Pros
The Apple MacBook Pro offers up to seven hours of battery life on a single charge.
Cons
Apple lacks email support if any technical issues arise while using this laptop.
The Apple MacBook Pro is a powerful laptop with a sleek design, long battery life and fast performance
The new MacBook Pro with Retina Display was the big reveal at Apple's WWDC keynote. Bringing the iPhone 4S and the new iPad 3's
much-vaunted killer feature – their nonsensically high-definition
screen -– to the Cupertino crew's notebook line, rather than the iMac
desktops as many had suspected, it stood alone as an all-new product
alongside refreshes of the MacBook Air and standard MacBook Pro lines.
Yet with ultrabooks such as the Asus Zenbook and HP Envy 14 Spectre building on the success of the Apple MacBook Air
,
bringing compact power and flexibility to the affordable end of
laptops, is a super-charged, super-priced portable chock full of the
latest technological advancements aimed at professionals rather than
hardcore gamers cumbersome and unnecessary?
To find out, we tested the entry-level £1,799, 2.3GHz version of the
Apple MacBook Pro 2012 with 256GB hard drive, although there's also a
2.6GHz version of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display with 512GB hard
drive for £2,299, with greater custom specification also available.
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display: Build
As with anything that comes out of Sir Jonathan Ive's tech
laboratory, the new flagship MacBook Pro is stunning to look at, a
strong mix of style and substance, its aluminium unibody all understated
curves lines and minimalist beauty.
Sit it next to the other members of the MacBook Pro line and you realise just what a feat it is to produce something so high-spec so compact.
Despite the introduction of an intensive Retina Display, at only 1.8cm
thick it somehow nears MacBook Air slimness – there's 0.1cm difference
at the Air's flabbiest point (which isn't very flabby) – yet feels
altogether more robust.
We still wouldn't want to drop one without a fairly hefty case, mind.
At a mere 2.02kg in weight, it's almost disconcertingly light for such a
serious machine, but hey, we're not complaining – it adds little bulk
to your bag or burden to your journey.
Elsewhere, the Trackpad is responsive and tactile yet solid and durable,
and while the new quieter, assymmetrical fan system attains its
secondary aim admirably – we didn't hear a peep – it also clearly knocks
its primary out of the park, too, reducing lap burn to a thing of the
past.
Many complained the iPad 3 ran hotter than previous models, but after
a full day of constant use, the new MacBook Pro's underside was barely
lukewarm.
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display: Features
We'll talk about the screen later, but that's not all the new MacBook
Pro has going on. First of all, it has wired and wireless connectivity
down, from SDXC card support to 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
The two speedy new USB 3 ports – one on each side as ever, handily – are
also backwards compatible to USB 2, while two Thunderbolt ports,
headphone jack and a single HDMI out complete the set.
To be honest, beyond a display, we still struggle to find things to
put in our Thunderbolt holes and would have preferred it to fly solo,
with a third USB taking its place.
Yet the lack of FireWire or Ethernet access means you may be thankful
for them as these can both be connected via Apple's Thunderbolt
adaptors.
The new and improved 720p HD front-facing camera does a fine
FaceTime/Skype job, but ironically its images and video look a bit
washed out and degraded on the Retina Display's sharp screen.
AirPlay mirroring is responsive and reliable, and while our MacBook
Pro packed the Retina-optimised Lion operating system, the upcoming Mountain Lion OS is primed to raise the feature bar even further from July.
Yet what w
on’t be coming is an optical drive, which has been
reduced, MacBook Air-style, to an external add-on. For something as
purposefully entry-level as the Air, this seemed understandable, but on a
professional notebook it will not be a view everyone shares.
