The MacBook Pro: A Technical Update Worth Noticing

Really isn't aimed at your general Mac user this is aimed specifically at those that regularly use multi-threaded applications and that's you derive the most benefits from an update like this now of course one of the most important changes to come to this new MacBook Pro refresh is the updated keyboard Apple is using new materials in its butterfly switch mechanism including new smooth transparent membrane covers that are made out of nylon polymer along with the new revised dome switch but the thing is no one's gonna be able to tell you if these updates actually work because no one's used the keyboard for long enough to really gather any conclusive data what I will say is that I'm still not a fan of the limited key travel on the butterfly switch keyboard and when I compared it to the third-generation keyboard on my 2018 MacBook Air in my opinion the keys felt almost exactly the same so if that's a deal-breaker for you you're gonna have to wait until Apple actually it revises the entire MacBook Pro with the new chassis new keyboard and the good news is that supply chain analyst means G quo says that Apple released a new 16 inch MacBook Pro with an all-new design here's a mock-up of that new MacBook Pro from 9 to 5 max Michael stiver that imagines what an edge-to-edge display might look like on the MacBook Pro I think it looks great hopefully it comes with face ID in tow.

The Future of MacBooks: A Look at What's Coming

Alright so this is the part of back to the Mac that I love to give away right so the last episode we gave away the Thunder 3 dock Pro the winner was tech Tim 89 who still hasn't responded to my request please reply to my comments so I can get this dock over to you as soon as I can and of course we have another giveaway this time around we're giving away the rx 580 gaming box from gigabyte this is a portable a GPU unit you can even as you saw put it in a bag and travel with it so alone with your engaging comment you will be automatically entered in the giveaway and will be picking a winner next week it time so stay tuned.

Q&A Session

so during last week's episode I asked you guys to leave me some questions and a lot of you did so thank you very much I'm only gonna be able to get to a few of them this episode so apologize from not able to get to your question but here's the first one it's from John toku he asked is it worth getting a Thunderbolt 3 SSD over a USB 3.1 gen2 SSD and really that's going to depend on what you plan on doing with that SSD if you're playing it on just storing you know documents and you know just general files I would say the USB SSD is ok if you're planning on working with media then I would go for the Thunderbolt 3 SSD so if you're working with very very large media files for K 6 kak footage Thunderbolt 3 is just gonna be a much better option you can transfer those files to and from that SSDs so much faster and things are generally gonna work a little bit better in your NLE of choice so if you're editing video and Final Cut Pro 10 and you have a bottleneck with your SSD it's not a very nice experience so I would say if you're working with high quality media go with the Thunderbolt 3 SSD if you're just working with general stuff go with the USB SSD this next one is from sunny-side-up they asked is it better to buy the base model 27-inch iMac with a 256 gigabyte SSD or is it better to buy the top-of-the-line 21.5 inch model now this person is editing photos I would instantly say hey go with the 27 inch model and just get as much SSD storage as you can or you can always buy one after the fact in my opinion if you're editing photos as an amateur photographer it's still nicer to have that larger 27 inch display than a 21.5 inch display so I say go with the larger this way so our last question he asked what would you like to see in the next gen iMac for me that is a very easy question to answer face ID well less bezels along with face ID that is.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsor

special things to iFixit creator of the iphone fix kits and macbook pro fix kits for sponsoring 9 to 5 mac on youtube head over to i fix it using the link in the description and get your all-in-one repair kit today

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhow's it going ladies and gentlemen boys and girls Jeff Benjamin with nine-to-five Mac welcome to back to the Mac episode number 14 where I go hands-on with the new 2019 MacBook Pro refresh check it out but before that check out this message from our sponsor repairing and upgrading your Apple products is easy with I fix it's all in one fix kits iPhone fix kits have everything you need to replace a cracked screen or a dying battery the kit includes a custom driver steel bits opening tools and more and Mac fix kits lets you replace your MacBook Pros battery upgrade the RAM or swap in an SSD both kits include all the parts and tools you need and are backed by an industry leading warranty plus each kit includes a free illustrated step-by-step repair guide to show you the way click the link in the description to get your all-in-one repair kit today and special things that I fix it for sponsoring 905 Mac on YouTube ok so like we normally do let's go ahead and unbox this MacBook Pro I'm going to go fast because the theme of this review or this hands-on is that pretty much everything is the same not a lot changed here and on the surface that may appear to be a bad thing especially in light of the keyboard issues that Apple is experienced but it's also a good thing and I'll explain why that is in this review because some people will make the argument that this is a bad update you know they're still using the butterfly keys which is you know they made modifications to try to make it more reliable and this machine is still using the same form factor that it's been using since 2016 and their argument is that this is not a very good upgrade it's not a very compelling upgrade because it's more the same Apple didn't really change anything and you know what they're right they're exactly right this is more of the same it is just a spec upgrade we're still waiting for that updated design we're still waiting for a brand new keyboard but in the meantime we get this this is the 2019 MacBook Pro so as you saw the unboxing experience is exactly the same as the previous MacBook Pro iterations this is the 15 inch MacBook Pro with the I $9.99 a th 8 core CPU so this 15 inch MacBook Pro for better or for worse has the same IO yet for Thunderbolt 3 ports 2 on each side along with that 3.5 millimeter headphone jack so why do I reason that this is actually a really good release well here's why I think this is a good release because it proves that Apple is truly focused on pro workflows and pro customers back in 2017 they more or less acknowledged that they had sort of neglected the pro user base with their Mac updates or lack thereof and at that meeting that's where they first acknowledged that the Mac Pro really the way it was currently designed really had no long-term viability so this is where Apple said hey we're building a new modular Mac Pro we also have a new iMac Pro in the works and there's gonna be more focus on Pro customers and remember up until that point many Pro customers were starting to doubt whether or not they had a future with the company using their hardware because there was just seemingly a lack of interest on Apple's part so despite the fact that this this new machine has the same chassis and it's still using the butterfly key switches it's encouraging to see that Apple is following through on their promise remember Intel just released in the second quarter those near 90 980 CPUs and we already have a MacBook Pro with those new CPUs inside so from that standpoint these new eight core options actually make this quite compelling especially if you use multi-threaded applications say you're encoding video with handbrake or you're editing video or maybe you're compiling code this is going to really help out your workflow so as expected if you opt for one of the eight core configurations you're going to notice a sizable jump in multi-core performance over 2018 s6 core macbook pro and then there was that other issue last year where the CPU would consistently drop below its base frequency you don't see that with these new a9 chips obviously it's not going to be able to turbo for sustained periods of time and obviously it's still gonna throttle given the chassis but that's to be expected so in other words this update really isn't aimed at your general Mac user this is aimed specifically at those that regularly use multi-threaded applications and that's you derive the most benefits from an update like this now of course one of the most important changes to come to this new MacBook Pro refresh is the updated keyboard Apple is using new materials in its butterfly switch mechanism including new smooth transparent membrane covers that are made out of nylon polymer along with the new revised dome switch but the thing is no one's gonna be able to tell you if these updates actually work because no one's used the keyboard for long enough to really gather any conclusive data what I will say is that I'm still not a fan of the limited key travel on the butterfly switch keyboard and when I compared it to the third-generation keyboard on my 2018 MacBook Air in my opinion the keys felt almost exactly the same so if that's a deal-breaker for you you're gonna have to wait until Apple actually it revises the entire MacBook Pro with the new chassis new keyboard and the good news is that supply chain analyst means G quo says that Apple released a new 16 inch MacBook Pro with an all-new design here's a mock-up of that new MacBook Pro from 9 to 5 max Michael stiver that imagines what an edge-to-edge display might look like on the MacBook Pro I think it looks great hopefully it comes with face ID in tow alright so this is the part of back to the Mac that I love to give away right so the last episode we gave away the Thunder 3 dock Pro the winner was tech Tim 89 who still hasn't responded to my request please reply to my comments so I can get this dock over to you as soon as I can and of course we have another giveaway this time around we're giving away the rx 580 gaming box from gigabyte this is a portable a GPU unit you can even as you saw put it in a bag and travel with it so alone with your engaging comment you will be automatically entered in the giveaway and will be picking a winner next week it time so stay tuned so during last week's episode I asked you guys to leave me some questions and a lot of you did so thank you very much I'm only gonna be able to get to a few of them this episode so apologize from not able to get to your question but here's the first one it's from John toku he asked is it worth getting a Thunderbolt 3 SSD over a USB 3.1 gen2 SSD and really that's going to depend on what you plan on doing with that SSD if you're playing it on just storing you know documents and you know just general files I would say the USB SSD is ok if you're planning on working with media then I would go for the Thunderbolt 3 SSD so if you're working with very very large media files for K 6 kak footage Thunderbolt 3 is just gonna be a much better option you can transfer those files to and from that SSDs so much faster and things are generally gonna work a little bit better in your NLE of choice so if you're editing video and Final Cut Pro 10 and you have a bottleneck with your SSD it's not a very nice experience so I would say if you're working with high quality media go with the Thunderbolt 3 SSD if you're just working with general stuff go with the USB SSD this next one is from sunny-side-up they asked is it better to buy the base model 27-inch iMac with a 256 gigabyte SSD or is it better to buy the top-of-the-line 21.5 inch model now this person is editing photos I would instantly say hey go with the 27 inch model and just get as much SSD storage as you can or you can always buy one after the fact in my opinion if you're editing photos as an amateur photographer it's still nicer to have that larger 27 inch display than a 21.5 inch display so I say go with the larger this way so our last question he asked what would you like to see in the next gen iMac for me that is a very easy question to answer face ID well less bezels along with face ID that is so ladies and gentlemen that concludes our latest episode of back to the Mac do you think about that MacBook Pro 2019 revision do you think it's a good update or not so good update let me know down below in the comment section and I will look for you in the next episode this is Jeff with 905 Mac and now a final word from our sponsor special things to iFixit creator of the iphone fix kits and macbook pro fix kits for sponsoring 9 to 5 mac on youtube head over to i fix it using the link in the description and get your all-in-one repair kit todayhow's it going ladies and gentlemen boys and girls Jeff Benjamin with nine-to-five Mac welcome to back to the Mac episode number 14 where I go hands-on with the new 2019 MacBook Pro refresh check it out but before that check out this message from our sponsor repairing and upgrading your Apple products is easy with I fix it's all in one fix kits iPhone fix kits have everything you need to replace a cracked screen or a dying battery the kit includes a custom driver steel bits opening tools and more and Mac fix kits lets you replace your MacBook Pros battery upgrade the RAM or swap in an SSD both kits include all the parts and tools you need and are backed by an industry leading warranty plus each kit includes a free illustrated step-by-step repair guide to show you the way click the link in the description to get your all-in-one repair kit today and special things that I fix it for sponsoring 905 Mac on YouTube ok so like we normally do let's go ahead and unbox this MacBook Pro I'm going to go fast because the theme of this review or this hands-on is that pretty much everything is the same not a lot changed here and on the surface that may appear to be a bad thing especially in light of the keyboard issues that Apple is experienced but it's also a good thing and I'll explain why that is in this review because some people will make the argument that this is a bad update you know they're still using the butterfly keys which is you know they made modifications to try to make it more reliable and this machine is still using the same form factor that it's been using since 2016 and their argument is that this is not a very good upgrade it's not a very compelling upgrade because it's more the same Apple didn't really change anything and you know what they're right they're exactly right this is more of the same it is just a spec upgrade we're still waiting for that updated design we're still waiting for a brand new keyboard but in the meantime we get this this is the 2019 MacBook Pro so as you saw the unboxing experience is exactly the same as the previous MacBook Pro iterations this is the 15 inch MacBook Pro with the I $9.99 a th 8 core CPU so this 15 inch MacBook Pro for better or for worse has the same IO yet for Thunderbolt 3 ports 2 on each side along with that 3.5 millimeter headphone jack so why do I reason that this is actually a really good release well here's why I think this is a good release because it proves that Apple is truly focused on pro workflows and pro customers back in 2017 they more or less acknowledged that they had sort of neglected the pro user base with their Mac updates or lack thereof and at that meeting that's where they first acknowledged that the Mac Pro really the way it was currently designed really had no long-term viability so this is where Apple said hey we're building a new modular Mac Pro we also have a new iMac Pro in the works and there's gonna be more focus on Pro customers and remember up until that point many Pro customers were starting to doubt whether or not they had a future with the company using their hardware because there was just seemingly a lack of interest on Apple's part so despite the fact that this this new machine has the same chassis and it's still using the butterfly key switches it's encouraging to see that Apple is following through on their promise remember Intel just released in the second quarter those near 90 980 CPUs and we already have a MacBook Pro with those new CPUs inside so from that standpoint these new eight core options actually make this quite compelling especially if you use multi-threaded applications say you're encoding video with handbrake or you're editing video or maybe you're compiling code this is going to really help out your workflow so as expected if you opt for one of the eight core configurations you're going to notice a sizable jump in multi-core performance over 2018 s6 core macbook pro and then there was that other issue last year where the CPU would consistently drop below its base frequency you don't see that with these new a9 chips obviously it's not going to be able to turbo for sustained periods of time and obviously it's still gonna throttle given the chassis but that's to be expected so in other words this update really isn't aimed at your general Mac user this is aimed specifically at those that regularly use multi-threaded applications and that's you derive the most benefits from an update like this now of course one of the most important changes to come to this new MacBook Pro refresh is the updated keyboard Apple is using new materials in its butterfly switch mechanism including new smooth transparent membrane covers that are made out of nylon polymer along with the new revised dome switch but the thing is no one's gonna be able to tell you if these updates actually work because no one's used the keyboard for long enough to really gather any conclusive data what I will say is that I'm still not a fan of the limited key travel on the butterfly switch keyboard and when I compared it to the third-generation keyboard on my 2018 MacBook Air in my opinion the keys felt almost exactly the same so if that's a deal-breaker for you you're gonna have to wait until Apple actually it revises the entire MacBook Pro with the new chassis new keyboard and the good news is that supply chain analyst means G quo says that Apple released a new 16 inch MacBook Pro with an all-new design here's a mock-up of that new MacBook Pro from 9 to 5 max Michael stiver that imagines what an edge-to-edge display might look like on the MacBook Pro I think it looks great hopefully it comes with face ID in tow alright so this is the part of back to the Mac that I love to give away right so the last episode we gave away the Thunder 3 dock Pro the winner was tech Tim 89 who still hasn't responded to my request please reply to my comments so I can get this dock over to you as soon as I can and of course we have another giveaway this time around we're giving away the rx 580 gaming box from gigabyte this is a portable a GPU unit you can even as you saw put it in a bag and travel with it so alone with your engaging comment you will be automatically entered in the giveaway and will be picking a winner next week it time so stay tuned so during last week's episode I asked you guys to leave me some questions and a lot of you did so thank you very much I'm only gonna be able to get to a few of them this episode so apologize from not able to get to your question but here's the first one it's from John toku he asked is it worth getting a Thunderbolt 3 SSD over a USB 3.1 gen2 SSD and really that's going to depend on what you plan on doing with that SSD if you're playing it on just storing you know documents and you know just general files I would say the USB SSD is ok if you're planning on working with media then I would go for the Thunderbolt 3 SSD so if you're working with very very large media files for K 6 kak footage Thunderbolt 3 is just gonna be a much better option you can transfer those files to and from that SSDs so much faster and things are generally gonna work a little bit better in your NLE of choice so if you're editing video and Final Cut Pro 10 and you have a bottleneck with your SSD it's not a very nice experience so I would say if you're working with high quality media go with the Thunderbolt 3 SSD if you're just working with general stuff go with the USB SSD this next one is from sunny-side-up they asked is it better to buy the base model 27-inch iMac with a 256 gigabyte SSD or is it better to buy the top-of-the-line 21.5 inch model now this person is editing photos I would instantly say hey go with the 27 inch model and just get as much SSD storage as you can or you can always buy one after the fact in my opinion if you're editing photos as an amateur photographer it's still nicer to have that larger 27 inch display than a 21.5 inch display so I say go with the larger this way so our last question he asked what would you like to see in the next gen iMac for me that is a very easy question to answer face ID well less bezels along with face ID that is so ladies and gentlemen that concludes our latest episode of back to the Mac do you think about that MacBook Pro 2019 revision do you think it's a good update or not so good update let me know down below in the comment section and I will look for you in the next episode this is Jeff with 905 Mac and now a final word from our sponsor special things to iFixit creator of the iphone fix kits and macbook pro fix kits for sponsoring 9 to 5 mac on youtube head over to i fix it using the link in the description and get your all-in-one repair kit today\n"