Reviews of the MacBook Pro 2015 with Retina Display are coming in and experts are hailing the upgraded specs packaged in a case that is nearly indistinguishable in design from the 2014 edition.
David Gewirtz of ZDNet says his brand new 13-inch MacBook Pro, powered with a 2.7 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5, 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 memory, 256GB PCIe-based flash storage and Intel Iris Graphics 6100 stunned him in terms of storage performance.
Gewirtz used the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test on the MacBook Pro which tested 1098.3 MB/s write, and 1049.8 MB/s read. "I did not expect this, but I'm thrilled," admitted the popular computer scientist in his ZDNet review.
Gewirtz called the Force Touch trackpad experience "spooky" as the haptic feedback gave a feel of actually clicking and moving the touchpad surface without actually moving the pad. "The haptic in the touchpad give a feeling completely and totally indistinguishable from an actual press and click," the ZDNet columnist added.
Andy Vandervell in Trusted Reviews refers to the Apple "Force Click" design of the trackpad as "more precise and tactile than clunkily jamming at the fast-forward button or guessing using the progress bar."
Apple has also attached to the name of the MacBook Pro its Retina Display, with the 13-inch model claiming over 4 million pixels.
ZDNet says the Pro's clean and crisp display is worth the additional costs over non-Retina MacBooks.
Trusted Reviews says of the Retina Display, "It's not just sharp, either; the 13-inch MacBook Pro's screen is also colourful, accurate and rich. Contrast is very good. Blacks have a deep, inky quality that really shines when watching films, and colours pop without appearing oversaturated." However, Vandervell also said the screen needed to be brighter to better deal with harsh reflections.
The MacBook Pro 2015 Retina also comes in an aluminium unibody casing, much like its predecessor. Trusted Reviews says although the design is nearly three years old, "it looks fresh and feels as fresh as the day Apple first unveiled it." The new Pro is thin and light weighing 1.58kg and measuring 314 x 291 x 18mm, and is seen to be handier in confined spaces likes planes and trains.
MacBook Pro 2015 with Retina Display 13-inch model sells for a little over $1,500.
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