It's likely that Apple's more colorful and functional take on the idea will be more successful, but it's still a Band Aid for the lack of a touch screen, as is the now absurdly huge Force Touch trackpad that's big enough to serve as a resting place for an iPhone 7 Plus in a bulky case. Lenovo tried something similar but using an e-ink touch strip on a previous generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon but it failed miserably so Lenovo removed the feature from following generations.
Unlike the step up $1,799 13" MacBook Pro and the new 15", it has a traditional Fn key row rather than Apple's new OLED Touch Bar strip that dynamically changes context and functions depending on the program you're in. It's $1,499, which is $200 more than the starting price of the previous generation model, but the new model has a slower CPU tier (15 watt vs the usual 28 watt faster CPU used in 13" Pro models). We have the base 13" MacBook Pro in for review. 15" MacBook Pro prices are similar to the last generation, which lessens the sting, give or take some feature swapping (we'll cover the 15" MacBook Pro in a separate review). At the same time, prices for the 13" model have risen significantly: the $1,799 13" MacBook Pro that's the true specs successor to the outgoing model is $500 more than the $1,299 model it replaces. Call it the 12" MacBook-ification of the MacBook Pro line. This time around, they've pared away several features that are hallmarks of pro laptops, and even non-pro laptops. Mind you, they didn't do all those things at once-generally one feature gets the axe in a release. At various times, they've removed the floppy drive, then later the optical drive and removable battery. The company has never been afraid of removing "legacy" technology before it's quite reached the legacy stage. In Chief (twitter: first major refresh of the MacBook Pro line since 2012 is a controversial one. What's Not: Expensive- what a price hike! More for good looks than Pro work: oddball butterfly low travel keyboard, no legacy ports except headphone jack. Superb display, OS X Sierra is a fine OS. What's Hot: Fantastic build and good looks. Home > Laptop Reviews > Late 2016 13" Apple MacBook Proġ3" MacBook Pro (Late 2016) Editor's rating (1-5):