Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsSmall Things Add Up To Great - Don't Wait!
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2016
Long time Apple products user, this laptop is so much better than I expected. A few points that might be useful for your consideration:
I actually delayed purchase because in the store those super thin, super light MacBooks make the Pro feel heavy. But then I realized the pro was just a very little heavier from the top of the line Air I am retiring. For a small amount of weight I get tremendously more power.
The USB-C ports? Better than expected - they plug in without any "up"'or "downside" and you can plug power into any port on either side. I travel a lot so plugging in in either side helps in those hotels more than I expected. Yes I have to have some adapters--but I needed those, for example for an HDMI or VGA projector connection, anyway.
The keyboard is magical, and it is hard to explain why. The keys are responsive for sure, but they are set into the casing so low, and the surface of the keys are slick enough, that your fingers can slide across the keys in a strangely fluid way of typing.
The touch bar? Was sure this was sort of a gimmic--not at all! Turns out it is a fantastic way to control so many different aspects of the computer. It is nothing less than a star-trek like instrument panel that changes based on the context of what you are doing. Being able to make purchases or unlock authorization requests with a quick fingerprint is surprisingly quick, easy and truly useful.
Memory? After doing a lot of research online I discovered that given the speed of solid state drives, swap files are not all that different on SSDs than how larger amounts of working memory are used to avoid using swap files. While there are admittedly differences between the memory in SSDs and the chips on the CPU board, researchers are showing that more memory beyond even just 8 Gigs (what I purchased), offers little gain. So I spent the dollars on a larger SSD (512) than more working memory.
I also researched the i5 vs i7 chip options, but stayed with the i5 once I discovered that both support only 4 cores in these machines. (You need a desktop version of the i7 to get the 8 core power -- or the 15" Laptop)
And yes, the screen is gorgeous and the colors are richer; for a work machine, this is not the most important thing for me--except for how sharp text appears on the screen. My eyes do appreciate the clarity very much.
I do a lot of business related writing, powerpoints, endless amounts of email, and I also fire up Lightroom and Photoshop and other more demanding apps - wonderfully responsive with all of these. Again it's the fast SSD that is making most of the real world difference, I believe.
And that super large track pad basically means that you never have to reach to, or adjust to where the track pad is; rather, it is always just there--wherever your hands are on the keypad.
And the sound!! Truly amazing speakers!
Another small thing that turns out to matter--having a machine that turns on as you lift the lid (and in my case authorizes access with my Apple Watch) makes for an amazingly seemless experience--it feels as if it is anticipating what you want to be doing...
So, now I am only frustrated because I waited to purchase. Many of the old specs seem to matter so much less now. In the real world this is a package that just hums along, quick, powerful, so well thought out that it almost makes work fun again.
Good luck with your own purchase decisions!!
