Apple has officially unveiled the new MacBook Pro with dual displays. Meet the new MacBook Pro

What should a portable laptop be like that is constantly used for work? The following qualities come to mind: lightweight, autonomous, productive, with a sufficient number of ports. Many different laptops satisfy these criteria, but there are, as they say, nuances. More recently best choice, according to many, for mobile work there were laptops Apple. But the latest MacBooks have turned out to be very ambiguous. My current MacBook will soon be seven years old - quite a respectable age for a laptop. But I'm in no hurry to exchange it for a new laptop with the Apple logo. The manufacturer’s assortment does not yet include a model that suits me 100%. IN at the moment My laptop is connected to a phone via a USB cable, an SD card and a power supply. With new MacBooks this situation is impossible - you can’t do without adapters. Perhaps it's worth looking at products from other manufacturers?

Huawei did not bring new smartphones to Barcelona, ​​but it still managed to attract the attention of the public. The announcement of the new laptop did not leave many journalists indifferent - the MateBook X Pro clearly aroused interest. During the presentation, the head of Huawei proudly spoke about the product, not hesitating to compare it with MacBooks. Yes, and compared to competitors on Windows based the new product also looks advantageous in many ways. What's so good about the MateBook X Pro and is it really ready to become the best compact laptop of the moment?

The first thing you notice when looking at a laptop is that its screen has very thin frames. The width of the sides is only 4.4 mm. The screen occupies 91% of the front panel - this is the best figure to date. For example, the new Dell XPS 13 and Lenovo Thinkpad 13 have 80.7%. The fashion for “frameless” screens has migrated to laptops from smartphones. In addition to the pleasant aesthetic effect of compact frames, there is also an undoubted benefit - you can fit a larger diagonal matrix into a standard-sized case. So the Huawei MateBook X Pro with a 13.9-inch screen when closed is close in size to some 12-inch laptops.

The screen resolution is 3000 × 2000 pixels, an LTPS matrix is ​​used. The screen has enough high density pixels - 260 PPI. Claimed viewing angles are 178 degrees, contrast ratio is 1500:1, brightness is 450 nits. Provides 100% coverage of the sRGB color space. The screen is touch-sensitive and supports 10-point multi-touch. The display is protected from external damage by Gorilla Glass coating, in addition, the manufacturer says that the screen gloss is not too susceptible to fingerprints.

The screen really has excellent viewing angles, a good reserve of brightness, and the high pixel density will appeal not only to designers, but also to everyone working with texts. The 3:2 display aspect ratio, which is unusual in these times, may seem inconvenient at first, but you can certainly get used to it over time, because not so long ago we worked on 5:4 screens. And for photo editing, such a display may be even more convenient, since most cameras take pictures with an aspect ratio of just 3:2.

The minimum thickness of the frames makes it difficult to place the webcam module in traditional places. Huawei went its own way and built a webcam... into the keyboard! This is not a joke - in the normal position the camera does not protrude beyond the keyboard, but if you press the key between F6 and F7, the camera lens will pop out of there like a jack-in-the-box. This arrangement of the module has obvious disadvantages: firstly, it is not the best angle for your face during video calls - even people who are not overweight are prone to a double chin. Secondly, it will be difficult to communicate and type text at the same time - your fingers will constantly cover the picture. In addition, there are questions about the durability of the mechanism, especially if the owner is not neat and likes to chew cookies while working. And the camera’s resolution is very small - only 1 megapixel, so the picture quality leaves much to be desired. The advantages include the ability to close the camera and not worry about potential surveillance.

The keyboard is protected from accidental spills. Of course, there is backlighting of the keys, it is made very well and the glow does not interfere with typing in the dark. A fingerprint scanner is built into the power key, with the help of which the authentication process is significantly accelerated - we are all already accustomed to unlocking smartphones and tablets in this way. I'm glad that this technology is increasingly appearing in laptops. The MateBook X Pro uses a sensor from the Shenzhen company Goodix, whose products have already been seen in Dell laptops.

The keyboard here is island-type, the keys are quite large and have a short travel. At first glance, typing on it is convenient, the impressions are about the same as from the keyboards of new Apple laptops. On the sides of the keyboard there are speaker slots. They are worth talking about separately. Despite its minimal thickness, the MateBook X Pro is equipped with four speakers, and also supports Dolby Atmos technology. Let us remember that it helps to achieve surround sound even on systems with two speakers. I must say that the sound of the laptop is really good for this class of device, and the volume is enough for watching a movie in a small company. By the way, the laptop also has four microphones, so your interlocutors should appreciate the sound quality during video conferencing.

The touchpad on the MateBook X Pro is simply huge - probably the largest among all devices in this class. It’s quite convenient to use, although, subjectively, the touchpad on MacBooks is still better. Technologies like Apple Force Touch are not here, that is, the click on the touchpad is not virtual, but real. The touch surface is somewhat recessed into the laptop body. The sheer size of the touchpad can cause problems with false positives while typing, although this didn't happen to me.

The technical characteristics of the Huawei MateBook X Pro are also in perfect order. Older versions are equipped with a quad-core Intel Core i7-8550U processor. This is the eighth generation of Core processors - the KabyLake-Refresh family. The chip is manufactured using 14nm technology, base frequency is 1.8 GHz, and in turbo mode it rises to 4 GHz. The TDP of the processor is 15 W. The basic version of the laptop comes with Core processor i5-8250U. It belongs to the same family and is also equipped with 4 cores, but has lower frequencies (1.6 and 3.4 GHz, respectively) and a reduced amount of cache memory (6 versus 8 MB for the i7-8550U).

Huawei decided to equip the laptop discrete graphics- with 2 GB of video memory. According to the head of the company, NVIDIA solution four times faster than built into processors Intel graphics- HD Graphics 620. NVIDIA internal tests promise approximately the same advantage. Californians claim that Dota 2, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or World of Tanks will run without problems in Full HD resolution at 60 frames per second.

The older version is equipped with 16 GB RAM LPDDR3, operating at a frequency of 2133 MHz, other versions received 8 GB. The test laptops used Hynix modules. It is proposed to store information on NVMe PCIe SSD drives with a capacity of 256 or 512 GB. It’s interesting that on the laptops brought to Barcelona, ​​I found two different versions of SSD drives: Lite-On CA3-8D512 and Toshiba KXG50ZNV512G. Their characteristics are practically the same - the same controller and memory type are used (Toshiba BiCS3, this is a 64-layer TLC 3D NAND), so there is no need to look for an option with a specific drive.

Huawei MateBook X Pro is equipped with a lithium polymer battery with a capacity of 57.4 Wh. According to the manufacturer's internal tests, the laptop can last 12 hours when playing video in 1080p format. The display brightness is at 30% of the maximum, the sound level is 67% of the maximum. In everyday use, 14 hours of operation are promised, and when browsing the web - as much as 15 hours. This data needs to be checked in the laboratory, but on paper there are no questions about the autonomy of the MateBook X Pro. Supported fast charging- for example, 30 minutes from the outlet is enough for 6 hours of battery life.

Huawei's smartphone heritage is reflected in some of the laptop's features. When creating the MateBook X Pro, Huawei engineers used a number of technologies used in smartphones. The fingerprint scanner built into the power button allows you to start Windows and unlock the desktop in 7.8 seconds after shutting down and in 6.6 seconds when exiting hibernation - this data is provided by the company itself. The laptop comes out of sleep mode instantly, there are no differences from the same MacBooks.

The 13.9-inch laptop measures 304 x 217 x 14.6 mm, weighs 1.33 kg, and features a sandblasted metal body. The 13-inch MacBook Pro has similar dimensions: 304 × 212 × 14.9 mm, and weighs slightly more - 1.37 kg. The battery of the MacBook is also worse - 49.2 Wh, as well as the declared autonomy - up to 10 hours. By the way, the Huawei laptop can be opened with one hand when it is lying on the table - a small thing, but nice. How does the MateBook X Pro fare with expansion ports? After all, this is one of the main problems for which users criticize Apple.

The Huawei laptop is equipped with a 3.5 mm headphone jack, two USB-C ports, one of which supports Thunderbolt 3, and one regular USB-A 3.0 port. Any of the USB-C ports can be used to charge the device; accordingly, the battery can be recharged using an external battery, which can be convenient in some situations.

Unfortunately, the MateBook X Pro does not have a memory card slot, HDMI or Ethernet ports. The situation, of course, is a little better than with MacBooks, and you won’t have to resort to adapters to connect conventional USB devices like peripherals, flash drives and external hard drives. But to transfer photos from the camera, you will have to look for an external adapter or connect the camera via the included USB cable.

One more an unpleasant surprise became the announced prices for the laptop. In Europe, the MateBook X Pro is priced at least 1,500 euros for the version with Core i5, 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD. The most popular version will probably be the middle version - with a Core i7 processor, 8 GB of memory and a 512 GB SSD. Such a machine will cost 1,700 euros. If you want 16 GB of RAM, get ready to shell out another 200 euros. Very expensive.

But the days have already passed when Huawei played short, fighting for a buyer with the help of affordable price. The MateBook X Pro is as much a fashion product as the Mate 10 Pro smartphone, and gives the impression of a truly high-quality device. Unfortunately, as in the case of a smartphone, there is no information yet about whether the laptop will appear in Russian retail. So everyone who wants to purchase this technologically attractive product will have to turn their attention to other markets. We will definitely test the laptop thoroughly in the laboratory as soon as we have the opportunity.

Ten facts about the presentation of the new MacBook Pro - in short, there is no doubt that it turned out very well. If you take the idea further, you need to wait for the samples and try the Touch Bar yourself. But, first things first...

1. I'll start with the main thing, a touch panel was added above the keyboard, in each program it can behave differently, it can also work as a standard set function keys- F1-F8 fans will not be disappointed. Perhaps this is a very correct decision for macOS, which is striving to become closer to iOS. You can use emoticons in iMessage, a special set of icons and commands in DJ programs, and Photoshop too. You can pay for purchases using Apple Pay, you can quickly log in with using Touch ID (there is a second generation sensor), quickly and accurately adjust the volume and brightness. While real professionals have questions, ordinary users will probably be glad to have at least a “touch ID”; entering a code every time gets boring, and they will be happy with Apple Pay, especially when the payment technology appears in popular Russian online stores. It's great to buy books on ozone, pay by touching the panel and wait for delivery. And it's also safe! For now we can discuss the usefulness of the panel and its capabilities, but we’ll talk about this in more detail when we have a live sample in our hands. The Touch Bar will be installed in MBP 13 and 15, so no one will be offended.

2. For those who do not need the Touch Bar, there will be a modification of MBP 13 with a regular keyboard, without touch screen, actually, this turns out to be the cheapest new MacBook Pro in the line, 119,990 rubles. By the way, all prices for new MBPs can be viewed.

3. What laptops are left in the current lineup? This is the MacBook Air 13 - essentially the basic one apple computer, I talked about this in a recent article. Next comes the MacBook, not in price, but in compactness, then the MacBook Pro 13 and 15 in different configurations. Apparently, they don’t want to remove the Air yet, just like the iPhone SE - advanced citizens will pay for a “custom” one, but students will also have the opportunity to choose a MacBook to their liking.

4. The current MBP line has two colors, silver and gray space. I think the latter will be very popular. And I’ll also note the delivery package: now there is no extension cord, but there is a completely universal long USB-C cable paired with an 87 W power adapter.

5. Detailed Specifications, I will note that you can play the latest “Civilization” without problems on all new MBPs, which is very, very good. MBP 13 uses processors Intel Core i5, in MBP 15 it is Intel Core i7, the graphics in “three” is Intel Iris, in MBP 15 it is Radeon Pro 455 with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory and Intel HD Graphics 530, switching between one or another graphics adapter occurs automatically depending on the running applications. In general, the new MBPs are very fast, plus you can easily choose the configuration for yourself. If this regular work, mail, documents already mentioned “Civilization” for several hours a day, you can buy the junior MBP 13. If you need a universal and powerful laptop for all tasks, then it is better to buy an MBP 15 with Intel Core i7 with clock frequency 2.7 GHz and Radeon card Pro 455. Yes, the MBP 15 also has 16 GB of RAM (LPDDR3 2133 MHz), it is not yet clear whether it can be increased - but for the first time it will definitely be enough.

6. A friend is actively writing to me, saying, what’s going on with the ports! How to charge! How to live now! It seems to me that everything is logical. Apple is reducing the number of exotics; without a magnetic connector is bad, but it’s good when you can find a cable for charging a laptop in any office. Believe me, it will happen later. Currently, the MacBook Pro 15 uses the following ports: four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports, each of which supports device charging, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps) and USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps). Four in one! There are four identical connectors and with each one you can charge your laptop. No magnetic charging. No miracles. This is good. Let's see how quickly accessories will appear with USB-C support- I believe that now the transition to the standard will happen quickly.

7. The keyboard is designed like a MacBook, a huge touchpad with Force Touch, plus an additional touchpad. You will have to try the keyboard in action.

8. Thank God they didn't remove the headphone jack. You can connect anything without any adapters. The operation of microphones has been optimized, now there are three of them - apparently, this is due to the ability to share MBP and iPhone. That is, it will be more convenient to talk in different conditions.

9. I really liked that the MBP 15 can be connected to two or even four monitors at once; the laptop here acts as a kind of “hub” - you come home, connect it to the displays, and work quietly. This is why universal connectors are needed.

10. And, of course, the new MacBook Pros are much smaller than the old ones - smaller, but the MBP 15 still weighs 1.83 kg. For mobile people, MBP 13, weight 1.37 kg, will be more interesting.

Finally, I’ll add that the company celebrates its anniversary—a quarter of a century since the release of the first Apple laptop—as it should. Strong ruler interesting features, not previously found in mass-produced popular products, minimum dimensions, weight, high performance and finally good prices. We are waiting for sale, waiting for samples. My old MBP 15 requires replacement and I can’t even imagine a better one.

But buying through the “federals” also has its own - promotions (held almost every quarter) and installment plans 0-0-24. With such conditions, you can even take a swing at a 15-inch MacBook Pro - paying several thousand a month is not so difficult.

Fortunately, we have not yet transferred to Rus' sellers of “gray” goods - so you can save money, and quite well. For example, in a well-known online store AppleJesus(at one time it was advertised very actively) prices for basic MBP Retina Early 2015 13'' begin from 77,000 rubles, per model with 15-inch display - from 121,500 rubles.

Update from 09/01/2018 - the 15-inch model can still be purchased now.

To my question about where the equipment is brought from, the consultant replied that, in general, from everywhere (USA, Europe, Hong Kong). Keyboard engraving - i.e. so that there are not only English, but also Russian letters - it’s done for free.

So, if you don’t want to bother with going abroad (where you can save significantly more), feel free to go to Jesus and other similar stores with a good reputation.

Used

Buying a used MacBook in Russia is not advisable. They mostly sell on Avito frankly outdated MacBooks from the late 2000s - early 2010s. They often have very old processors like Intel Core 2 Duo and the first i5s, low resolution (1,280 x 800 pixels for 13-inch, 1,400 x 900 for 15-inch), and the battery is very worn out and will soon require replacement. And they ask for a decent price - 40,000 rubles. Used models with a Retina display cost from 60 thousand, and this is in best case scenario MacBook Pro 2013, which has also already “served” for at least 4 years... But what about natural wear and tear, more than likely repairs in the coming years or replacement of the battery in case of breakdown?

What to do if you still want a used one? Try to find some company in the city that sells “refurbished” computers with at least some reputation and, albeit a small one, but a guarantee for the MacBook they sell...

In my opinion, it’s still easier to add and buy a new, much higher quality device. Or for comparable money, bring a used MBP with a Retina display from 2014 or even 2015 from the USA.(more on this below).

USA

New

The 2015 models are no longer available on the official Apple website (they are only available in the Refurbished section). But the 2015 Retina is still sold by numerous US retailers. For example, on Amazon the 13-inch MacBook Pro sells for $1,189 (approximately 68 thousand rubles). But attention- having bought it, you will immediately exceed the customs limit 1,000 euros (at the current exchange rate this is about 64.5 thousand rubles), therefore, you will pay 30% of the excess amount. Well, the point here is not so much about money, but about the fact that there will be a lot of running around between customs and the post office, especially if you live far from the customs office of your region. Plus don't forget to add another $70 for delivery to Russia through an intermediary (ouch!) like Banderolka - and in a logical way we come to a conclusion like “What’s the point? It’s easier to order a MacBook from some Jesus. The money is almost the same, there are zero hemorrhoids.”

But you can buy a MacBook in America for MUCH cheaper. The floor is given to a student from the USA Viswanathan Balaju. In the fall of 2016 he bought a brand new MacBook Pro for 900 (!) dollars. The cunning student shared his experience on the question and answer service Quora:

How did he do it? I combined several life hacks, the best of which I translated and present to your attention below:

Other Quora users write that best way save on buying a MacBook in the USA it is make friends with a salesperson from an Apple Store. They receive from the employer 25% discount on the cost of the product, i.e. the same 13-inch MacBook Pro 2015 will cost them not $1,180, but $944! But, even if a miracle happens and you find such a guy, he won’t do anything for free, and whether 50 dollars will be enough for him “for the trouble” is also a big question. And then there’s delivery...

Used

Well, there is a lot of room for action here. For example, let's take Amazon— according to subjective feelings, there are more interesting MacBooks there than on eBay, they are cheaper, plus there are more legal entity sellers who accept returns if something happens. MBP Retina 2015 13'' MF839LL/A in good condition "like new"» easy to find on Amazon for around $900-$1,000, "very good"- dollars and even cheaper. In principle, you can look at the 13-inch “retinas” of 2014 (Apple MacBook Pro MGX72LL/A): the models are also not very old, but The price tag is already dropping to dollars.

For this money, it’s quite easy to find a device that has been used relatively carefully for two or three years, there are no unpleasant problems like burnt pixels on the display, and the number of recharge cycles does not exceed 150-200 (the MacBook battery capacity begins to gradually decrease after 500 cycles).

Guarantee will be standard for Amazon 30 days (sometimes 90).

Update. I ended up buying my 13-inch MacBook (Mid 2014) on eBay from a major seller iPowerresale:

Germany

Here we will be interested in only one store - Computeruniverse.ru. (Computeruniverse or KY) He is well known in Russia - every single day, fellow citizens order components for gaming PCs and bitcoin mining from KY, Apple smartphones iPhone, game consoles PlayStation 4 worth up to 1,000 euros and many other products. Why do people bother with delivery from Germany? Yes, because Computeruniverse sends goods to our country excluding German VAT, i.e. 19% cheaper!

In fact, you can save even more there; I talked about this in more detail here:

The new MacBook Pro 13’’ costs exactly the same here as in America - 68,000 rubles with all the consequences in the form of customs (except that delivery will be a little cheaper). You ask: “Then what am I doing here?” Yes there is one interesting point here...

There is an excellent section on the KY website Sale! This is where the Germans put everything at once - inventory left over in the warehouse, returned goods, and refurbished devices.

Let's see what is there now based on our request (mid-June 2017). Move the mouse cursor over the section Sale, in the menu that appears, select Laptops, tablets and PCs. In the filter on the left indicate the product group Laptops, where the Manufacturer is Apple. And this is what I got:

The first is the MacBook Air for 52 thousand rubles. What is this - markdown or stale goods? No, product absolutely new- if we were talking about a used product, under the technical characteristics there would be green frame with the caption “Discounted item”(as is the case with the second position in the screenshot). Most likely, the discount on Air was made because at the beginning of June 2017, Apple showed a slightly updated MacBook Air with a little more powerful processor, so the current model is obsolete and is being sold out. But today, of course, there is no reason to buy the Air - an HD screen with a TN matrix, unimportant viewing angles and huge frames around the display for that kind of money...

But the next option - a discounted MacBook Pro for 969 euros - is much more interesting. Open this position in a new tab(otherwise our search conditions will be reset) and we see:

It's a pretty good deal, isn't it? Returned product (most likely the person didn’t like macOS, couldn’t switch and returned it), another 10 months of warranty, everything checked and cleaned, price less than 1,000 euros, i.e. without customs... You can buy one like this! Delivery will cost around 1,900 rubles - by the way, cheaper than from America.

You can also save 5 euros- for this register as a new buyer(if you have already bought something, indicate a different person and a different address) and enter the promo code before purchasing FWAUCZB.

Honestly, Of all the options discussed in the article, I like this one- very slightly used and with a great guarantee.

Yes, I almost forgot - German MacBooks have a keyboard not QWERTY, but QWERTZ (Z and Y are swapped). This doesn’t seem like a problem to me: if you type “touch”, nothing will change in either the Russian or English layout.

Summary

In the USA, it makes sense to look at a used MBP, especially a 2014 one - then you’ll pay no more than 50,000 rubles for everything, and you’ll also get a 1-3 month warranty. And in Germany, it makes sense to periodically go to computeruniverse.ru and check the “Sale” section - sometimes there are very interesting offers there.

More useful news - here!

I must admit right away: I have always been madly in love with the MacBook Pro and tried never to think about what would happen if I was suddenly forced to switch to another computer. Apple has consistently updated the line, and there are no problems with the transition from more old version I didn’t have any problems with MacBook Pro compared to a newer one. I clearly remember the moment when I switched from an old, thick MacBook Pro to a new “tag” with a Retina display. Those things that had to be sacrificed for the sake of a thinner body did not evoke any compassion.

FireWire gone? And to hell with it, I've never had to use it once in my life. Have you removed Ethernet? It’s okay, at home, at work and in all public places there has been Wi-Fi for a long time. Lost optical drive? Well, that’s great, it was high time to get rid of him. Overall, the transition was as painless as possible. The next generations of the Pro line did not bring anything fundamentally new, except for new processors and the appearance of trackpads with Force Touch. But with the 2016 MacBook Pro, everything turned out to be much more complicated.

Shortly before the start of sales of the new MacBook Pro, if you remember, I wrote a skeptical column “”. I didn't have any experience at the time, but now that I've been using the 15-inch MacBook Pro 2016 for two months, I have to admit that it's not as bad as I previously thought. In case you missed it, we already had a classic one, so there will be no tests, no measurements here, but only personal impressions of what “has become” in comparison with what “has been.”

MacBook is no longer Pro and we have ourselves to blame

It must be admitted that the majority of MacBook Pro users are not at all hardcore professionals working with photos, videos, sound or computer graphics. Not at all. The typical owner of a "professional" Mac is a hipster with no budget who just likes the way his computer looks. Of course, professionals still use Macs, but from a business perspective their share is extremely small. Alas, I cannot give specific numbers here. But just look around. The guy at the table on the right uses a 13-inch MacBook Pro as a typewriter, a terminal for distributing Facebook likes, and as a browser-based gaming console. The girl from the next department is unlikely to edit videos; most likely, she sometimes plays solitaire, watches TV series, and never opens more than five or six tabs in her browser. No, I'm not exaggerating. There are too many MacBook Pro users who, figuratively speaking, hammer nails with a microscope. And there is no more “Think Different”, now the MacBook Pro is mainstream, and Apple has been striving for this for a long time.

The good news is that technically the MacBook Pro is still suitable for the most hardcore tasks, but from an ergonomic point of view things have become much worse. It's like buying a new floor lamp and finding out that instead of the usual E14/E27 light bulbs that are in every store, you now need to order special branded elements in advance or buy an adapter (again, branded, for only $49.99) and come to terms with the fact that that the lamp protrudes slightly beyond the ceiling. Well, or another example, especially for photographers. Imagine that you bought a Nikon D7 or Canon EOS 5D Mark VIII, and replaced the old mount with a new one. But all your optics, on which you spent tens of thousands of dollars, new camera doesn’t fit, and there won’t be enough new lenses for another two or three years. I’m exaggerating, of course, but now you understand what a person for whom the MacBook Pro has always been a convenient work tool might feel.

Big trackpad for the sake of a big trackpad

For a long time, the MacBook Pro had the largest touchpad among laptops. After the tiny touchpads of Windows laptops, sitting down with a MacBook Pro was a pleasure. But time passes, and gesture support has appeared in a competing sect, and the average size of the touchpad has doubled. Apple decided to reclaim the lead in the most obvious way by making the trackpad even bigger. I already said that 99% of users gain nothing from this. Delicate work with graphics is unthinkable without a Wacom or, at worst, without a mouse, and there was already enough space for gestures.

But suddenly an artist I knew asked interesting question, which was probably raised among Apple designers as well. Could such a trackpad be as pressure sensitive as the screen? iPad Pro? To make it just as convenient to draw on it with a stylus. Theoretically yes. And here large size will only be a plus, but in the current iteration the large trackpad does not bring any tangible benefit.

But Touch ID is, of course, very cool and great. In general, a fingerprint scanner in a laptop is not a new phenomenon. Corporate models were equipped with them back in the early 2000s, and maybe even earlier. But only Apple was able to implement the fingerprint sensor properly. Everything works exactly the same as on the iPhone - to unlock, to confirm purchases in the App Store and iTunes, to Apple works Pay. It can be assumed that in the future it will be possible to log into individual applications using a fingerprint - from my set of software at the time of writing this column, not a single program offered such a function.

Touch Bar as a thing in itself

Again, the idea of ​​an additional screen in a laptop is not that new, but here again Apple is the main innovator. The Touch Bar looks absolutely amazing and definitely adds a new look to the laptop, even though the overall design hasn't changed much. But some of the functions that are assigned to it look frankly far-fetched. For example, switching between tabs in a browser. It works great when you have 2-3 or even 5-6 tabs open, but when there are 20 or 30 of them, it becomes difficult to point to the right one right away. Moreover, you won’t be able to see anything on the tab preview itself.

But the main thing that strikes me as meaningless is the typing tips. This function works great on a smartphone when you type on a small on-screen keyboard, trying to simultaneously catch up with a departing train in the subway, but in a laptop with a luxurious hardware keyboard (I say this completely without sarcasm, new keyboard- just a bomb, and I’m sure that the most shameless copying will begin among Windows laptops in the near future) this is completely useless. Selecting the current month in the calendar looks quite organic, as does the slider for changing the selected picture parameter in graphic editor. What's especially nice here is that the dialog box does not overlap the image on the main screen and allows you to better see the final result. But moving the position on the timeline in Final Cut becomes inconvenient if the video is long enough. In general, there is still work to be done on the functionality of the Touch Bar in the near future. And, as it turns out, I’m not at all against this kind of innovation, but I still can’t say the same about the new approach to ports and connectors.

Less necessary, more unnecessary

To this day I have not been able to come to terms with the lack of the usual USB ports, HDMI and card reader. Yes, there are now adapters for all occasions. Both from Apple itself and from third-party manufacturers. But if you look at the problem more broadly, it turns out that in Cupertino they made the laptop smaller and lighter so that we could then compensate for this difference by external devices. If earlier I could only put a laptop in my backpack, which weighed two kilograms, now the “weight loss” is compensated by a pack of additional accessories. And even if the final weight turns out to be less, transportation of such a set can hardly be called convenient. The required set in my case looks like this: laptop, charger, USB-C to SD adapter, USB-C to USB adapter, universal adapter for HDMI, USB and USB-C.

But the most annoying loss is, of course, the MagSafe connector. I can well call myself a neat person - I always watch my step, I try not to put equipment in potentially dangerous places, but I often have to work in cramped press centers and conference rooms, where there are a lot of people who want to trip over my wire. I used to not worry about this at all, but now I have to monitor everything with triple vigilance. Yes, there are already several adapters with a magnetic connector, but do not forget that if you have one, you will have one less connector, and there are only four of them. In my opinion, this is not enough for the MacBook Pro.

Another thing that I can't wrap my head around is a voice assistant on a computer. To tell you the truth, I don’t use Siri on my iPhone either. During the entire existence of Siri on the iPhone, I could not think of a single situation where I would need it. But I can easily imagine situations where it might be needed - while driving, for example, it’s much easier to create a reminder for yourself via Siri. Or call someone. But why do all this on a computer, where the most convenient and advanced controls are at your service? No answer.

I was not lazy and asked all my friends who had managed to switch to the 2016 MacBook Pro. There were as many as 9 people like this, but none of them use Siri. Many people regularly turn to the voice assistant on the iPhone. Perhaps in the future something will change, but for now all this does not make much sense.

Best laptop I would never buy

Can I say that the 2016 MacBook Pro is a good computer? Undoubtedly! It's still best laptop on the market. Anyone who switches to a MacBook Pro from some Dell or Lenovo will be absolutely delighted. Anyone who decides to fork out for something more after the MacBook Air will also not leave disappointed. But if we talk about professionals who have been using Macs for a long time, then everything is not so simple. I remember how an editing director I knew complained about life after his employer replaced old Mac Pros with new ones, and I still reassured him, saying, relax, buddy, you’ll get used to it, and everything will be fine. After three years, he never got used to it, and today I sincerely understand his disappointment, looking at the MacBook Pro 2016 in comparison with his trusty MacBook Pro 2015.

I am absolutely sure that Apple will be able to improve the functionality of the Touch Bar, and that the problem with the lack of ports will be solved in the coming year, when everyone switches to USB-C. I have no doubt that over time we will look at old keyboards and not understand how we could work on keys with such a large power reserve. But at the moment I’m not ready to change the old “tag” for a new one, despite the fact that I’ve been wanting to update my main working tool for a long time.

While PC sales are falling, Apple reports a noticeable increase in public interest in the Mac. What's the catch here? On the one hand, PC sales, even taking into account the annual decline, are still higher than Mac sales. On the other hand, Apple still manages to sell more and more of its computers year after year, and this cannot be explained solely by the difference in product sales volumes. The company simply creates the most best computers on the market based on a combination of characteristics and constantly invents something new, or is the first to qualitatively implement what others have invented. The new MacBook (yes, just a MacBook, without the Air, Retina, or Pro prefixes) is a great example of this.

New design

The first time we saw the new MacBook was not yesterday, but also. Mark Gurman from 9To5Mac managed to get a powerful information exclusive and surprised the public with bold renderings of the new product with a completely redesigned keyboard and one single port. All this turned out to be true, but there is much more innovation in the device than we expected. Apple knows how to surprise, which it proved back in the days of and. It seems that we all knew about the device, but there were a lot of interesting and surprising things at the presentation. Well, let's start the debriefing with the appearance of the new product.

This is the first all metal Apple laptop, and probably on the market too. All previous Mac models had one large and clearly visible plastic part - the display hinge. Now it is also metal, which the company was able to achieve by integrating the wireless antenna circuit directly into the body of the device. Unfortunately, the apple no longer glows - it has a mirror polish and shines brightly in the sun.

But the increased amount of metal did not make the laptop heavier. A 12-inch laptop weighs only 920 g, and its maximum thickness is only 13.1 mm(minimum - 3.5 mm). For comparison, the 11.6-inch MacBook Air weighs 1.08 kg and is 17.1 mm thick. The length of the new product is 28.05 cm, width is 19.65 cm (30 cm and 19.2 cm for the 11.6-inch model, 32.5 cm and 22.7 cm for the 13-inch MacBook Air). One of the journalists, who tried the new product live at an Apple event, noted that when you take the new MacBook in your hands, you simply cannot believe your eyes, the device is so compact and light.

As you can see in the photo above, the new MacBook has a new color scheme. In addition to the classic silver, there is now a choice of “Space Gray” and gold.

Display panel The laptop is very similar to that of the Retina MacBook Pro, that is, it is all covered with glass and at the same time has even thinner frames around the 12-inch matrix. By the way, this is a Retina display based on an IPS matrix with a resolution 2304x1440 pixels and density 226 ppi(aspect ratio - 16:10, viewing angles - 178°). By according to Apple is the thinnest laptop display it has ever created. The screen has no air gap between the glass and the matrix, and the pixel mechanism is redesigned in such a way that they transmit more light. Thanks to this, the company reduced screen power consumption by 30% while maintaining the same brightness high level, like its other Retina displays.

Also noticeable are the redesigned keyboard and trackpad, but each of these components deserves a separate discussion.

Brand new keyboard

Apple has achieved a significant reduction in the thickness of the laptop not only through the display, but also through the keys. In fact, the company has created completely new type laptop keyboard. Please note that it occupies almost the entire panel of the laptop from the left edge to the right:

The new MacBook is smaller in length than the 11.6-inch MacBook Air, but its keys are 17% larger, while the keyboard module itself 40% thinner. How is this possible? Has Apple squeezed in? touch keyboard? Don't worry, the company hasn't encroached on anything sacred. She just invented a new key mechanism. Previously, the so-called “scissor mechanism” was used, and now the “butterfly” mechanism is used. Below is a diagram of the keys that clearly demonstrates the differences:

Left - scissor, right - butterfly

As you can see, the new mechanism looks more monolithic and works more efficiently. It is made of a single steel plate, which makes the mechanism simpler and at the same time more reliable. In addition, even if you press the edge of the key, the feeling will be the same as if you pressed the center - the button will work clearly, without a slight tilt to the side.

I am sure that the new keyboard will be more convenient for typing, although journalists note that it will obviously take some getting used to. In terms of tactile sensations, it is no worse than the scissor one in previous MacBook models, just different.

Reinvented trackpad

Apple has always been an innovator in the field of laptop trackpads, and other manufacturers have not yet caught up with the quality of this component. But after the release of the new MacBook, in principle, they will not face any competition. The fact is that the Cupertino company has once again reinvented the trackpad.

It lost a physical button, although the clicking sensation was retained. This is achieved through a built-in vibration motor and tactile feedback technology. Of course, we have long been accustomed to vibration response in modern smartphones. On the other hand, it's nice that it appeared on the trackpad, but it's not the biggest innovation.

Much more interesting technology Force Touch. « Push a little deeper and do more" - this is how Apple describes this feature. The trackpad learned to detect pressure, which was used in the OS X interface.

For example, you can press and hold your finger on the trackpad to find out the translation of the highlighted word or to activate quick view file in Finder. Press the trackpad a little harder than usual, hovering the cursor over the rewind button in the player, and you will speed up playback five times at once, but with a light touch - only two times. Naturally, the new chip can be used while drawing, or when betting electronic signature(the harder the pressure, the thicker the line).

Microelectronics

The new MacBook has a 2-core processor Intel Core M fifth generation, built on the architecture Broadwell. It is produced using a 14-nanometer process technology and is currently the most energy-efficient and yet powerful chip on the market in terms of power consumption to performance ratio. He consumes everything 5 Watt energy and is able to work without active cooling. This made it possible to significantly simplify the design of the motherboard and reduce its dimensions, which are 2/3 smaller than a similar component in the MacBook Air 11.6".

The motherboard with all the electronics is on top. A similar component from an 11.6" MacBook Air would take up three times more space

Chip frequency - from 1.1 to 1.3 GHz, and in turbo mode it accelerates from 2.4 to 2.9 GHz. The volume of the built-in third-level cache is 4 MB.

As for RAM, it is in standard 8 GB(1600 MHz LPDDR3). You cannot install more yourself, or order a configuration with 16 GB.

The capacity of the built-in SSD storage (high-performance PCIe solution) is 256 GB in the younger model and 512 GB- in the eldest.

Integrated graphics chip Intel HD Graphics 5300 does not impress with its performance and is only slightly superior in this regard to the previous models - HD 4000 or HD 4200. But it consumes a minimum of energy. In general, it can easily run Dota 2 or Sims 4 at minimum graphics quality settings, but you shouldn’t count on miracles - this is far from a gaming solution. But there is hardware support for OpenCL 2.0 and DirectX 11.2, DisplayPort 1.2/eDP 1.3 (maximum resolution 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz) and HDMI 1.4a (3840 x 2160 @ 24 Hz) standards.

With the battery, Apple has tried very hard to squeeze the maximum amount of energy into a minimum volume ( 39.7 watt-hour). To do this, she created a new method for packaging batteries and made the most of the internal volume of the case, filling it to capacity with lithium-polymer plates. In fact, the case is machined specifically to fit the shape of the new batteries:

Thus, by making the laptop much lighter, more compact and more powerful than the 11.6-inch model, Apple achieved approximately similar battery life indicators - up to 9 hours of web surfing and up to 10 hours of iTunes video playback.

Wireless modules include Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0. The webcam is a standard FaceTime 480p camera. There are a pair of microphones and two speakers.

Two holes instead of six

Now we have reached the most sensitive topic - the new port USB Type-C . They say Apple, but at the moment it’s somehow hard to imagine life with just one USB port, which replaces the MagSafe power connector, regular USB and any video outputs, be it VGA, HDMI or DisplayPort.

In addition to this hole, the new MacBook has another one (on the other side) - a 3.5 mm audio jack, to which you can connect headphones or output sound via a digital optical channel.

It turns out that the new MacBook has only two large holes - a USB port and an audio output. For comparison, the 11.6-inch MacBook Air has six, and the Retina MacBook Pro has eight.

But let's get back to the new USB port. You already clearly know its advantages:

• small thickness - 8.3 mm versus 14 mm for regular USB;
• high data transfer speed (in theory - up to 10 Gbit/s, but in MacBook it is limited to 5 Gbit/s);
• a compact connector that can be connected like Lightning - on either side;
• the ability to output 20 volts versus 5 volts for a regular USB (Type-A)
• The port can not only give out energy, but also take it to power the MacBook.

The new laptop is equipped with a 29-watt power supply, so it will clearly be more compact than the 40-watt one from the MacBook Air.

There are also many supposed disadvantages of this solution, starting with the lack of MagSafe (that is, you can accidentally pull the power cord and simply knock the laptop onto the floor), continuing with the inability to simultaneously charge the device and connect it to it external drives, display the image on external display etc., ending with the need to have an adapter even to connect a regular flash drive or iPhone. The problem of adapters will be partially solved when USB Type-C is used everywhere, but this is a matter of the next few years.

Nevertheless, the laptop still looks gorgeous with a minimal number of extra holes.

Selfish question

The new MacBook will go on sale April 10. So far its price in the USA is known, where for the younger model (1.1 GHz processor, 256 GB SSD) the company will ask $1299 (excluding taxes), and for the older one (1.2 GHz processor, 512 GB SSD) - $1599 . The only option offered is the ability to install a 1.3 GHz processor, but how much this will cost is still unknown.

Apple reinvents the laptop

The company has truly reinvented the laptop because its competitors don't have anything like it. Here you have minimal dimensions, a weight of 920 g, a chic Retina display with an IPS matrix, a fairly powerful hardware that can work without recharging for 9–10 hours, a keyboard with a new key mechanism and backlight system, and a trackpad with tactile recoil and determination of pressing force.