Apple 2016 MacBook review: More practical than you’d think, and stunning in pink
After years of life with the MacBook Air, I didn’t think I would
like the rose gold 12-inch MacBook that Apple sent me a few weeks ago,
with its shallow keyboard, the Intel Core M chip, the single USB-C port,
and, oh, that color.
But I was wrong. I’ve come to really like this laptop. The springy keyboard is fun now. The performance isn’t bad at all. I’m proud to use a pink laptop. And it turns out that I can live with the one USB-C port.
Am I eager to see the refreshed MacBook Pro that Apple is expected to release later this year? Definitely. But for now, I can say I’m impressed with this machine, even considering its $1,299 starting price.
But I was wrong. I’ve come to really like this laptop. The springy keyboard is fun now. The performance isn’t bad at all. I’m proud to use a pink laptop. And it turns out that I can live with the one USB-C port.
Am I eager to see the refreshed MacBook Pro that Apple is expected to release later this year? Definitely. But for now, I can say I’m impressed with this machine, even considering its $1,299 starting price.
The next MacBook Pro is expected to be modeled after this 12-inch
MacBook, and there are good reasons for that. This is a stunning device
that weighs so little that you never think twice about taking it
somewhere.
Unlike, say, the Surface Pro 4, the MacBook is easy to type on when it’s in your lap, just like my old 12-inch iBook
from the early 2000s. It’s lighter and thinner, of course, but just as
sturdy. How light? I can barely tell when it’s in my backpack — and I
can’t say that about the MacBook Air. How thin? There’s just enough room
in the base for the headphone jack on the right side and the USB-C port
on the left side.
Like the keyboard, the trackpad is shallow; it doesn’t go down much
when you click. Instead, you hear a subtle tapping sound. If you push
down harder, you’ll hear a louder, decidedly more deliberate sound —
that’s Force Click — even though the trackpad doesn’t actually click, in the conventional sense.
Force Click still doesn’t let you do a whole lot, but it’s nice to have
for things like previewing files in the Finder and getting definitions
of words in the browser.
Still, the trackpad is very sensitive and precise, unlike pretty much any Windows laptop.
Then again, as is the case with any MacBook, you can’t bend the
display back beyond a certain angle, and you can’t pop it off and use it
as a tablet, either. Meh.
Altogether, though, this machine feels luxurious. The border between
the keyboard and the trackpad is so narrow. The keys run from edge to
edge. You can barely feel the seam between the bottom piece of aluminum
and the body surrounding the keyboard. I can’t imagine what would happen
if it were to fall to the ground.
Even though this MacBook style has been out in the world for more
than a year, plenty of people still haven’t seen one in person before.
And when they do, they’re usually amazed by the look and feel. You can’t
say that about the new iPhone SE.
When I turned on the computer for the first time, the keyboard
backlight was on, and it was nice and bright. I smiled — it was a
pleasant surprise from the very beginning. And maybe that’s why I was
really prepared to give this keyboard a chance. Initially, I was typing
slower than usual on it, but my fingers have gotten better at the
quick-pulse typing that this keyboard requires. You push a key down hard
but only a little bit, and then you let go.
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