Apple’s New MacBook Gets Mixed Response: Will iPad Pro Be Better?

On Monday, Apple unveiled their new updated MacBook Air, simply called the “MacBook.” It’s a thinner than thin device with a 12-inch Retina display and all-day battery life (at least according to Apple). The $1299 version comes with 256 GB of internal memory and 8 GB of RAM. Dana Wollman of Engadget says that Apple’s new MacBook keyboard may take some time getting used to.

“Though the buttons are indeed flat, and though they aren’t cushy, they are still springy. They pop back up when I hit them. That means I can type at a gingerly pace and know that for the most part, I won’t miss a key, and that most of my button presses will register. If this were another machine, I might unconsciously start mashing the buttons, just to make sure I don’t have to go back and re-type anything. I was prepared to do that here, but quickly felt my hands relax once I realized they didn’t actually need to work that hard. Again, though, there could still be a learning curve for those of you upgrading from an older MacBook.”

Anik Jesdanu of AP is quite impressed by the MacBook.

“The little time I had with it was enough to impress. The MacBook is thinner and lighter than the Air. It feels like an iPad, except with a regular keyboard and screen. In fact, the MacBook incorporates many of the design techniques Apple learned from the iPad, including making the laptop work without a fan and squeezing all the electronics onto a small card, known as the logic board.”

However, Jesdanu doesn’t think that Apple’s new MacBook is for everyone. He isn’t happy that Apple knocked off all the USB ports and makes the consumer rely on the USB Type-C connection for everything. He also notes that the MacBook has no SD card slot.

Sean Hollister from Gizmodo thinks the MacBook is a little awkward.

“Waiting for the other shoe to drop? The keyboard on this new MacBook makes me want to cry a little. Like the rest of the machine, it’s so thin… but when it comes to keyboards, thin is usually bad. And as hard as Apple tried to create a fancy new type of keyboard switch to make a thin keyboard work well, this one felt pretty iffy to my experienced laptop reviewer fingers.”

Apple will officially make the MacBook available on April 10 and it will be in interesting to see how consumers respond. Would you purchase the new MacBook? Let us know in the comments section.

[Photo by Stephen Lamb/Getty Images]