The 13-inch MacBook Pro is the most affordable of Apple's high-end laptops. With the admittedly supercharged 15-inch version starting at a princely $1,799, the 13-inch model's starting price of $1,199 is the one many consumers will likely consider first. Its size is also ideal and in fact, we've long considered 13 inches to be the sweet spot in laptops for usability and performance. The question is: does the smaller Pro deliver the processing punch that last year's lacked?
Apple MacBook Pro Winter 2011
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
In short: unequivocally yes. This year's 13-inch Pro gets a cutting-edge processor upgrade that many were waiting for--including us. That upgrade comes in the form of next-generation Intel Core i-series CPUs. The 2011 MacBook Pros are the first laptops we've reviewed at CNET with these processors; the entry-level 13-inch model features a second-generation 2.3GHz Core i5 processor, whereas the $1,499 configuration has a 2.7GHz dual-core Core i7.
Though both configurations use differently branded CPUs, the Core i5/Core i7 difference turns out to be pretty insignificant between these two 13-inch Pros. In our benchmark tests, the Core i5 13-inch model performed so closely to the Core i7 version (and, in single-task tests, not that far off from the quad-core 15-inch Pro) that, for the $300 savings, it's arguably the better buy. The entry-level version has an identical screen, graphics, RAM, and ports to the $1,499 model, with the exception of a 320GB hard drive instead of 500GB.
One small drawback: the integrated (and nonupgradable) Intel HD 3000 graphics in both 13-inch models are a step backward from the integrated Nvidia graphics found in the 2010 13-inch Pro. Though it's a bit of a backslide, however, it still amounts to better graphics than low-end Nvidia GeForce GPUs, and it's leaps and bounds above Intel integrated graphics in 2010 Windows laptops.
The entry-level 13-inch Pro also still comes with the much-talked-about high-speed data/video port, Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt is envisioned as a sort of future unified successor to USB, FireWire, and DisplayPort, allowing peripherals to carry data and video at 10Gbps. We don't know when Thunderbolt-compatible peripherals will be available (although Apple says the first ones should show up in the spring of 2011), how much they'll cost, or if Apple will be adding the technology to future displays or iOS devices. For now, it's a wait-and-see gamble on a future technology, but at least the port is backward-compatible with Mini DisplayPort, and a FireWire 800 port remains for legacy hardware.
In the end, the 2011 13-inch Pro is a big step up in processing performance for the same price as its predecessor. To put it in perspective, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is about as powerful CPU-wise as last year's $2,199 15-inch Core i7 model. And though its integrated Intel graphics are a bit less capable than the previous model's Nvidia 320M GPU, the payoff comes with a sizeable jump in battery life. To be honest, we'd rather have a longer-lasting battery.