The reviews are in — here's what people are saying about Apple's latest laptop (AAPL)
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
The first batch of reviews for Apple's new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar are in, and they're mixed.
If you need a new laptop, are a Mac user, and have the money to spend, go ahead and buy the new MacBook Pro, my colleague Steve Kovach writes.
"The latest MacBook Pro model is slimmer, more powerful, and downright attractive," he wrote."It’s the best MacBook you can buy, but it’s also not for everyone."
Other reviewers had issues with the laptop's battery life, next-generation Thunderbolt ports, and questioned the usefulness of the laptop's banner new feature, a touchscreen strip that replaces the function keys that Apple calls Touch Bar.
The new MacBook Pro comes in three main versions: one with a 13-inch screen without the Touch Bar touchscreen keyboard integration, one with a 13-inch screen and a Touch Bar, and one with a 15-inch screen and a Touch Bar. These reviews focus on the versions with the Touch Bar.
Here's what tech pundits are saying about Apple's latest computer:
Joanna Stern, WSJ:
So how do you decide? Do you invest in the present—the “old” MacBook Pro with performance, good-enough portability, a keyboard to cherish and lots of ports? Or do you invest in the future—a beautiful, highly portable machine with new tricks? Or maybe you do what I’m doing: Stare down at your three-year-old laptop and wonder if you can tough it out another year or two while this sorts itself out.
Walt Mossberg, The Verge:
The biggest surprise in my tests was just how inconsistent the Touch Bar Pro’s battery life was. I have tested hundreds of laptops over the years and Macs have almost always excelled at meeting or beating their promised battery lives, both in my longtime battery test regime, and in typical daily use. But the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar wasn’t as reliably consistent as previous Macs.
On my rigorous test, which I’ve used for years, the machine actually exceeded Apple’s claim of up to 10 hours of battery life. The test involves setting the screen at 100 percent, keeping it on and undimmed constantly, playing an endless loop of music, and leaving Wi-Fi on to collect email, tweets, and Facebook posts in the background. Result: 11 hours and 38 minutes.
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So, my best advice is that even a mainstream, non-pro user can’t count on this laptop lasting the promised maximum of 10 hours — even in light to moderate use — let alone the 12 hour maximum a new Air can pull off. And you won’t have an accurate estimate to go by.
Dana Wollman, Engadget:
Apple rates both the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro for up to 10 hours of battery life, and that's either with web surfing or iTunes movie playback. Even after half a dozen battery tests, I'm still noticing some inconsistencies in my results: 13-inch battery life is sometimes in the seven- to eight-hour range, with some tests hinting at a ten-and-a-half-hour capacity. Testing on the 15-inch model has also been inconclusive. I've generally seen between nine and 10 hours of video playback, but in one instance I exceeded the 13-hour mark by lowering the brightness slightly. I'll be conducting more tests and updating this review with final battery life results.
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