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Apple Macbook Pro 13 Review

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Updated January 25, 2022
Reader Rating1 Vote
9.6
9.7
Expert Rating

Despite their steep prices, Apple products are known to have a high standard of quality that’s very difficult to find anywhere else, and high capacity intel processors to boot. The Macbook Pro 13 is no different, and to add to its credit, the 2020 version does away with the butterfly keyboard that we all love to hate, replacing it with a new magic keyboard that is a joy to type on. Other than that, they both look pretty much the same, with the touch bar and colorful Retina display still featuring on the new model. The new 13-inch Macbook pro does come with some few hardware upgrades, but the most significant of them all is the bump in RAM. The entry level Macbook boasts of 2.3GHz of RAM, while the full spec version stretches that to 3.7GHz. There are a few more things that the Apple Macbook Pro 13 features that are still worth highlighting, so stick around for the rest of this review to find out why it’s regarded as one of the best apple laptops available today. Also check our list of the best laptops to find other great options.

Related: If you still want to shop around, take a look at the Apple Macbook Pro 13 Inch review

Why We Like It – Apple Macbook Pro 13

The Apple Macbook 13-inch Pro is a decent subnotebook computer that you can opt for if you tend to move around a lot, and need a good amount of processing power for your work. Depending on your budget & needs, you can opt for one with a generation Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor, with an Intel Iris Plus graphics processor included as default. The highlight of this new release is the magic keyboard, which makes things a lot better when typing.

Pros
  • New Magic Keyboard
  • Great 10 hour plus battery life
  • Option of 4 Thunderbolt ports
Cons
  • Expensive

Related: Check out the Macbook Pro 15 review

Performance

Fitted with either a 10th gen intel core Core i5 processor or an 8th generation core i7 processor, the Macbook Pro should be able to handle all your video editing or sound processing needs without tapping out, and with an Intel Iris Plus Graphics card, it should do OK whenever you switch to using it for gaming. Battery life on the 13-inch laptop lasts an impressive 10 hours on a single charge, which is better than what you’ll get with the apple macbook air 13″ (2011) 1.8ghz. As mentioned earlier, its magic keyboard feels much better to use, and might even result in slightly faster typing speeds for those who spend a lot of their time writing.

Design

The 13-inch Macbook Pro’s design isn’t anything that we’re not used to, but you have the choice of getting it in either a space grey or the light silver color scheme. It doesn’t come in a rose gold color like the Macbook Air, and neither is it available in the color black. The Pro’s 2560 x 1600 pixel display is better than that of the macbook pro 16, and comes with a True Tone feature that optimizes the white black balance for a crisp, clear picture. Screen brightness on the 13-inch Pro averages out at 485 nits, which is a lot better than the HP Spectre X360 that only manages 369 nits. Located on the upper right part of the keyboard you’ll find the laptop’s touch ID sensor that you can use to turn it on or off, or prevent against unauthorised use. The 13-inch macbook supports the 802.11ac Wi Fi standard, as well as Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity. The number of USB C ports you’ll get will depend on whether you get the entry level model of the Pro 13-inch, or the base model. The more affordable one comes with just two, while the upgraded version has four Thunderbolt ports.

Value

For those that never really have any heavy work that they need done and just want a laptop that never fails them, the entry level model of the 13-inch Macbook pro should suffice. It comes with a quad core 8th gen Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. In all honesty though, memory on the entry level Macbook Pro is a bit slower, but the 8th generation Intel core CPU should be good enough if all you need is moderate to high processing power. If you opt for the base model of the new Macbook pro, you’ll be guaranteed of better performance, since this one comes with an Intel core i7 processor instead of a 10th generation core i5 Intel processor. The Intel Iris Plus graphics processor on the base model is also more capable than that on the entry level model, making it perfect for creatives or avid gamers. If both models remain out of your price range, then maybe opting for a macbook pro 2017 might make things easier for your wallet.

Apple Macbook Pro 13 Wrap Up

In a nutshell, the Macbook Pro 13-inch 2020 model comes with a new keyboard, and a wide variety of spec combinations that you could go for. There’s the choice of either an 1.4 GHz quad-core 8th generation Intel processor or a 2GHz quad-core 10th generation Intel processor, either 8GB or 16GB of memory, either an Intel Iris Plus 645 or an Intel Iris Plus graphics card or either Two Thunderbolt 3 or Four Thunderbolt 3 USB ports.

Bottom Line
Performance
9.8
Design
9.5
Value
9.7
Reader Rating1 Vote
9.6
What We Liked
What We Didn’t
9.7
Expert Rating