Sleek and powerful
The new MacBook Pro 2018 is beauty and beast in one body, writes Izwan Ismail
APPLE’S MacBook Pro has always been regarded as the ultimate machine for mobile users who are doing work that requires powerful computing power like graphic design, video editing, 3D rendering, photo editing, coding, and other heavy tasks.
For its 2018 version, the Cupertinobased tech maker has come out with the most powerful and high-spec MacBook Pro, the 15-inch 8th-generation 6-core Intel i9 processor, a Touch Bar, up to 32GB RAM and 4TB of SSD, packed into a familiar slim aluminium body.
The company also offers the 13-inch model with a quad-core processor and an optional Touch Bar feature.
The one in review is the 15-inch model with a Touch Bar feature.
Apple said that the 15-inch model is 70 per cent faster performance wise while the 13-inch model offers up to two times faster performance than the previous version.
FIRST IMPRESSION
At a glance, the MacBook Pro 15-inch model looks similar to the ones from 2016 and 2017, but from the specs, you know that it’s a different beast altogether.
The smooth and slim aluminium design combined with a choice of silver or space grey colour make this computing device a great looker.
I just love the way everything is designed and placed on this machine — aligned and centralised.
From the side upward-facing stereo speakers to the Butterfly keyboard, trackpad, Touch Bar, logo, etc — all are precisely aligned.
The matte finish is smooth and really nice to touch. Despite its 15-inch screen, this MacBook Pro is one of the lightest in the 15-inch laptop range, weighing just 1.83kg. It’s thus very much portable, considering the power and specs that come with it.
The slim design is also achievable due to use of smaller ports like the Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) which Apple provides 4, 2 on each side.
FEATURES
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is a fully-loaded computing device.
One of its new features is the usage of Apple T2 chip, which was first introduced in iMac Pro.
With the Apple T2 chip, the MacBook Pro is able to deliver enhanced system security with support for secure boot and on-thefly encrypted storage, and also brings “Hey Siri” to the Mac for the first time.
Speaking of Siri, I think that it’s a clever move by Apple as it’s really handy. Some people may feel that Siri is more suitable for iPhones and iPads, but after using it for a while on this MacBook Pro, I feel it’s a great addition.
The voice of Siri on the two stereo speakers is just awesome — it’s different hearing it on the iPhone speaker and the one on this MacBook Pro — and having Siri on board makes certain things easier, like if you are looking for quick information like the weather. Instead of Googling it, just ask Siri.
The next thing that I consider a great innovation is the inclusion of the Touch Bar, just above the keyboard, in what used to be the place for function keys.
The slim screen (the Touch Bar) corresponds to what you see on the screen. Let’s say you’re using the Notepad to type, on the centre of the Touch Bar will be the word suggestions as you type.
Type a word halfway and the predictive word feature will suggest the word. If you misspell a word, the suggestion of the correct one will appear.
What you need to do is just touch the correct word and it will be corrected on the Notepad.
On the most right is the Siri logo. Touch it and Siri will wake up and be ready to receive your command. There are also the speaker and brightness logos on the right.
On the left side of the Touch Bar are shortcuts for functions or features available on the app or software that you’re accessing at the moment.
This is really handy compared to having to go to the menu and click, and it’s easily reachable by your fingers.
The keyboard on this MacBook Pro is very easy to type on and responsive.
SCREEN
The 15-inch Retina display is a joy to look at, be it for watching 4k videos and photos or doing daily work.
The screen has a resolution of 2880 X 1800 at 220ppi, which is very sharp and comes with vivid colours.
Besides that, Apple has also introduced the True Tone feature, which was made available in the iPhone and iPad Pro earlier, to the MacBook Pro.
For those who’ve just heard about this feature, it’s an Apple’s system for keeping the white balance of the display the same in appearance to the user, regardless of the ambient light around the screen.
So when the device is moved from one environment to another, the screen is perceived by the user to be the “same” at all times.
For the most part, True Tone is meant to make the experience of using the device more comfortable.
Matching the environment’s light scheme can help prevent strain or discomfort to the eyes.
From the third quarter of this year, MacBook Pro can be updated with macOS Mojave, the latest version of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system.
In macOS Mojave, a new Dark Mode transforms the desktop with a dramatic new look that puts the focus on user content.
I wrote this article on the Dark Mode setting, which gave me a dark background and white fonts, compared to the black on white appearance.
If you’re writing or do the stuff on the MacBook Pro in a dimmed environment, the Dark Mode helps as less light is reflected to your eyes, which may cause strain and discomfort.
PERFORMANCE
Power is not an issue with this 15-inch MacBook Pro.
The on board 2.9GHz Intel i9 processor and Apple T2 chip and 32GB of memory quickly turn this beautiful, sleek machine into a beast where computing power is concerned.
The increase in computing power is ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects, or doing advanced image processing or film editing.
The new MacBook Pro can compile code faster and run multiple virtual machines and test environments more easily than before. I have no issues running multiple screens and apps with it.
The choice to get up to 4TB of SSD, albeit expensive, will give power users peace of mind when it comes to storage.
Besides that, the MacBook Pro also comes with powerful Radeon Pro graphics, large Force Touch trackpad, Touch ID, quiet Apple-designed cooling system, and connection to up to two 5K displays or four external GPUs, and long battery life, which makes it the ultimate pro notebook.
CONCLUSION
If you’re a power user and do a lot of heavy computing stuff on the go, the MacBook Pro 15-inch may be the one for you.
The price for the 15-inch model with Touch Bar starts from RM9,999, while the 13-inch version with Touch Bar is available from RM7,499.