Introduction
After Planned enhancements to the Apple TV, there’s those dedicated to the Mac. We’re talking about the new MacBook Pro, coming onto the stage with a new design and a truly enviable computing power. Discover them together in this in-depth article.
Macs are incredibly important for Apple and also for the world, since they are used in many fields. MacOS Sierra has brought many innovations such as a unified iCloud Drive, Universal Clipboard to copy and paste content from Mac to iOS, Picture-in-picture video etc. In addition, Apple Pay has been integrated into Safari for online payments and spiked with Siri functionality specific to Mac.
This week will be the most important week for Mac and Apple. After exactly 25 years since the first MacBook, another ‘first Apple laptop’ is unveiled.
Every year Apple has added innovations to its MacBooks. The first trackpad, the first notebook, the first aluminum unibody design, the first with flash storage, the first Retina Display in a notebook etc. For 25 years, Apple has defined and redefined what a laptop can do and today…Apple has done it again!
The new MacBook Pro 13 and 15 inches are presented on stage with a new aluminum design; the result of collaboration between designers and engineers. There will be two colors, the classical Silver and the new Space Gray; very similar to that of the ‘The MacBook.’ Even their sizes and weight has been revised, the dimensions have changed substantially. The new MacBook Pro will be smaller, thinner and also lighter; keeping the same dimensions of the display.
Besides the new design there are numerous novelties also regarding the keyboard, trackpad and the new TouchBar. The trackpad is now twice as big and integrates the Force Touch technology. Even the keyboard is completely new and uses a second-generation “butterfly” system for key presses.
TouchBar
The most interesting thing is definitely the new TouchBar. It is a Retina Display multi touch, so we can use multiple fingers simultaneously. When we are on the main screen of the system, the main functions are displayed: we can adjust the brightness, the sound intensity and also launch Siri directly from TouchBar. Clicking a button on the keyboard, we can again see the function (F) keys, just like we used to see them until now. The functions offered by the new TouchBar are so many:
When we open Safari, we see the buttons to access your favorite sites quickly on the TouchBar. If we open a new tab, the search box and other keys are displayed. When we write the text, the screen offers us the suggestions, just like on iOS. Mail opening displays right away the keys to reply, forward, move, mark as important etc.
With iMessage it becomes faster and fun to use emojis; we can browse through them or view them by category. In photos we can browse the images as with the emojis, we can also change them, play videos and go forward or backward in playback. Editing a photo on the TouchBar is fast, we can rotate them, apply adjustment of light, contrast etc. There is also a button to display the effect “before and after” the application of filters.
In the Finder, we can select a file and quickly launch actions, and we can even add custom actions on the Touch Bar simply by dragging the action from the screen down onto the Touch Bar.
Integration of TouchBar into the software is phenomenal! And it’s built into every system application; including Maps, FaceTime, Calendar, iTunes, iWork, iMovie, GarageBand…even in terminal and xCode!
TouchID
Inside the TouchBar it was added also the second generation Touch ID, which works thanks to a new T1 chip dedicated to the security. The sensor is integrated in the ignition key and allow us to take advantage of the online payments and other functions similar to those seen on iOS. In addition, the Touch ID also supports Multi-user; simply place your finger to read the fingerprint and the Mac will immediately recognize the user, opening his own work area.
Display
The new MacBook Pro screen is 67% brighter and with higher contrast and 25% of more color. Clearly even under the body there are several novelties in the new MacBook Pro. Starting from the 15 ” model, inside we find an Intel Core i7 Quad-core 2.13 GHz processor, a 14 nm GPU Radeon Pro, SSD up to 2TB, and 50% faster performance. 3D graphics performance is 130% more than the previous generation, the computer is 60% faster in games and 57% faster in video editing. The 13-inch variant on the other hand, is available with the Intel Core i5 or i7 Dual Core 2.13 GHz, a GPU slightly less powerful but still considerably more powerful than the previous generation. Both models are equipped with two new cooling fans and speakers with dynamic range audio, similar to those seen in the iPad Pro.
Regards to input/output devices, there will be only 4 Thunderbolt ports, that will use the USB-C standard. Each can take advantage of a gang of 40 GB/s bandwidth and can be used as a charging port. In addition, these fantastic multipurpose doors allow you to do really anything via Thunderbolt 4.
Press release:
Apple today launched the new MacBook Pro, thinner and lighter than ever with a revolutionary interface that replaces the traditional row of function keys with a brilliant multi-touch Retina display quality called Touch Bar. The new MacBook Pro also features the Retina display, Apple’s most bright and color-rich ever designed, the safety and convenience of the Touch ID, a more responsive keyboard, a wider Force Touch trackpad and a sound system with dual dynamic range audio. It ‘also the most powerful MacBook Pro ever, being equipped with quad-core and dual-sixth-generation core processors, graphics performance up to 2.3 times faster than the previous generation, ultra fast SSD and four Thunderbolt 3 ports.
The Touch Bar puts commands directly in contact with the user’s fingers and fits when using the system or apps such as Mail, Finder, Calendar, Numbers, GarageBand, Final Cut Pro X and many others, including third-party apps too. For example, the Touch Bar may show the Tab and bookmarks in Safari, allow easy access to the emoji in messages, provide an easy way to edit pictures or videos, browse through photos and more.
“This week marks the 25th anniversary of the first Apple notebook; through the years each generation has introduced new innovations and possibilities, and it is natural that this whole new generation of MacBook Pro represents the biggest step forward to date ever made,” said Philip Schiller, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at Apple. “The new revolutionary Touch Bar, the convenience of the Touch ID, the best display on Mac ever, high performance, better audio, storage units, ultra fast and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, together with the most thin and light design ever to land on the line of pro notebooks, makes the new MacBook Pro the most advanced notebook ever produced. ”
The MacBook Pro is thinner and lighter than ever
On the basis of the innovations tested in the MacBook line, the new MacBook Pro comes with a unibody design with a completely new design and all-metal which creates an extremely stiff and solid notebook, but also incredibly thin and light . At just 14.9 mm thick, the MacBook Pro 13″ is 17 percent thinner and has 23% less volume than the previous generation, and is more than 200 grams lighter with a weight of just 1,36kg. The more thin new MacBook Pro 15″ with only 15.5 mm of thickness, is 14% thin, has 20% less volume than before and with a weight of just 1.8kg, is more light less off 200 grams.
Touch ID arrives on the Mac
The convenience and safety of the Touch ID sensor is built into the power button; Touch ID is one of the outstanding features that customers have come to know and appreciate on their iPhone and iPad. Once registered fingerprints with Touch ID on your MacBook Pro, you can quickly unlock your Mac, switch from one user account to another, and make safe purchases with Apple Pay on the web with a single touch. Touch ID allows fast and accurate reading of your fingerprint and uses sophisticated algorithms to recognize it and match it with the secure element in Apple’s new T1 chip.
The display brighter and colorful notebook
Mac has the best display ever and offers images that are more vivid, revealing details even more accurately, which appear more realistic than ever. Thin as a MacBook screen is at 0.88 mm, the Retina display of the new MacBook Pro has 500 nits of brightness, provides an astonishing 67% brightness than the previous generation, 67% more contrast and is the first display between the Mac notebook to support a wider color gamut. Thanks to energy-saving technologies such as the increased openness of the pixels, a frequency variable, and LED which consumes less refreshes, the display consumes 30% less energy than before.
The more powerful MacBook Pro to date
Powerful processors, advanced graphics, SSDs ultra fast, high-speed and advanced thermal memory architecture offer extraordinary performance of professional level in a much thinner shell. The Intel sixth-generation dual-core Core i5 with eDRAM, dual-core Core i7 with eDRAM and quad-core Core i7 processors offer professional performance while saving energy. The new MacBook Pro 15″ is equipped with a powerful Pro Radeon discrete graphics card providing performance up to 2.3 times faster than the previous generation; while the MacBook Pro 13″ comes with Intel Iris Graphics that are up to two times faster than before. All models are equipped with SSD with sequential read speeds of over 3 Gbps Thunderbolt3 speeds and that consolidates data transfer, charging and double the video bandwidth in a single port- enabling users to run a 5K display and power your MacBook Pro with a single cable.
The new MacBook Pro also offers
Force Touch trackpad much larger -46% larger on the MacBook Pro 13″ and twice as big on the MacBook Pro 15″.
More responsive and comfortable typing on the keyboard with a second-generation throttle mechanism;
stronger and more realistic Sound through the speakers with twice the dynamic range and enhanced bass;
MacOS Sierra, the world’s most advanced desktop operating system; with new features such as the integration of Siri, Universal Clipboard, Apple Pay on the web and photos, that helps you discover significant moments, organize your library and improve the shots as a professional.
Pricing and Availability
The MacBook Pro 13″ starts from €1,749/$1,499, features a Intel Core i5 dual-core processor at 2.0 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage, and is available from today.
The MacBook Pro 13″ with revolutionary Touch Bar and Touch ID sensor starts at € 2099/$1799, and features a Intel Core i5 dual-core processor at 2.9 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.3 GHz, 8GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage, and it comes in two or three weeks.
The MacBook Pro 15″ starts at € 2799/$2399, featuring the revolutionary Touch Bar and Touch ID sensor, an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor at 2.6 GHz with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.5 GHz, 16GB of memory and 256GB of flash storage, and it comes in two or three weeks.
Additional technical specifications, configuration options and accessories are available to order online at apple.com/macbookpro.
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