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By Joel Santo Domingo
Mac power users, including art directors, film editors,
photographers, videographers, and the like, wait for each new release of
the top-of-the-line Apple MacBook Pro with bated breath. The first
question is always, "is the new MacBook Pro better than last year's
model?" In this case, we'd say yes, but only in that 16GB of memory is
now standard, up from 8GB. Sure, the Core i7 processor is a couple of
hundred megahertz faster, but that really doesn't translate into
measurably faster performance overall. That said, the latest 15-inch
Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Display ($1,999) is still an excellent
power user's laptop, a veritable object or lust, which earns our Editors' Choice nod for high-end desktop replacement laptops.
Design and Features
The 15-inch MacBook Pro's design hasn't changed from last year's model, sporting the same 0.71 by 14.25 by 9.75 inch (HWD) aluminum chassis. Weight is similar at 4.36 pounds, though imperceptibly lighter than the last iteration. Cutouts in the sides help draw in air to cool the internal components, and are in the same spots. Connections continue to be excellent, counting the system's HDMI port, headset jack, SDXC card reader, two Thunderbolt ports, and two USB 3.0 ports (one on each side). About the only thing missing that a business user could want is an Ethernet port. One can be added with a $29 Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet adapter. Built-in 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 cover wireless connectivity. The 802.11ac protocol is still uncommon in Windows laptops, though more high-end systems like the Dell XPS 13 Touch, the Dell Precision M2800 and the HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 (G4U67UT) support the faster wireless standard.
The backlit chiclet-style keyboard is composed of the usual excellent black keycaps with high contrast characters. It is much easier to read than the silver-on-silver keyboard on the Acer Aspire S7-392-5410. The well-proportioned, glass-covered trackpad reacts quickly to multi-touch input. There is no Mac available with a touch screen, though that's not a drawback since OS X isn't optimized for touch.The 15.6-inch IPS display has a 2,800-by-1,800 resolution, which is higher than the 2,560-by-1,440 on the Editors' Choice high-end ultrabook, the Toshiba Kirabook 13 i7s Touch, but lower than the 4K UHD 3,840-by-2,160 screen on the Toshiba Satellite P50T-BST2N01. OS X Mavericks automatically scales the screen so everything is crisp, as long as you're using applications that have been updated for the Retina display. For example, 1080p and 720p HD YouTube videos play back in full resolution in Safari and Chrome without having to zoom the video out to full screen. On-screen elements, like menu bars and windows, automatically scale to a virtual 1,440-by-900 resolution for purposes of positioning, though the images and videos within these windows appear at full resolution. Text is scaled so it looks ultra smooth on the Retina display. Contrast this with the Kirabook 13 i7s Touch and Satellite P50T-BST2N01, where you may have to adjust the scaling repeatedly if menu text looks too small or if images don't look right.
It's not always awesome on the Mac, however. If you're using an older version of a program (like Microsoft Office for Mac 2008, for example), text and images may not scale right and there will be a corresponding reduction in quality. The only unavoidable nit is that the system still doesn't have a matte screen option for folks that can't stand glossy glass.
The $1,999 base model of the 15-inch MacBook Pro comes with 16GB of
system memory and a 256GB Flash Storage module (akin to an SSD on other
notebooks). The system's memory isn't upgradable, but the Flash Storage
is technically upgradable. We say technically because you'll have to
source a compatible PCIe Flash Storage module and purchase a special P5
pentalobe screwdriver to handle the specialized screws on the bottom lid
of the laptop. Ultimately, it's not otherwise upgradeable, but then
again neither are most notebooks and ultrabooks these days. In addition
to OS X 10.9 Mavericks, the MacBook Pro 15-inch comes preloaded with
Keynote, Numbers, and Pages (iWork), as well as GarageBand, iBooks,
iMovie, iPhoto, and iTunes (iLife). With iWork, you should be able to
manage schoolwork and basic business work without having to buy
Microsoft Office. If you discount free solutions like Google Docs, this
gives the MacBook Pro a leg up on Windows laptops, which only come with
trial versions of Office. The system comes with a one-year warranty with
90 days of phone support.
Performance
The $1,999 base model we tested comes with an Intel Core i7-4770HQ
processor with integrated Intel Iris Pro 5200 graphics. Add the
performance from the 16GB of memory and speedy PCIe-based Flash Storage,
and you'll likely never want for power. Multimedia scores were
excellent: 1 minute, 17 seconds on the Handbrake video test (which
matches the Dell Precision M2800 workstation in the lead of this group),
and 3:25 on the Adobe Photoshop CS6 test, five seconds faster than the
second place Toshiba Satellite P50T-BST2N01.
Intel's Iris Pro graphics is on board, and it's essentially the high performance version of Intel HD Graphics. Performance has improved to the point that Apple chose to use Iris Pro graphics on its base model instead of the mid-level discrete graphics found in older iterations of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The laptop pulled some of the fastest frame rates on our 3D gaming tests (Heaven 22 fps; Valley 23 fps) at the medium quality settings. This is at least 10 fps higher than other Windows laptops with integrated Intel graphics. Only the systems with discrete workstation graphics like the Precision M2800 and Satellite P50T-BST2N01 had faster 3D performance. If you need a boost, the $2,499 version of the MacBook Pro 15-inch comes with Nvidia GeForce GT 750 graphics and a speedier Core i7 processor.
The latest model gained 33 minutes on our battery rundown test over its previous iteration (8:55 vs. 8:22). But competitive systems like the Dell XPS 13 Touch (9:31) and the Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition (11:26) lasted even longer. In addition, the Acer Aspire S7-392-5410 and Toshiba Kirabook 13 i7s Touch both pass the 8-hour mark on the same test. This shows that the Windows competition is starting to muscle in on Apple's former dominance in battery life.
Essentially, the new 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro is a very incremental upgrade to the model released late last year, and if you already have the 2013 model, there's no need to make the move. The Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch, Retina Display (2014) is still our recommendation if you're willing to trade screen size for portability. That said, if you're a Mac power user upgrading from a pre-Retina-Display MacBook Pro (or MacBook Air), this laptop is certainly worth it. It's worthy of our highest recommendation and Editors' Choice badge for best high-end desktop-replacement laptop.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro's design hasn't changed from last year's model, sporting the same 0.71 by 14.25 by 9.75 inch (HWD) aluminum chassis. Weight is similar at 4.36 pounds, though imperceptibly lighter than the last iteration. Cutouts in the sides help draw in air to cool the internal components, and are in the same spots. Connections continue to be excellent, counting the system's HDMI port, headset jack, SDXC card reader, two Thunderbolt ports, and two USB 3.0 ports (one on each side). About the only thing missing that a business user could want is an Ethernet port. One can be added with a $29 Thunderbolt-to-Gigabit Ethernet adapter. Built-in 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.0 cover wireless connectivity. The 802.11ac protocol is still uncommon in Windows laptops, though more high-end systems like the Dell XPS 13 Touch, the Dell Precision M2800 and the HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 (G4U67UT) support the faster wireless standard.
The backlit chiclet-style keyboard is composed of the usual excellent black keycaps with high contrast characters. It is much easier to read than the silver-on-silver keyboard on the Acer Aspire S7-392-5410. The well-proportioned, glass-covered trackpad reacts quickly to multi-touch input. There is no Mac available with a touch screen, though that's not a drawback since OS X isn't optimized for touch.The 15.6-inch IPS display has a 2,800-by-1,800 resolution, which is higher than the 2,560-by-1,440 on the Editors' Choice high-end ultrabook, the Toshiba Kirabook 13 i7s Touch, but lower than the 4K UHD 3,840-by-2,160 screen on the Toshiba Satellite P50T-BST2N01. OS X Mavericks automatically scales the screen so everything is crisp, as long as you're using applications that have been updated for the Retina display. For example, 1080p and 720p HD YouTube videos play back in full resolution in Safari and Chrome without having to zoom the video out to full screen. On-screen elements, like menu bars and windows, automatically scale to a virtual 1,440-by-900 resolution for purposes of positioning, though the images and videos within these windows appear at full resolution. Text is scaled so it looks ultra smooth on the Retina display. Contrast this with the Kirabook 13 i7s Touch and Satellite P50T-BST2N01, where you may have to adjust the scaling repeatedly if menu text looks too small or if images don't look right.
It's not always awesome on the Mac, however. If you're using an older version of a program (like Microsoft Office for Mac 2008, for example), text and images may not scale right and there will be a corresponding reduction in quality. The only unavoidable nit is that the system still doesn't have a matte screen option for folks that can't stand glossy glass.
Performance
The $1,999 base model we tested comes with an Intel Core i7-4770HQ
processor with integrated Intel Iris Pro 5200 graphics. Add the
performance from the 16GB of memory and speedy PCIe-based Flash Storage,
and you'll likely never want for power. Multimedia scores were
excellent: 1 minute, 17 seconds on the Handbrake video test (which
matches the Dell Precision M2800 workstation in the lead of this group),
and 3:25 on the Adobe Photoshop CS6 test, five seconds faster than the
second place Toshiba Satellite P50T-BST2N01.
Intel's Iris Pro graphics is on board, and it's essentially the high performance version of Intel HD Graphics. Performance has improved to the point that Apple chose to use Iris Pro graphics on its base model instead of the mid-level discrete graphics found in older iterations of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The laptop pulled some of the fastest frame rates on our 3D gaming tests (Heaven 22 fps; Valley 23 fps) at the medium quality settings. This is at least 10 fps higher than other Windows laptops with integrated Intel graphics. Only the systems with discrete workstation graphics like the Precision M2800 and Satellite P50T-BST2N01 had faster 3D performance. If you need a boost, the $2,499 version of the MacBook Pro 15-inch comes with Nvidia GeForce GT 750 graphics and a speedier Core i7 processor.
The latest model gained 33 minutes on our battery rundown test over its previous iteration (8:55 vs. 8:22). But competitive systems like the Dell XPS 13 Touch (9:31) and the Samsung ATIV Book 9 2014 Edition (11:26) lasted even longer. In addition, the Acer Aspire S7-392-5410 and Toshiba Kirabook 13 i7s Touch both pass the 8-hour mark on the same test. This shows that the Windows competition is starting to muscle in on Apple's former dominance in battery life.
Essentially, the new 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro is a very incremental upgrade to the model released late last year, and if you already have the 2013 model, there's no need to make the move. The Apple MacBook Pro 13-Inch, Retina Display (2014) is still our recommendation if you're willing to trade screen size for portability. That said, if you're a Mac power user upgrading from a pre-Retina-Display MacBook Pro (or MacBook Air), this laptop is certainly worth it. It's worthy of our highest recommendation and Editors' Choice badge for best high-end desktop-replacement laptop.