MacBook Pro: Touché, a special touch

Apple's latest laptop - with a Touch Bar - stuns. But it's also going to burn a hole through your pocket

Finally, Apple came up with something different for its new laptop. The new MacBook Pro had heads turning and eyebrows rising when it revealed that it had replaced the traditional function keys with a special new feature. It also managed to get eyeballs rolling when consumers saw the giant leap in price.
The model we got to check out is the 15-incher. It is the brightest and lightest MacBook - 67 per cent brighter and up to 17 per cent thinner - and also has up to 130 per cent quicker graphics. It has an even bigger trackpad (which you can actually take notice and advantage of) and its keys are four times more stable (which you may not feel at all).
Back to that special new feature - this time, all eyes are on the Touch Bar. As you may have already heard by now, it's a strip of Retina display taking the place of the F keys. When you fire up an app, the Touch Bar displays touch functions you can use for that app. Open Safari and watch as the bar shows you open tabs, a new tab button and even a search command. Or crop or add filters on Photos. You can even do editing on iMovie with it!
Additionally, when you're filling up forms, the Touch Bar will present you with your details - full name, email address, etc - so you won't have to type them; just touch 'em. It's also customisable when you're in default mode.
At the right of the Touch Bar is another new and useful feature: a fingerprint scanner that lets you unlock your Touch Bar with ease.
The design is clean and minimal, just as one would expect from Apple, but the new space grey option (it's not new with Apple, but new for the MacBook) gives it a much cooler look. It's also important to note that all those ports you're familiar with are gone, replaced by four Thunderbolt 3 ports, which will need you to bust out additional cables and adaptors. But on the brighter side, the 3.5mm audio jack receives a stay of execution! I'm still trying to make sense of why Apple took it out of the iPhone 7 but stuck with it here.
The graphics are better thanks to what is called P3 colour, meaning you have 25 per cent more hues on your screen. And performance has also been souped-up with upto 100 per cent faster flash storage.

AND SO...
The Touch Bar is really cool, making it the biggest talking point of the new MacBook Pro, as you may have noticed. However, what's disturbing is the price: it's quite a leap from its predecessor. It is still a powerful machine without any glaring disadvantages, and luckily you have the choice of a lesser-priced 13-incher with and without a Touch Bar. I also couldn't help but wonder if the Touch Bar is a sign that a touchscreen MacBook is in the works? I asked Apple, but - as usual - they wouldn't comment.

The Lowdown
Processor: Up to 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz
Graphics: Up to Radeon Pro 460, up to 4GB GDDR5; Intel HD Graphics 530
OS: macOS Sierra
Display: 15.4" LED-backlit Retina display, 220ppi, 500 nits, Wide colour (P3); supports up to 2 5K displays
Memory: RAM - 16GB LPDDR3; storage - up to 2TB SSD
Connectivity: 4 Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C); Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2; 3.5mm audio
Camera: FaceTime HD
Audio: Stereo speakers with HDR; 3 mics
Battery: Up to 10h wireless Web; up to 30d standby
Price: From Dh9,499 to Dh11,099
Pros: Clean/light design, Touch Bar/Touch ID functionality, lots of RAM, great performance
Cons: Expensive (with a capital E), Touch Bar could be too tiny for some
Author's Rating: 9/10  
alvin@khaleejtimes com

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