Apple's newest laptop is impossibly thin, incredibly light and has a screen that's to die for. Oh yeah, it also comes in gold. Yes, there are compromises — and no, this is not the notebook for every user. But make no mistake, the new MacBook represents the new direction for laptops.
SIZE and WEIGHT
Weighing in at just 2 pounds and a hair over half an inch thick (at its chunkiest point), the new MacBook has been completely redesigned to be Apple's most portable notebook ever.
The MacBook Air is already an incredibly thin and light machine. Yes, there are other machines on the market that are lighter — but the MacBook Air has pretty much set the standard for what we see as a notebook going into 2015.
THE KEYS
Apple made the keys 17% larger than standard MacBook keys.
Also available on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina, the new trackpad can detect how much pressure or force you put on the trackpad. It also has a new Taptic Engine that can engage when you have a certain amount of force. It feels like you're actually clicking on a button — but you're not.
Ever since Apple introduced the first MacBook Pro with Retina Display in 2012, users have been clamoring to see the Retina display on a smaller device. We're close with the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro, but now to see such a high-res screen on a laptop so thin is astounding.
The 12-inch screen has a resolution of 2,304 x 1,440, which equates to 226 pixels per inch (ppi). It has a 16:10 aspect ratio (the same as other Mac notebooks) and the bezel-free display means the screen is edge-to-edge glass.
The most amazing part of the screen — which is gorgeous to look at — is that Apple managed to make it incredibly energy efficient. Apple says it consumes 30% less power than any other MacBook (Air or Pro), and it does so while retaining the same 300 nits of brightness. Part of that was achieved with new low-power LEDs.
