13-inch Apple MacBook Pro First Look

by Kevin O'Brien

The new 13-inch Apple MacBook Pro is a small refresh of the older unibody MacBook, with a brand new title, slightly better specs, and a much better price tag. Starting at $1,199 now instead of $1,299 the 13.3" MacBook Pro now offers larger internal battery, SD-Card slot in place of the ExpressCard, the return of FireWire 800, and a slightly newer processor. Overall a worthy refresh, so check out our first look to find out what we think about it.

13-inch Apple MacBook Pro Specifications:

• Mac OS X v10.5.7 (9J3032)
• Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.26GHz (3MB L2 cache, 1066MHz frontside bus)
• 2GB 1067MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• 160GB 5400rpm SATA hard disk drive
• 13.3" glossy widescreen TFT LED backlit display (1280 x 800)
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics (256MB of DDR3 shared memory)
• 8x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
• iSight webcam
• AirPort Extreme WiFi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n)
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
• Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, two USB 2.0 ports (480Mbps), FireWire 800, Audio out and microphone in, SD-Card reader
• Dimensions : 0.95" x 12.78" x 8.94" (H x W x D)
• Weight: 4.51 pounds
• Integrated 58-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
• 60W MagSafe power adapter with cable management system

Build and Design
The 13.3" MacBook Pro is very sleek and classy, which is what we have come to expect from Apple. The design is sharp with the unibody chassis showing no panel lines or breaks except on the bottom for the huge panel that covers the internals. Apple gives us a very simple interface with little clutter (and ports) turning what is usually a mindless appliance into a work of art. To further simplify the design they switched to an internal battery for this model, instead of having a cover and release bar like in the previous revision.

Build quality is excellent thanks to the very strong and rigid unibody chassis that is machined out a solid block of aluminum. Unless you were going to clamp the MacBook Pro in a vise and try to bend it, you can't really find any flex anywhere on the main half of the notebook. The screen cover does flex slightly under strong pressure, but with something that thin it was expected. Without any plastic panels, except at the screen hinge, there are no parts to squeak or creak under normal use.

Normally simple upgrades such as swapping in a faster hard drive or upgrading the system memory (or changing the battery) take a few additional steps on the new 13.3" Macbook Pro. To access user-serviceable components you must buy a precision Phillips head screwdriver, and remove 10 screws around the perimeter of the notebook. With the cover off you get access to the battery, hard drive, optical drive, and tightly stacked system memory. Once you overcome the fear of ripping off the bottom of your new shiny MacBook Pro, upgrading the components isn't that bad.

Screen and Speakers
The screen on the MacBook Pro is average compared to other glossy panels, and has the downside of having the highly reflective glass layer over the LCD. This increases the amount of reflection from other objects, including you sitting right in front of the notebook. While you do adjust to it after a while, it can still be annoying. Pictures and movies look great thanks to the glossy surface and a healthy 60% bump in color gamut over the previous generation MacBook, which gives vibrant colors and deep blacks. Overall brightness is excellent for viewing in brightly lit rooms like in an office building or lecture hall. If you were able to find a spot of shade you could also use it outdoors as long as you find a strategic position away from any glare. Viewing angles are average for a TN-panel LCD, with colors starting to show signs of inversion when titled 20-25 degrees forward or back. Horizontal viewing angles are much better, with colors staying accurate at steep angles, right up until the point where reflections overpower screen.

The speakers sound weak compared to other notebooks, with little bass or midrange sound. The enclosed position of the speakers doesn't help with stereo separation, so it ends up sounding like one mono speaker. For enjoying some iTunes music or watching a movie headphones are the best option. The MacBook Pro also supports digital audio out through the headphone jack, so hooking it up to a stereo for surround sound is another option you could go with.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The 13" MacBook Pro offers a full-size Chiclet-style keyboard that is fully backlit for typing where overhead light might not be the best. While Sony originally created this style of keyboard, I think Apple really perfected it and made the better version. The keyboard is comfortable to type on and easy to transition to if you are used to typing on a standard notebook keyboard with tighter key spacing. Individual key action is smooth with less than average pressure required to activate each key. Key noise is low, with a smooth almost-muted click when pressed. If you enjoy stealth typing, look no further. The backlight is nice even when your room isn't completely dark. If you are not used to an Apple keyboard, it makes it easier to spot keys since everything is lit up. The backlight is also fully adjustable, to be brighter when the room is brighter, and dimmer when you don't need the keys blindingly-bright in a pitch black room.

The touchpad is a large multi-touch surface with no separate touchpad buttons. The clicking action is through a clicker button under the touchpad, which allows the entire surface to "click". If you are used to other touchpads, it takes a while to get used clicking the surface itself, instead of a button below it. In OS X the touchpad sensitivity is excellent, offering no lag on the default sensitivity settings. Contrast this with Windows, where the driver support doesn't give you the same fluid experience.

Ports and Features
The new 13" MacBook Pro offers two USB ports, one mini-DisplayPort, LAN, and the return of FireWire 800. While eSATA is generally the best when it comes to fast external storage, more Mac-targeted storage devices offer FireWire from the long standing Apple support of the standard. The Macbook Pro also offers a headphone jack and a new SD-card slot, bringing it to the same level that most PC's have been at for a number of years.
The most notable feature on the MacBook Pro is a handy battery gauge mounted on the side of the notebook. Pressing the button lights up a number of eight LED's showing the current charge level of the battery. Handy if you are thinking about grabbing the computer before you head out the door without an AC adapter, just in case the battery is actually dead.

Stay tuned for our full review where we take a closer look at the new MacBook Pro, including performance inside BootCamp.

Related Articles:

• Apple MacBook Review (Late 2008 Model)
• Apple MacBook Air Review
• Apple MacBook Pro Review (Late 2008 Model)
• Apple MacBook (Early 2009) Review
• Apple MacBook User Review

 

Meh
The 14z from dell has the same hardware with a larger, higher resolution screen for nearly half the price. Sure it doesn't have a DVD drive, but I'm okay with that.

Edit:
On a side note that I hadn't thought of until now, I bet that 14z would make a cool hackintosh computer.

 

Thanks for the preview, will be looking forward to the full thing.

 

too expensive and ugly imo

 

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but what is the difference between this and the regular 13inch MacBook ??? Are not the specs almost the same ??? Thanks for any info. God Bless

 

That's a bit of an exaggeration. I agree the 14z is cool. And it starts at $650, which is nearly half the price. Until you spend $175 for a 25w C2D processor. Then there are a ton of little things that add up: screen upgrade, wireless upgrade to N, BT, backlit keyboard, external optical, etc.

Still a good value, but not nearly half the price

 

Bump in processor, addition of SD-card slot (wow), FireWire 800, better screen, and no access panels on the bottom.

 

Chris is right, if you are considering comparing the 14z to the MBP, price is going to be on the bottom of your list. Which isnt a bad thing, there are lots of perks to choosing the Dell.

The 14z will get comparable battery life *with a flush 8 cell*, has a higher resolution screen, has HDMI/eSata which makes mini-DisplayPort/Firewire laughable, and the 14z should be about the same weight thanks to its magnesium alloy build.

However, the main drawbacks to the 14z is you would need to buy an optical drive (so add a hundred bucks to your price for it) and if you want more than 3GB of RAM its gonna cost you another $400. You can still get a 'maxed out' 14z, with sale and member discount, for about $1300. I think this configuratioin would have the upper hand versus any MBP.

However, some people will enjoy the MBP aesthetics, with the pretty keyboard, nice aluminum chassis, and the white Apple design.

 

+ higher capacity Lithium Polymer battery.

Why? You can install everything with a USB key.

 

Well yea that too

 

First off I love that background. Second I think they need to bump the res up for the MBP, if lenovo can do it so can Apple. Other then that looks good.

 

The Dell Studio 14z is a nice alternative for most, but you are missing the point. Most people who buy a Mac are buying it not based on the hardware or price but the software--namely OS X--and the Apple logo on the lid. The fact that it has decent hardware and a nice chassis is just icing on the cake--a very expensive cake.

 

The statement that the screen is average is wrong. It may be a TN panel, but if you were to rank 13" screens, it would be arguably at the top of the list. There's nothing that is better currently even if the current top-of-the-line isn't as good as a stand-alone monitor yet. So unless one forgoes the 13" laptop altogether, the best screen is the 13" mbp jr.

In regards to the post above, I think that the Apple tax for the base model has been dramatically lowered. It is worth paying for now and competes on raw price: features if you ask me. I value smooth execution, great ergonomics, sturdy build, superior screen (hate the glass/glossy), bigger battery, etc. It's worth paying more for I'd say.

 

I think the SD card slot is a joke, even with an expresscard port, you could buy a multi card reader and use many different cards, not to mention other expresscard devices, Fail.

But it looks 100x better than the white macbook, I'll give em that much.

 

Hardly. A nice external DVD/CD burner can be had for <$60, and I've seen it as low as $40 when a good sale is going on (ie: this one is $55.).

Also, I think the average user still has no need for over 3GB of RAM, so the fact that one DIMM is integrated on the motherboard is not too troublesome. I'm running 2GB of RAM right now, and I have never come close to using it all other than during gaming and with dozens of programs open (rarely).

But, all in all, I agree with you - the 14z, specs, hardware, and price-wise, is a much smarter buy.

 

Ughhh, I just wish they get rid of those reflective screens.

 

This is nice and all, but, the VAIO Z is still the king of all 13 inch laptops.

 

^costing 600$ more but a great laptop


Kevin,can you please tell us what screen do you have on that unit?

 

AMEN!!!!!!

 

Give it to me without a second reflective super glossy surface over the LCD and it would rank pretty high. As it there are other notebooks that look great in a similar range to the Macbook, but don't put your bodies reflection on the screen on front of you.

The full review will cover this

 

Nice, but still too expensive. I was also expecting some kind of graphics upgrade, because as far as I'm concerned, the dedicated graphics make the MB Pros what they are as compared to the rest of the line. Apple should've gotten ATi Mobility Radeon 4570s for these new 13.3 in Macbook "Pros".

 

If you go by Sonystyle prices yes. If you by retail prices the difference is much smaller or even non existent.

Sony Z 2.4GHz/4GB/250GB $1499
MBP 2.53GHz/4GB/250GB $1499

I agree.

In my opinion the panel is very good, but the thick glass layer diminishes some of it's qualities.

 

Well,then it would be fair to take apple's price other estore,like ebay... f.e. I got my umacbook 2.4 for ~1000 month ago...but anyway,Sony Z is a very nice laptop and quite serious competitor...are they going to update is with powerful GPU like they did with SR series?

Kevin,as you pointed in your review, MacBook Air's screen was good-AFAWN,new macbooks use same displays as Air's,so you think that glass makes them that worse?

 

Z is going to stay with 9300M. At least until december and I doubt they will upgrade after that.

Ps. I don't think it's accurate to compare with ebay prices. Just take retail prices of proper online stores.

 

Rumor on Macrumors is that the MBP 13" is only supporting SATA1 speed. If this is true it woud mean the faster SSDs will be limited in their speed.

 

^I am sorry since I am not familiar with storage staff,but isn't that "support" "coming" from motherboard?

 

Motherboard, chipset, drivers all have to do with it.

First generation Alu Macbooks did support SATA2 speeds.

 

well,new macs use the same motherboard,so I guess this is software issue,even apple can't be this cheap to cut corners on this!How much can they save?5$?

Too bad...

It is proper store! then most accurate will be comparing their "true" prices

 

^
I've been thinking about the Z, as much as i would like Sony to update the GPU how realistic is it really for a 3.3lbs 13.1 notebook to have a poweful GPU and not suffer from overheating?
People have already commented that the Z runs quite warm in speed mode.

Sony would probably need to step up to a 13.3 to do the hybrid graphics things with a more powerful card.

About the MB, the panel that goes over the display is not one of its strongest points. I have said everything else before in regards to the connectivity etc so i won't restate that again.

 

True, but on the other hand I don't think that ATI 4570 creates a lot more heat than 9300M. Both Sony and Toshiba are already using it in 13" notebooks.

I just don't know if 4570 can be used with hybrid graphics. It will be interesting to see if Lenovo updates the U330 with 4570.

 

Yea HDTune is showing SATA 1 as the connection speed of the HD.

 

Any ideas as to why? Cost saving perhaps?

It's strange because the first gen Unibody Macbooks had SATA II.

 

Not sure, one idea was seeing if it was the drive being cheap and not supporting SATA-300, but where can you even FIND one of those these days?

 

Maybe the HDD is just jumpered to run in SATA1 mode.

 

A few things here being a new MBP convert. I am going from a Sony Z590 with the high Res screen to a new MBP 13inch unibody.

first off the new MBP screen is not even in the same league as the z screen - not even close. Regarding SATA 1 - I moved my intel X35 160GB SSD from my Z to my MBP so if anyone can tell me how to check the sata mode I will.

Sorry - I am an OSX newbie. FYI - the MBP runs windows 7 RC! better than the Z did.

 

Z is very much a business notebook, the current GPU isnt the latest, but, its more than enough for its intended audience.

 

Kind of what I am thinking, but why would Apple of all places to something so stupid?

 

Seconded!!!!

 

As someone who owns both machines I would have to disagree.

 

Thanks for that review Kevin
Can't wait til the full review to come out. This might the MBP that I can afford if it can handle Photoshop Elements 7 and my astronomy programs. I'm not a gamer.

Lynn

 

1. The screen is average, then what other 13.3 inches notebooks are better.
Please don't say Vaio Z is not the only one.
2. The sound is weak, flat, and mono. Is my ears having problems? Or, Apple
is downgrading the speakers. My Unibody MacBook sounded pretty good
and decently lound and clear.

 

Several people over at Macrumors have popped in an SSD so I don't think that is the cause.

 

I am putting my money on driver bug

 

Here's someone who posted benchmarks of the OCZ Vertex in the previous Alu MB and the new MBP 13". Performance is about half.

 

i love this machine.

the new apple unibody range is so nice

the casing is very reassuringly strong and solid.

and the glass trackpad, omg, thats the smoothest, most pleasant trackapd to use, it is easily 4X the size of standard trackpad in other computer. the glass trackpad also make my usually sweaty hand glide smoothly also.

i'm thoroughly impressed.

the screen clearly improved from the old plastic macbook. i really hate the old macbook screen, the viewing angle is very narrow, and the screen tilt angle restriction doesnt help also.

not sure about the speaker, but the old one is pretty bad.

 

I'm still going backwards and forwards as to whether this is actually a pro machine or just a moniker that is used by Apple.

 

users report normal speed under Win,so it is a driver issue

 

welcome to the world of marketing

Pro... maybe it is for "pro" writers?or "pro" football players?

 

Where? Link please.

PS. You could have expected that question next time include a link please.

 

Yeah, you even posted pictures of Windows benchmarks showing the performance being halved and he just comes in here and says "windows users report normal speed" without backing it up...