This equipment strikes with performance (and price). What can the new MacBook Pro do? [TOPtech]

But let’s start from the beginning. Here are seven things you should know about the device, which the American manufacturer valued at – trifle – at least several thousand zlotys.

1) PROVEN DESIGN AND MORE PORTS

Apple is famous for designing its devices with attention to every detail. The new MacBook Pro is no different. All elements of the device have been perfectly fitted together, and the housing made of aluminum gives the impression of being very solid and resistant to damage.

Equally solid is the hinge connecting the screen to the laptop base. It works smoothly and allows you to precisely adjust the angle of the display. When it comes to the body of the laptop, the manufacturer has opted for more rounded shapes, which not everyone has to like.

Fans of older MacBook Pro models will be delighted with the multitude of ports. We find here three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, headphone output, charging connector MagSafea memory card slot, and a port HDMI 2.1.that supports screens 8K with a refresh rate of 60 Hz or 4K with a refresh rate of up to 240 Hz.

2) OUTSTANDING MiniLED SCREEN

The tested laptop has a 14-inch display Liquid Retina XDR Pro Motion made in technology MiniLED. It combines the best features of LCD and OLED screens.

It draws excellent clarity from the former. In SDR mode it is 500 nitswhich is a very good result. In HDR mode, the MacBook Pro spreads its wings even more, because the maximum brightness is even approaching the level here 1500 nits.

The Liquid Retina XDR display retains this tall contrast and deep black similar to – but not equal to – that offered by organic OLED panels.

The only problem with this screen is a slight blooming, that is smudging imagewhich is especially noticeable when the device is used at night.

3) “UGLY” NOTCH AND NO FaceID

Okay, there’s one more thing that annoys me about this screen. I’m talking about the unfortunate “notch”, i.e. the notch at the top edge of the screen. I didn’t like it on iPhones, and I won’t like it here either.

I would have a little more understanding for Apple if FaceID system sensors were hidden under the “notch”. However, this is not the case, because the MacBook Pro does not offer face recognition.

However, we can unlock the device using the function TouchID. The fingerprint reader has been placed right next to the volume control keys.

4) KEYBOARD AND TOUCHPAD? YOU WILL NOT FIND BETTER

MacBooks have been famous for the best keyboards on the market for years. That was until 2015, when models with those unfortunate butterfly keyboards went on sale. Fortunately, this episode is behind us.

The keyboard in the 2023 MacBook Pro is again in a class of its own. It is very comfortable to type on, and the keys have the right pitch. It also has excellent backlighting.

As for the trackpad, it still remains an unsurpassed benchmark for other devices. The MacBook Pro is basically the only laptop to which I practically never connect a mouse.

I can’t fail to mention the great-sounding six-speaker system that offers surprisingly deep bass and richly detailed treble.

5) THE M2 PRO CHIP IS POWERFUL

I mentioned it at the beginning, I’ll mention it again. The M2 Pro is a real “monster” that impresses with its performance. I’m afraid to think what would happen if a model with the M2 Max system hit my hands.

As for the technical specification, apart from the mentioned M2 Pro processor With 12 CPU cores and 19 GPU coresthe tested MacBook has 32GB RAM and a disc NVMe SSDs about capacity of 2 terabytes.

Whether you are looking for a computer for office tasks, video editing in Final Cut Pro, post-production in DaVinci Resolvemixing in Logic Pro X or photo editing Photoshop – The MacBook Pro will be up to the task.

As the name suggests, this is equipment created for professionals for whom every additional core and every minute saved, e.g. on rendering, are at a premium.

How efficient the M2 Pro system is is also confirmed by the results that the tested laptop achieved in benchmarks Cinebench R23 and Geek Bench 6. The new Apple processor left behind both its predecessor – M1 Pro and its stronger version, i.e. the system M1 Max.

A small caveat here. Many reviewers point out that the cheapest model of the MacBook Pro with a 512 GB drive has write and read speeds significantly different from the variants with 1 or 2 TB of memory. It is worth considering this fact before making a purchase decision.

The MacBook Pro is not a device designed for gaming, but the 19-core GPU in many respects is not inferior to the systems that we will meet in gaming laptops. The biggest problem, however, is still the small number of games available for macOS.

6) UP TO 20 HOURS OF BATTERY LIFE

M2 Pro is an even more energy-efficient system than its predecessor, which translates into longer working time devices on a single charge. However, I didn’t expect it to be this long. Believe me or not, I charged the MacBook I tested once every few days.

For office work, this equipment can run on a battery for 18-20 hours, and if you load it with more resource-intensive tasks, such as video rendering, you will not go below 6-7 hours anyway. It must be impressive!

7) THE PRICE IS PUSHED INTO THE CHAIR

Impressive, although not necessarily positive, is also the price of this device. In the cheapest variant, the 14-inch MacBook Pro costs from 12 thousand. gold up.

The model I tested with more GPU and CPU cores, 32 GB RAM and a 2 TB disk, is an expense of almost PLN 20,000.

In the end, I can basically repeat what I said on the occasion of the iPad Pro review. Buying a MacBook Pro for applications such as browsing the Internet, Office package or watching movies completely misses the point. In this case, it is better to consider buying a MacBook Air.

If you are a potential user of this device, at this stage you already know that you are it and you also know what you can use the computing power of the Apple M2 Pro or M2 Max system for.