Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought the new Macbook Pro 13 without Touch Bar directly from Apple.com. I have been using it for a few days and here are my initial impressions. I am an avid Apple user and have an older Macbook Pro 15”, Macbook 12” 2016, iPad Pro, iPad Mini and iPhone 7 to provide some context. High-Level Overview: This particular model (base, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) is definitely a Macbook Air replacement but it is NOT a “Pro” model per se. I would highly recommend this machine to people looking for an excellent Air model with great screen. I would also recommend this to anyone that is looking at a 12” model and doesn’t mind the extra pound of weight it is a great upgrade from the 12” in most aspects. Also this is a much more compact 13” model. The bezels on the screen are greatly reduced and the machine overall is not that much larger then 12”. Engineering: This machine is typical Apple it is well engineered with a thin and light form factor. It is a truly gorgeous looking machine. It is 3lbs and pretty much the exact weight of an Air and just a lb heavier than the 12” Macbook. The chassis is very compact for the size of the machine overall. Screen: I admit I am a screen snob and this screen is quite gorgeous the color is great and definitely welcome if you have iPad Pro 9.7 and iPhone 7 which also have this color gamut. The colors are rich. This thing is eye piercing bright. Much brighter then any other laptop I have ever used. Overall it is great having the extra real-estate of the larger screen when compared to the 12” Macbook. Keyboard: I love the new keyboard. I know this is a user specific thing and so try it out but give it a chance because my 12” experience took me a few weeks to warm up to it. In honesty I never took to that one because it was like typing on glass. This is similar in that it has much less travel then the older MBP but it has enough travel compared to the 12” to feel much better. The larger keys are also easier to make less mistakes on. I also love the clickety clack of the keyboard on this new model. There is something satisfying about it. Touch Pad: its great overall. Its quite large. I wish they would have made pencil compatibility or had the touch bar integrated into this large touch pad that would have been quite awesome. I think the touch bar is gimmicky maybe I’ll be proved wrong over time but the placement seems odd to using the device. This is the one without it so I haven’t used it but it seems counter intuitive to stop and look at a small bar at the top of the keyboard. Speed: This machine is fast if you are looking at it compared to an Air or a 12” machine. For a pro level computer not so much. The SSD screams and the package overall is excellent for the right consumer. I can’t really understand why Apple didn’t call this Macbook + or Macbook Air + or something like that because it is not a Pro machine so it seems confusing to the marketing for this because, price aside, this is the AIR replacement everyone has been clamoring for. Price: So the elephant in the room is price. This is about $200 north of obnoxious pricing. I think it is a fine machine and I love it personally but I had a feel of being gouged a bit by Apple at $1,499. When compared to an Air well that is a bit odd because that machine is really old when you look at it the screen alone is ancient. So $999 for that machine is obscene to really given what you get. So its hard to compare the 2. When looking at a 12” I would say go with this one if you don’t mind the extra 1lb. If you really need maximum portability the 12” is OK but it is not nearly as fast as this one (I have the m5 model) and it lagged at certain points its definitely serviceable but again for the pricing this is the best machine in that category from Apple. I do recommend this machine to the right consumer. Namely a Macbook Air person looking for a great screen and battery life and that will last 3-5 years. Also for someone in the market for a 12” and not minding the extra weight go for this one you will not be disappointed at all. The only small gripe I have is that it doesn’t come in the range of colors like gold. It is a small minor thing but oh well. I feel that Apple should lower the 12” pricing in the future to 1099 and drop the Air altogether, lower this one to 1299 and then go from there. That would be much fairer pricing to me and still provide a competitive entry level machine albeit at a steep price. The apple tax is alive and well but on the good side this machine should last for 3-5 + years easily so at least it will be amortized over a period of time and makes the sting of the purchase a little less.