2016 15-Inch MacBook Pro Gets Major Challenge From Dell XPS 15
The 2016 15-Inch MacBook Pro has been quite controversial. The entry-level version costs $2399 and includes an Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a Radeon Pro 450 graphics chip. It also has Apple’s love-or-hate Touch Bar. Laptop Magazine gave Apple’s new high-end notebook four-and-a-half stars.
“The MacBook Pro with Touch Bar offers a slew of neat touch controls, a beautifully slim design and the most blazing performance you can find on a Mac.”
The review especially compliments the “innovative” Touch bar, the slim design, the display, and the overall fast performance. However, the lack of an SD card slot, the lack of regular USB ports, and the high price get slated.
Still, there have been some dissatisfied Apple fans. David Gewirtz from ZDNet explains why he cancelled his 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro order.
“Apparently, some new 15-inch MacBook Pros are experiencing failure conditions. I first became aware of the problem in a MacRumors article a few days ago. Users are reporting glitches and crashes, along with weird screen artifacts,” Gewirtz claims, adding that when one spends this much money on a laptop, it needs to work perfectly.
Some of the commenters after the article slate Apple.
“Apple sucks! I wouldn’t spend thousands for their cheap products made in China. Just buy an HP,” says Joel Aldo.
“Switched to windows laptop… quarter of price and 4x the performance. With VR/AR coming, Apple is truly and utterly out of touch. Tim Cook is Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer,” claims Adam Musk.
Well, there is good news for those who are looking for a MacBook Pro alternative. The current high-end Dell XPS 15 has already received excellent reviews. The version with specs compared to Apple’s MacBook Pro costs $1849. However, like the new MacBook Pro, it contains 2015’s 6th generation processor.
According to CNET, the 7th generation Kaby Lake version of the Dell XPS 15 is about to be unveiled.
“Right now, the Dell XPS 15 is the only machine with portability and performance to match Apple’s largest laptop. Problem is, its CPU and graphics are about to be a year out of date. It looks like that will change at this year’s CES in January, though, because Dell just leaked the product page for a new XPS 15 — one with Intel’s unreleased quad-core Kaby Lake CPUs and an unannounced Nvidia graphics chip.”
The article adds that according to a listing that has recently been removed, the XPS 15 will come with a choice of an Intel Core i3, i5, or i7 processor; an optional Nvidea GeForce GTX 1050 graphics chip; and an optional fingerprint sensor. Dell usually keeps the same prices for upgrades as their previous versions, so one will probably be able to save more than $500 when compared to the current 15-inch MacBook Pro, which runs an outdated processor.
There is a lot of excitement for the new Dell XPS 15 on Twitter.
Very excited – Watch "New Dell XPS 15 Kaby Lake GTX 1050 is [almost] here (9560)" on YouTube https://t.co/g2Ul2YDRwA
— Eugene Rosenfeld (@erosen03) December 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/dyl_does/status/811678502290395136
For those who want a laptop like the XPS 15 that’s smaller and has the latest 7th generation Kaby Lake processor, the new Dell XPS 13 is now available. Unfortunately, the XPS 13 doesn’t offer a discrete graphics chip, but its high-end version, at $1599, offers enough power to comfortably edit 4K videos. It’s also a lot cheaper than the 13-inch version of the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar that has the same specs.
[Featured Image by Daryl Deino]
