Apple's long-awaited MacBook Pro refresh is finally here and it's... well, pretty much what we expected. That's Apple's fault, partially, after a recent macOS update revealed details about the laptop's OLED touch strip -- now known as the "Touch Bar" -- and Touch ID. Instead of having the usual function and hardware control keys at the top of the keyboard, the Touch Bar will offer contextual options depending on what you're doing. As usual, the new MacBook Pros will be available in 13-inch and 15-inch options, and they're both thinner and lighter than the previous generation.
While the overall design of both laptops looks similar to what came before, there's some significant refinement here. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is 14.9mm thin (17 percent skinnier than before), has 23 percent less volume and comes in at just 3 pounds. The 15-inch model is 15.5mm thin (14 percent less than before) and has reduced its volume by 20 percent. Overall, that bigger version is just four pounds.
While we've been hearing about a potential OLED strip for months now, the Touch Bar actually looks pretty compelling in person. In Safari, it shows you a list of your bookmarks. Perhaps most useful for texting addicts, there's a slew of commonly used emojis when using the Messages app. And in Mail, you've got buttons for creating a new message, replying, deleting and -- wait for it -- an escape key.
Plenty of Apple fans were annoyed by Apple's removal of the physical escape key, so it's nice to see the functionality is still around in some form. And if you need the traditional function keys, you just need to hold down the single function key, which is still at the bottom left corner of the keyboard. The Touch ID button is located all the way at the right of the Touch Bar, and it works just like it does on iOS. If you come across an online store in Safari that supports it, you just need to hold down your finger to pay for your order.
More details: apple.com
While the overall design of both laptops looks similar to what came before, there's some significant refinement here. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is 14.9mm thin (17 percent skinnier than before), has 23 percent less volume and comes in at just 3 pounds. The 15-inch model is 15.5mm thin (14 percent less than before) and has reduced its volume by 20 percent. Overall, that bigger version is just four pounds.
While we've been hearing about a potential OLED strip for months now, the Touch Bar actually looks pretty compelling in person. In Safari, it shows you a list of your bookmarks. Perhaps most useful for texting addicts, there's a slew of commonly used emojis when using the Messages app. And in Mail, you've got buttons for creating a new message, replying, deleting and -- wait for it -- an escape key.
Plenty of Apple fans were annoyed by Apple's removal of the physical escape key, so it's nice to see the functionality is still around in some form. And if you need the traditional function keys, you just need to hold down the single function key, which is still at the bottom left corner of the keyboard. The Touch ID button is located all the way at the right of the Touch Bar, and it works just like it does on iOS. If you come across an online store in Safari that supports it, you just need to hold down your finger to pay for your order.
More details: apple.com
