MacRecon > The Aluminum MacBook: Two Weeks Later

I recently replaced my first-gen MacBook Pro (that refused to play nice anymore) with one of the new MacBooks that Apple just released. The aluminum MacBooks take a hint from both designs of the MacBook Air and iMac, and in turn, Apple delivers the best MacBook ever.

Almost one-piece aluminum design. The idea behind the new MacBook is to use a single piece of aluminum as a body. Of course, while that may be mostly true, it still has a second piece screwed to the bottom (how would you fit its innards if it weren’t true?!) besides the display. But still, the main body is something to behold. It feels different from any other Apple notebook: it is thinner, sleeker, and more eco-friendly according to Apple. And yes, it feels more solid than ever.

Dazzling LED screen. Apple took a page out from its iMac book and implemented it in the new MacBook: a glass screen. And it’s an LED-lit one at that! While it may certainly be more fragile than previous notebooks, I don’t feel it any less durable. But then again, it may just be the single aluminum body talking again.

Glass trackpad. Here’s a new idea from Apple: create a button-less trackpad that is smooth to the touch because it is also made out of glass. Yes, it is smoother when compared to the aluminum body and feels nice to scroll your finger through it. That’s a good thing because Apple incorporated even more of the multi-touch gestures in these models. As for the clicking, it may get a while getting used to it because the whole trackpad itself is the button. And while the impression differs from person to person, in the end it’s a good thing because it allows for clicking anywhere on it (except the very top, because it looks as if it is held together from there). And if clicking isn’t your thing, you can still use the tap-to-click function.

Performance. Compared to my first-gen MacBook Pro, I feel the MacBook exactly the same in terms of performance. Maybe better in some tasks because this time it is a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor instead of a 2GHz Core Duo and a faster bus and memory. As for the graphics chip, Apple finally answered our wishes and added a great NVIDIA one: the GeForce 9400. And while it may still use memory from the RAM like the previous Intel ones instead of sporting its own, there’s a big increase in performance. In my one gaming test, for example, World of Warcraft performed around the same when compared to my previous MacBook Pro (medium to high) using the same settings. So pretty much said, a computer that cost $2500 around two years ago performs more or less like a computer that cost $1300 today.

A new price: $1300. Yes, you read right — Apple actually increased the price on the baseline MacBook by $200 (that is, if you don’t count the $1000 MacBook that’s actually a white one from the previous generation). And this MacBook actually has a less powerful processor in terms of clock speed when compared to the previous model line, but maybe that is because there will be an initial price bump when using new manufacturing technologies, in this case for the single-piece aluminum body. Although, it is expected that the price will return to normal in future updates to the MacBook line — maybe even less because the manufacturing is expected to eventually be more cost-efficient . That being said, the high-end model also received a $100 price increase, which now retails for $1600.

Annoyances. Besides that Apple doesn’t want to include an adapter for making the mini-DisplayPort connection friendlier with other adopted standards? It would have to be that the display’s illumination provides an awful image from other angles than a direct/front one. This isn’t much of an issue for me, but for others, it apparently is.

Conclusions. These new MacBooks are certainly the best consumer notebooks that Apple has come up with to date. The new graphics chip is the best internal addition to the MacBook, especially since the next OS, Snow Leopard, will have built-in features that will have the graphics chip handle some number-crunching. And finally, in terms of design it is identical to the new MacBook Pros also, and has a smaller performance gap with it, too. So this time, the MacBook is finally for everyone and that leaves the MacBook Pros to the… pros.