The history of the development of the MacBook Pro — how the most popular laptop has changed
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How it was
Since 1977, Apple, after the presentation of the Apple II personal computer, has set the tone for the production of unique personal machines that can be useful not only for scientists and engineers, but also for ordinary users. Bathed in glory, but managed to fill a lot of bumps, Steve Jobs, at the Worldwide Developer Conference in 2005, made a sensational statement, announcing that a new era was dawning for the brand, as Cupertinians would forever abandon IBM PowerPC processors in favor of Intel.
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| External similarities with a number of major changes |
The CEO of the company said that the actively developing brand can no longer put up with such a disadvantage of the processor used as high heating, the cooling of which requires a lot of energy. I was also confused by the performance per watt, which did not correspond to the ideas of modern technologies.
The company was in no hurry to present a new car, but this period can be considered a turning point in the production of "apple" laptops.
Happy Birthday MacBook Pro!
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| Introduced in 2006, the first MacBook Pro based on an Intel processor. |
After lengthy promises, in early 2006, Jobs introduced the first MacBook Pro to the world, claiming that this laptop would become a true revolutionist in the computer industry, and, apparently, did not deceive.
The novelty, which was highlighted at the Macworld Conference & Expo, has indeed undergone a number of major changes. The laptop still had an external resemblance to its older brother, the PowerBook G4. To erase all associations about the previous laptop with a PowerPC processor, the company's marketers are radically changing the name of the device to the MacBook Pro, where the letters "Mac" have become a household name for as much as 11 years.
PowerPC? No, you haven't!
But the name of the laptop is a drop in the ocean. The first models received improved graphics and decent display brightness. The graphics card used was an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 128 and 256 MB GDDR3 (depending on the model). The developers also put a lot of effort into MagSafe (a proprietary power connector), which, thanks to the “surface” socket and magnet, ensured the safe removal of the cable from the device. Those who like to work late are impressed by the backlit keyboard, and the large trackpad has become a real boon for professional users. Not much, but still increased battery capacity and adapter power.
Not without a fly in the ointment: the SuperDrive drive was seriously inferior to its predecessor, and the reduced ExpressCard / 34 port caused criticism from FireWire 800 supporters.
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| The updated models of 2008-2009 received a backlit LED display, Wi-Fi module and RAM up to 8 GB. |
In the next two years, Apple concentrated on refinement and improvement: the company integrated a backlit LED display, Wi-Fi module (802.11n) and an Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT graphics card into the updated Pro. Later first-generation "firmware" boasted up to 8 GB of RAM and a powerful, at that time, Core 2 Duo processor (up to 2.5 GHz).
"Caftan" Unibody for MacBook Pro or what distinguished the second generation
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| The second generation of the MacBook Pro received an updated case made of aluminium Unibody. |
For all admirers of Apple products, September 2008 was marked by an acquaintance with a new "apple" laptop. The MacBook Pro instantly gained wild popularity, because in addition to a number of technical changes, it received a radically updated Unibody case, “poured” from a piece of aluminium. This solution made it possible to more carefully protect the device and make it more compact. Plus, the soft opening of the lid was ensured by the replacement of mechanical clips with magnetic gaskets.
Gestures and scrolling on the new "apple" have received great prospects due to the fact that the trackpad has significantly added to the area. Do not recognize the keyboard: it received a rich black color with a spectacular backlight.
As for the "stuffing", the apple masters provided the user with a choice of two video cards: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (512 and 256 MB) or GeForce 9400M, while increasing the volume of the hard disk, which, by the way, has access.
big screen apples
No sooner had the "apple lovers" enjoyed the 15-inch handsome with a removable battery, as at the MacWorld conference in early 2009, a version with a 17-inch matte display was lit up, which received a lithium-polymer battery "fused" with the device. Regarding the updated battery, the company said that from now on, thanks to the new "charge holder", all models will be able to work autonomously for up to seven hours.
MacBook Pro has become an indispensable assistant for both specialized professionals and ordinary users. The model held the palm for four years, receiving updates every year. So, since 2010, the updated laptop has been operating on the basis of Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors, and the new GeForce GT 330M video card (256 and 512 MB) has become a bonus for both avid gamers and people who regularly deal with video rendering and graphics processing. .
The updated models of 2011 until today do not leave anyone indifferent, causing nostalgia for everyone who misses the then-introduced classic Intel Thunderbolt technology. The lineup is distinguished by powerful "stones" Intel Core i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge, as well as a FaceTime camera.
Her Majesty Retina! Major MacBook Pro update
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| Third generation MacBook Pro with Retina display at WWDC 2012. |
In the summer of 2012, the WWDC exhibition blew up the new MacBook Pro with Retina display, and Apple management said that this product will be the brightest representative of a completely new generation of devices with high performance. Retina has become a break from the mold and is loved by literally everyone - from professional designers, to graphic specialists, to ordinary users who use their MacBook for everyday work and content consumption.
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| Retina display optimally brought the picture image closer to the capabilities of the human retina. |
The advantage of Retina was the use of IPS displays with a high pixelation of the image (it exceeded the ability of the human eye to distinguish independent pixels), which made the picture incredibly clear, rich and pleasant to read.
But not a single Retina, the developers paid a lot of attention to the casing and the "stuffing". Thanks to the thinning of the case, the weight of the laptop has been significantly reduced, and those who appreciate portability have received a model with a 13-inch display. The new device was distinguished by an updated MagSafe 2 connector, a slot for SDXC memory cards, as well as an increased number of ports: a pair of Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 and HDMI.
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| The third generation of the MacBook Pro received several new connectors and ports: MagSafe 2, SDXC memory card slot, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 and HDMI. |
The main emphasis was placed on performance, the increase in power was achieved through the coordinated work of the GeForce GT 650M discrete graphics card and the Intel Ivy Bridge family of processors. The resolution of the built-in video camera has reached 720p, and a fast SSD drive has replaced the usual hard drive. The keyboard also did not go unnoticed: the movement of the buttons became more rigid, and their surface received additional protection from dust and crumbs.
However, success has been mixed. Despite the innovative display and a number of cardinal improvements, the 2012 MacBook Pro received a powerful portion of criticism: after 7-8 months of operation, many users complained about the detachment of anti-glare protection, observing scratches and peeling of the oleophobic coating on the monitor.
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| Early MacBook Pro models with Retina display suffered from anti-glare peeling. |
Complaints began to come from those who like to work “on their knees”, due to the fact that ventilation holes were located on the bottom panel of the laptop - during active use, the laptop simply burned its knees. Many were upset by the lack of an Ethernet port and an optical drive, although in modern realities (as well as at the time the model was released), these options can be considered not very important.
Work on mistakes
In 2013, the guys from Cupertino again set about updating the third-generation MacBook Pro line. In the 2013 version, the hardware stuffing was represented by advanced 2.6 GHz Intel Haswell and Intel Ivy Bridge processors with a clock speed of 2.8 GHz (Turbo Boost 3.8 GHz). Autumn models of the same year boasted a rich package with an updated graphics processor. "Under the hood" of the device are NVidia Geforce GT 750M 2GB and Intel Iris Pro Graphics, making it a powerful and advanced workhorse for any need. Well, and most importantly, the problem of the "peeling" display has been solved.
MacBook Pro Retina 2014-2015 developed success and became real leaders among laptops of their generation, having received advanced Core i7 processors (Intel Haswell 2.8 GHz), extended SSD storage capacity (512 GB in the top configuration), 2 GB large video cards , Force Touch touchpad (2015 models), Thunderbolt v2 and Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
The fourth generation of MacBook Pro: win-win innovation or unreasoned ignorance of touch screens
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| Fourth generation MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. |
In the fall of 2016, Apple made loyal fans of the brand excited - the once ardent opponents of touch screens in computers introduced a new MacBook model with an emphasis on touch control. True, it was not a full-fledged screen, but an interesting alternative solution in the form of a small touch strip above the keyboard unit with a built-in fingerprint. It became an alternative to the top row of buttons and expanded the control of the laptop. And her name is Touch Bar.
The new MacBook with Touch Bar was positioned as a fashion solution, with an integrated Intel Core i7 processor, a powerful built-in SSD with memory that varies depending on the configuration (from 256 GB to 2 TB) and a 15-inch display made using IPS technology ( resolution 2880x1800). In all modifications of the device, the RAM size is 16 GB.
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| The Touch Bar made it possible to talk about the hybridity of the fourth generation MacBook Pro, running simultaneously on watchOS and macOS operating systems. |
For those who want portability, the company also introduced a model with a screen diagonal of 13 ", for the performance of which, depending on the modification, Core i5 / Core i7 processors, 2.9 - 3.3 GHz are responsible. An SSD drive will store up to 1 TB of information, and RAM pleases 8/16 GB.As well as 15 "MacBook Pro, there is a trackpad that recognizes the force of pressing.
As a result of the story, the Touch Bar caused an ambiguous reaction among the fans of the brand: on paper, the idea looked great, but in practice it turned out to be intricate. For example, each application and virtual buttons had their own icons, which was sometimes confusing. Gestures to control the browser and stock apps like Mail also took some getting used to, so many quickly returned to the good old trackpad so as not to waste time while working. But when watching videos, working with Photoshop and video editing programs, the Touch Bar became a useful assistant.
In addition to the controversial Touch Bar, the company has received nuts from professionals for ditching a discrete graphics card. Because of this, rendering a short movie (10 minutes) in FCPX took about two hours, which does not live up to expectations from such an expensive device.
Updates 2017-18
2018
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2018 has been a story of capacity building. All MacBook Pro 15 (2018) with Touch Bar feature the latest 8th Gen Intel Core Coffee Lake processors. These are again 14nm chips, but with significantly improved power consumption, reduced heat dissipation and, of course, increased performance (about 20% compared to 2017 models).
Moreover, for the first time in history, flagship Intel Core i9 chips with 6 cores appeared in top configurations. Memory has also been seriously upgraded: the new MacBook Pro was one of the first laptops on the market with 32 GB of RAM and a 4 TB SSD. It was a powerful whist in the direction of professionals involved in graphics, audio, video processing and other labor-intensive tasks.
However, this was not the main improvement. Apple finally heard the buyers and redesigned the highly controversial butterfly keyboard. A thin membrane has appeared under each button, which protects the mechanism from contamination and, judging by crash tests, makes the keyboard much more durable. Well, it stopped being so noisy: instead of clicking loudly, the buttons now clicked lightly, like in old models. People who work a lot with texts, for the most part, were delighted. Moreover, the changes also affected the younger MacBook Pro 13 (2018).
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Plus, the MacBook displays have True Tone, as on all flagship iPhones. It adjusts the white balance to the lighting conditions, reducing eye strain. For example, with a yellow lamp light, it makes the picture closer to “warm” tones, and on a cloudy day, on the contrary, it lowers the color temperature. The most interesting thing is that it works invisibly, but if you turn it off, the difference will be enormous.
Well, to control the entire orchestra of additional hardware and a battery, a separate T2 chip appeared. This is actually a mini-computer inside a laptop, which Apple used to install only in the iMac Pro.
2019
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In 2019, Apple did not hold a full-fledged presentation of the new MacBook Pro, but simply added them to the shelves of its virtual store. This is because there were no cardinal changes on the horizon, and the main improvements were made to iron.
The base version of the MacBook Pro with a 13-inch display and Touch Bar received a 15-watt Intel Core i5-8365 processor with a clock speed of up to 4.1 GHz in Turbo Boost mode. In addition, it became possible to assemble a modification with the Intel Core i7-8665U.
The 15-inch model in the base received an Intel Core i7-9750 with Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz, while the top one boasts an i9-9980 chip with overclocking up to 4.8 GHz. A custom modification with an even more powerful "stone" is also available. There, the clock frequency in Turbo Boost mode reaches 5 GHz.
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According to the company, the updated laptops are 40% more powerful than previous generation 6-core models and 100% more powerful than 2018 models with quad-core chips. With this increase, developers will be able to compile code in Xcode up to 65% faster, and editors will be able to simultaneously edit up to 11 tracks in 4K resolution in Final Cut Pro.
Plus, the company again worked on the problematic butterfly mechanism. From my personal experience, the keyboard on the MacBook Pro (2019) is exactly the same as its predecessor. The tactile feedback and the sound of the keys remain the same, despite the fact that Apple has replaced the silicone membrane with a nylon membrane. Has Apple been able to definitively prevent dust and crumbs from entering? Only time will show. However, the new keyboard is initially included in the free replacement programme.
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P.S
The 2019 MacBook Pro 13 is hardly worth buying for owners of 2018 models. The performance gain is not that significant. But even the owners of the previous generation should take a closer look at the 15-inch model, here the difference in power is much more noticeable,
If, however, if you have a Macbook of 2015 or even earlier, then it is worth updating without any questions. Upgrading to a 2018 laptop will see a noticeable performance boost, and with a 2019 model, it's enormous.
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