The Latest Products
MacBook Pro 13” and 15”
(Late 2016) Preview.
In late 2016 Apple announced a new range of laptops which, although not too dissimilar in looks, were a radical departure from anything they currently had on the market.
The new MacBook Pros are on the verge of replacing many people’s current laptop, regardless of the name that Apple used to denote the different ranges; these new laptops are light enough to compete with the MacBook Airs, more powerful that the previous range of MacBook Pros and svelte enough that even someone looking for the smaller than average MacBook may want to take note.
Seeing is believing.
One of the issues that many people had with the older MacBook Air, and one of the key reasons that it looks slightly longer in the tooth, was it’s failure to adopt the Retina display technology that had been around since 2012. A Retina display, for those not in the know, is a clear, crisp display that boasts better colour renditions, lower glare and a higher pixel per inch density so that the human eye cannot discern the individual dots on the screen. Over time higher definition displays have been noted in select tests to help reduce eyestrain and fatigue through their use of higher definition objects and print that make items more comfortable and easier to focus on.
Retina displays are now fitted as standard on the new MacBooks and the 2016 MacBook Pros with the latter offering a display that is up to 67% brighter so that you can focus easily regardless of the lighting situation.
Valuable input.
The first thing that you may notice about the new MacBook Pros might not be the something that you’ve thought needed improving previously – the new Force Touch trackpad is up to two times larger than previous models and gives you a more significant canvas for finger gestures and navigation. With Force Touch you can do more, you can click as usual but, with a harder press, you can bring up alternate options, look up a word or adjust the scrubbing speed of videos.
On all bar the entry level MacBook Pro there is a new Touch Bar that takes the place of the function keys on the keyboard. This is a innovative way to get the shortcuts and functions that you need instantly! Each time you switch apps or launch a new program the Touch Bar adjusts the icons and display relevant buttons for whatever you’re doing. As well as increasing productivity this can be used to speed up everyday tasks and make it far easier to control and manipulate everything you see on screen. Alongside this new bar is, perhaps, the most exciting component – a Touch ID sensor. Now you can unlock your Mac by placing your finger upon the sensor, Passwords can be made longer and more secure and you can complete online purchases using Apple Pay – all securely authenticated through your unique fingerprint.
It’s what’s inside that counts.
As with anything tech, an upgrade wouldn’t be an upgrade without the internals to make the machine shine! These new MacBook Pros contain the latest technology of any of the Apple laptops with improved processors, faster RAM, improved graphics and an evan faster flash based storage that boasts 100% faster speeds than the previous model!
The major change to the internals is the inclusion of the new Thunderbolt 3 standard of ports which are used to both charge the machine and connect devices. Thunderbolt 3, which uses the same port as USB-C, can be used to connect any devices that use other ports such as USB 3.1, Thunderbolt, DisplayPort HDMI etc. and you’ll find 4 Thunderbolt ports on the Touch Bar equipped models and 2 on the model without.
The size and shape of the MacBook Pros have also changed. The 13-inch model is now only 1.49cm thick and weighs only 1.37kg whereas the 15-inch model is only 1.55cm thick and only 1.83kg. Although these may not seem significant on paper the machines have been slimmed down and now offer the smallest and lightest form factor that Apple have ever bestowed upon their ‘Pro’ range of laptops – something that has to be seen to be believed!
