All You Need To Know About The New MacBook Pro

The highly anticipated new MacBook Pro has finally been announced by Apple, and although we already expected a number of the new features due to numerous leaks and rumours, there were a few surprises from the new laptop range.

So here’s all you need to know about the MacBook Pro 2016:

1) The Touch Bar

 

The feature that has got everyone talking is the Touch Bar which replaces the traditional function keys at the top of the keyboard. The Touch Bar is a multi-touch OLED strip which controls different things depending on what you are doing at the time.

2) Touch ID

The new laptop also comes with a fingerprint sensor which is built into the keyboard next to the Touch Bar. No more passwords needed to log onto your computer, you just press the button and it’s unlocked. It will also enable you to authorise app installation and make purchases via Apple Pay.

3) Screen Boost

Apple is releasing the MacBook Pro in the same two sizes as its predecessor, offering a 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pro’s, both of which come with Retina Display screens. And although they have the same number of pixels as the previous versions, the colour gamut, brightness and contrast ratio have all been boosted.

4) Thinner and Lighter

 

The new 13 inch MacBook Pro is 17% thinner than its predecessor and weighs just 1.37kg (the previous 13 inch MacBook Pro weighed 1.58kg). This actually makes it thinner and smaller than the 13 inch MacBook Air and only weighs 0.02kg more, which could mean Apple is phasing out the MacBook Air…

And the 15 inch MacBook Pro is 14% thinner than its predecessor and weights 1.83kg (the previous 15 inch MacBook Pro weighed 2.04kg).

5) New Keyboard and Trackpad

 

All new MacBook Pros have a new Force Touch trackpad which is twice the size of its predecessor.

The keyboard has also had an update and now uses the butterfly key action which Apple says has been tweaked so it feels better to type on.

6) Powerful Spec

The 15 inch MacBook Pro is of course a lot more powerful with the entry level laptop featuring a 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and Radeon Pro 450 GPU with 2GB of VRAM.

The 13 inch model comes in a few options. The entry-level model comes with two USB-C ports but no Touch Bar or Touch ID and features a 2.0GHz dual-core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and Intel Iris 540 graphics.

The upgraded model comes with four USB-C ports, a Touch Bar/Touch ID and comes with a 2.9GHz dual-core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and Intel Iris 550 graphics.

7) A Headphone Jack

 

The new MacBook Pro has simplified the ports down to two types, a headphone jack and either two or four USB-C connectors, which can handle everything else.

The USB-C connectors can handle the power, USB, HDMI, Thunderbolt, VGA and DisplayPort so if you have an adapter it can handle almost anything.

8) It Is Pricey

The weak pound has knocked up the price but the MacBook Pro is still a lot more than expected.

The cheapest model, which is the 13 inch with two USB-C ports and no Touch Bar starts at £1,449 and the 13 inch with four USB-C Ports and a Touch Bar starts at £1,749.

The 15 inch starts at £2,349 and goes up to £2,699!