To call the MacBook Pro, Apple's "problem child,quot; will do him great harm. After all, it was a really powerful laptop that was surpassed by many buyers around the world. Having said that, I was not without problems, since most people seemed to be quite unhappy with the keyboard. Then there were acceleration problems and some related to the battery as well. If it would be wrong to say that MacBook was a childish problem, then it would not be wrong to say that of all Apple devices, MacBook was in the news for the most wrong reasons.
Apple with its new 16-inch MacBook Pro claims to have addressed all of them. There is a new keyboard, a new screen size, new speakers to name some updates that Apple has made. At an initial price of Rs 1.99,900, Apple offers it to "Pro,quot; users who want to update their previous MacBooks and also switch to some high-end Windows users. We've been using the 16-inch MacBook Pro as our daily controller for a while and this is what we think about it:
Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch review: design and visualization
Let's start with the new 16-inch screen and the modifications it brings to the MacBook Pro. As expected, the new MacBook Pro is thicker, taller, wider and heavier. The previous MacBook Pro was 0.61 inches thick, while this one is 0.64 inches. The 16-inch MacBook Pro weighs around 4.3 pounds and is a heavy device. It may look a lot like the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro, but there are many differences. The thickness makes it heavier but more powerful. If you want to load it in your backpack for a one-day conference or in a 6-hour transit at the airport, you will feel overwhelmed.
That said, the weight is worth it, since Apple has made this machine really powerful and that would not have been possible making it more robust. If you want a thin MacBook, you always have to choose the MacBook Air. Apple has kept the same unibody aluminum case for the MacBook and is the classic case if it's not broken, why fix it.
The 16-inch screen has eliminated some bezels compared to the previous generation of MacBook Pro. The screen also offers more resolution (3072 x 1920) than the previous MacBook Pro, which had a resolution of 2560 x 1600. The improved resolution of the screen means that you end up looking at an excellent screen where the colors are accurate, the brightness levels are excellent and the contrast is top notch. We used the MacBook Pro in outdoor conditions with bright sunlight and we had absolutely no problem with the LCD screen. Whether playing games, editing images or watching multimedia content, the MacBook Pro screen is ideal for everything.
Apple MacBook Pro review (16 inches): performance
More meat has been added not only to the outside but to the bowels of the MacBook Pro. Apple is offering multiple processors to choose from, since the 16-inch MacBook Pro has the latest Intel six and eight-core i7 and i9 processors. These processors can reach impulse speeds of up to 5 Ghz, which in simple terms means that it is a really fast machine. Buyers also have the option to choose between AMD Radeon Pro 5300M and 5500M GPUs with 4GB of VRAM. The game is much better on this MacBook than the previous one and much better than most of the Windows devices we have used. The graphic representation is also much faster than we have seen in most other laptops.
The MacBook Pro we have reviewed had the following configuration: Intel Core i9 CPU of the ninth generation at 2.3 GHz, 8 cores with 16 GB of RAM, an Intel UHD Graphics 630AMD Radeon Pro 5500M graphics card with 8 gigabytes of memory, along with 1 TB of storage. This is not the best of the line, but it is quite close to him and it was a real bad machine.
The new MacBook Pro offers performance that is frankly unmatched. Delays? It is not happening. Does the MacBook Pro "hangs up,quot;? No way. What happens when you do several tasks and open too many tabs at once? The MacBook seems to challenge you and ask "how many tabs can you dare to open?" To be fair, this is not new in this MacBook Pro, since that of the previous generation was also terribly powerful and did not give anyone any complaints.
Review of the Apple MacBook Pro (16 inches): keyboard, battery and more
Now that we are afraid and complaining in a sentence, it may be the right time to talk about the new keyboard. There is a scene in Quentin Tarantino's cult classic, Pulp Fiction, when Samuel L Jackson's character, Jules, delivers one, one of many bright, citable quotes. "If my answers scare you, then you should stop asking scary questions."
The "scary,quot; question here is whether Apple has improved the keyboard on the new MacBook Pro. The answer is not scary, in fact, it is quite the opposite. The keyboard on the 16-inch MacBook Pro to put it simply is really wonderful. Now, here we would like to clarify that, unlike many users around the world, we really did not have a problem with the old keyboard. However, that was to the point where we had never used the new keyboard. Suddenly, the old keyboard felt a bit archaic.
The keyboard on the MacBook Pro offers more key travel, which is now up to 1 mm from 0.7 mm. Apple made the keys more elastic and the keys are stronger than ever. Writing does not sound too much and is a more pleasant experience.
The problem with Apple keyboards began when it obtained the butterfly switch in 2015. It was a mechanism that allowed less key travel time and took up less space, but created problems. Apple also had to initiate a repair policy for those who suffered keyboard problems on certain MacBooks. The keyboards were improved in later MacBooks, but it was a kind of albatross around the neck of the company.
Not anymore, since the new Magic keyboard lets all those "ghosts,quot; of the past rest. Is this the best keyboard you will use? Not really, but it's very, very good and that will work for now.
Apple has also recovered the Escape key with the new keyboard, since on the MacBook of the previous generation it was in the Touch Bar. For us, this barely made a difference, but apparently many people are delighted to recover the Escape key. The TouchID fingerprint sensor is also a different key and is not part of the touchbar. The location of the "button,quot; of Siri still bothers us, since we unintentionally end up activating it even when it's not necessary.
The MacBook Pro's trackpad remains as excellent as ever and works with the slightest touch. Without forgetting, it is still large, so you will have no problem navigating it.
One has to talk about Touch Bar, which gives users access to brightness levels and volume controls, among other things. One can touch the touch bar to change tabs in Safari or even search for sites. Even so, the use of the touch bar, in our opinion, remains the subject of debate. That said, there is a colleague who simply swears and can't really do without it. We assume that this is the audience for which Apple still persists with a feature that may be removed.
The keyboard has improved greatly, the screen is excellent, but those are not really the class-leading features offered by the new MacBook Pro. That honor has to be given to new speakers. Without a doubt, they are the best speakers you'll find on any laptop. The new six-speaker system makes the music sound really good and can easily replace a Bluetooth speaker as it fills a small room with quality output. Also, anyone who uses the MacBook to edit videos will not really separate the headphones, since the speakers sound really good.
Apple has improved the battery life of the new MacBook Pro, since it now lasts a whole day with web browsing, document editing, writing work, among other things. Yes, if you use high-strength video editing software, it would last less. The new MacBook Pro now comes with a 96-watt charger, which means it also charges relatively quickly.
If you are an unconditional Mac user, then the lack of ports is something you accept as part of the course. There are four USB-C Thunderbolt 3 ports along with a headphone jack. Take it with us, you will always need to carry a dongle or two with the MacBook Pro, since the lack of a USB-A port or an SD card slot will annoy many potential buyers.
Apple MacBook Pro review (16 inches): verdict
Starting at Rs 1.99,900, the MacBook is an expensive laptop, but it includes many features that make it a pretty convincing purchase. Existing Mac users, who were not happy with the keyboard, have a good reason to upgrade. "Pro,quot; users will find that the MacBook offers everything they look for in a laptop. Apple has greatly improved the MacBook and is evident in almost every facet of this laptop, which is what makes it the best MacBook money can buy. If you have the cash and are ready to splash, do it and forget to buy a new laptop for the next five years at least. This MacBook will undoubtedly last a long time, will age well and, for Apple's sake, will hopefully throw the "troubled child,quot; for once and forever.