The new MacBook is finally here and as well as all the major reviews praising the innovative design and dinging the compromises. That being said, it is hard to deny that Apple’s thinnest MacBook to date is quite a looker especially if you see the gold variant up close and personal. But could this be the hot new 12-inch notebook for iOS developers, Web designers and other programmers? It could be if you can stomach that price and understand the limitations.
Pros
While the price ultimately makes the MacBook difficult to recommend to most people, it is currently the cheapest price you can pay for a Retina display. The Retina display is gorgeous and makes it hard to go back to the aging MacBook Air. Coders always deal with a lot of text and the Retina display definitely makes the text easier on the eyes. Just remember that you get the same desktop real estate as the MacBook Air.
The thinner profile also makes the new MacBook the lightest model in the lineup weighing just 2 pounds. Combined with the beautiful and clean design, this is a notebook that is begging to be traveled with. If you frequently work on the go and feel that the MacBook Air could be a tad lighter, the MacBook could be the one for you.
Cons
The keyboard could be the dealbreaker for the heavy coder. It is not only a bit more cramped than the 13-inch MacBook Air but it also uses a revolutionary new mechanism called the “butterfly mechanism”. Making the MacBook really thin meant minimizing the key travel although this new technology also ensures that the key is fully depressed no matter where you hit the key. Overall, this makes the typing experience feel a bit different to what you are used to. Be sure to try out the keyboard for a few minutes before buying as some folks were able to get used to it. Also remember that there an external keyboard won’t save you unless you buy a dongle for that USB-C port.
The processor might be the dealbreaker for the heavy Photoshop wizards. The 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD is nice but the Intel Core M processor is the bottleneck that will Photoshop feel slower than any of the other MacBooks.
Bottom Line
It is hard to spend C$1,549 on such a compromised but beautiful laptop especially if you can buy an ordinary 13-inch MacBook Pro for the same price. That same price means an outdated display and a heavier bag but at least you still get the new Force Touch trackpad and you have the USB ports, other connectivity options and speedy Core i5 processor. The verdict? Go for the other models or wait for a price drop or next-generation which will surely have a faster processor.