New MacBook Pro of Apple : a laptop full of promise – The Figaro

getting started – We have been able to take in hand the last computer Apple and its system of menu extra baptized TouchBar. An interesting innovation, provided that it does not reduce to a simple gadget.

It is in the auditorium of its historic headquarters in Cupertino that Apple has chosen to present its new laptop, the MacBook Pro last generation. The opportunity also, for the brand, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their first PowerBook, which will inaugurate a long line of Mac laptops.

” FIND our getting started video on the new MacBook Pro

MacBook Pro 2016. photo Credits : Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

TrackPad giant

If the newcomer retains the overall design of the MacBook Pro Retina, it differs from its predecessor by an amount of detail. The trackpad, first of which seems unreasonable on this model. More than twice as great as before, it thus becomes more comfortable and, above all, make gestures wider and more specific, a bit as if it was on the touch screen of an iPad. The downside is that its size requires much rule out the cuffs when you enter the text, under penalty of risking a few false manoeuvres involuntary.

Keyboard fast and accurate

For this model, Apple has adapted the keyboard released on the MacBook last year, with its keys ultra-thin and its springs to the profile “butterfly”. In use, we find the same effectiveness: the strike is precise, quicker through the race reduced keys, and the system limits the risk of pressing other buttons by mistake. It may take a little time to adapt, but the result is appreciable.

Out of the USB-to-C point of salvation

Another notable change: the disappearance of the typical connectors Thunderbolt, USB 3, HDMI, miniPort HD, etc (and, by the way, the SD card reader) for the benefit of the four USB sockets-C. They are used either to recharge the battery of the computer, to exchange data with an external drive USB or Thunderbolt, to transmit the display in HD or 4K, and to connect a variety of devices. It will therefore be necessary to use accessories that are compatible or invest in adapters.

The Touch Bar for the selection of photos. photo Credits : JOSH EDELSON/AFP

Bar do-it-all

The main innovation of the new MacBook Pro, it is obviously the small bar of the touch-enabled display that extends above the keyboard. Called Touch Bar, it replaces the traditional function keys and serves as the fingerprint reader. It has the advantage of being able to display various information and especially to adapt automatically to the applications that one is using. In the Finder, thus you can easily adjust brightness and volume using the corresponding icons, or even change the style of presentation of the files. In Messages, the bar suggests words to write according to first letters typed, like on the iPhone, and show the emoticons that you can insert in the text. In the Photo, the Touch Bar allows you to quickly navigate among previews of the images to launch a video and speed up its playback, apply filters, etc, In the video editing software Final Cut Pro, the small screen displays the timeline and allows you to quickly move from one plan to another by sliding the finge r over its surface.

An alternative to the keyboard shortcuts and trackpad

In its most common use, the Touch Bar appears therefore as a convenient way to quickly access functions hidden in menus and sub-menus, this one also gets… by using keyboard shortcuts. What is interesting, is that it is possible to customize the Touch Bar by moving or adding icons. More specifically, and particularly with business applications, the Touch Bar may make service by delivering the right tool at the right time, and in suggesting additional options. It is a bit the same philosophy as the Surface Dial that Microsoft has launched, a button mobile which can be used as well to adjust the screen brightness or the sound volume that to deliver new capabilities when you apply it on the screen itself.

But after a few attempts in different configurations, we wonder if the approach of Apple is not a little duplication with what already offers the TrackPad… and especially if this innovation is not a means of back again the moment where it will go to the touch screen.