This is the second month since the head of the small family of my favorite Apple gadgets has changed. Having served faithfully for almost a year, the 13-inch MacBook Pro went to a new owner, and its place was taken by the 2010 MacBook Pro 13″, which was exactly the same in appearance, but slightly changed inside. In this article I will talk about its operating experience, differences from the previous model, and first I will conduct unboxing.
And the packaging turned out to be bigger
I got the device, one might say, piping hot from the first “white”, that is, official batch new MacBooks Pro entered the country. By his example, by the way, I saw for the first time how Apple equipment is packaged for transportation around the world. After all, every buyer of an expensive device has a question about whether his equipment arrived normally, whether careless movers kicked it along the way, what could affect the product’s performance in the future, etc. Still, despite the compactness and stylishness of the glamorous packaging of Apple laptops, it is unlikely to be able to protect the laptop well if dropped. In the end, it turned out that there was nothing to worry about. The Apple company does an excellent job of preparing its products for transportation. That same glamorous and compact box with a laptop is hidden in cellophane and hidden in a much larger box made of hard cardboard, inside of which it is placed on damping corners. Looks reliable.
Let me remind you that among the new 13-inch firmware there are two models that, to put it mildly, differ in little: processor frequency (2.4 GHz versus 2.66 GHz) and volume hard drive(250 GB vs 320 GB). Otherwise, the devices are completely identical, and the difference in price in our realities is about $600. This is a lot for such minor differences, so I took the younger model for myself.
I was surprised by the fact that the box in which the new laptop is hidden turned out to be larger than that of the previous generation model, but this fact is explained simply. The old MacBook Pro is a model for the American market with a more compact plug, but the new one is a device with a European plug and in order to fit all the accessories, the packaging dimensions had to be increased. A narrow box has been added in which all additional cables are hidden, as well as an attachment with a European plug.
External differences
As in the new MacBook Pro 15″ models (http://macradar.ru/hardware/macbook-pro-core-i5-review/), the new product has an updated power supply, or rather, the MagSafe connector. It has become aluminum, round in shape, and when it is connected to a laptop, the wire runs parallel to the side edge (or goes up). In general, the design has become stronger and in most cases this arrangement of the cable is more convenient, it bends less.
Otherwise, the gadgets are identical, with the exception of the keyboard, but in this case the difference is due to the devices being targeted at different markets: American and European. The keyboard of the “white” MacBook Pro of the previous generation is the same as that of the newcomer. By the way, there were some incidents with the keyboard (I’m used to the engraved American one), but we’ll talk about them later.
Getting Started
What I really like about Mac OS X, in addition to a lot of other qualities, is the ease of moving to new versions of the operating system or to new Mac computers. After updating my backup using Time Machine, I calmly continued working on my old laptop while all my data was transferred to the new one. Naturally, I first installed all conceivable and inconceivable updates on the device, after which I began to transfer my personal workspace.
Overall everything went well. Data, settings and programs were easily transferred. I only had to set up a couple of applications (among them Little Snitch is a capricious piece of software; I have to reconfigure it every time I move). Although in the evening one glitch was discovered that even made me sweat. iTunes refused to recognize personal iPhone 3GS and iPad. Moreover, the system saw them and through “Image Capture” it was possible to save photos available in the gadgets’ memory, but the media harvester did not recognize them point blank. Immediately, thoughts arose about Apple’s struggle with jailbreak and other unpleasant forebodings. A search on the Internet yielded nothing; no one complained about such a problem. Actually, I managed to solve it simply - I downloaded it again and installed it on top of iTunes - everything worked.
Impressions and operating experience
The first thing I noticed when I started active work with the device - this is scrolling with inertia. That is, I scrolled the list with two fingers and it continues to scroll after the fingers are removed from the touchpad, gradually slowing down. The convenience of this option for me personally cannot be overestimated. At one time, when I was just starting to use Mac, I tried to work with a third-party Smart Scroll utility to implement inertial scrolling. The result was not very pleasing: sometimes there were slowdowns, scrolling zones were not determined correctly everywhere, and in general this whole system somehow worked crookedly. As a result, I abandoned it until better times and now such times have arrived. I don’t know whether this is implemented in hardware or software, but inertial scrolling works just fine. I personally have become more comfortable using all kinds of web admins with a bunch of drop-down lists, with iTines, and in general this effect is pleasing to the eye.
The performance of the system as a whole has also improved somewhat, and this turned out to be noticeable to the naked eye. Some applications launch faster, documents open, photos are processed in Pixelmator, etc. Don't forget about the increased performance of the graphics subsystem. The GeForce 320M video chip (also known as the failed NVIDIA Ion 2) is on average twice as productive as its predecessor GeForce 9400, and in some places even three times more productive. Although, I don’t particularly play games on the laptop, except casual games, and I didn’t notice much of a difference in their speed. They already functioned well on the old laptop (Zuma 2, Braid, Peggle, etc.).
I noticed that the new device heats up a little less than the previous one. If the average processor temperature in my standard operating cycle was 52-55°, then for a beginner it usually does not rise above 50°. In terms of noise, both laptops are the same, or rather, both are quiet.
I had to spend a couple of weeks getting used to the slightly changed keyboard. The Enter key became narrower, but it occupied two rows, and the tilde (~) moved from under the Ecape button to the left shift, which, by the way, became narrower because of this. I was also a little worried when I couldn’t use the usual combination (cmd+ ~) to switch between windows within the program. It turned out that the button had moved, I had to get used to it. But I like the current keyboard engraving much better. The English and Russian inscriptions are large, located at the edges of the keys, plus there are no unnecessary Ukrainian symbols for me. Now I use the keyboard in the new laptop with the same dexterity as before in the old one.
I also noticed the less rigid hinge of the display unit. In MB990 it was very tight. At first, after the flimsy hinge of the old MacBook Pro 15″, I even liked it, but over time it began to become somewhat annoying. Now, in terms of its rigidity, it resembles something between the old 15th, the predecessor of the 13th.
The speakers seemed a little louder and more balanced in sound, but it may well be that Mac OS X 10.6.4 has a built-in sound system the old laptop also began to sound better. Just among the bug fixes in this release, there are also resolved problems with the speakers in the MB990/991.
I can’t help but note the increased time battery life. When the system is just loaded, there is nothing unnecessary hanging in it, and the battery is fully charged, you can see a staggering battery life of 11 hours and 25 minutes. Netbooks and CULV laptops are crying bitterly on the sidelines. However, this is too optimistic. In my usual work cycle, when using two browsers (Firefox and Safari), Pages, Numbers, Pixelmator, Textmate, Mail, Crossover with MS Word 2003 running (for checking grammar and spelling), the device worked for about seven hours, which is a lot. The previous MacBook Pro 13″ could not produce more than five hours in this mode. True, on the new laptop I calibrated the battery once (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/ru/9036.html), which I never did on the old one. Perhaps this gave some increase in autonomy, but mainly we should thank the more energy-efficient chipset and a slightly larger battery.
By the way, one unpleasant incident prompted me to do the calibration. One morning, out of habit, I connected the power supply to the laptop, and the status LED on the connector did not light up with the usual bright green or orange light, but only gave out a very dim, barely noticeable orange glow. When I opened the laptop lid, I saw that it was running on the power supply, but the battery was not charging. Cold, sticky sweat broke out, and my nerves were a little off, but an hour later, as if nothing had happened, the battery began to charge again. This incident happened once a couple of weeks ago, after that nothing like this happened, and I don’t want to, to be honest. Perhaps there was some kind of non-contact in MagSafe or something. Although I disconnected and connected the connector several times and even rebooted the laptop. In general, I chalked up the incident to poltergeists.
Bottom line
Am I happy with the upgrade? Yes, definitely, and you don’t mind spending the money on it. Even if I only got inertial scrolling, that would be enough. But there are other nice perks described above. Can I recommend that readers exchange their MB990/991 for a new one? If you are happy with everything about your laptop, then there is no point in upgrading. Better to wait for the next generation. Maybe Apple will change the design in it. I just have special case. I wanted an official guarantee, something new, and I managed to sell my device at a profit. In general, the new product is pleasing, although I would like the next MacBook generation Pro 13″ Apple has changed something dramatically. For example, she suggested new design, used an IPS matrix display, made thinner frame around the screen - there are actually a lot of wishes, but which of them will be fulfilled in the next product is impossible to predict.
This is the second month since the head of the small family of my favorite Apple gadgets has changed. Having served faithfully for almost a year, the 13-inch MacBook Pro went to a new owner, and its place was taken by the 2010 MacBook Pro 13″, which was exactly the same in appearance, but slightly changed inside. In this article I will talk about its operating experience, differences from the previous model, and first I will conduct unboxing.
And the packaging turned out to be bigger
I got the device, one might say, piping hot from the first “white”, that is, the official batch of new MacBook Pros that arrived in the country. By his example, by the way, I saw for the first time how Apple equipment is packaged for transportation around the world. After all, every buyer of an expensive device has a question about whether his equipment arrived normally, whether careless movers kicked it along the way, what could affect the product’s performance in the future, etc. Still, despite the compactness and stylishness of the glamorous packaging of Apple laptops, it is unlikely to be able to protect the laptop well if dropped. In the end, it turned out that there was nothing to worry about. The Apple company does an excellent job of preparing its products for transportation. That same glamorous and compact box with a laptop is hidden in cellophane and hidden in a much larger box made of hard cardboard, inside of which it is placed on damping corners. Looks reliable.
Let me remind you that among the new 13-inch firmware there are two models that, to put it mildly, differ in little: processor frequency (2.4 GHz versus 2.66 GHz) and hard drive capacity (250 GB versus 320 GB). Otherwise, the devices are completely identical, and the difference in price in our realities is about $600. This is a lot for such minor differences, so I took the younger model for myself.
I was surprised by the fact that the box in which the new laptop is hidden turned out to be larger than that of the previous generation model, but this fact is explained simply. The old MacBook Pro is a model for the American market with a more compact plug, but the new one is a device with a European plug and in order to fit all the accessories, the packaging dimensions had to be increased. A narrow box has been added in which all additional cables are hidden, as well as an attachment with a European plug.
External differences
As in the new MacBook Pro 15″ models (http://macradar.ru/hardware/macbook-pro-core-i5-review/), the new product has an updated power supply, or rather, the MagSafe connector. It has become aluminum, round in shape, and when it is connected to a laptop, the wire runs parallel to the side edge (or goes up). In general, the design has become stronger and in most cases this arrangement of the cable is more convenient, it bends less.
Otherwise, the gadgets are identical, with the exception of the keyboard, but in this case the difference is due to the devices being targeted at different markets: American and European. The keyboard of the “white” MacBook Pro of the previous generation is the same as that of the newcomer. By the way, there were some incidents with the keyboard (I’m used to the engraved American one), but we’ll talk about them later.
Getting Started
What I really like about Mac OS X, in addition to a lot of other qualities, is the ease of moving to new versions of the operating system or to new Mac computers. After updating my backup using Time Machine, I calmly continued working on my old laptop while all my data was transferred to the new one. Naturally, I first installed all conceivable and inconceivable updates on the device, after which I began to transfer my personal workspace.
Overall everything went well. Data, settings and programs were easily transferred. I only had to set up a couple of applications (among them Little Snitch is a capricious piece of software; I have to reconfigure it every time I move). Although in the evening one glitch was discovered that even made me sweat. iTunes refused to recognize personal iPhone 3GS and iPad. Moreover, the system saw them and through “Image Capture” it was possible to save photos available in the gadgets’ memory, but the media harvester did not recognize them point blank. Immediately, thoughts arose about Apple’s struggle with jailbreak and other unpleasant forebodings. A search on the Internet yielded nothing; no one complained about such a problem. Actually, I managed to solve it simply - I downloaded it again and installed it on top of iTunes - everything worked.
Impressions and operating experience
The first thing I noticed when I began actively working with the device was scrolling with inertia. That is, I scrolled the list with two fingers and it continues to scroll after the fingers are removed from the touchpad, gradually slowing down. The convenience of this option for me personally cannot be overestimated. At one time, when I was just starting to use Mac, I tried to work with a third-party Smart Scroll utility to implement inertial scrolling. The result was not very pleasing: sometimes there were slowdowns, scrolling zones were not determined correctly everywhere, and in general this whole system somehow worked crookedly. As a result, I abandoned it until better times and now such times have arrived. I don’t know whether this is implemented in hardware or software, but inertial scrolling works just fine. I personally have become more comfortable using all kinds of web admins with a bunch of drop-down lists, with iTines, and in general this effect is pleasing to the eye.
The performance of the system as a whole has also improved somewhat, and this turned out to be noticeable to the naked eye. Some applications launch faster, documents open, photos are processed in Pixelmator, etc. Don't forget about the increased performance of the graphics subsystem. The GeForce 320M video chip (also known as the failed NVIDIA Ion 2) is on average twice as productive as its predecessor GeForce 9400, and in some places even three times more productive. Although, I don’t particularly play games on the laptop, except casual games, and I didn’t notice much of a difference in their speed. They already functioned well on the old laptop (Zuma 2, Braid, Peggle, etc.).
I noticed that the new device heats up a little less than the previous one. If the average processor temperature in my standard operating cycle was 52-55°, then for a beginner it usually does not rise above 50°. In terms of noise, both laptops are the same, or rather, both are quiet.
I had to spend a couple of weeks getting used to the slightly changed keyboard. The Enter key became narrower, but it occupied two rows, and the tilde (~) moved from under the Ecape button to the left shift, which, by the way, became narrower because of this. I was also a little worried when I couldn’t use the usual combination (cmd+ ~) to switch between windows within the program. It turned out that the button had moved, I had to get used to it. But I like the current keyboard engraving much better. The English and Russian inscriptions are large, located at the edges of the keys, plus there are no unnecessary Ukrainian symbols for me. Now I use the keyboard in the new laptop with the same dexterity as before in the old one.
I also noticed the less rigid hinge of the display unit. In MB990 it was very tight. At first, after the flimsy hinge of the old MacBook Pro 15″, I even liked it, but over time it began to become somewhat annoying. Now, in terms of its rigidity, it resembles something between the old 15th, the predecessor of the 13th.
The speakers seemed a little louder and more balanced in sound, but it may well be that in Mac OS X 10.6.4 the built-in sound system of the old laptop also began to sound better. Just among the bug fixes in this release, there are also resolved problems with the speakers in the MB990/991.
I can’t help but note the increased battery life. When the system is just loaded, there is nothing unnecessary hanging in it, and the battery is fully charged, you can see a staggering battery life of 11 hours and 25 minutes. Netbooks and CULV laptops are crying bitterly on the sidelines. However, this is too optimistic. In my usual work cycle, when using two browsers (Firefox and Safari), Pages, Numbers, Pixelmator, Textmate, Mail, Crossover with MS Word 2003 running (for checking grammar and spelling), the device worked for about seven hours, which is a lot. The previous MacBook Pro 13″ could not produce more than five hours in this mode. True, on the new laptop I calibrated the battery once (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.5/ru/9036.html), which I never did on the old one. Perhaps this gave some increase in autonomy, but mainly we should thank the more energy-efficient chipset and a slightly larger battery.
By the way, one unpleasant incident prompted me to do the calibration. One morning, out of habit, I connected the power supply to the laptop, and the status LED on the connector did not light up with the usual bright green or orange light, but only gave out a very dim, barely noticeable orange glow. When I opened the laptop lid, I saw that it was running on the power supply, but the battery was not charging. Cold, sticky sweat broke out, and my nerves were a little off, but an hour later, as if nothing had happened, the battery began to charge again. This incident happened once a couple of weeks ago, after that nothing like this happened, and I don’t want to, to be honest. Perhaps there was some kind of non-contact in MagSafe or something. Although I disconnected and connected the connector several times and even rebooted the laptop. In general, I chalked up the incident to poltergeists.
Bottom line
Am I happy with the upgrade? Yes, definitely, and you don’t mind spending the money on it. Even if I only got inertial scrolling, that would be enough. But there are other nice perks described above. Can I recommend that readers exchange their MB990/991 for a new one? If you are happy with everything about your laptop, then there is no point in upgrading. Better to wait for the next generation. Maybe Apple will change the design in it. I just have a special case. I wanted an official guarantee, something new, and I managed to sell my device at a profit. In general, the new product is pleasing, although I would like Apple to radically change something in the next generation MacBook Pro 13″. For example, she proposed a new design, used an IPS display, made the frame around the screen thinner - in fact, there are many wishes, but it is impossible to predict which of them will be fulfilled in the next product.
Right off the bat, the line of MacBook Pro laptops from Apple. This update is not critical - the configurations have been changed, a little here, a little here, but in the end we have before us the fruit of quite serious work to improve the model range. The performance (processors, video cards) has been seriously changed, the operating time has been increased, plus there are some implicit improvements. Today we will talk about MBP 15 with a processor Intel Core i7. Please love and respect.
Design and construction...
Haven't changed at all. The same solid body, the same impeccable assembly, the same hemorrhoids for workers service centers. This is a separate topic for discussion; now I will not dwell on disassembling the device. For the umpteenth time I have experienced this damn pleasant feeling when I open a packed box with a laptop. It is hidden in film, there is a shortcut to quickly get it out, hidden under the MacBook is a power supply, documents, an extension cord for the power supply, and a plug. No company has ever been able to replicate the packaging created by Apple. Perfect. Plus this special smell. In general, if you have ever bought something “apple”, you understand everything perfectly well. There is even something like a gasket between the display and the keyboard, some people use it later.
I don’t have much more to say about the design; I’ll focus on the dimensions. Dimensions are 2.41 x 36.4 x 24.9 cm, weight approximately 2.54 kg. At the same time, the laptop looks and is small due to its precise shape and the absence of protruding parts. Look, for example, at how the legs are made. On the right side there is a button to check the battery charge, next to it there is an indicator. By the number of lit bars you can judge the remaining operating time.
One of the unobvious problems is the self-unscrewing screws on the bottom. Especially if you will often use the laptop on your lap or on your bed. I encounter this all the time on the MBP 17. But even though they are slightly unscrewed, not a single one is lost.
Display
“The 15.4" widescreen glossy LED-backlit screen provides high quality color rendition (millions of colors).” These lines are taken from official page the model under consideration. But, with all due respect, the native resolution is only 1440 x 900 pixels. In other words, soap. When I expressed myself in this spirit on Twitter, I was immediately showered with funny jokes and barbs. Like, well, there is an option with a higher resolution! Why write all sorts of things here!
Yes, all this is true. There are so-called “custom” versions of the MBP 15 with a matte or glossy display, resolution 1680 x 1050 pixels. Very good, in my opinion. One small point: this model very cool to buy in the USA, it will cost about 2400 dollars. In Russia the price is a merciless 100,000 rubles, maybe a little more or a little less. I won’t comment, but the entrance ticket to the world of a matte display is insanely expensive. Honor and praise to the Russian representatives of the company, who, from a fairly democratic brand, create an expensive legend not for everyone.
It’s good that there are sellers of “gray” MBPs in the world. By purchasing an American model in Russia, you can save a lot.
To sum it up: I don't like the display in the regular MBP. It's good for work, but not very good for watching movies or photos. This only confirms my idea that the only truly multimedia laptop in the company’s line is the MBP 17 (we’re talking about basic version, without “custom”).
Like any other laptop from the company, there is automatic adjustment brightness. If desired, the brightness can be reduced to zero, that is, the display becomes black. I want to note something about the colors: there is black here, it is not dark gray. Viewing angles are quite good horizontally, but worse vertically.
Working hours
We need to erect a monument to the person who invented the power supply for MacBooks. When I pick up a massive “fool” for any other laptop, I’m always amazed - is it really impossible to make it so that one cable comes out of the power supply? Or was it possible to remove it? The MBP 15 comes with an extension cord that you can use if you want, but I prefer to keep it away. This white power supply is very good - small, with an original system of magnetic fastening to the connector, retractable legs for cable winding.
I often have to use the phrase "like others Apple laptops", but like other Apple laptops, the MBP 15 looks like a very strong solution in terms of battery life. The work done in the company over a couple of years is truly enormous: even when buying a fifteen-inch laptop, you can count on at least five to six hours of work. This is the minimum, the stated figures are up to 8-9 hours of battery life. In video playback mode at full brightness, we managed to achieve six hours of playback without stopping, headphones were connected.
Keyboard and touchpad
A keyboard with adjustable backlighting, a glass touchpad with multi-touch support, and that’s about it. As practice shows, the characters on the keyboard are not erased after prolonged use, but the touchpad is just a fairy tale. You get used to it, like everything good, very quickly. You can read about this for a long time and persistently, but it’s better to try at least once to quickly “swipe away” everything yourself open source software or open the list of open applications.
Performance
In general, this is the only important difference between the MBP 15/2010 and the models of last year. Hidden in the depths of the “tags” are three different processors, two Intel versions Core i5 (2.4 GHz or 2.53 GHz) and one i7 (2.66 GHz). The sample we are considering today is the top configuration among the basic, non-custom options. 4 GB installed random access memory(SO-DIMM, two slots), supports up to 8 GB. Two “video cards” are used, this NVIDIA GeForce GT330M with 512 MB of memory (256 MB for younger models) and Intel HD Graphics. Switching occurs automatically, depending on what you are doing. Enthusiasts have already written a switch program. First of all, it is needed to independently select a video card - thereby you can increase battery life.
Numbers are good. But I have a lot of experience with MBP 17 with 2.66 GHz processor, it is not i7. 4 GB of RAM installed, NVIDIA video cards GeForce 9400M and 9600M GT. In principle, a fairly fast car. You can even play games - for example, the CoD4 network mode runs quite normally. You can live.
But compared to the MBP 15, the “old man” I’m using seems to be trailing behind. And you don’t understand this right away. You click on the Safari icon, and the browser opens almost instantly. You create another tab - quickly, without waiting or artifacts appearing on the display. These split seconds act like a drug; everything happens faster, from iTunes working to creating a backup iPhone copies. What's the point of trying to strain yourself to play with toys in order to understand a simple thing - for the MBP line, new processors have long been needed, like a breath of fresh air. Where you are used to slowdowns, now there is only speed.
For players - since modern games for Mac OS are practically not released - optimal solution will supply an operating system using BootCamp Windows system and have fun there as much as you like. I have described the process many times, at least here:
Considering I played Splinter Sell: Conviction on Sony VAIO F with similar characteristics, I can predict that owners of MBP 17 with i7 will have exactly the same pleasure. You can and should play Novie, just don’t expect miracles. In the sense that the laptop will not handle the maximum graphics settings.
And then I will advise you not to even think about graphics-intensive games on the MBP 15. The fact is that this thing was not intended to be game console. The cooling system is efficient enough for quiet use; in essence, the laptop remains slightly warm while surfing the Internet and typing. But as soon as I started Command&Conquer 3, the metal of the bottom turned into some kind of hellish frying pan. The MBP 15 is not very noisy, even under heavy loads you won’t be grimaced by squeals and squeaks. Everything is quiet.
Everything is calm, and this is what makes it scary. Still, in laptops, heating, or rather overheating, is one of the common causes of breakdowns. It's one thing to edit a movie on an MBP 15 or work on your photo library. Or watch your favorite TV series for hours. This is fine. But with games, I would advise you to be more careful, take pity on expensive equipment.
A little about “boy meters”. I used Xbench to start with, perhaps not the latest and best coolness level meter, but still. As a result, MBP 17 of the 2009 model received 142.36 points. The result of MBP 15 of the 2009 model is 177.73 points. I also want to give this link, there is an interesting diagram demonstrating the superiority of i7 processors. The results were obtained using Geekbench.
Connections
On the right side there are all kinds of connectors and ports, I will list them:
- MagSafe power connector
- Gigabit Ethernet port
- 1 FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
- Mini DisplayPort
- Two USB port 2.0 (up to 480 Mbit/s)
- SD card slot
- Line audio input
- Line audio output
- Kensington lock slot
I would like to draw your attention to the slot for SD memory cards; they are inserted halfway there. It's more convenient than stuffing it in entirely. But there are few USB ports. I would like three. And this is not some kind of whim, but a necessity, at least my personal one.
The headphone jack is tight, I used apple headphones In-Ear Headset with Mic and Remote. As practice shows, few people know about the capabilities of the accessory paired with MBP. Using the remote control, just like on the iPhone, you can start or pause music playback and move from track to track. It works with QuickTime too. In Skype you can use it for conversations and adjust the volume. In short, very, very useful thing for laptop.
Sound
There are two unnamed speakers, there are no scary inscriptions on the body about X-bass and so on, but it’s pleasant to listen to music and watch movies. The volume is high, the sound is clear, and at maximum values it does not become wheezing. It is quite possible to do without speakers.
Data transfer
There is Wi-Fi (802.11n, of course, compatible with 802.11 a/b/g), Bluetooth, profile 2.1 with EDR is supported. When you turn it on for the first time, the system prompts you to select an access point; I have an Apple Time Capsule at home, and there were no problems connecting. Visible in Finder (something like Explorer) network drive access points, you can send files there without any shamanism. Naturally, the Time machine mode is possible - creating backup copies to restore the system.
Memory
The model under consideration uses HDD 500 GB, possible SSD installation, if you have a lot, a lot of money.
The DVD drive is still there, and I don't think it will disappear from the MacBook Pro anytime soon. Required attribute.
conclusions
Many of my colleagues, acquaintances and friends use MBP 15 as universal solution, first of all, for work. Why? Let's look at the advantages of the laptop:
- Speed!
- Wonderful design, materials, size and weight
- Long working time
- Using one or another video card depending on the tasks being solved (although it is not always clear which component is being used; third-party switching programs can help)
- Small power supply, proprietary MagSafe connector
- The touchpad completely replaces the mouse; people disagree with this thesis for about a week after they started using the MBP, then suddenly they abandon the pointing device forever. In addition, the touchpad greatly simplifies the use of the laptop, so to speak, it adds speed
- Good quality sound (talking about speakers)
- Availability of a slot for SD cards
- 802.11n support, when working with branded access points this matters
- Microphone makes it easy to communicate on Skype without a headset
- Backlit keyboard
There are also disadvantages:
- Only two USB ports
- Many people, after purchasing an MBP, immediately start looking for an adapter to connect HDMI cable, this is not a clear minus, but nevertheless
- Low display resolution for basic configurations
- Overpriced from Russian dealers
Once again about the price. The US version we're reviewing will cost you $2,199. In Russia - about 95,000 rubles. The Central Bank exchange rate at the time of writing is about 31 rubles per dollar. Relatively speaking, in the USA the model costs about 68,000 rubles. The difference is almost a thousand dollars. You can buy a purebred American from my favorite “hucksters” for about 80,000 rubles. Let me remind you that all you have to do is engrave, and many people do just fine without it.
I specifically pay such attention to prices, because it is painful to see the “price” metamorphoses and the transformation of MBP into a kind of object of luxury, bliss and gloss.
After all, its place is in the bag of a business person who is not ready to waste time fighting viruses, multidimensional settings, waiting for the device to enter or exit sleep mode. With each review I try to tell something new about Apple laptops, and I can’t do without it today. For example, there is such a “lid effect”, you get used to it very quickly - with any MBP, after closing the laptop, the system goes to sleep in a matter of seconds and is activated in a split second when you open the laptop. It’s impossible to get used to this.
The general conclusion regarding MBP 17 is this. This is a versatile laptop for a wide range of tasks, but they will depend heavily on your eyes - literally. If you are corrupted by good laptop displays, then you will not enjoy watching movies on the MBP 15 (for example). In this case, you should think about a “custom” option or pay attention to the MBP 17. Or even to a model from another manufacturer.
In any case, we got a very fast, stable, reliable and long-lasting machine. At the same time, it is small and quiet.
A brilliant laptop - but only in the USA, at a very reasonable price. An “elite” laptop is not for everyone in Russia.
P.S. I’ll immediately answer the typical unspoken question: is it worth changing your MBP 15 to one of the new models? I guess it's not worth it. The year is not over yet, and in the fall or winter we will probably have another update, perhaps even more critical. It may well be that in the next “update” it will be changed appearance rulers, weight (although this is where the magic begins), something positive will happen to the display.
But if you are the owner of the generation before last MBP, then this is a good reason to change the instrument; for you the difference in sensations will be great. Only the display can be a little disappointing.
Sergey Kuzmin ()
Processor type Core 2 Duo CPU frequency 2400 MHz Number of processor cores 2 L2 cache size 3 MBMemory
RAM size 2 GB Memory type DDR3 Memory frequency 1066 MHz Maximum memory size 4 GB Number of memory slots 2Screen
Screen size 13.3" Screen resolution 1280x800 Widescreen yes Screen type: glossy Touch screen no Multi-touch screen no LED lights screen yes 3D support noVideo
Video adapter type Built-in Video Processor NVIDIA GeForce 320M Two video adapters no Video memory type SMAStorage devices
Optical drive placement interior Optical drive DVD-RW Storage capacity 250 GB Hard drive type HDD Hard drive interface Serial ATA Rotational speed 5400 rpmExpansion slots
ExpressCard slot noMemory cards
Flash card reader No Compact Flash support No Memory Stick support no SD support no SDHC support no SDXC support no miniSD support no microSD support no microSDHC support no microSDXC support no SmartMedia support no xD-Picture Card support NoWireless connection
Wi-Fi available Wi-Fi standard 802.11n WiDi support no Bluetooth yes Bluetooth version 2.1 EDR 4G LTE no WiMAX no GPRS support no 3G no EDGE support no HSDPA support noConnection
Built-in LAN card There is Max. LAN adapter speed 1000 Mbit/s Built-in fax modem No Number of USB 2.0 interfaces 2 USB 3.0 Type-C interface No USB 3.1 Type-C interface no FireWire interface no FireWire 800 interface no eSATA interface no Infrared port (IRDA) no LPT interface no COM port no PS/2 interface no VGA output (D-Sub) no Mini VGA output no DVI output no HDMI output no micro HDMI output no DisplayPort output no Mini DisplayPort output yes TV-in input no TV-out out no Connecting to a docking station no Audio input yes Microphone input No Audio/headphone output There is Microphone input/headphone output Combo No Digital audio output (S/PDIF) There isNutrition
Operating time 10 hours Battery type Li-Pol Remote control no Kensington Castle yes Stylus no Metal body No Shockproof housing No Waterproof housing no Length 330.3 mm Width 231.7 mm Thickness 27.4 mm Weight 2.13 kgPlease check before purchasing specifications and equipment from the seller
We tried to make the description as good as possible so that your choice would be unmistakable and informed, but... We may not have used this product, but only touched it from all sides, and after you buy it, try it out, your review can make this world a better place, if your review is really useful, we will publish it and give it You have the opportunity to make your next purchase from us using the 2nd column.
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2018, 4 x Thunderbolt 3) A1989 Space Gray - I wouldn’t buy a good laptop, but not more than 100,000 thousand rubles.
3 Voronov Alexander Evgenievich 02-12-2018
Opinion of a potential buyer
Advantages:
Good performance
Flaws:
I think the next line of Mac books will be affordable
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2017, 2 x Thunderbolt 3) A1708 Space Gray - I really liked it
5 Pochestnev Vitaly Yurievich 17-11-2018
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2017, 2 x Thunderbolt 3) A1708 Space Gray
Advantages:
High quality, very pleasant to use, does not lag or glitch. It's a pleasure to use. There is nothing to say about the appearance. The battery lasts quite a long time, very convenient to take with you.
Flaws:
To use you will need an adapter, because The only connectors are 2 USB-C and a standard headphone jack.
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2018, 4 x Thunderbolt 3) A1989 Space Gray - Everything is super
5 Sheremeteva Svetlana Mikhailovna 25-09-2018
Unusual after ASUS
4 Artem Mikoyan 25-05-2015
Device owner rating:
Advantages:
I thought for a long time about the laptop with a stub on the lid, but I decided to miss. In one chain store I was able to test it. The device left only positive emotions, so I decided to buy it. After the purchase I tried to get used to the operating system, but I couldn’t try. Habit is a terrible force, so I installed a second Windows OS. Everything became absolutely wonderful with her. Working with photographs, music, the Internet, films - everything is top notch. The screen, in my opinion, is generally the best I've ever seen. The keyboard seemed to be built for my crooked hands.
Flaws:
Unusual OS.
Apple MacBook Pro 13 Retina (Early 2015) A1502 - Solid aluminum
5 Fedotov Denis 22-04-2015
Device owner rating: Apple MacBook Pro 13 Retina (early 2015) A1502
Advantages:
A single piece of aluminum has been transformed into a beautiful laptop. The backlit keyboard is pleasant in every way. The TouchPad is simply huge, it pleases with its response and ForceTouch technology. operating system Mac OS X Yosemite, but it is possible to install Windows 7 or 8. Intel processor Fifth generation Core i5 with built-in Intel Iris Graphics 6100 graphics card. Ultra-high resolution screen, but only 227 dpi. Wi-Fi supports all existing a/b/g/n/ac standards. The laptop has a 256 GB SSD, and the PCIe standard, the read speed is amazing. The power supply with a magnetizing connector is a very convenient thing. The autonomy corresponds to the declared one, over 10 hours of surfing the Internet.
Disadvantages: Only two USB.
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