It's bright, it's sharp, it's super colorful, and I enjoyed every moment I got with it. I never cared much for the shouty, illuminated logo and the stealthy Apple makes this notebook feel stylish and sophisticated. Instead, Apple's placed a shiny, color-matched fruit in its place. Perhaps my favorite design feature of the new MacBook is something it strips away-the iconic, light-up Apple logo on the lid. No two ways about it-Apple knows how to design and engineer a nice laptop. From its silky-smooth, perfect hinge to the precise pin-prick speaker grilles along the sides of the keyboard, this is a marvel of modern engineering. I'm somebody who's tested a lot of laptops, and I still can't get over how nice this product feels. Especially in the new, dark Space Gray finish, the MacBook Pro continues to evoke lust.

This latest MacBook Pro is svelte and built with the finest materials around. There's no two ways about it: Apple still knows how to design an attractive laptop. Gorgeous design and an awe-inspiring metal exterior If you require a bigger SSD or more RAM, you'll have to pay upfront. Like most modern Macs, it's not upgradable, so what you buy is what you'll have for the lifetime of the computer. It has the same display, four Thunderbolt ports, 256 GB SSD, and 8 GB of RAM but costs a whopping $1,800. If you were hoping for better performance, the more expensive MacBook Pro 13-inch with Touch Bar has a beefier 28-watt chip inside. It's worth knowing that this 13-inch is actually a little less powerful than previous Retina Display 13-inch models due to Apple switching to a 15-watt Intel chip. 13.3-inch Retina display (2560 x 1600) with DCI-P3 color gamut.The model we tested for this review is the base model, without the snazzy new Touch Bar and sporting only two Thunderbolt 3 ports. The 13-inch 2016 MacBook Pros come in two sizes and three main flavors. As it stands, the latest MacBook Pro gets a soft pass, and it's worth buying from a store with a lenient return policy just in case it doesn't meet with your approval. It's probably the best MacBook Pro for most normal folks, but steep pricing, limiting ports, and a couple other drawbacks mean you need to think about what you need from a Mac. Even with options like the nifty new Touch Bar and TouchID, the new 13-inchers just aren't the slam-dunk they used to be.Īnd with premium PCs like the HP Spectre X360, Dell XPS 13, and Razer Blade Stealth, Apple really doesn't have much room for error.

Sure, it has a stunningly engineered chassis and an unbelievably gorgeous screen, but the price is well above par for the market. Apple's latest 13-inch MacBook Pro (MSRP $1,499-$1,799 depending on options) is a strange development given this long-running narrative.

Apple macbook pro 2016 13 inch