Review: The $1,499 2016 MacBook Pro is an expensive MacBook Air on the inside

You can't fault longtime die-hard Mac users for being a little frustrated with Apple. In the space of just a decade, they've watched their favorite platform go from being the center of the company's attention to a minor line item. The iPhone gets refreshed promptly and consistently every September, while some Macs sit there for one or two or three years without even being mentioned. Macs aren't even regularly refreshed with new processors from Intel, Nvidia, and AMD as they're released anymore; we could rely on that as recently as three years ago.

The new MacBook Pros—released, for the record, a year and a half after the 2015 models, which were in some cases changed very little from the 2014 and 2013 models—have been birthed into this era of frustration. As a result, the initial reaction has been harsher than it would have been if Apple refreshed the Mac with the same regularity that it managed back in 2012 or 2013.

But not everyone is a longtime Mac user, and divorced from that context what you've got in the new MacBook Pros is a lineup of very nice-looking (if not game-changing) laptops that combine a refreshed design with a healthy dose of updated technology. Today, we'll be examining the $1,499 version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the version with the row of function keys in place of the ballyhooed Touch Bar. We'll be examining the other 13- and 15-inch model thoroughly when we can get them, of course, but the $1,499 version still tells us a lot about the design, the keyboard, the new Thunderbolt 3 ports, and about Apple's design priorities and the Pro's target audience.

Differences between the Touch Bar model and this one

Specs at a glance: 13-inch 2016 Apple MacBook Pro (Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
Screen	2560×1600 at 13.3" (227 PPI)
OS	OS X 10.12.1 Sierra
CPU	2.0GHz Intel Core i5-6360U (Turbo up to 3.1GHz)
RAM	8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 (soldered, upgradeable to 16GB at purchase)
GPU	Intel Iris 540 (integrated, 64MB eDRAM)
HDD	256GB PCIe 3.0 x4 solid-state drive
Networking	867Mbps 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.2
Ports	2x Thunderbolt 3, headphones
Size	11.97" × 8.36" × 0.59" (304.1 mm × 212.4 mm × 14.9 mm)
Weight	3.02 lbs (1.37 kg)
Battery	54.5Whr
Warranty	1 year
Starting price	$1,499.99
Price as reviewed	$1,499.99
Other perks	720p webcam, backlit keyboard, dual integrated mics

The Touch Bar is the biggest feature separating this entry-level MacBook Pro from the more expensive models, but there are some other small and not-so-small differences you have to live with when you opt for the $1,499 model. This is the complete list—otherwise, assume that the two share all the same features.

• The low-end Pro uses a 15W Core i5-6360U CPU with an Intel Iris 540 GPU; the high-end model uses a 28W Core i5-6267U CPU with an Intel Iris 550 GPU. The difference, aside from small boosts to CPU and GPU clock speeds, is that the 28W model can run faster for longer and throttle less frequently. The 15W model can also consume less power.
• The low-end Pro uses a single “Alpine Ridge” Thunderbolt 3 controller from Intel while the high-end Pro uses two Thunderbolt controllers (one of those controllers uses "reduced PCI Express bandwidth," which I assume means it's using PCI Express 2.0 instead of 3.0). Intel’s Thunderbolt controllers support a maximum of two Thunderbolt 3 ports each, and while many PC OEMs are shipping Thunderbolt 3, none is providing more than one or two ports.
• The low-end Pro uses 1866MHz LPDDR3 RAM while the high-end Pro uses 2133MHz LPDDR3. Apple has said it’s using LPDDR3 to save power, but it’s also the reason the systems max out at 16GB.
• The low-end Pro actually has a larger battery than the high-end one: 54.5Whr compared to 49.2Whr. Apple says both laptops have 10 hours of battery life, but the lower-power processor, the larger battery, and the lack of a little second screen above the keyboard should all mean that the low-end model actually lasts a bit longer than the Touch Bar model.
• The low-end model includes two integrated mics, while the high-end model includes three.

Look and feel

If the Retina MacBook was what you’d get if an iPad and a MacBook Air were put into the Large Hadron Collider and smashed into each other, the new MacBook Pro is what you’d get if you took the Retina MacBook and the first Retina MacBook Pro and did the same thing. Like the MacBook, the new Pros are slimmer, have much smaller display bezels and footprints, and jettison many ports. Like the previous Pro, they’re a uniform thickness throughout rather than tapered, they’ve still got more powerful processors, and because of those more powerful components they still have fans inside.

The Pro’s construction is still rock solid despite being thinner and lighter, and there’s still not a trace of creaking or flexing anywhere in its aluminum unibody design. If you were bothered by previous designs’ unadorned metal or the hard corners of their wrist rests, none of that has changed. Apple does offer both a “space gray” finish alongside the classic silver, though the MacBook’s gold and rose gold finishes and the iPhone 7’s black and jet black finishes aren’t available. I tend to prefer darker gray and black colors when I can get them, and the space gray finish is really nice even if it still bothers me that Apple can’t quite keep the “space gray” color consistent across different product lines and model years.

At 3.02 pounds, the new Pro is around half a pound lighter than last year’s and roughly the same weight as the 13-inch MacBook Air. I’m jumping from the 13-inch Air to the 13-inch Pro since I can’t quite live with the 12-inch MacBook’s performance or its individual port, so if you’re making that jump the laptop is going to feel exactly the same in your bag. The weight savings is noticeable but not life-changing if you’re coming from an earlier Retina model, but remember that it’s a full 1.5 pounds lighter than a pre-Retina, 13-inch unibody Pro—if you’re coming from one of those older machines, it makes a huge difference.

The laptop’s fan is normally not audible in a room with little to no ambient noise. You can definitely notice it spin up if you’re pushing the laptop’s performance for an extended period, but it’s quieter than the previous Pros or Airs, and it’s much quieter than the jet engine-style noises that come out of some PC Ultrabooks. Even when the fan is going at full-tilt, the laptop can still get pretty warm, especially underneath and on the area above the keyboard. Still, it never gets too uncomfortable to hold or rest on your lap.