Nov 16, 2016 05:39 PM
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EARLIER THIS YEAR, Phil Schiller stepped onto a stage on Apple’s campus and threw some sick burns at the PC industry. “As we all know, ” he told the crowd, “Windows PCs were originally conceived of before there was an Internet. Before there was social media. Before there were app stores.” Then he mentioned that 600 million PCs in use today are more than five years old. Schiller called the Apple device in the screen behind him the “ultimate PC replacement” for all those people. “It’s a large enough display to get all of your work done, ” he said, “but small and light enough to carry with you everywhere you go.”
RECOMMENDS 2016
APPLE MACBOOK
9/10
LEARN HOW WE RATE
WIRED
So light, and so thin. Never buy a laptop without a screen this good. The battery is actually all-day this time. There's almost certainly enough power here for you.
TIRED
It is so, so very expensive. The transition from many ports to one is scary. No one's going to look good in this webcam.
BUY IT NOW
| APPLE
Schiller was talking about the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. But everything he said is a far better argument for the MacBook, a 12-inch laptop Apple released a year ago and updated last week. If you have a 5-year-old PC, the iPad Pro is a huge departure that requires completely overhauling how you work. If you want to make the transition, go ahead. There are many upsides. But if you want to upgrade your laptop, not completely blow up your computing life, this is the upgrade you want. It’s faster than whatever you’re using now, guaranteed. It has a fantastic screen. It’s light enough to finally get you out of the chiropractor’s office. Best of all, you already know how to use it. It’s a laptop.
When I reviewed the last version of the MacBook, I called it the future. Screw that. This MacBook is the present.
Most of what you need to know about this year’s MacBook also was true last year. It’s a beautifully designed two-pound, half-inch-thick slab of aluminum. The 12-inch, 2304×1440 screen feels small, even compared to a 13-inch laptop, but the panel is spectacular. The trackpad is of course wonderful, even if Force Touch is pointless and you’ll instantly forget it even exists. The keyboard … well, the keyboard takes some getting used to. It’s shallow and light, almost like typing on a touchscreen. But you get used to it, and it’s a usable full-sized keyboard. The speaker gets impressively loud, though it does rumble through the chassis. The low-res webcam sucks. Generally, the MacBook is a laptop. It’s not a crazy convertible hybrid fold-y thing. It’s a laptop.
