Smackdown

you know what you’re getting with a macbook, but is that still enough?

If you’re on the hunt for a slick, pro-level laptop, you’d do a lot worse than to invest in one of these humdingers. But should you go for the Surface Book or

the Macbook Pro? Fight!

Design

It’s beginning to feel a little dated, but Apple’s silver fox is still quite the looker. Its solid aluminium chassis remains as durable as ever and, from its easy-to-open lid to the glowing logo on the back, the MacBook screams premium.

Features

Two speedy Thunderbolt 2.0 ports, a vibrant 13-inch, 2,560 x 1,600-pixel Retina Display and a Force Touch trackpad make this a practical if less exciting choice. It does lack a touchscreen and pen support – so no direct scribbling here.

Performance

Though it only packs Intel’s fifth-gen processor, the Pro is no slouch. On the £1,399 model, you get 512GB of flash storage, but a lack of discrete graphics rules out heavy gaming. With ten hours of claimed battery life, it’s great for road warriors.

Usability

OS X El Capitan is fast and as solid as a rock. The MacBook opens instantly from sleep mode, and its keyboard is comfortable for long typing sessions. The App Store is full of apps designed to take advantage of the Retina Display.

Rates It’s fast and reliable, has apps for every occasion and is much cheaper than the Surface.

Slates It can’t convert into a tablet, it lacks the latest CPU and there’s no touchscreen.