It is known that the “MacBook Pro Lite” is no more. It was lagging behind as it had a questionable keyboard, an archaic 7th generation processor and no Touch ID or touch bar installed.
The price of the new MacBook pro 13-inch as at 2020 is currently ranging between $1299 to $1499. It made of a more efficient 8th generation Intel core CPU and both the touch ID and the touch bar in which the aforementioned MacBook lite didn’t have.
Even though the keyboard isn’t still great, Apple introduced minor enhancements that will make it more efficient. With more than 10 hours of battery life, this laptop is no doubt one of the best choice for most people. Especially for those who desire a future-proof system.
MacBook Pro 13-inch Price And Availability
The price of this wonderful piece of tech start at $1,299. The MacBook 13-inch pro comes with a 1.4-Ghz 8th generation core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. This is usually not enough storage given the price it is being sold at.
If you don’t mind spending $1,799, you can switch from two Thunderbolt ports on the entry-level and midrange designs to four Thunderbolt ports and upgrade to a more faster 2.4-GHz 8th-generation Core i5 CPU. Users who buy AppleCare + can use our Apple Apple Warranty Check guide to study how to view the remaining time on their plan.
Design
This might sound pretty absurd but Apple really needs to upgrade their design front. The 13-inch MacBook Pro has maintained the same old aesthetic for years. No doubt it has an elegant look and a solid unified aluminum chassis. The design is still chunky on the side.
Weighing 3.02 pounds with 11.97 × 8.36 × 0.59 inches dimensions, The MacBook Pro 13-inch is so portable, you can slip it in a backpack without it being too heavy.
Port
This version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro is designed with just two Thunderbolt 3 ports, which are both located on the left side. This gives the user the advantage of charging the system and also using the other peripheral at the same time, except you switch to a dongle or use a USB- hub at your work desk. The right side has the headphone jack.
Even though the Dell XPS 13 has three USB-C ports (two of which are there to support Thunderbolt 3). It also comes with a microSD card slot. And the HP Spectre x360 is designed with both USB-C and an archaic USB-A port.
Of course you can get four Thunderbolt 3 ports from an apple device if you decide to spend up to $1,799 model. I don’t think it is wise to pay an extra $500 for that privilege. (Even though that privilege include a faster CPU and graphics).
Display
Whether you are a creative professional or you just appreciate a Steller picture, the 256×1600-pixel retina display. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is one of the most preferable on any laptop.
We tested the display of 13-inch MacBook with the lion king movie. The individual wisp of fur on Simba’s paw as he placed it on hos fathers muddy footprints. This scene was relatively very clear.
The panel of the MacBook Pro is passed with astonishing results as we tested it in our labs, Scoring 163% of the color gamut and bright 441nits. Though the MacBook air screen is good, it is slightly dimmer and covers less of the color spectrum (100%/343 nits). The Dell XPS 13 1080p (126% / 357 nits) which is also lagging behind when compared to the MacBook pro.
The screen resolution of the HP Spectre x360 (150% / 287) is almost as colorful as the MacBook Pro but dimmer.
Audio
The dual speakers on the side of the MacBook keyboard pro articulates a rich and nuanced sound. This was discovered while we discovered tested a song. The swirling guitars and pushing beat were great. It didn’t overwhelm the dueling vocals. Users are advised to get a solid pair of noise canceling headphones for a more intimate sound concert.
Keyboard And Touchpad
Anything is an upgrade, especially for people who have been using the archaic 2nd generation keyword for a long time. Of course the 4th generation keyboard on the new MacBook pro is more quieter and slightly more comfortable for users.
Most importantly, Apple stated that it has included a newly improved material to the device. This material is meant to prevent reliability issues. Issues such as accidental double presses and keys not registering when pressed.
The 0.86 mm key we measured. This measurements is below that of majority laptops, but it is balanced by a 70 grams of actuation force required. In our testing, we reached a score of 71 words per minute with up to 92.3% accuracy. This result is almost comparable with our average. Rumor has it that Apple is currently working on a whole new keyboard for a future MacBook Pro but there’s no speculations on when it will show up.
Not much is there to say about the touchpad, other than that it is very versatile and works efficiently. All you have to do is think about scrolling or performing gestures like three-finger swipe up for activating Mission Control views. Under normal circumstances, that’s the way it should be.
Touch ID And Touch Bar
For the most premium 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple usually reserves the touch ID sensor and the touch bar. But lately, they’ve decided to make their way into the entry level model. This is one the best decisions they’ve made.
The touch ID makes it pretty to unlock your Mac with a single touch. This makes life a little bit easier for user. After all, that’s what technology is all about right. Furthermore, the touch ID is used for app stores, iTunes, Apple play and also in the safari and the chrome browsers.
No doubt, the face ID feature would be faster, it will probably come in macs in the future. Looking at the touch ID from another angle, it makes getting things done a little harder. Examples of this things is raising or lowering the volume. In an situation where you press the volume key and then slide up or down, as opposed to just hitting the volume up or down button.
There are a couple of short cuts I like, such as being able to easily skim through photos and also pressing on on my favorite site using Safari. Overall, after much consideration, I’d still choose a proper touch screen.
Performance
This is no doubt one the most important reason to get the 13-inch MacBook Pro over the 2019 MacBook air. The MacBook pro is modelled with a much faster quad-core, an 8th generation core i5 processor (U series). Compared with the weaker dual-core i5 chip (Y chip) in the air console.
There’s huge gap between the real-world performance. Taking our video editing test as an example, in this test we tried to transcode a 4k clip to 1080p. It took the MacBook Pro 13-inch a short while of 14 minutes and 42 seconds to finalize the process. Compared with a 36 minutes on the air console.
The MacBook Pro very active. Testing this, we had 22 tabs open and running in Chrome, with the fast and furious present, Hobbs and Shaw started streaming immediately. Also with a slack, Skype and Pixelate also running actively in the background.
Testing the console operating system on Geek bench 4 (a benchmark average performance), the MacBook Pro had a whooping score of 17 366,which is way more than the MacBook Air.
The MacBook Pro 13-inch is still one of the laptop with the fastest SSDs. Testing this assertion on Black magic Disk test, the system had a great score of 1220 megabytes per second. The MacBook air on the other hand was slightly behind. With a score of 1,011. The XPS 13 only managed to muster a 226.4 megabytes per second on the same test.
If you’re a gamer, the MacBook Pro 13-inch will definitely deliver a smoother experience. We arrived at this assertion after we tested the Dirt 3 racing title. We saw 30.87 fps from the MacBook Pro. The MacBook on the other hand had a low score of 19.89.
Battery Life
No hard feelings but the MacBook air but here’s another important reason to prefer the pro over it. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is designed with a 58.2 watt-hour battery while the MacBook air has just 49.9 WHr. On the laptop mag battery test, we web surfed at 150 nits of screen brightness, the MacBook Pro lasted a consecutive 10 hours and 39 minutes. This result outlasts the 8 hours from the air.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro still doesn’t make it to our lists of laptops with the best battery life. This is because the other ultraportable last longer on a charging mode.
Heat
Nothing new, the MacBook Pro is tested and trusted to be cool on our heat test. During the test we streamed a video for 15 minutes before we took the measurements of different parts of the fine piece of tech. The MacBook managed to stay under our 95 degree comfort threshold. Hitting 91 degrees on the keyboard and 88 degrees at the bottom.
Bottom Line
This is our current state in the evolution of Apples laptops, for most people, the most preferred MacBook costs $1299. Though people complain about the apple tax, it’s of no doubt that the system has a better value than the MacBook air at $1099. With just this price, you get a much faster processor, brighter display and a reasonably longer battery life span.
Should anyone purchase the air? Yes of course, especially those who wants a thinner and smaller design, dislike the touch bar and really don’t mind a lesser horse power. But generally speaking, our recommendations is the MacBook Pro 13-inch. Just that sometimes, we wish apple just added more ports.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is definitely the one to get if you need a more comfier keyboard and an additional USB-C port and microSD card slot. With a slimmer and sleeker design, it is just the best.
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