Hands-on with the MacBook Pro
By Peter Rojas 
posted Jan 10th 2006 3:26PM
posted Jan 10th 2006 3:26PM
It's all fine and good that His Steveness introduced new Intel-powered iMacs today, but we all know that the real star of the show was the new MacBook Pro, which we were lucky enough to lay our hands on earlier today. Nothing extraordinary from a design point of view -- it looks pretty much like the old 15-inch PowerBook, just thinner -- but the screen on this thing is amazing and the switch to Intel promises to give Apple's laptop line a much needed boost in performance.
Yes, it runs FrontRow.
New MagSafe power connector.
Slightly thinner than the 17-inch PowerBook.
Okay, Anyone who is complaining about not having a right mouse button clearly just hasn't spent any significant time with OS X. Here's the deal... YOU DON'T NEED IT. Almost everything that the right click is used for in Windows is replaced with dragging and dropping in OS X. And for the guy touting his Thinkpad... there are volume and mute buttons on every laptop and every desktop keyboard Apple has made for years.
Still No Right Mouse Button? No Thanks!
Are those new Express Card slots compatible with Panasonics P2 cards?
So...does it f'n run windows??!?! ;)
How I wish so badly that I wasn't at university and already £5,000 in debt. This is one amazing piece of kit.
first post!
I want one!!!
I'm mostly curious about how hot/cool it runs. I have a G4 Aluminum powerbook myself and it can get rather toasty after being on a while.
Nearly...if we didt have to comfirm posts it would of been!
What's the battery life?
I think it's a bit strange Apple doesn't mention the battery life of the MacBook Pro on their website.
Has Apple said anything about this at Mac World?
Has anyone actually confirmed that this only has one mouse button? Or is it possible that it is two buttons but just looks like one sort of like the Mighty Mouse?
oh please... "no right mouse button" ... gimme a break, get something new to complain about.
wicked news, although I have to say: where's the 12" one!? that's what I'm waiting for.
I really WANT TO WANT one of these, but I love some of my Thinkpad features like the separate volume and mute buttons. Two pointing devices. And the light that shines down on the kb from above. ALL laptops should have that.
AND - this was the time to get the right mouse button. I'm sure I could work around some of the right-click issues with some touchpad enhancements - but I shouldn't have to.
what is the deal with the PCMICA slot being dropped? And what is the replacement express slot all about?
It certainly seems pretty to cool to me! Some things I want to know:
1. When it boots, what happens? Is it pretty similar to a normal Mac, I'm sire there can't be a beige-box-style Boot screen.
2. Can you actually run Windows/Linux normally on this?
3. What is the actual chip used? Apple are calling it an "Intel Duo Core" but what's it really? A Yonah?
4. What's the battery life like? I'm sure it's got to be shorter than the PowerBooks, and the lack of it on Apple's web-site seems pretty conspicuous to me.
Searched Apple's MacBook Pro pages for some idea of battery life, still can't find any. Looks real nice, if a bit pricy.
Maybe it's a Mighty mouse-style button, that senses which side of the button you touched. I doubt it though, as Steve would have mentioned it if it was so.
How's the bootup? Does it look like a PC or a Mac? IE, does it have a BIOS POST screen, or does it go straight into the grey OS X bootup screen?
why can't they make 14.1", i don't really want to lug a huge laptop around.. it's too much... if i just want to do regular stuff that doesn't need that extra screen. it'll be perfect. that would compete with the rest of pc laptop.
battery life is just a huge issue
Since there's no information about battery life anywhere on Apple's site, can you guys please unplug the power adapter and see what the remaining battery life shows?
SWEEEET. I have been waiting so long for a big boost in power. Ill order tonight!
I'd just like to note that for $100 over the cost of the 1.83GHz model, one can buy two 1.83GHz iMacs. Also not mentioned so far: no fw800. Still hot, though.
Quick, jerk the power plug out and get a read of the battery life display :p
I'd say it's pricey, but then I spec'd out a similar Core Duo on Dell's site.. maby 100 $ difference, tops. They're really on par w/ price now. And for an Apple, hell yea I'll pay 100$ more.
Pricing's even sweeter if your EDU (200 off each MacBook Model)
I, too want to know about battery life.. specs are suspciously absent.
I'm a little disappointed they didn't make too many cosmetic changes to the enclosures of both the MacBook and iMac. In any case I'm still interested in picking one of the models up.
3. first post!
I want one!!!
HAHAHAHA third poster LOSER
anyway these babies look sweet apart from their price
How hot does it get? Do the fans get loud? Come on give us some first impressions!
why do people get so excited about this stuff? It's a laptop that does NOTHING better than any other laptop on the market. Apple makes the best pissing contest products on the planet. Because beyond allowing people to gloat that they ordered theirs IMMEDIATELY, they don't do anything better than stuff that was already available.
fw is dead (okay.. dying).. if you didn't get that from the fact the Nano won't even support the fw ipod connector.
Plus all the "switchers" will have USB peripherals, not fw ones.
Dumb question: But are these going to be able to dual-boot Windows? (Only reason is then I can justify a purchase for work)
i want one
"A light that shines down all the keyboard"
All OUTDATED laptops should have that. Modern ones can have a backlit keyboard, like the MacBook Pro.
BobbyW, this has all the same features. The audio control features are on the F Keys, and since those are almost never used, it isn't an issue. Also, the light shining on the keyboard from IBM is a hack job. This has a backlit keyboard that can intelligently turn itself on or off (and vary brightness) based on ambient lighting.
The lack of pcmcia slot kinda bothers me. I have a 6-1 pc card adapter (7 with mini sd sleeve) living in mine and a cf adapter in my bag. the adapter means a few less camera cables i need to carry on trips and an easy way to dump mp3s on my phone via the minisd card.
and those wanting a 2nd mouse button, the ctrl key is your friend.
The MacBook Pro DOES have backlight keys (better than the IBM solution as each key is backlit, AND it is done so with an ambient light sensor to determine the amount of light needed while adjusting the key AND screen brightness), it DOES have seperate volume/mute buttons (F3 F4 F5 keys), the right button click issue has been beaten to death, get a bluetooth mouse. Problem solved. If you don't like to carry a mouse, ctrl+click. Get over it. The current PowerBook uses a 50 watt-hour Li-Ion battery with about 3.5 usable hours (that's what I get out of mine with bluetooth and wifi turned on). This new 'book has a 60 watt-hour Li-Polymer battery, so I would guess around 4.5 usable hours with extras (brightness, wireless) turned on.
I'd like to know what happened to FW800.
It's really dodgy how there's no indication of the battery life. That's probably one of the most important things in a laptop, yet it's nowhere to be seen on the apple.com
How about an "About This Mac" screenshot or even better some system profiler shots.
FW800 was dropped with the new Intel chipset (I gather it wasn't easily implemented). Yes, the new ExpressCard/34 port is the replacement of PCMCIA, it's several times faster and I've been told it can even support an external video card. Sounds cool to me!
i get dropping pc card in favor of expresscard or whatever--these things won't be out for another few months at least, so there's a little wiggle room in there for third parties. besides, i'd bet that the major players in the powerbook add-on card market have known about this for a while and are getting ready to make the the switch themselves.
but dropping FW800? retarded. it would only be okay if this thing had a SATA2 port, but it doesn't. looks like "4x faster" really means "400mbps."
ps. how many people out there do you think will totally hose their machines by jamming their apple remotes into that expresscard slot?
Big MacBook Pro - now with sesame seed and two all-beef patties!
Yes it's really easy to install WinXP right next to OSX, Linux too for that matter, better yet all 3. Use Darwine and run your Windows apps in OSX without having to boot to Windows...
Rumor has it down the road that Windows apps will run in OSx86 with no porting or emulation tricks so long as you have WinXP installed on the box as well. Not sure if that means certain windows system files will be used by OSx86 and taken on the fly from the Windows install or what ???
Duo is a dual core centrino replacement, Tom's Hardware reviewed an Asus laptop with the chip and compared to the centrino. Since Asus makes this Apple Laptop the hardware should be quite similar.
The Duo Asus Windows laptops get in the 4+ hours of battery so I would assume an Apple version would be close to that.
Still No Right Mouse Button? No Thanks.
Any person who knows even a tiny bit about any computers knows that there are freeware drivers for OS X that can make a tap of the trackpad or some other thing of your choice mimic the right-mouse button. If you wouldn't buy a computer because you have to tap the trackpad rather than click a button then you really make great decisions I'm sure. Moreover, it is much better to just have one button on a laptop trackpad -- that way you just hit the button without making sure you are hitting the right side (one button desktop mice however are absurd and I threw mine in the garbage after getting a two button for my imac).
Nice on Apple! You came up trumps again.
Just gotta wait for the 12" with a 2.16Ghz Duo Processor (http://www.intel.com/products/processor/coreduo/specs.htm)!
Now that would be laptop!
I hope it has a mighty-mouse style right mouse button on there -- trying to use Windows without a right mouse button is hard. (Not to mention using OSX when used to Windows... I right click on everything)
I thought this would be a great laptop for me -- but I would put Windows XP on it.
WIll you guys give us some shots of the lid latch and the System Profiler with CPU/memory and all that? Is the built-in iSight USB like the iMac?
Re Express Card, does ANYONE know if there will be EVDO express cards or HSPDA ones?? I assume that there may be HSPDA in due course given Apple's relationship with cingular.
I say give it 2 - 3 months and we will see the 17" macbook with 2GHz and firewire 800.
so does it run windows or not?!?!
Perhaps, there is some fear. Fear that if apple let windows be run on their machines, peolple may wonder what the fuss is about, and no will no longer see the justification for spending so much money on something that can be done better with, perhaps a windows laptop? I really do not intend to begin a mac vs pc debate, i like them both for their individual merits. I just wanted to introduce some philosophy.
#39 reckless said:
"how many people out there do you think will totally hose their machines by jamming their apple remotes into that expresscard slot?"
I just now tried that. It doesn't fit and you can't jam it in. The slot is too thin.
better question:
will OSX run on x86 hardware?
AAPL stock closes at $80.86 on the day they announce their first Intel boxes. That's just a bit too much of a coincidence for me.
Why do people keep saying firewire is dead? I am pretty sure that anyone who dose any sort of DV or HDV editing would strongly disagree.
guess what else is missing....
a MODEM. thats right... this laptop has NO BUILT IN MODEM!!! you have to get a USB dongle to get online using a landline.
amazing. i wouldn't have even noticed except i saw the dongle as a BTO option... checked the pics again... sure enough... NO MODEM.
The Apple stock closing at 80.86 on the Intel announcement day is quite the coincidence/omen.
How hot does it get? Is it still burning a hole in your crotch, or can you actually use it on your lap, like the name "laptop" suggests?
That's the big thing for me with my current PB. I always feel like it's just this close to lighting on fire or removing my chance of having children.
I'd like to see DVI in Windows laptops too. Especially in small 12" laptops. VGA interface is useless since you can always use a DVI->VGA adapter...
why are people so concerned with price and the 12 inch model. powerbooks have long been a staple for the design professionals, photographers, etc. this is meant to cater to them. im sure the ibook replacement will be more sutible for the general publc.
would you retards stop talking about it running windows?!
it doesn't run windows.
Peter, two questions:
1. It appears to be slightly darker aluminum (see the picture on the front page of apple.com; is it a different color at all from the prior PowerBooks?
2. Would you buy one? (the ultimate question; if PR says yes, you know its good).
I've been asking myself for a while when they were going to drop the built-in modem. It looks like they've finally done it. I think it's a smart (or at the very least inconsequential) move; I haven't used a modem in years. I'm guessing they'll keep modems on the iBooks for a few more generations.
Not that I'm expecting it (Apple makes great products), but if there are going to be problems with the switch to Intel, they're going to happen now. I'll be safe by the time I can afford one in a couple of years.
Are these in stores yet???
my 17-inch high res powerbook is still uber-sexy. i'm also happy it says "PowerBook" and not "MacBookPro" or anything.
i just bought my 17 inch a week ago and i was praying that the change today would not be cosmetic. so i'm happy that the case wasn't changed and only the processor and other small details (isight) were changed.
and after saying that: i still love my 17 inch PB to death!!!!
Just called Apple...they said the battery life is the same as the current PowerBooks. YAY! I'm buying it :P
Real geeks like us just want to run both Windows and OS X on one machine. Then we wouldn't need two laptops.
No Modem???? Oh my God, what will PC users do?!?!?! Next thing you know Apple will get rid of the floppy disk (which every PC I see still has.)
I guarantee there will no longer be included dial up modems in ANY Macs by the end of the year. Builtin EVDO or HSPDA modems; maybe.
Has anyone notice that Soundtrack Pro is no longer avilable on the apple store doen anyone now something about this?
Who is breathing a sigh of relief that there is no "intel inside" sticker slapped on the thing?
I like everything about these except the screen. I run my Dell 15.4" widescreen at 1920x1200 (WUXGA I think) and I would settle for 1680x1440 (WSXGA+ I think) but even after the resolution increase last yeat the Apple notebooks don't offer anywhere near the resolution I need. I just don't see why it isn't even an option.
HEY!
Why run Winblows on this guys? Windows will run the SAME as it does on a PC. (so are macs pc's now?...)
I for one want a dual booter, but would want all files to be accessable from both OS's.
Anywho....
I WANT ONE!
I need a FW800 port, and I don't think I'm alone in this...
How's the battery life?
#42 said: "I don't want to worry about which button I'm clicking".
LOL!!!
Doth that not demonstrate thine typical Ap*le fanboy's limited mental processing capabilities?
You got one already? Dangit! I didn't even get the iPod Color! :D
according to apple store phone reps, battery life is 5.5 hours
Steve Jobs could take a dump on stage and you Mac fanboys would worship it, just like you worship this overpriced hunk o junk.
Ordered one about 10min after the appe store went back online....
Before ya all get all envious, it's a company laptop for the boss. I'm stuck on an old B&W G3 still. At least I'll get to tinker with it when it first arrives. ;)
conversation went as follows
me: How is the battery life on the new mac book pro?
Apple rep: 8 to 10 hours
me: wow
I love the lock on the laptop, just incase any ambitious reporter from new york tries to take one of these fine babys home.
Is that trackpad wider than the one on my 15" G4 Powerbook? Looks it.
yes but If it ran windows, All the people who want to play games could, or the people who want to use some Windows specific software...THEN youd be able to justify the price by saying "Its two computers in one" Even though I believe3 its a fair price, and im buying it now.
Rumors I've heard:
Battery life is 37 minutes.
Dual booting with Windows: the MacBook will automatically 'brick' if a Windows XP install CD is inserted. Inserting a Windows XP install CD also voids the warranty.
right click = ctrl click
About the battery life. Wouldn't it be longer than a G5 PowerBook? Not to mention a lot cooler?
28. why do people get so excited about this stuff? It's a laptop that does NOTHING better than any other laptop on the market. Apple makes the best pissing contest products on the planet. Because beyond allowing people to gloat that they ordered theirs IMMEDIATELY, they don't do anything better than stuff that was already available.
Why do people get excited? Have you ever used an Apple? As it is to be used?? For graphics? Apple is so user friendly, (although... YES, it does take a while to adjust to the one mouse button, BUT! once you have it down with the ctrl key -- you are set. It's sooooooooo much faster.) And the interface of the software and the design of exeternal hardware is so elegant and sophisicated. "Nothing better" than what is already available??
75. Steve Jobs could take a dump on stage and you Mac fanboys would worship it, just like you worship this overpriced hunk o junk.
My, my. Such words. If there is hype, it's usually for a reason, have you throughally checked it out??
And --Battery life -- one at 5.5 hours and one at 8-10? ... so the real answer is??
I must have it.
video out? :-(
Not sure if this was mentioned above or not but all of us checked out the details on apple.com. I seemed to me that apple was pretty stoked on there "MagSafe" power connector but in the picture above, doesnt the zip tie render it uselese? yeah i know, i state the obvious
lack of RIGHT CLICK is annoying, but can be done with CTRL and CLICK at the same time. In Mac OS it's not so bad. Holding CTRL when you need to isn't hard either (although I would prefer a right click).
1) The name blows big time, MacBook? I still can't believe they killed the PowerBook name. :-(
2) iWish they had announced iBooks starting around $700-$800.
3) Please give me a right button on the trackpad. Pretty please with sugar on top.
I 2nd the comment that says the new name "MacBook" sucks. Apple is a true branding whore. I still love'm though...
Responding to two separate points from two posters.
>and those wanting a 2nd mouse button, the ctrl key is your friend.
So much for good interface design that Apple users often claim. Why should I takemy hand off the mouse or move my other hand just to press Ctrl when a trivial finger move could do the job?
>Any person who knows even a tiny bit about any computers
Wrong. About Apple computers.
>If you wouldn't buy a computer because you have to tap the trackpad rather
>than click a button then you really make great decisions I'm sure.
That is right, I do make good decisions. I have a PC where I can tap the mouse pad or click the button. I click the button. The impact is lower and as a result does less damage to my already suffering RSI fingers. You assume too much about the reasons why people want a second mouse button. Here is the answer, "because the customer is right". if you don't want to use the second mouse button, you can ignore it. But I can't use it if it is not present.
>Moreover, it is much better to just have one button on a laptop trackpad
In your opinion. Which many people, including myself, strongly disagree with. If Apple can't ship a computer with a properly designed mouse why should I consider it? This is like shipping a car without a rear view mirror - "well you've got wing mirrors, deal with it".
>(one button desktop >mice however are absurd and I threw mine in the garbage after getting a two button for my imac).
That is just contradictory. If they work in one situation they work in the other.
Just to clarify. I am interested in their product but still disappointed by their inability to realise the mouse button debate has been comprehensively won by the two button side of the argument. Trivial finger movement vs using a different hand to press a key on the keyboard (a separate device as a substitute for a second mouse button - and you clain that is a better user interface? Give everyone a break, that is bogus).
My Kay may have been many things, but on this subject, the gentleman was wrong. Even my parents (in their 60s) and my computer hating girlfriend can handle two button mice - two button mice are not a hard concept to handle.
BATTERY LIFE
I unplugged the power cord to see what the battery meter said....it reported in the range of 2+ to 4+ hours. Meaning when I first unplugged it and let it sit there, it said like 4.5. But jacking up the screen brightness, setting to Better Performance, and making it do some iLife stuff, I got it to say various things in the 3's and 2's.
In other words, I'd say battery performance isn't "broken". The product would surely get panned if battery life sucked and Apple was quietly letting it go unsaid. I'd sum up by saying battery life is acceptable, perhaps same as before. Similar to heat....yes the bottom was warm on these demo units, but they were flat on the counter surface.
Now, my two cents on some of the posted complaints:
FW800- The 5400rpm drives in these probably can't exceed FW400 maximums anyway anyway. Or if it's close, it's not worth it to have the port there. Perhaps the 17" will still have both.
PCMCIA- If you rely on PCMCIA cards, don't buy one of these new machines! Apple has always been leading edge. Stick with what you got until you buy new cards. They're faster. Apple's changing it for reason, it's the future in their opinion.
"Power"book- It's no longer a PowerPC chip! Apple SHOULD drop the "Power" name. It'll be interesting to see what they rename the PowerMac G5 to be.
No modem- I can't recall the last time I dialed up anything on my Powerbook. If you can, don't buy one of these either. Stick with what you got until your needs change. As more and more people move to broadband, the need for modems will continue to diminish. Again, leading edge.
Right mouse button- Get over it. Bottom line: the Mac OS doesn't RELY on the right mouse button to accomplish things. Sure you CAN get a mighty mouse that does right clicking, and of course you can control click, or tap the trackpad, etc....but you don't NEED to where the computer must have a second button added to it as a default for everyone.
I'll close with this....the performance of the apps (and even a boot cycle) FLEW. The performance difference these machines have is very palpable.
6. I'm mostly curious about how hot/cool it runs. I have a G4 Aluminum powerbook myself and it can get rather toasty after being on a while.
>> Yes I would like to find out either it's hot or cool. If not then I skip this little baby and straight go with PC laptop :(( I find powerbook hotness is unacceptable.
FireWire won't be dead untill USB gets realtime capability for such things as video. FireWire is still a better protocol and isn't going away anytime soon.
Wow! I really want one, but the lack of a PCMCIA slow will keep me from buying one. Hope they add one soon.
Re: Stephen Kellett - Heaven forbid you purchase a $4 USB two button mouse. Think about it; if you're going to argue such a trivial point, and probably make the argument that you want a two button mouse on the trackpad and not an external mouse, you can always download tools that allow a double click to function as a right click and a triple click to function as a left double click (or vice versa) - there are very simple solutions to your seemingly overdone complaints. Research your argument before making such absurd claims of complex usability; a right click is easy to surmount.
No right mouse button?
Install SideTrack.
It makes a tap in a certain area of the trackpad function as a Ctrl-Click (right-click).
I've used it for over a year on my iBook G4 and have been very happy with it.