MacBook Pro with 'Touch Bar' Controller, Touch ID, All-New Design Launched
On Thursday Apple introduced its latest MacBook Pro model at an event timed to mark the 25th anniversary of the original PowerBook, held at its campus in Cupertino. The new MacBook Pros feature a totally new design, faster components, and an innovative multi-touch screen-cum-controller. 13-inch and 15-inch models are set to be presented within three weeks in the US, starting at $1799 and $2399. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID will be estimated starting at Rs. 1,55,900 while the 15-inch model will start at Rs. 2,05,900.
The new MacBook Pro has got the exit of the function key on the keyboard, which is switched by a new ‘Retina-quality’ multi-touch display – known as the Touch Bar. The new MacBook Pro also gets the integration of a larger Force Touch trackpad. The new Touch ID feature on the MacBook Pro permits users to quickly unlock the Mac and use Apple Pay on the web.
For example, when we open Mail, the Touch Bar will show buttons to create a new message, replying, or moving an email to the trash. In Safari, we can preview tabs and switch through them using the Touch Bar, open a new tab, or go to one of our favorited sites without having to use the trackpad. We can swipe through our images in Photos with previews, scrub through videos, and make edits like cropping, rotating photos, and adding filters. Apple says users will be able to customize the Touch Bar and add the features and buttons they need the most.
A second-generation Touch ID sensor enclosed with a sapphire crystal has been contained within to the right of the Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro. Apple has brought the Secure Enclave from the iPhone to the MacBook Pro in the form of a new chip called the T1 to keep our fingerprint safe. Users will be able to use it to validate buying using Apple Pay in Safari. More importantly, Touch ID will permit users with multiple profiles on their MacBook Pro quickly switch between them using a fingerprint. So if the user shares a MacBook and hates logging out to get back into their desktop, Touch ID just cut their wait time down.
Apple claims the new MacBook Pro features the company’s ‘brightest and most colorful Retina display yet’ with 500 nits of brightness, which the company says 67 percent brighter than the previous generation. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is 14 percent thinner and weighs 1.83 kg. The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is 17 percent thinner compared to its previous model and weighs 1.37 kg.
Along with the TV app and MacBook Pro launches, on Thursday Apple also revealed that it is calling a “significant update” to its video editing software, Final Cut Pro X. The newest version, Final Cut Pro 10.3, is now presented as a free update for existing users. New users can buy it at Rs. 18,500 from the Mac App Store, while the updated add-ons Motion 5.3 and Compressor 4.3 software are priced at Rs. 3,100 each for new users.
In a statement regarding the update, Apple declared the new Touch Bar of the MacBook Pro would offer "intuitive, context-sensitive controls." Users will be able to switch between adjusting audio levels, editing tools, and access trimming and playback commands. Users will also get access to a color-coded, interactive overview of the entire timeline that can be navigated by touch.
Common minimum specifications contain 8GB or 16GB of RAM, 6th-gen Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs, and 256GB SSDs. The 13-inch model's screen has a resolution of 2560x1600, and it uses combined Intel Iris 540 graphics. The 15-inch model has a native 2880x1800 resolution and features AMD Radeon Pro graphics.
The models with Touch Bar has four USB Type-C ports which support Thunderbolt 3 as well as USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds, while the one without Touch Bar has only two ports.
Apple has started shipping the model without the Touch Bar directly in the US, while the Touch Bar models are listed as shipping in 2-3 weeks. Accessibility in India is unknown, as all models are listed as "coming soon".