Before buying the new MacBook Pro: go into an Apple Store, find a 2016 MacBook Pro, open the Notes app, and type into it for a while. The switch from the previous MBP keyboard to the new keyboard is dramatic. I type for a living and I type a lot for pleasure too, so keyboards are important to me.

I’m looking for a MacBook with a better screen to replace my MacBook Air 13-inch. While not quite my “weekend/vacation” laptop (the minimalist MacBook 12-inch would be better there), my MBP13 isn’t my workhorse/power user Mac either (I need discrete graphics for that), so it’s somewhere in between. I prefer the 13-inch model over the 15-inch because I commute by bicycle and the 13-inch weighs a pound less: I also use it on the couch, in my recliner, at the kitchen table, coffee shop, shuttle bus, airplane, train, and Uber. I have a large monitor/keyboard/mouse setup (when I need it) at home and work, so I don’t need the largest screen possible on my laptop. My 13-inch MBP is primarily for use on my lap. Laptops, like mobile phones, are extremely personal devices. I ordered mine (MBP 13.3 Space Gray, 256GB, S3136LL/A) on Octoand it arrived on November 18, 2016. Like most Mac users on the planet, I eagerly awaited Apple’s 2016 MacBook Pro refresh – 500 days in the making. I chose the 13-inch MacBook Pro (over the larger, 15-inch) to replace an aging MacBook Air 13-inch in my fleet. I’m a textbook early adopter and have always purchased new Macs (especially notebooks) day and date when they come out. I can’t think of the last time I returned a new Mac.

2016 macbook pro review no touch bar