“There’s a decent chance you missed the MacBook news this week,” Brian Heater reports for TechCrunch. “It was buried amid a flood of news as Apple powered through announcements at the WWDC keynote on Monday. Like the majority of the hardware news at the event, the differences are entirely behind the scenes — and let’s be honest, upgraded Intel processors will never be as exciting to the layperson as a Siri speaker or iMac Pro.”
“But slowly and surely, the little machine is becoming a more well-rounded and capable device. And this latest version is some nice refinements to the system. Perhaps most importantly, the company has addressed one of the biggest complaints with last couple of models — that flat, under-responsive keyboard,” Heater reports. “The company has added the same butterfly switches you’ll find on the new MacBook Pro, so it no longer feels like typing on a flat piece surface… The difference is clear almost immediately.”
“Looks-wise, the system is indistinguishable from its predecessor, which is mostly a good thing. The standard MacBook is probably the best looking laptop on the market and perfectly portable,” Heater reports. “Running the standard Geekbench benchmark, I got a sizable boost over last year’s model, so overall things should be much smoother.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: These’ll be our road Macs (loaded: 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i7, 16GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 memory, 512GB SSD storage, Intel HD Graphics 615) if we don’t make the move to iPad Pro for everything on the road (as soon as iOS 11 is a stable release since we believe that Multi-Touch Drag and Drop plus Apple’s new Files app will now make such a move feasible for us).
As stated previously, our goal is always as small and as lightweight as possible on the go (which is why we’re still rocking our beloved 11-inch MacBook Airs), so getting to the point of just carrying an iPad Pro would be the ultimate solution for us.
I consulted for a user of the 11-inch Macbook Air. This person loved it because of its portability. However, its hinge was ready to go, so I suggested a switch to the MacBook. It was the right call – the person was happy that it was just as portable as the old one but with a much better screen. The only dislike was the new USB-C, but since the only use is occasionally printing at one remote location, the USB adapter is only a minor inconvenience. I think it’s the perfect replacement for the 11-inch Air.
While the 12″ MacBook has eclipsed the old MacBook Air in performance, it is a very poor value due to its reliance on adapters and breakout boxes which completely undermine the supposed superior portability that it is advertised to offer. That is why the creaky old 13″ Air remains in the lineup. The Air’s screen is an embarrassment however, so the only recommendable laptop for modest, price sensitive users is the touchbarless MacBook Pro.
Several people have correctly pointed out how badly Apple’s laptop range has been confused now that Timmy and Jony drove their pink thinness theme to the point of insanity. The 12″ model should have been labeled an Air, the current Air should be a super cheap education & 3rd world only model, the current touchbarless MacBook Pros should have been labeled as MacBooks, and the top end touchbar models should have been thicker and more powerful to equal the best or the competition, preferably with a 17″ model offered. All models should be promoted with a sustained advertising campaign and market share gained by dropping prices a couple hundred dollars or so.
Instead Apple charges a premium price for less usability than prior generation MacBooks across the board.
I can’t get over the lack of thunderbolt.
The USB-C connectors on the base MacBook Pro support Thunderbolt 3, so anybody who really needs Thunderbolt should go that route. Besides the ports, the Pro has a lot more features for the same price ($1299) as a MacBook.
The only drawback is an extra two pounds of weight, but portability is probably not the top priority for somebody who needs enough extra power to be hauling around Thunderbolt peripherals. There is a cost for everything.
Over the past few years I have upgraded my work laptop from a 2012 MBA to a 2015 MBP, and most recently to a 2016 MBP (due to a HW issue). I don’t like needing to bring an adapter along for USB and SD card compatibility, but I can understand the rationale behind it. What I can’t understand is why my latest machine lacks the ability to use my 27″ iMac as an additional monitor. I used that functionality nearly every day with my older laptops, and I miss it.
(Yes, I bought the USB-C/Thunderbolt 2 adapter just to see if it would work, but it does not. I verified with the senior tech rep at my local Apple Store that my model does not support that functionality. Not sure about the touch bar models, or the models that were announced this week.)
The USB-c that is used to power the MacBook is also an extremely fast data connection adaptable to Thunderbolt and Mini-Display port as well as video connections such as HDMI, VGA and DVI.
The MacBook also has the Retina screen, 256GB flash storage, and pioneered the new keyboard now found in the MB Pro line.
And there are USB-c docks available as aftermarket devices
The MacBook is probably as close as it will get for the optimal portable computing device, it’s actually pretty phenomenal how much power Apple has packed into such a small form factor.
I disagree. The iPad Pro take that title.
It just needs ONE MORE USB-C port.
Two more, plus an ethernet port.
Ethernet will never happen. That ship has long since sailed.
Then why does Apple sell expensive white ethernet dongle adapters to go with their pretty pink netbook? Wireless has never and will never exceed wired connections for speed stability and security. I guess being a brand fanboy, accepting Apple’s forced design compromises and paying a premium for a less capable device is what matters to some here.
What nonsense about the Ethernet ship having sailed. Note that Apple has just built-in new 10Gb Ethernet into the forthcoming iMac Pro. The MacBook desperately needs an Ethernet port – but mostly does not have it because the connector is too large to fit into the thin device. But, as others have commented, that is exactly why it needs one more USB-C port, so that you can run ethernet into the one port, and power into the other. Also, Apple should sell its own USB-C to Ethernet adapter (people are complaining that the Belkin sold on the Apple store does not support 1 Gig ethernet).
To repeat my point above: Nobody should be buying a MacBook rather than a base MacBook Pro (for the same price) unless they need to put portability above power. The Apple and Belkin Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapters support 10/100/1000BASE-T networks. Complaining that your MacBook doesn’t have extra ports and a fast processor is like complaining that your Smart Car won’t tow your mobile home.
Apple makes several different models of several different computers (plus configure-to-order options) because one size does not really fit all.
The wedge-shaped design of the Macbook and Macbook Air is far more advanced, ergonomically optimal and elegant than the new square design of the new Macbook Pros. I think the latter are a substandard design by comparison. Tried the Touch Bar – fun to play with for 2 minutes, might have some use in very specific applications, but ultimately seemed mostly irritating and distracting.
No touch ID = No sale.