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MacBook Pro with Touch Bar review

By Eric Steigerwald
14 February 2019

MSRP: $2,399.00

$2,099.99

Amazon.com

The MacBook Pro! I tend to find that with Apple there is no middle ground. You are either fully on board with what Apple does, their operating system, their prices and so on…. Or you are simply not. Today’s MacBook Pro with Touch Bar review is looking at the version that was released in the middle of 2018.

The Need To Know

This is not a full new version of the MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro we are looking at today is more of a middle ground, a stopping off point before Apple make unleash their full successor. They have of course added some extra upgrades, a little more horsepower and so on to tempt you into making the purchase or even the upgrade from your existing MacBook Pro.

Pros:

The SSD is lighting light quick
The CPU and GPU has been upgraded
Nice and light design
Apple quality through and through

Cons:

Battery life is still not the best
The asking price is a bit on the high side

The Specs

If you are a tech head and want to know the full specs for the mid-2018 MacBook Pro, here they are. Please keep in mind this is the most base version of this particular MacBook Pro.

Width: 11.97 inches
Height: 0.59 inches
Depth: 8.36 inches
Weight: 1.37 kg
Screen Size: 13.3 inches
CPU: 2.7GHz Intel Core i7-8559U
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics
Memory: 8 GB
SSD: 256 GB
Camera: 720p
Ports: 4x Thunderbolt 3 USB C
Battery: Lithium-polymer
Audio: High dynamic range
Wi-Fi: AC WiFi

The General Feeling

If the original version of this MacBook Pro did not float your boat then, in all honesty, this one is probably not going to either. However, in this MacBook Pro with Touch Bar review, you will see why if you are a big fan of what Apple did with the MacBook Pro, why it could be worth the upgrade for you.

In comparison to some of the other laptops that have come out in the later part of 2018 as well as the early part of 2019. Most notably the offerings from Dell and Huawei, the MacBook Pro may seem a little high priced.

The Asking Price

Hey, this is 2019 so you know that there is not just one version of the laptop you are interested in! the basic default version of the MacBook Pro, you are looking at anywhere from $1500 to $1800, depending on where you shop.

This price when you consider it only has 8 GB of ram and an SSD that is 256 GB can be a hard pill for people to swallow. The weird thing is the upgraded version has double the ram and double the space on the SSD (those are the only two upgrades as far as I am aware) and this will costs you under a grand extra.

If the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar interests you, you are better saving up and getting the upgraded version as the asking price for that seems a lot fairer than what you are getting with the base version.

How Is It Built?

You knew coming into this MacBook Pro with Touch Bar review that I was going to be praising the design. Say what you will about Apple, but they know how to make some sexy looking electronics and this one is no different.

As you would expect from a MacBook it feels very solid when you are carrying it around and thanks to it being slim and lightweight it takes up very little space in a bag. I am not saying you could play soccer with this in your bag, but it is so well made (as most Apple products are) you will not be as worried if you dropped your bag with this in it as you may with a different laptop.

While the price tag is rather high, you know when you hold this MacBook in your hand that you are dealing with a solid piece of kit. There is nothing worse than spending two grand on a device and having it feel cheap. Cheap is certainly something that the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar does not feel.

What About The Screen?

Let me start by saying that the screen on this is great. It is not upgraded from the previous model, but in all honesty, Apple really did not need to. It is the same resolution and it has the same amount of pixels at 2560×1600.

The screen is very sharp and while I would not say this is the best screen for doing things like watching movies. The retina display and the design of the screen make doing general work on this thing much easier on your eyes. That is something that could make this a great purchase if you are looking at this as a laptop that is mainly for work.

While the screen is not “new” Apple has added a new feature to this laptop and some of you have probably come to this MacBook Pro with Touch Bar review to hear about it. that new feature is their True Tone. This reads the room you are in and adjusts things accordingly.

This really is a great feature and it has been something that people have loved Apple putting on their new phones. You can turn True Tone on and off, but I do think that it is worth keeping it on.

How Long Can It Go? (The Battery)

People expect a lot from a laptop battery these days and when you are spending this kind of money on a laptop that is to be expected. Apple has used its high-quality Lithium-polymer battery in this laptop. Now if you listen to them, they say that the battery life is around 10 hours.

While in theory, this could be true, it is important to remember that this greatly depends on what you are doing as certain things and settings put more of a drain on the battery. Still, I can tell you that the battery Apple has put in here is better than the previous model. You are easily looking at a couple of extra hours of battery life with this one over the previous version.

The Software & Features

The first thing that is worth talking about here is the fact that Apple has put in a better CPU and GPU over the previous version of the laptop. So if you were to upgrade you would certainly notice a difference in the general running of the laptop.

The SSD that Apple has gone for is awesome! It is very, very impressive at how quick this thing is. If you are using it for work, being able to load, edit, save and move around files quickly is something that you are greatly going to appreciate. It is one of the more unsung great features of this laptop and I wanted to make sure my MacBook Pro with Touch Bar review mentioned it.

As far as connectivity goes, you have three Thunderbolt Ports to keep you happy. This is certainly an upgrade from the previous model. Not just because there are three, but they are better made than they were before. these ports will come in really handy if you wanted to use a new graphics card or something like that. Still, though, why do so many companies want to move away from letting us use a standard USB stick?

The keyboard on here is a typical Apple keyboard and from my experience, this can be something that takes a while to get used to. I do not mean that in a bad way, the layout is a little different than what you are used to (unless you are coming to this from a previous MacBook) but once you do, you will be typing like a pro!

Now let’s get on to the Touch Bar! Hmm, the Touch Bar. This is a tough thing to talk about as in theory the Touch Bar is a great idea, it makes the laptop look much sleeker and it should be really handy. The Touch Bar though is very sensitive and if your finger just hovers over part of it while you are typing you can select something without meaning to.

The Final Say On The MacBook Pro With Touch Bar

While my MacBook Pro with Touch Bar review may not have been what you would call a glowing endorsement. I do feel that this is still a great laptop, it is just that it is not a full leap and more of a stop-gap. Do not get me wrong the changes that Apple have made to this laptop certainly make it better than the previous model.

With that being said though if you have the previous MacBook Pro, you might not want to get this and just wait for the next MacBook Pro model Apple make. If you have not yet jumped on the MacBook Pro train yet though. Well, this is well worth spending the extra money on over the previous model. The better hardware, the super-fast SSD and the True Tone feature make it a great purchase…… as long as you get the upgraded version!

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