Kanwar Anand (Feb 17, 2018)
on Amazon
The thing with Apple computers are that they are very expensive. But the likable quality of these computers is that they have a good resale value even after 3-4 years. By good i mean you get upto 50% of your money back even if you sell after 4 years. So lets say if you buy this today for Rs 95,000 you will get at least Rs 50,000 for it after four years of using. So you're spending Rs 10,000-11,000 a year. That's Rs 1000 a month ownership cost.The next question many of you will ask is whether you should get the Macbook Air, this Macbook 12 inch or the Macbook pro 13 inch with Touchbar. Having owned and used all these machines I am able to pinpoint just what would be the best move ahead for you. But it is important to judge this machine on the basis of its good points and the not so good points....THE GOOD1) PORTABILITY - In comparison to older Macbook Pro Retina models and even the Touchbar this machine is significantly lighter. You can carry this laptop at viewable height for a long time and walk. You won't feel any arm pain. I have tried doing the same with the touchbar but it is not that easy. Especially if you're watching something and to keep it on the same eye level. The other machines are even more difficult. But this is the most portable. Once this is placed in your laptop bag, it is light yes but the touchbar is also very light. This weighs less than 1 kilo..that is 0.92 kg to be exact. At no point does this seem heavy or difficult to use.2) GOOD DISPLAY / BRIGHTNESS/ COLOR ACCURACY - There is something that is just empowering and cool about this machine. If you keep it next to a Macbook Air and play a video on 1080p the colours will be more direct and accurate. This 2017 version is noticably less reflective than the 2015 macbook version. This means brightness is more effective and colour representation is more accurate. A wallpaper seems to indulge you and your emotion. There is very little to dislike about the display. SO MUCH SO that if i keep it next to my 1 year old macbook pro touchbar this machine seems more accurate and beautiful with a sharper display! Don't believe me? See images.3) KEYBOARD & TRACKPAD - Apple has this habit of getting keyboards and trackpads right. This is version 2.0 of the butterfly mechanism keyboard that Apple built. It is every bit as good as the Touchbar is. Please bear in mind that it takes a very long time to get completely used to the keystrokes and initially you might find yourself easily bored and fatigued by the keyboard because you are so used to using the older version of Apple macbook keyboards. But keep typing and eventually you will realise that by typing more and more, your accuracy will increase. There is little margin for error on this keyboard and if you are patient and contemplative this can bring out the best of you. The trackpad with all its useful gestures remains a winning feature of this Macbook. Im going to copy and paste some lines I read on another website,". The new butterfly mechanism, which incorporates a stainless steel dome switch, moves as a single unit. If you hit an edge it feels like you hit dead center.The butterfly was 40% thinner but 400% more stable. In addition, Apple increased the surface area of each key by 17% and the "scoop" by 50%."4) SOUND - The Macbook Touchbar has a more room filling and a much better louder, clearer, finer speaker than the macbook 12. But that does not mean the Macbook is bad. It is the second best sounding laptop I have ever heard. The sound seems to be coming from a single channel on this one whereas on the Touchbar 13 it seems to be coming from everywhere. Another difference is that the macbook 12 is not as loud. The Macbook Pro Retina Touchbar has a louder more room filling sound so I never keep that at more than 75-80%5) BATTERY - This one has the better battery if you compare it with the TOUCHBAR macbook pro retina. This can give you between 8hours and 10 hours on a single charge. This is good because you have only one port to charge it or use the USB port. But the battery life is definitely consistent and if you are on 10% and if you decrease the brightness you can squeeze at least an hour or so out of it.6) OPERATING SYSTEM - When you get the machine you have around 251GB of space empty. This is sufficient or fantastic for my needs. I am glad Apple didn't try to short sell us with 128GB SSD. Some experts say this process is not good and could be better. But for the price and form factor this is good enough. HIGH SIERRA functions like a dream. No complaints with speed. Boots up in 8 seconds max. Restarts fast. Never freezes.7) Bluetooth 4.0THE NOT GOOD -1) I always have this feeling of denting this machine. Owing to its small size I am often mindful of the fact that it is small and needs protection. So Im always more concerned about this than I am about my Macbook Pro Touchbar. I hope this fear goes away but for now I always have to be extra careful with this little guy.2) The screen is 12 and the touchbar is 13 and that makes a difference for sure.3) The overall multimedia experience of the touchbar is much better than the 12" because of sound, headphone jack output, overall functionality and caliber.4) Kind of expensive.5) Also the touchbar comes with a 61W adapter. This comes with a measly 29W. It takes 2 hours 10 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%.WHAT ACCESSORIES WILL YOU NEED TO BUY?1) You may need a usb c to usb a converter. You can find this for Rs 300-Rs 1000 a piece on Amz. (non apple)2) USB C to HDMI adapter Rs 1500 on Amz (non apple)CONCLUSION :If you are on a budget and are about to get the macbook air, I would say you consider not doing so and getting this machine instead. The Retina display is fabulous, the sound is fabulous, the looks are great. It has a lot going for it. Other than all that this has all the bells and whistles that Apple promises and always delivers. There is no lag. There is no patchy hardware. There is no bloatware on the machine. A person coming in from Windows will find it unbelievably good.Thanks for reading. Hope you find this helpful.
Is this review helpful?
Reply