MacBook Pro with Touch Bar Review Roundup

This version of the MacBook Pro laptop comes with a significant hardware upgrade, including the new Touch Bar (although you can also find models without the Bar). Is it worth upgrading from your current college MacBook? Lets see what people are saying about it!

Features

In addition to that Touch Bar of programmable icons, the 13-inch model also has USB-C connections, a 3.1 GHz Kaby Lake CPU upgrade, and storage up to a 1TB SSD. Battery tests show a life of around 14 hours, and RAM goes up to 16GB.

Pros

• Faster processers appear to make a real difference
• Screen is very high-quality

Cons

• Keyboard is shallow and awkward to learn
• Ports are limited to USB-C

PC Mag

PC Mag notes that the latest version of the MacBook Pro includes new Intel processors and a significant graphics upgrade for faster performance and an incredibly beautiful screen that somehow doesn't impact battery life. However, they were less excited about the keyboard, which they said had shallow key travel, and weren't sure about the expense that the Touch Bar brought to the model.

"Meanwhile, the keyboard might require a more drastic adjustment. Apple says the butterfly style of its switches are more stable than the conventional laptop key switches, which resemble scissors. The result is very shallow key travel. In testing, it took me several pages of typing to become accustomed to the keyboard, which feels more like pecking away on a tablet or phone screen than typing on a laptop. The experience was tolerable—not necessarily enjoyable—but the keyboard (which is also backlit) will likely meet with your instant approval if you learned to type on a smartphone rather than a PC."

Techradar

Techradar approved of the performance changes that Apple had made to improve the speed the of the MacBook Pro. Interestingly, while PC Mag praised the battery life, Techradar said just the opposite – that the battery was subpar. Both reviewers, however, noted that the keyboard was difficult to get used to and the price may be a little too much for the common consumer.

"Otherwise, MacBook Pro is a fine machine whose appeal derives from the fact that it now has the latest 7th-generation Intel Kaby Lake processors, up to 16GB of memory and up to 1TB of storage. But, more importantly, it uses all of these hardware features together in order to deliver the best macOS 10.13 High Sierraexperience possible within the confines of a neatly wrapped and compact computing package."

Amazon Users

Amazon users appeared to agree that this version of the MacBook Pro was, if nothing else, better than the earlier versions that they had replaced, with a more favorable design and typically faster performance. However, many noted that the Touch Bar was a fun gimmick but didn't really add anything to the overall experience.

"Purchased this laptop to replace a 2013 model. I have been blown away by the speed, the bright crisp display. The keyboard takes some getting use too for sure, but it's not bad. I know I will get use to it quickly. The big trackpad is very nice. Then there is the touch bar, which is interesting. I have really gotten use out of it and I really didn't think I would. The one thing about this model too is that it has 4 USB-C Thunderbolt 3 Ports. The non touch bar version only has 2. Also I really like using Touch ID to be able to login to my computer. Overall this is a sweet MacBook Pro and I know it will last me for awhile given the 2013 model has giving me great performance for many years."

Bottom Line

The price is high, but this Pro appears to be a worthy upgarde. However, you may want to consider ditching the Touch Bar version unless you absolutely need this expensive feature. Get all the latest laptop reviews by Gadget Review by visiting http://www.gadgetreview.com/reviews/laptop-computer-reviews.

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