to make a name for themselves in the increasingly-crowded mobile device space. Between the Surface line from Microsoft, smartphone competition and increasingly affordable Windows laptops, MacBook has been in trouble. Thankfully, the 2018 MacBook Pro is the update the line sorely needed.

2018 MacBook Pro: What’s New?

There are a few new things going on with this year’s MacBook. The first, and most notable, of course, is the updated keyboard. The previous butterfly keyboard, with its “chiclet” style, had few fans. It got stuck often, was noisy and generally hard to type on. This redesigned keyboard, by contrast, is quiet, responsive and much more durable. You’ll likely find it a market improvement over the previous keyboard.

The computer has received an under-the-hood overhaul, too. The 13-inch laptop comes with either an i5 or i7 processor, both of which are quad-core. The 15-inch option has either an i7 or i9 processor running the show, both with six cores. The 13-inch version has 2 TB of internal storage, while the 15-inch has 4 TB. That’s all pretty encouraging, to be sure!

The 15-inch sports impressive graphics thanks to the AMD Radeon Pro GPU, while the 13-inch has integrated Iris Plus 655 graphics. While the 13-inch will put out a decent image, those with serious design tasks on their plates should opt for the 15-inch.

A few other minor touches: the new laptops have the iPhone X’s True Tone technology. That means the screens will adapt to ambient light and match the lighting around you. The Touchbar (now standard on both 13- and 15-inch models) has True Tone as well. Neat!

Oh, and the laptops now support “Hey, Siri!” Alright, that’s pretty cool, if a bit frivolous.

Pricing and Release

The pricing on these laptops remains unchanged from last year, which is stellar. The 13-inch model is still $1,300 and the 15-inch runs $2,400. Now, those numbers aren’t low, but the MacBook Pro isn’t a budget machine. Both models are out now.

Today Apple has updated its 13-inch and 15-inch Touch Bar MacBook Pros today with Intel’s latest eighth-generation chips. In addition to the processor up grades they are also offering up to 32GB of RAM and 4TB of SSD storage. Boom, hair officially blown back. Wait, just how much are these gonna cost me? With the standard models of Apple’s laptops will cost about the same (starting at $1,799 for the 13-inch model or $2,399 for the 15-inch model). The updated MacBook Pro, brace your self, can set you back a massive soul crushing $6700 big ones.

Is it Worth it?

Considering the $7000 Mac Pro I purchased earlier this year with 2.7GHz 12-core processor, 64GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The new MacBooks only have half that power for the same price. Is it still a lot to pay for a computer? Most Definitely. But it’s worth remembering that the extra price is for optional hardware, so it’s ultimately up to you to decide whether or not to pay the cost. For comparison sake, the top  $2599 Alienware’s 15 inch laptop with 8th gen I9 and 16gb of RAM is a viable option at a fraction of the cost.

What Else is New for The 2018 Macbook Pro

Thanks to a T2 chip, which showed up previously in the iMac Pro, you can now summon Siri by simply shouting at your machine. Previous MacBook Pros required you to click a button, but now Siri is hands-free. The display isn’t getting any kind of resolution bump (or a touchscreen), but it does now have Apple’s alternating display temperature function, called True Tone, which means additional sensors have been built into the laptop. It has the same Touch Bar and Touch ID capabilities as previous models.

The Final Thought

Apple will sell Macbook Pros. The focus on the high end Macbook Pro are the design professionals and rich kids with their parents credit cards. Its nice to have those options and specs but no real commercial need for a few more years. Other wise very solid Macbook Updates and will keep them in the front of the best laptop line for a while.