MacBook Pro: The biggest and baddest Mac laptops

After going hands-on with the Late-2016 13-inch MacBook Pro sans Touch Bar, I was finally able to spend some significant hands-on time with the real MacBook Pro for this generation, the Touch Bar-equipped version.

Outside of a few obvious differences, the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar shares the same form factor and design as the version without Apple’s fancy new input method. Therefore, I’m going to avoid rehashing topics that I’ve already covered, such as in-depth impressions of the keyboard, trackpad, display, build quality, etc. If you want a hands-on synopsis of the overall design of the Late-2016 MacBook Pro, then be sure to read our original hands-on post.

These impressions will focus on the areas that differentiate the Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro from the entry-level model. It is here where you’ll find my hands-on impressions of the Touch Bar, Touch ID, faster processors, additional USB-C ports, and more. Have a look at our full video walkthrough for all of the details.
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The new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is the first of Apple’s Macs to include a Touch ID sensor built-in for Apple Pay, unlocking the Mac with your fingerprint, and authentication purposes in third-party apps.

Other Macs can use Apple Pay, but they need to use a nearby iPhone or Apple Watch to authenticate and complete the purchase.

Here’s how it works:

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Apple’s new flagship MacBook Pro replaces the function key row with a dynamic multi-touch display called Touch Bar. This new screen changes based on which app you’re currently using and enables quick access to additional functionality throughout macOS.

One example of this is how Touch Bar handles screenshots. Whether you’re using the system keyboard shortcuts to create a screenshot or using the optional screenshot button on Touch Bar, you can assign the app or folder where you want the screenshot to save to on-the-fly.

And since Touch Bar is actually a second display, you can create a screenshot of whatever Touch Bar is displaying using a new system keyboard shortcut…

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I’ve always upgraded my MacBooks. Usually, I would spec out my machine with the best processor and GPU, and couple that to the bare-bones RAM and drive, then upgrade those components myself to avoid the Apple premium. Sometimes I’d upgrade more than once during a machine’s lifetime.

My Late 2011 17-inch MacBook Pro, for example, was bought with 8GB RAM and a 750GB hard drive. I immediately upgraded the RAM to 16GB – a ten-minute task – and swapped out both the hard drive and optical drive for two 1TB hard drives. Later on, when SSD prices fell to more sensible levels, I swapped out the spinning metal drives for a couple of 1TB SSDs. In this way, the 17-inch machine I was reluctant to give up has remained remarkably usable even five years on.

That approach is no longer an option. The RAM has long been soldered on in MacBooks, and the past couple of days confirmed what I suspected about the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar when I maxed-out my order: the SSD, too, is soldered on and thus non-upgradable …

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One slightly surprising spec in the new 15-inch MacBook Pro line-up is that even the base model got an AMD GPU. Previously, Apple has offered only integrated GPU in the base model, reserving discrete graphics for the higher-specced models.

John Gruber noticed that the ArsTechnica review explains this: it was the only way to allow the machine to drive two 5K monitors. And the reason for that is that Apple had to use something of a workaround to achieve it …

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With the new MacBook Pro now shipping to customers, iFixit have got their hands on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and have disassembled it and completed their usual teardown. There are quite a few differences between this model and the cheaper 13-inch 2016 MacBook Pro that retains traditional keys; teardown for that model here.

Much of the internal component layout has been adjusted to accommodate the inclusion of the Touch Bar. Apple’s latest laptop scores just 1/10 for repairability as Touch Bar is difficult to replace and the battery is glued into the case. Interestingly, the new speaker grilles on the 13-inch model appear to serve no function and are purely cosmetic …

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Drop, a color picker for macOS, has launched today with support for the new MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar. Built by the Tapity app development team, Drop serves as lightweight tool allowing user’s to quickly select and grab colors on-screen, while also switching between a multitude of color formats. Colors grabbed can be added to the palette and automatically copied to the clipboard.

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The first MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models are arriving, and if you were encouraged by the removable SSD OWC found in the entry-level machine, there’s bad news. Owners who have opened them up are finding that the SSD chips in the Touch Bar machines are permanently soldered to the logic board.

This means that, like the 12-inch MacBook, the SSD size you order from Apple is the capacity you’re going to be stuck with for the life of the machine, so you may want to take a fresh look at those rather eye-watering upgrade prices.

The SSD chips are beneath some shielding, but one owner was brave enough to remove it to peek beneath …

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(The update is rolling out now, it may take some time to propagate across all App Store regions)

Pixelmator for Mac today updated to version 3.6 optimized for macOS Sierra and the new MacBook Pro Touch Bar, as well as a handful of other enhancements for the photo editor. Pixelmator 3.6 includes support for the latest macOS Sierra APIs, like Universal Clipboard and Tabs. Tabs enable users to edit multiple Pixelmator documents in a single window. As promised at the Apple event, this update brings a contextual row of Pixelmator editing tools into the Touch Bar present in the new MacBook Pros.

The update also includes new ways to make selections, including a content-aware Smart Refine, a live preview Quick Selection, wide color image support, and more.

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The Late 2016 MacBook Pro lacks many of the convenient ports that we’ve seen on previous MacBook releases. But if there’s a silver lining to be found, it’s that the USB-C ports featured on the new machines are super-versatile.

With a single USB-C cable, for instance, you can tap into CalDigit’s USB-C Dock, which gains you instant access to multiple legacy USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, an extra USB-C port, and an additional 3.5mm headphone jack along with a microphone jack.

In addition, the unit is able to charge a MacBook up to 60W. That means that the dock should do fine charging the smaller 13″ MacBook Pro at full speed, but will take a bit longer charging the 15″ MacBook Pro that ships with a larger power adapter.

CalDigit’s USB-C Dock isn’t a perfect device, but it does a pretty good job of turning the new MacBook Pro into a desktop-worthy machine, if you can put up with the compromises you’ll have to make in order to use it. Have a look at our hands-on video walkthrough for the details.
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Apple’s new MacBook Pro replaces the function row of keys with a dynamic screen called the Touch Bar, and customers who pre-ordered early are starting to see them ship as soon as today. Apple Stores should also receive inventory to try out this week, but you can test drive how macOS will handle the Touch Bar from your current Mac with a new app called Touché.

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With the new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar arriving to the first pre-order customers and going on sale at Apple stores this week, you might be looking to try out some apps that support the new hardware. Fortunately, Apple has already confirmed many apps that will get support for Touch Bar, the new contextually sensitive touchscreen panel embedded into the MacBook Pro’s keyboard, and many others app developers are announcing updates. 

Head below for the full list.

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Update: Some customers report being able to purchase the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar at some locations as of Wedneday, November 15th. Other stores will officially start selling stock of the new device tomorrow, as detailed in our original story below.

The new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar will be available at Apple retail stores later this week alongside demo units for customers to try, according to sources familiar with Apple’s plans.

Apple’s new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has up until now only been available to order with a 4-5 week shipping estimate from Apple’s website, but this week the device will arrive at retail stores as the first shipments are delivered to pre-order customers. So far Apple has only had the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar models displayed under glass with a demo loop, but this week customers should also be able to get their hands on demo units to try for themselves in at least some locations. 

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The new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is finally getting into customer’s hands, with some lucky people receiving deliveries of their new laptops today. The MacBook Pro packaging features a side-on shot of the machine with the Touch Bar displaying a vibrant color palette. Based on reader tips, it seems that those who ordered early will be receiving their laptop this week or next with many deliveries confirmed for tomorrow.

The MacBook Pro with Touch Bar has received mixed reviews from press with a lack of consensus on whether the Touch Bar is a silly gimmick or a useful addition …

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Despite what companies like Microsoft may be doing and what some customers continue asking for, Apple is really confident that you wouldn’t like a touch screen on your MacBook. Here’s Phil Schiller explaining Apple’s view on touch screen Macs to Backchannel‘s Steven Levy:

Apple came to this conclusion by testing if touch screens made sense on the Mac. “Our instincts were that it didn’t, but, what the heck, we could be wrong—so our teams worked on that for a number of times over the years,” says Schiller. “We’ve absolutely come away with the belief that it isn’t the right thing to do. Our instincts were correct.”

Of course, Apple is slowly introducing multi-touch to Macs with the release of new MacBook Pros that replace function keys with a dynamic touch panel…

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In this week’s top stories: Early MacBook Pro reviews roll in as Apple starts shipping the device to customers, a possible AirPods release date emerges, iOS 10.2 beta 2, iPhone 8 rumors, and much more.

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Apple has now started shipping the first new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar orders with the delivery notifications indicating that the laptops will arrive in people’s hands as soon as Monday, November 14.

Several 9to5Mac readers and others online report receiving shipping notifications from Apple and or UPS, as pictured above and below. All shipped orders we’ve seen so far are for 15-inch MacBook Pro models. Shipment alerts for the 13-inch units will likely follow soon.

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Apple has started hiring for positions needed at its new Campus 2 facility ahead of a move-in date expected for sometime early next year.

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The MacBook Pro lacks many traditional external connection options, such as an SD Card reader or an HDMI port. In the place of all of those legacy ports resides two or more USB-C ports. USB-C is an uber-versatile form factor that will ultimately offer tons of flexibility in the future when it comes to external connections, but at this early stage in the game, the pickings are somewhat slim.

One of the major outcries that we’ve heard with regard to the new MacBook Pro centers around the lack of a built-in SD Card reader. It’s a valid complaint, as SD Cards are central to the workflows of many creatives who use Macs.

Aukey, who has produced several USB-C-oriented adapters already, offers a helping hand with its new USB 3.0 compatible Type-C Card Reader. This tiny, inexpensive, $9.99 adapter not only offers quick SD Card connectivity via USB-C, but features a slot for microSD Cards as well.

Should you consider it? Have a look at our hands-on video walkthrough for more details.
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I’ve said more than once that I’m relaxed about Apple’s decision to fit only USB-C ports in the new MacBook Pro. I’d rather have to pay for two adapters and one cable now than be stuck with outdated ports for most of the 4-5 years I expect to keep the machine.

But I discovered that Apple did have one more hidden extra cost in store for 2016 MacBook Pro buyers: the $69 (13-inch model) or $79 (15-inch model) power adapter the company sells as an accessory doesn’t include the USB-C cable you need to actually, you know, use it …

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