Hey guys, whatsup, welcome back to the channel. So I'm pretty excited, because one of my favourite
products of 2019 has just had a massive upgrade and it's finally arrived.
Today we're going to be talking about the new 16 inch Macbook Pro.
These are just some of my first impressions, so it's not a full review, but I suppose the
biggest question I have heading into this first impressions video is this, is the new
MacBook something that’s worth getting So let's find out...
Starting off with the options, the new MacBook Pro comes in the same 2 colours, space grey
and silver It also comes in 2 sizes, 14 inches and 16
inches, with the 14 inch model being new this year, replacing the old 13 inch model.
The base model 14 inch model costs $2,000 ($1,999) and the base 16 inch model starts
at $2,500 ($2,499) Both those base models feature Apple’s new
M1 Pro processor, I won't bore you with the details but let’s just say it’s lightning
fast. The good news for pro users is that if lightning
fast isn’t quite good enough for you then there’s also warp speed available in the
form of the M1 Pro's larger cousin, the M1 Max, which is available for both the 14 and
16 inch models, and will set you back an extra $200-$400 depending on which spec you go for.
Just to put these processor speeds into perspective, they are both 70% faster than their M1 predecessor,
and the M1 max has a 4x faster GPU. In summary, you’re not going to be short on power and
putting this down next to an old MacBook in a coffee shop might just make it quiver.
Aside from the processor you’ll also have the option to customise your memory up to
64 GB if you go for the M1 Max, which for the first time is unified with the processor,
as well SSD storage options ranging from 1TB to 8TB.
So let’s talk about the unboxing next. What I’ve got here is the MacBook Pro 16
inch in space grey with the M1 Max chip, 64GB of memory and a 1TB SSD
On the outside of the box we have the usual product images which we’ve come to expect
now with Apple products, and on the sides just the apple logo
So opening up the box of course we have the laptop itself, se let’s just put that to
one side for the moment Then of course we have the instructions and
stickers And finally we have the power brick which
now finally has MagSafe charging again. If you haven’t heard fo MagSafe before it’s
one of those genuinely awesome features that people absolutely loved that Apple discontinued
in 2016, but essentially it means your power cable attaches to the laptop magnetically
so if you accenting pull or trip on your power cable it will simply snap off the laptop rather
than pulling the laptop off the table or wherever you are and damaging it. Anyway, long story
short it’s great to see the old boy back. So let’s bring the laptop itself back in
and open this up... So as you can see the design has definitely
changed quite significantly this year… So let’s go over some of the key design
updates
Starting with the exterior design the overall size of the MacBook looks bulkier and heavier
when comparing it to the 2019 model. What’s interesting though is that when you
review the measurements it’s not actually that much bigger in terms of dimensions.
What’s has changed though is how the design looks, Apple have removed the taper from the
sides and the bottom of the MacBook so it essentially looks more like a bucket rather
than a spaceship - as you can probably tell I’m not a huge fan of this re-design but
I can understand why they’ve done it so they can cram in more components and also
make the screen thicker. If you’re thinking that the design looks
familiar then you’re right, the bucket design is actually drawing heavily from the original
Apple Powerbooks which as you can see here share a similar design language.
Aside from this, the other exterior feature change is the addition of new ports. Interestingly,
Apple have moved away from dogmatic simplicity and listened to what people wanted, they’ve
actually brought back the HDMI port which is a huge shock, as well as a card slot (which
is less of a shock) and then also brought back mag safe.
With all these changes, this is such a departure from Apple’s usual mode I wouldn’t mind
betting this is the first MacBook design that hasn’t been led by Johnny Ive.
What you’ll also notice about this new design, is just how thick the new screen is.
As predicted, Apple has mounted one of its new Liquid Retina XDR displays in the 16-inch
MacBook Pro 2021. This is the same mini-LED display technology that we marveled over in
the 12.9-inch iPad Pro 2021, but now it's on a MacBook for the first time which explains
the thickness of the new lid! In short, what this means is a thicker display,
but it also means we now get 120hz screen with an adaptive refresh rate which apple
calls promotion It's an absolutely huge upgrade if you're
someone that relies on their screen quality, and if you’re already familiar with the
incredibly fast and snappy displays on your new iPad and iPhone then its likely you’re
going to want this. What you’ll also notice about the new display
is it’s impressive size, apple have now shrunk the bezels and expanded the screen
up and around the camera which is a smart move in my opinion.
The middle of the menu bar at the top is usually wasted space anyway so this is a great way
of gaining more screen real estate Now that we have a camera notch and a thicker
screen we also now have a vastly improved camera for calls. It’s now a 1080p HD camera
which is great, but frankly an upgrade that was long overdue so hardly something to celebrate.
And finally let’s talk about the new all black keyboard which personally I just love
the new design of. The major update here of course apart from the colour is that the Touch
Bar has gone. In a way it’s a shame as the latest version of the Touch Bar was actually
a lot better and personally I find myself using it quite a lot. But it did have issues,
and I doubt it will be missed by most! Apart from those major updates there’s also
now improved speakers, an upgraded microphone and a few other minor updates.
One major update to finish on though is the impressive new battery life. In the 16 inch
model, apple has almost doubled the battery life of the MacBook from 11 hrs to 21 hours
(*video playback). That is seriously impressive in a world where we are used to iterative
updates of 1-2hrs on new product designs. This improved battery life is owed mainly
to the new unified M1 processor system as well as some smaller tweaks like pro-motion
which will help battery life even further. All in all it’s impressive.
So guys in summary, my first impressions of the new MacBook Pro are really really positive.
This is obviously a machine that’s designed to be the best laptop in the world, going
after a pro target market which is definitely reflected in the specs and the price tag.
That aside, this is undoubtedly one of the best updates from Apple in a long time, it
seems the 16 inch MacBook Pro continues to be an area with a great deal of focus and
attention and that really shows. Apart from the physical design which I personally
don’t like as much as the sleeker 2019 model, the upgraded features make this new model
an absolute powerhouse, and a giant leap forwards from the 2019 version.
Personally I wont’ be upgrading to this yet as I still have a good few years left
in my 2019 MacBook Pro before I need to upgrade, but if you’re coming to the market at the
right time and considering upgrading or getting one of these then you absolutely have to get
one. The sheer speed that I’ve seen this laptop
churn through tasks in the day that I’ve used it is frankly illegal and would make
even the Mac Pro weak at the knees. As ever though, I’m really keen to hear
what you guys think, so definitely let me know in the comments below. I can’t wait
to see how many of you are going to be ordering one of beasts.
So that’s it for this video, remember to subscribe to the channel as I’ve got some
great videos lined up for you soon and thanks again for watching.
I’ll see you guys next time!