New MacBook
I just bought a MacBook a year ago so I’m not interested in this year’s macbook pro, but if I did not I would have surely bought it. It still has many problems, but finally even at Apple, stubborn as they are, have realized that the butterfly keyboard was a complete and utter disaster.
PROS
-
Finally a keyboard that actually works when you type It is astonishing that this needs to be in a list of pros for a laptop, but here we are. What a shame. People say it is even better than the 2015 macbook pro keyboard and more in line with the magic keyboard, that’s just great. I love the magic keyboard.
-
Finally the escape key is back Same as above.
-
The touch id and off button is now more visible. I took a week to realize where it was when I bought mine.
-
Great specs You can future-proof your new macbook really well this year
-
Great microphone Finally we have a really good microphone already in our mac so during skype/slack/zoom calls we don’t always have to use headphones + mic to get a decent audio. We will still need it to record a podcast or for something where we want more sound fidelity, but for 99% of the times it will be good enough.
CONS
-
The Usual Prices As always prices are off the charts, but we’re unfortunately all used to it. As usual it costs the same to fly to the US, spend a weekend there, buy the mac and come back to Europe than buying it in most European contries. Insane.
-
Touchbar The touchbar is still here, it seems that Apple won’t go back on this. It is way worse than having physical keys and the missclicks are still a big problem. I even had to hide a few buttons so that they didn’t miss fire so often. Having an esc key is a little improvement on the old touchbar though.
-
Ports Again the “pro” line comes with only 4 USB-C ports and everyone is forced to buy an ugly dongle. Why Apple? Design (and being the thinnest) should not trump on usability. Every single pro needs at least a USB port and HDMI.
-
Macsafe Still no decent alternative to Macsafe. Its removal was a shame. Knowing thagt I would not drop my mac if someone tripped on the power cable saved it from falling more than a couple times. The new mac already risked dropping from the desk three times because of the USB-C connector instead.
Should You Buy It?
If you’re looking for a new mac you should buy hands down. It solves most of the major issues that plagued the recent macbook line-up. If you’ve bought a new mac recently it is debatable based on your budget and how much you hate the butterfly keyboard. Personally I will wait a few years before making such an expensive purchase (my current mac has 2 years).