There is a new MacBook Pro in town (the second such release of 2020), and intriguingly it has a proprietary processing chip, rather than an Intel one: Apple’s new M1 chip.
Apple is boasting significant performance and power upgrades on previous chips. And while early tests show that it performs well, Apple has not provided much technical detail to back up its claims. Time will tell how well it does. But it is worth immediately noting that the same new chip is in the MacBook Air which is cheaper, yet will offer comparable performance to most people – it just doesn’t have a fan for sustained heavy-duty workloads.
Aesthetically the new Pro is pretty similar to its predecessor. The keyboard works well, but the webcam is still lightweight. Thanks to the new chip, battery life appears to be significantly better.
Another interesting feature is the computer’s ability to now run iOS apps. It may take time to fully optimise them on the platform, but it is quite a step-change.
Is it all enough to warrant an upgrade? Maybe not, right now solely on its own merit. If there had been a fresh new look and some wider hardware updates such as the webcam maybe so, but that appears destined for a future iteration.
We generally find that PCs work better for business applications, and there are some excellent rivals to Mac in both the looks and power department – particularly examples from Microsoft’s Surface and Dell’s XPS ranges. That said, we know some people simply prefer Mac and are more than happy to help them.
Whenever you are considering upgrading your computers or just buying more, make sure you talk to us first to ensure you get something that matches your needs.
