25 Aug MacBook Pro – A touch of genius.

The MacBook Pro range is the top-of-the-line notebooks from Apple that offers the portability of a notebook but the power of a desktop computer. Its thin profile and light weight make it a perfect companion for any student looking for flexibility, portability and power all in one notebook.

The MacBook Pro range is both the largest in variety but also with the most room to accommodate a variety of students. Some of the big differences within the range include two display sizes, Touch Bar options, discrete graphics card, and the year the notebooks were made. From all this, we hope you understand more about what the MacBook Pro has to offer and if this is the right Mac for you.

Two displays, two unique views

The MacBook Pro is available in 13-inch and 15-inch models, giving you two perspectives and advantages to each, with the same powerful display technology behind each. The 13-inch model provides a lighter notebook, ideal for the students looking for true portability as they carry it around from halls to University to the library. If you’re willing to carry up to an extra 700g¹, you would have access to the 15-inch screen giving you that vital display space for those studying a creative course.

Touch Bar or not to Touch Bar?

The function keys (F1-F12) at the top of your keyboard have been there for years with no alternatives available. Apple, as the leaders of innovative technology, changed this and created a new way to interact with the MacBook Pro². The Touch Bar is flexible in offering shortcuts to your most used actions across software including Safari and Mail, and is now supported by third-party software including the Adobe suite. This means that from writing essays to creating artwork, you will work faster so no more all-nighters before deadline day!

Discrete or Integrated Graphics?

The most overlooked part of the MacBook Pro is the graphics card. If you struggle to render your 3D model or wonder why the latest games don’t look as good as the trailer, the graphics card may be the issue. The 2017 15-inch MacBook Pro comes with the latest AMD Radeon Pro graphics card, giving you that extra power you need to complete your projects.

Past or Future?

The MacBook Pro 15-inch from 2015 is available with an Intel core i7 processor and 16GB RAM, giving students access to a powerful 15-inch notebook at a lower price. The advantage of the 2015 model is that it includes two USB 3.0, two Thunderbolt 2 and one HDMI port that allows you to use the accessories you already have. However, the latest MacBook Pro 15-inch includes the Touch Bar and has 4 USB-C ports that are up to 4 times faster than USB-3.0.

Is there anything else?

We’ve spoken about the main differences in each model in the MacBook Pro range, but we’ve not discussed the specification differences as well. With the choice of processors, RAM and storage, there is a wide variety to get the MacBook Pro right for you:

• Processor – If you are studying a course that requires essay writing and plan on using it for very minimal creative designs and gaming, an Intel core i5 would be sufficient. However, you can see a speed boost from the Intel core i7 that is notable when doing more intensive tasks.
• RAM – The higher the RAM the more your MacBook Pro will be able to do without slowing down. 8GB is now a standard and is suitable for the majority of students, however, with creative software, the higher RAM (16GB) helps to decrease render times.
• Storage – The more space you have in your MacBook Pro, the more you can store. However, with the increase access to Dropbox and Google Drive, you can now store files in the cloud (accessible with an internet connection) meaning it’s not necessary to have more storage.

So, with this knowledge, you are more aware of which MacBook Pro is more suitable to you, your needs and your University course. As always, you can reach us on Facebook, Twitter and by email if you need to ask any questions.

If you find that you need to upgrade the processor, RAM and/or storage within the MacBook Pro, Student Superstore offers custom-built MacBook Pros to suit everyone’s needs.

1 The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts from 1.37kg, with 2017 15-inch model starting from 1.83kg and 2015 15-inch model starting from 2.04kg.

2 Excluding entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro and 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro.