Apple MacBook Pro 13 2018: power under control

Presentation

With its MacBook Pro, Apple seeks to offer an uncompromising experience, combining portability and power. This new model is no exception. However, the novelties are limited. Unlike the MacBook Air, Apple has not reworked its formula and is content with a technical update.

It should be noted that here the lab results being similar to the previous ones in the "screen" and "audio" parts, the paragraphs of the 2017 MacBook Pro test were used as is. The construction part dedicated to the chassis has also been partially taken over.

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Construction

It's hard to fault MacBook Pro for anything in terms of construction: Apple masters its partition to perfection. We thus find the design so simple, but so specific to the brand, and the "unibody" case made of aluminum, here with a thickness of 15 mm.

The Touch Bar, which runs the entire length of the keyboard, may seem like a gadget at first, but reveals its richness in use by offering to adapt the controls according to the application used. Taking the form of a thin strip at the top of the keyboard, this long Oled screen is not only thought to complement the keyboard, but also to provide some more more or less useful keys. Depending on the software, you can display the brightness, the F keys or something else.

The bar can also display the commands of a linked iPhone when it is next to the computer. Finally, it includes the Touch ID, the fingerprint reader located at the far right. The Touch Bar is therefore certainly not a functionality that can be described as revolutionary, but it has the merit of facilitating some operations and bringing more comfort to the user.

In terms of connectivity, Apple has simplified by including four USB Type-C ThunderBolt 3 ports accompanied by a headphone port. Apple has been relying on USB Type-C for several years. If at the start this choice raised a lot of questions, the port quickly became more and more common to the point that it is no longer an exception today.

This year's MacBook Air has a new keyboard. The previous model had indeed experienced many complaints from users, the keys regularly jamming due to dust. This third generation corrects the problem, and quite well. The American site iFixit has indeed found the presence of a plastic membrane under the keys to effectively protect them from dust. The feeling compared to the previous model does not change. We find the keys to the extremely short stroke which will confuse the unaccustomed, but which are as effective as silent. The trackpad is always admirable, responding perfectly to user requests.

In terms of heating and noise, the 2018 MacBook Pro 13 is doing extremely well. During our usual test (Unigine benchmark for one hour), the computer temperature rose to 41 ° C and proved to be well controlled. Likewise, the noise released is not very disturbing: the breath barely reaches 39 dB, a normal level for an ultraportable.

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Screen

Apple has always taken care of its screens, in particular the respect for colors. The screen of the MacBook Pro 13 is no exception to this rule, despite some obvious flaws. This is a 13.3 inch (33.8 cm diagonal) IPS panel with a definition of 2,560 x 1,600 px. Although Apple does not bet on ultra-thin screen edges, the screen / front ratio still remains very high since it is 82.64%.

Contrast 970: 1 Temperature 7000 K Colors Delta E = 1.2

Under our probe, the MacBook Pro 13 delivers very satisfactory results, despite a disappointing contrast ratio of 970: 1 (for the vision of shades of gray) and a temperature of 7,000 K, slightly above the norm at 6,500 K and sign of a slight drift towards blue. The rest, on the other hand, is very good, starting with Delta E. Not only does it reach the excellent average of 1.2, but above all it delivers an almost perfect picture: not a single shade exceeds the threshold of 3, beyond which the human eye can perceive a difference between the displayed color and the actual color. Photographers and graphic designers will be able to work without fear on the computer while enjoying extremely faithful colors.

The brightness, 526 cd / m², offers excellent readability, while the afterglow is 13 ms, which is good for an ultraportable.

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Performances

The 2018 MacBook Pro tested by us is equipped with an Intel Core i5-8259U processor (2.3 GHz, 4 cores, 8 threads, frequencies ranging from 2.3 to 3.8 GHz) supported by 8 GB of RAM. The computer also has a 256 GB SSD. A model that logically wants to be much more efficient than the previous one. As a reminder, the MacBook Pro of 2017 was equipped with an Intel Core i5-7264U processor (average frequency of 2.2 GHz, 2 cores, 4 threads). Apple's product therefore goes from 2 to 4 cores for a significant power gain.

During our usual test protocol (video, photo, audio compression ...) performed this time under macOS, the 2018 MacBook Pro reached the result of 95 on our scale of values. For comparison, the 2017 MacBook Pro reached (still on macOS) the score of 85. The 2018 MacBook Air, tested a few months ago and equipped with an Intel Core i5-8210Y processor, is logically less powerful since 'he reached the score of 61.

Thus, the user will be able without difficulty to operate software very greedy in computation. With such power and a screen so respectful of colors, it can without worrying about photo editing, for example.

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Mobility / Autonomy

In terms of mobility, it's hard to fault anything about this MacBook Pro 13 as it shows itself to be nomadic. Indeed, it weighs only 1.37 kg for a thickness 1.49 cm.

In terms of autonomy, the MacBook Pro breaks all records. During our usual test protocol (Netflix, backlight off, headphones plugged in and brightness set to 200 cd / m2), the computer shut down after 13 h 25 min in Safari. By comparison, the 2017 model reached 13 h 2 min, while the 2018 MacBook Air held 13 h 10 min. In contrast, the 2018 MacBook Pro lasted 9 h 46 min for the same test performed on the Chrome browser.

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Audio

Difficulty to deliver correct sound with such small speakers. The MacBook Pro 13 does not work miracles and offers a little powerful sound, but still clean. Despite the obvious lack of serious, Apple has managed to balance this part by skillfully trimming the treble, which, when listening to video, gives rise to recognizable and intelligible voices. Note also a discreet distortion, which does not make listening unpleasant.

Regarding the helmet part, it is flawless: all the values obtained in the lab are excellent.

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Conclusion

This new MacBook Pro does not reinvent the formula, taking over the chassis, the screen and the speakers of the previous model. The novelty actually lies in the 8th generation processor. Logically much more efficient, it brings a significant power gain, thanks to the transition from 2 to 4 cores. Apple has also taken care to properly manage the heating of its computer, an example in this area. The MacBook Pro remains an excellent product.

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