This is still the benchmark for laptops when it comes to pure aesthetics and build quality.
Its solid machined aluminium chassis, clean lines and minimalist looks strike all the right notes. The MacBook Pro 13 remains a gloriously desirable machine. Apple MacBook Pro 13in (2018) review: Designġ5-inch Apple MacBook Pro (2018) review: The most powerful MacBook everĪs I said above, there’s nothing new about the look and the feel of the new MacBook. That may sound like much better value than the base Core i7 MacBook Pro, but bear in mind that the Core i5 MacBook actually runs a faster base clock speed and includes superior integrated graphics. However, the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s chief opposition is the Dell XPS 13 – whose highest specification includes a quad-core 1.8GHz Intel Core i7-8550U, a 4K touchscreen, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD – and costs £1,749. The specification? An eighth-gen 1.6GHz Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. For that money, you can pick up our current favourite laptop, the Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 with a Core i5 Kaby Lake G CPU, while the LG Gram – another lightweight 15in laptop – will set you back around £300 less. That’s still a lot of money, though, and even the lowest-spec £1,749 Touch Bar model looks pricey.
I’ve highlighted a few key configurations with example prices in the table below:Ģ.3GHz quad-core, 8th-gen Intel Core i5-8300H, 8GB RAM, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, 256SSDĢ.7GHz quad-core, 8th-gen Intel Core i5-8559U, 8GB RAM, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, 256SSDĢ.7GHz quad-core, 8th-gen Intel Core i5-8300H, 8GB RAM, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, 256SSDĢ.7GHz quad-core, 8th-gen Intel Core i7-8559U With the standard SSD in place and half the RAM (8GB), the price of a 2.7GHz quad-core Core i7 MacBook Pro drops to a more reasonable £2,019, while the cheapest Touch Bar MacBook Pro 13in costs £1,749.
As with the 15-inch MacBook Pro, though, a large chunk of that price goes on the 2TB SSD, which is a £1,400 upgrade on the standard 256GB drive. The model Apple sent to us for this review is the very highest specification available and, as such, it’s expensive: £3,599 expensive, in fact. That’s still available with seventh-generation Intel Kaby Lake CPUs, and prices start at £1,249.īuy now from John Lewis 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro (2018) review: Price and competition One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is the non-Touch Bar 13in MacBook Pro. And battery capacity gets a small improvement as well. The MacBook Pro’s infamous butterfly-switch keyboard has been given a mild overhaul to make it both quieter and more reliable. This means the laptop can sense the colour temperature of the light in the room you’re in and match the screen’s white point to it, giving your eyes a break from having to readjust every time you look away from and back to it. On the display front, Apple has added True Tone to its Retina-class 13.3in IPS panel. However, it has also made a few key design alterations. READ NEXT: Our pick of the best laptops you can buy today 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro (2018) review: What you need to knowĪs ever, Apple has improved the internal specification slightly in this year’s 13-inch MacBook Pro, moving from seventh-gen Kaby Lake to Intel’s eighth-gen Coffee Lake CPUs and offering a 2TB SSD option instead of topping out at 1TB. Only a few important things have changed. Having fallen upon a design that’s still superior to most of its rivals, Apple has been content to improve things gradually.Īnd so 2018’s 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro is exactly the same size and shape as 2017’s MacBook Pro, has most of the same features, and it’s available in the same colours, too. That’s why, presumably, Apple was reluctant to change it dramatically last year and why it stays the same in 2018.
The gap between premium Windows portables and the MacBook Pro has been closing in recent times, but Apple’s premium laptop range remains the pinnacle of laptop design.