Like just about every Apple product for the last decade or so, most reviewers agree that Apple’s industrial design is still second-to-none. Stern said, “Compared with my rotting MacBook Air and the old MacBook Pro, the new Pros look like they’ve been on a serious juice cleanse.” Kastrenakes agreed: “The hardware is incredible, macOS is a joy to use, and I don’t want to give up this screen and keyboard. It’s a fantastic laptop on build alone.”

Many reviewers also commented on the inexplicably massive new trackpad, which is nearly twice as large as the one on last year’s 13-inch model. The new trackpad also has a pressure-sensitive function like the screen on an iPhone 6S or 7, which allows you to access different functions if you press harder. Stern said that “Apple makes the best trackpad on any laptop, regardless of operating system,” but did have issues touching by mistake because of its omnipresence.

Use your finger to pay for things.
Image: Apple

The price

MacBook Pros have never been cheap machines, and the new ones are no different. The 13-inch model with a Touch Bar starts at $1,800, and the 15-inch model at $2,400. The New York Times’ Brian X. Chen said that storage constraints may be an issue for some owners, adding, “The MacBook Pros are also expensive, and some users may end up spending thousands of dollars above the retail price for add-ons like extra storage.” (The new Pros all ship with either 256 or 512 GB hard drives, and only the more expensive models can be upgraded to 1 TB—for an extra $400). Chen’s review even goes as far as to potentially suggest a cheaper Chromebook, or a “Hackintosh”—a standard Windows PC that’s been modified to run macOS—over the new Macs.

Kastrenakes called the 13-inch model “Overpriced and underpowered,” and Pierce put it in even simpler terms: “Laptops aren’t supposed to be this expensive, are they?”

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