The MacBook Pro Family

MacBook Pros have come very far from what they originally were, and this year’s MacBook Pro family is quite unlike any before it.Apple has announced the 13″ MacBook Pro, which is simply a 13″ Aluminum MacBook with a FireWire 800 port, SD Card Slot, backlit keyboard, and the sealed battery. The prices across the line have dropped as well, with the 15″ MacBook Pro starting at 1699 and the 17″ at 2499.

However, in my opinion, there are now two types of MacBook Pros, the MacBook Pros and the pseudo-MacBook Pros. And the reason I say that is because both the 1699 15″ MacBook Pro and the 13″ MacBook Pros use the Nvidia Geforce 9400M, and have no dedicated graphics card. In my opinion, that separates them from the rest of the family, starting at 1999, that has the Geforce 9600M GT, a much more powerful, dedicated graphics card.

Anyone getting the pseudo-MacBook Pros are simply buying an overbloated MacBook, and in a way, that’s great for Apple to give even better systems to its consumers. But these machines shouldn’t have the name MacBook Pro on them simply because the MacBook Pro is all about performance, and these machines don’t hit the pro level because of their graphics cards.

However, the price decrease on the upper end MacBook Pros are very welcome. It’s probably more worthwhile to spend your money on the 2299 MacBook Pro now instead of the 1999 version because, unlike before, you only pay 200 dollars to upgrade to the highest end model, while it used to be 400 dollars. The 17″ model is also very worthwhile now because it has been decreased in price by 300 dollars.

So with these updates, Apple has made it better for both consumers and pro level users, with cheaper MacBook Pros, and also bringing more pro level features to a consumer line. However, they have united the MacBook and MacBook Pro line (almost) and the MacBook Pro name almost creates an illusion that what you’re buying is a Pro machine and that it’s incredibly fast, and for most people, that’s enough convincing to make them upgrade from buying a plastic MacBook to a 13″ MacBook Pro. What does an average person know about Intel or CPUs or GPUs, when all he can see is an aluminum laptop, less than an inch thick, called the MacBook Pro?

However, there are Pro users who would buy the 13″ MacBook Pro because they wanted a lot more portability. And that’s fine too, but their needs are different from the true MacBook Pros, which are really about power compared to the MacBook line. The added FireWire 800 and SD card slot make it easier for both photographers and anyone else using these ports, to travel on the go and still have a full featured laptop. However, if any professional truly wants their studio to go, they would have to stick with either the higher end 15″ models or the 17″ model.

In general, I like the new MacBook Pro family, but I do not like that Apple still have not given people an anti glare option on the 15″ MacBook Pro. Perhaps professional level users like it, but some users who do not use it for what professionals do like anti glare screens as well, and do not like the glass, glossy screen. The point is, Apple should give users the CHOICE to pick, since we’re paying over 2 grand for one of these and then even more for the anti glare screen. Until they release a 15″ with the anti glare screen, I doubt I would buy a MacBook Pro 15. I have a Santa Rosa MacBook Pro from mid 2007 and it works fine and it’s anti glare and I like it.

So in conclusion, the MacBook Pro line is not complete. It’s now accessible to so many more people because of price and size, but there are things that need to be fixed before the features of the MacBook Pro are complete. And even after that, new technology and more powerful systems will be released, but there is an error right now with the BUILD of the MacBook Pro. Of course, a lot of laptops aren’t even close to the level that the MacBook Pro is at, but the MacBook Pro is not perfect either. Comparing a modern day MacBook Pro unibody to an aluminum PowerBook, there probably isn’t enough of a change. The only changes are the unibody, the LOSS of useful ports, and the glass screen which is controversial. Apple still needs to pick up the pace with the MacBook Pro. However, if you find that you do not mind the glass screen, and you need a laptop, this is perfect for you. Go ahead and get one, and if you’re a PC user, welcome to the world of Macs.