On February 24, 2011, Apple launched a new MacBook Pro line that incorporated the new Sandy Bridge platform from Intel and a technology launched for the first time called Thunderbolt. I will discuss all this in the following and I thank those from Evomag for the opportunity to test the new 2011 13-inch MacBook Pro. It is the first MacBook Pro that I had the opportunity to use as a laptop for more than 2 days and for me it was a more than interesting experience. The model I received for testing had a 13-inch screen, a 5 GHz Intel i2.3 processor, a 320 GB HDD, built-in Intel HD Graphics 3000 video card and 4GB DDR 3 RAM. Having said that, let's move on to the impressions.
Design
Here everything is the same as a few years ago, the same unibody design, the same very thin screen, the same gorgeous keyboard and amazing trackpad. Apple kept intact the design of the MacBook Pro because the 2011 version was mainly focused on the implementation of new technologies and not on radical changes in the way the laptop looks. The new Thunderbolt technology works through a Display Port that has been marked accordingly but nothing has been changed.
Do you want an elegant laptop, do you want a laptop that attracts attention but at the same time is durable? Then the MacBook is your choice because it has an impeccable design, it has a case resistant to scratches and impact, it has an apple that shines when you open it, it has the simplicity and elegance of an Apple product. As for the keyboard and trackpad, you will get used to them immediately because we are talking about a very well designed keyboard so that it is pleasant to the touch but also protects its internal structure from dust. The trackpad is large enough to use the gestures in Mac OS X that will finally convince you that the lack of a mouse is not really that important.
performant
The new i5/i7 processors of the Sandy Bridge platform bring a notable increase in performance compared to the old versions of the MacBook Pro, which is practically the reason why Apple hastened the launch of the new line even though not even 1 year had passed since the launch of the old models. I received the cheapest model of the new MacBook Pro, I didn't do performance tests because there are so many on the internet and I don't think it was necessary to repeat them myself. The operating system responds very well to commands, opening applications is done quite quickly even in the case of complex applications such as Photoshop. On the graphics side, I didn't dare to test anything else because it came equipped with an integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 video card that is not able to cope with demanding games. I played a bit of Counter Strike in Windows through Bootcamp and also a bit of Warcraft 3 and everything worked as smoothly as possible without the slightest problem.
I will not discuss the other versions of the MacBook Pro with powerful graphics cards and i7 because I have not tested such a thing and there is no point. What I can tell you, however, is that Windows in BootCamp runs extremely well and it's normal to be like that because we're still talking about a powerful hardware configuration. Don't be afraid to try Windows on MacBook, you will be amazed how well it works and you will be amazed by the extremely easy and familiar installation process but also by the fact that everything is installed automatically, here I mean the drivers for all the components. Find more details here.
Enough with the positive things, let's move on to the negative ones. The HDD in the MacBook Pro is slow, opening a large .dmg file takes some time and installing various programs takes just as long. If you have to install iLife or some applications that occupy 2/3 Gb, then arm yourself with enough patience because the HDD works but not fast enough. The second big problem is related to flash, Steve Jobs was right when he said that flash ruins the web browsing experience. Unfortunately, not a few times it happened to me that the browser would freeze easily when accessing sites that had many flash elements in them, but also with a simple scroll on a site with a single video clip in flash, we encountered slight blockages. Flash is a problem, but in terms of playing video clips, you can rest assured because those in 1080p format will run absolutely perfectly.
If you are interested in a MacBook Pro, then I recommend an SSD, you will be amazed at how fast everything goes when you work with such a storage medium. I have one on my PC and everything runs much faster.
Battery life
Although I have covered some of this topic here, I will resume only the essential data and make certain additions. Yes, a MacBook Pro is able to run around 5:30 - 6 hours without problems if it is connected to a Wi-Fi network all the time. If you disconnect it from the Wi-Fi network, then the autonomy will be even better because you have a lower energy consumption. If you use it with low brightness, then you will be even happier because the autonomy increases, but the disadvantage is that you will have difficulty seeing what is happening on the screen. In my tests, I got a maximum of 6 hours from that MacBook, and that's after the 4th complete recharge. For me, 6 hours of autonomy is a lot compared to my old Asus which barely reaches 2 hours after 2 years of use.
MacBook Pros have an exceptional autonomy even under conditions of intense use, but do not expect to last 6 hours if you work in Photoshop or other video editing software. The more you "stress" the internet components, the more the battery autonomy decreases.
The screen and the audio system
The MacBook Pro has an IPS backlit screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 that displays very vivid colors and has a more than good viewing angle. Switching from an old generation laptop you will immediately notice the difference and you will discover that some sites have certain colors that you did not notice so well on your old monitor. However, the monitors are glossy and here comes the worst part. If you are unlucky enough to have a window behind your desk then prepare for problems because that glossy monitor will show what is behind you or even in front of you when the light is very strong. For me, the glossy screen is a disadvantage and although I haven't walked with the MacBook outside, I think I wouldn't have been too happy to see the clouds or the sun instead of web pages.
Don't expect too much on the audio side of the MacBook Pro, the sound is clear, strong, but unfortunately it lacks bass, so not every song will sound that pleasant. I can't say that I expected too much from a laptop on the audio side and the MacBook I tested performed quite well in this regard.
FaceTime HD
The new MacBook Pros have a camera that allows you to make HD calls via FaceTime, so we are talking about a new webcam model. You will notice that the images have a slightly better quality than the old models, but don't expect extraordinary things considering that it is a camera with a small sensor, similar to the front ones in iDevices. Unfortunately, the option to make HD calls is only in FaceTime because applications such as Skype or even PhotoBooth still do not correctly recognize the camera. In PhotoBooth you will still take pictures at VGA resolution, but I assume that Apple will change this soon.
Thunderbolt
The most important novelty that I couldn't test because I didn't have anything. The new technology from Apple works only on MacBook Pros, iMacs and some other accessories recently launched on the market. I didn't have another MacBook Pro to test the technology, but the specifications say that it should allow copying files at up to 10Gbps per second. Putting this into perspective, think that you have the possibility to copy with 600 MB - 1 GB per second, so a BluRay movie should be able to be copied in a few tens of seconds, of course depending on its size.
conclusions
The MacBook Pro is a very powerful laptop, very good-looking but quite expensive. In Romania, the prices are good, the model I received coastline 5400 lei at evoMAG and if I had the money I would buy one, but I would buy the 15 inch model because I feel the need for a bigger screen. The price is good, but the utility is even greater because you can run not one but 2 operating systems on it in the best conditions: Mac OS X and Windows. Few will choose to use Windows on a Mac, but there are many who install it and sometimes use it if they need to run a program that is not available on the Mac, for example. We have covered this issue here and please read.
MacBook Pro 2011 only brings hardware changes, nothing from the design point of view, but in the end the hardware matters the most. Faster processors, faster video cards and a new technology that will revolutionize the way we transfer files between computers and laptops, but for now it is only available on Macs. I recommend a MacBook Pro not only for the special design, but also for the computing power and battery autonomy that is hidden under this unibody design. A MacBook Pro represents an investment in an operating system (new for some) very well developed, very mature, without viruses, without problems, an operating system that will soon make the transition to a completely new version.
I thank those from Evomag for the opportunity offered and if you are interested in purchasing a MacBook Pro, I recommend you to visit their website because they have very good prices.
