MacBook Pro

Steve Jobs introduced the first original Apple MacBook Pro on stage at Macworld 2006 and forever changes the way people thought about laptop computing. The original MacBook Pro was an evolution of Apple’s previous PowerBook line, using a similar all-metal design, but with a few added features.

The most notable MacBook Pro upgrades from the PowerBook included new Intel processors with 4-5x faster performance than the PowerBook G4, a 15.4-inch display with integrated “iSight” camera, IR sensor, and the all-new MagSafe charger. A larger 17-inch MacBook Pro with 3 USB 2.0 ports debuted later that same year.

The MacBook Air was the first of Apple’s dramatically redesigned notebooks featuring a unibody construction. Unveiled in January 2008, the MacBook Air’s claim to fame was a full-sized backlit keyboard, full-sized 13.3-inch LED backlit display, multi-touch trackpad, and of course, an extremely thin aluminum case. At .76-inches thin, the MacBook Air was “the world’s thinnest notebook” at the time and was positioned above Apple’s regular MacBook as a premium ultraportable notebook.

Today, things look much different, with the MacBook Air line now representing Apple’s more affordable entry-level laptops, with hardware trumped by the MacBook Pro. While the MacBook Air is great for web browsing or frequent travelers who don’t want a heavy laptop weighing them down, the MacBook Pro is much better suited for CPU intensive tasks like video editing, gaming, or other work related tasks.

In 2008, the second generation MacBook Pro introduced Apple’s now iconic unibody design, machined from a single piece of aluminum. Other now familiar features included an all-glass instant-on LED display, redesigned multi-touch glass trackpad, and a backlit keyboard. At just .95 inches thick, it was the thinnest MacBook Pro Apple had ever made. In late 2010, the iSight webcam was renamed to “FaceTime camera”, where it was upgraded to shoot in 720p resolution.

Almost 4 years later, a third generation MacBook Pro debuted in 2012. Although similar in overall design to the previous model, the third gen MacBook Pro was 25% thinner and featured a smaller improved MagSafe 2 port, multi-touch trackpad, newer Intel third-generation Ivy Bridge processors, standard SSD drive for storage, and USB 3.0 ports. This generation also marked the introduction of the now familiar 2880x1800 high resolution Retina display. In 2015, Apple added Force Touch trackpads to their MacBook Pro line, a feature that simulates a click using pressure sensitive haptic feedback.

In late 2019, the new fifth generation MacBook Pro 16-inch officially replaced the previous generation 15-inch model. While similar in design, Apple made several improvements like high-fidelity speakers for dramatically improved audio, “studio quality” microphones, and the inclusion of Intel’s ninth-generation Intel Core i7 and Core i9 processors. The previous Butterfly keyboard was also replaced with Apple’s more reliable Magic Keyboard, and now includes an escape key and “T” layout for the arrow keys. A 13-inch model was released in May 2020.

In Mac OS X, Apple included a handful of accessibility features for people who have difficulty with their vision, physical/motor impairment, are hard of hearing, or have learning disabilities. Features like VoiceOver that read onscreen commands, color filters for easier viewing, Hover Text to enlarge text, Live Listen to fine tune hearing aids or AirPods, FaceTime for sign language, Voice Control to interact with apps using your voice, Switch Control to use switches or joysticks, and more.