Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver) review

The MacBook Pro 13-inch 2019 is the best option for you, if you’re looking for a compact MacBook Pro that still offers plenty of oomph. The MacBook Pro 13-inch 2019 was a brilliant release for Apple in 2019. Apple has been successful in refreshing the smaller MacBook Pro to better suit the needs and expectations of modern customers. Thanks to its updated components and the addition of Apple’s Touch Bar, which is now in every 13-inch MacBook Pro 2019 model, the smallest MacBook Pro has perhaps received the biggest update out of the three 2019 MacBook revisions. Discover more in Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver) review.

In the box – Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver)

1 x Apple 13.3″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (Mid 2019, Silver)
1 x Apple AirPods Wireless Bluetooth Earphones (1st Generation)
1 x Apple Magic TrackPad 2
1 x Apple Magic Mouse 2
1 x Apple USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Male to USB Type-A Female Adapter
1 x Corel Mac Photo Essentials Software Kit – Includes Corel AfterShot, Corel Painter Essentials 5, Roxio Studio Pro
1 x 13.3″ Padded Macbook Case
1 x SANDISK Cruzer Fit 32GB USB Stick
1 x Table Top Tripod
1 x Lens Cleaning Kit
1 x Blower Brush
1 x Lens Pen Cleaner

Specifications – Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver)

Key Specs

• 2-in-1 Design: No
• Backlit Keyboard: Yes
• Screen Size: 13.3 inches
• Touch Screen: No
• Storage Type: SSD
• Total Storage Capacity: 256 gigabytes
• Solid State Drive Capacity: 256 gigabytes
• System Memory (RAM): 8 gigabytes
• Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
• Processor Speed (Base): 2.3 gigahertz
• Processor Model: Intel 8th Generation Core i5
• Processor Model Number: Intel 8th Generation Core i5
• Operating System: Mac OS
• Voice Assistant Built-in: Siri
• Works With: Siri
• Battery Life: 10 hours
• Battery Type: Lithium-polymer

General

• Product Name: MacBook Pro – 13″ Display with Touch Bar – Intel Core i5 – 8GB Memory – 256GB SSD
• Brand: Apple
• Casing Material: Aluminum
• Model Number: MR9U2LL/A
• Year Introduced: 2018
• Color: Silver
• Color Category: Silver

Feature

• Mac Features: Force touch trackpad, Siri, Touch ID sensor
• 2-in-1 Design: No
• Customizable Case Lighting: No
• Keyboard Touch Screen: Apple Touch Bar
• Touchpad Type: Force Touch trackpad
• Backlit Keyboard: Yes
• Stylus Dock: None
• Cooling System: Air
• Operating System Architecture: 64-bit

Ports

• Headphone Jack: Yes
• Number of Thunderbolt 3 Ports: 4

Display

• Screen Size: 13.3 inches
• Screen Resolution: 2560 x 1600 (Retina)
• Touch Screen: No
• Display Type: LED

Storage

• Storage Type: SSD
• Total Storage Capacity: 256 gigabytes
• Solid State Drive Capacity: 256 gigabytes

Memory

• System Memory (RAM): 8 gigabytes
• Type of Memory (RAM): LPDDR3
• System Memory RAM Speed: 2133 megahertz

Graphics

• Graphics: Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
• Graphics Type: Integrated
• Video Memory Type: Shared

Processor

• Processor Brand: Intel
• Processor Speed (Base): 2.3 gigahertz
• Processor Model: Intel 8th Generation Core i5
• Processor Model Number: Intel 8th Generation Core i5

Connectivity

• Internet Connectivity: Wi-Fi
• Bluetooth Enabled: Yes

Network

• Wireless Networking: Wireless-A, Wireless-AC, Wireless-B, Wireless-G, Wireless-N
• Ethernet Card: 10/100/1000

Compatibility

• Operating System: Mac OS
• Voice Assistant Built-in: Siri
• Works With: Siri

Included

• Blu-Ray Player: No
• Optical Drive Type: None
• Numeric Keypad: No
• Stylus Included: No
• Additional Accessories Included: 61W USB-C power adapter, USB-C charge cable (2m)

Power

• Battery Life: 10 hours
• Battery Type: Lithium-polymer

Dimension

• Product Height: 0.59 inches
• Product Width: 11.97 inches
• Product Depth: 8.36 inches
• Product Weight: 3.02 pounds

Audio

• Audio Technology: Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
• Speaker Type: Stereo speakers with high dynamic range

Certifications & Listings

• ENERGY STAR Certified: No
• EPEAT Qualified: Yes
• EPEAT Level: Gold

Price & RAM upgrade

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (released in August 2019) is still one of the most expensive 13-inch laptops out there. The MacBook Pro’s price starts at a steep $1,799 with an 8th-Gen, 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and 246GB of storage. We opted for 16GB of RAM (which I highly recommend for those who keep multiple apps and dozens of tabs open), which adds $200 to the price.

Other upgrades include a Core i7 CPU ($300) and several SSD options. Upgrading to 512GB costs $200, while 1TB ($600) and 2TB ($1,200) cost considerably more.

Compare Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro vs Apple MacBook 16 inch

Key features – Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver)

Desktop-Class Graphics without the Desktop

Blackmagic Design has created two separately-sold external GPUs (eGPUs) for the MacBook Pro, so you can have desktop-class graphics performance without giving up the portability of a notebook. Housed in an all‑in‑one aluminum enclosure, the Blackmagic eGPUs are powerful yet quiet, charge your MacBook Pro using Thunderbolt 3, and have built-in I/O connections to drive both a Thunderbolt 3 display and VR accessories simultaneously. With the Blackmagic eGPU and MacBook Pro, you can accelerate pro apps, create VR content, and enjoy smooth gaming.

Display & Audio

The Retina display in MacBook Pro features bright LED backlighting and a high contrast ratio, delivering deep blacks and bright whites. It supports P3 wide color for even more vibrant greens and reds than with sRGB. And every MacBook Pro features True Tone technology, so the white balance automatically adjusts to match the color temperature of the light around you for a more natural viewing experience. MacBook Pro has a dynamic soundstage that feels and sounds much wider than its physical dimensions imply. Movies are more immersive, music more room-filling, and three built-in mics form directional beams that capture your voice more clearly for FaceTime calls and talking to Siri.

Keyboard and Trackpad

The MacBook Pro keyboard features a butterfly mechanism – providing more key stability than a traditional scissor mechanism, along with greater comfort. This 13.3″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar now features a keyboard with a quieter typing experience, and the spacious Force Touch trackpad gives your fingers plenty of room to gesture and click.

Processor

With an 8th Gen Intel Core processor, the MacBook Pro reaches higher heights in compute performance, making it ready forr even the toughest tasks. So when you’re powering through pro‑level processing jobs like compiling code, rendering 3D models, adding special effects, layering multiple tracks, or encoding video, you’ll get everything done faster than before.

Graphics

The 13.3″ model with Touch Bar features powerful integrated Intel Plus Graphics 645 with 128MB of embedded DRAM – twice as much as the previous generation – which accelerates graphics tasks. That means more time for what matters most – creating your work.

Memory

For faster performance when working with large files, or running multiple pro apps or virtual machines, the 13.3″ MacBook Pro can now be configured with up to 16GB of 2133 MHz LPDDR3 memory.

SSD Storage

The MacBook Pro includes a solid-state drive that is fast, with sequential read speeds up to 3.2 GB/s and sequential write speeds up to 2.2 GB/s. The 13.3″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is available with up to a 2TB SSD – enough space to take even your biggest files with you, like large photo libraries or video projects. So you can boot up, launch multiple apps, or import huge files in a flash. And with the Apple T2 chip, everything is automatically encrypted on the fly.

Touch Bar

Now on every MacBook Pro, the Touch Bar replaces the function keys that have long occupied the top of your keyboard with something much more versatile and capable. It changes automatically based on what you’re doing to show you relevant tools that are intuitive to use – system controls like volume and brightness, interactive ways to adjust or browse through content, and intelligent typing features like emoji and predictive text, just to name a few.

Tap It, Hold It, Flick It, Slide It

Familiar gestures make it easy to use the Touch Bar. Tap to expand the Control Strip, flick to adjust volume and brightness, or slide to rewind while watching a movie.

Just What You Need, Right Where You Need It

Many Mac apps, such as Final Cut Pro X, Photos, Logic Pro X, Mail, and more have Touch Bar controls that make common actions like sending an email or formatting a document even easier. The Touch Bar changes to match the app you’re using, bringing these shortcuts front and center. And third-party apps can take advantage of the Touch Bar as well.

Customize What You Use Most

You can create shortcuts right in your Control Strip and in apps like Mail, Pages, Safari, and Final Cut Pro X to help you work faster and be more productive.

Touch ID

With Touch ID, you can unlock your MacBook Pro in an instant. You can also use Apple Pay to make secure online purchases, quickly access system settings and locked notes, and even switch between users – all with the touch of a finger.

Apple T2 Security Chip

Introducing the Apple T2 chip, a second‑generation custom Mac silicon designed by Apple to make MacBook Pro even more secure. Featured on the 13.3″ model with Touch Bar, the Apple T2 chip includes a Secure Enclave coprocessor that provides the foundation for secure boot and encrypted storage capabilities. It also consolidates many discrete controllers, including the system management controller, audio controller, and SSD controller, into one. And the Apple T2 chip brings a familiar voice to MacBook Pro – Hey Siri is always ready to open apps, find documents, play music, or answer your questions.

Thunderbolt 3

Thunderbolt 3 combines high bandwidth with the versatility of the USB Type‑C industry standard to create one revved‑up universal port. It integrates data transfer, charging, and video output in a single connector, delivering up to 40 Gb/s of throughput for twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2. Both sizes of MacBook Pro are available with up to four ports, so you can do all of that from either side. Existing devices are easily connected with a cable or adapter. Since Thunderbolt 3 is reversible, no matter how you plug in, it’s always right side up.

Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver) review

macOS Catalina

You can now upgrade to macOS Catalina for free. That update says goodbye to iTunes in favor of dedicated Music, Podcast and TV apps. And Project Catalyst brings more iPadOS apps to the Mac App Store, including quality games. Another big highlight is Sidecar, which allows iPad owners to use the tablet as a secondary display, complete with support for Apple Pencil.

Out of the box, the 2019 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar ran macOS Mojave, which includes welcome features like Dark Mode (which makes content easier on the eyes) and desktop Stacks (for better management of all your clutter).

Design

This MacBook Pro is fairly portable, at 3.02 pounds and 0.59 inches thick, but again, other Windows laptops are much sleeker. The XPS 13, for example, weighs 2.7 pounds and is 0.3 to 0.5 inches thick. The HP Spectre x360 is a bit lighter (2.9 pounds) and slimmer (0.5 inches) than the MacBook Pro, too, despite packing a touch screen.

Stop me if you’ve seen and heard this before. The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is a solid and elegant piece of aluminum available in Space Gray or Silver. But the look is getting stale at this point, as the bezels around the screen look pretty thick compared to the likes of the Dell XPS 13 and other Windows notebooks and 2-in-1 laptops.

Display – Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver)

Although I’d like to see Apple jump to 4K, it’s hard to argue with the beauty of this 13-inch MacBook Pro’s screen. The 2560 x 1600-pixel Retina display is bright, colorful and accurate. While watching the Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker trailer, I could make out every fold in Rey’s outfit and several wisps of her hair off to the right side. Her blue lightsaber beamed against the sandy backdrop as she flipped over an enemy ship speeding toward her.

The MacBook Pro’s screen isn’t the most colorful; it reproduced 118% of the sRGB color gamut in our tests, which is better than the Yoga C930’s result (100%) but behind those from the XPS 13 (119%) and Spectre x360 (150%).

The panel itself also beamed in our lab tests, as it registered an average brightness of 408 nits. That soundly beats the HP Spectre x360 13-inch model (287 nits) and the Lenovo Yoga C930 (273 nits), and the MacBook’s result also outshines the XPS 13’s (375 nits).

You won’t find a display with more-accurate hues, though. The 13-inch MacBook Pro’s panel turned in a Delta-E score of 0.12. A score of zero is perfect.

Ports

One of the benefits of splurging for the Touch Bar model of the 13-inch MacBook Pro is that you get four Thunderbolt 3 ports (two on the left and two on the right).

What’s missing is any sort of memory card slot; the Dell XPS 13, HP Spectre x360 13-inch model and Lenovo Yoga C930 all squeeze in a microSD card reader. Plus, the HP and Lenovo include a full-size USB 3.1 port.

The non-Touch Bar MacBook Pro makes do with just two Thunderbolt 3 ports, on the left side. The headphone jack is on the right on this Touch Bar MacBook Pro.

Keyboard

On the 10fastfingers.com typing test, I surpassed 77 words per minute with 95% accuracy. That’s slightly faster than the 72 wpm I got on the 2018 MacBook Pro, but I achieved even better accuracy on that system, with 97.6%. On my everyday 2016 MacBook Pro without Touch Bar, I hit 75 wpm with 93.8% accuracy.

The bad news is that the latest version of Apple’s butterfly keyboard on the 13-inch MacBook Pro offers the same shallow travel as previous editions. It’s just 0.6mm, when we prefer 1mm or above for ultraportable laptops and Ultrabooks. The good news is that I typed quickly and comfortably on this laptop, as the actuation force of 60 grams provided enough feedback that typing didn’t feel mushy.

So, what about this new material on the keyboard, and what will it do? Apple isn’t providing any details, other than to say that the changes should prevent issues like the double typing of letters or keys that fail to register. According to iFixit, which performed a tear down on the 15-inch MacBook Pro with the same design change, the switch cover now seems to be made of polyamide (aka, nylon) instead of polyacetylene, but the benefit to users of that change is not clear.

We plan on using this MacBook Pro for several weeks to see how the improved butterfly keyboard holds up.

Audio and “Hey, Siri” – Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver)

If you want to speak to the MacBook Pro, you can do just that with “Hey, Siri” support, which is enabled by the laptop’s T2 chip. I could ask Siri to show me what my day looked like, which allowed me to see my appointments at a glance. Plus, I used the feature to open Photos and show pictures of just my dogs and open the browser to cnn.com. I also found it useful to switch to other apps with my voice, especially when I had too much open.

I would put the speakers on the 13-inch MacBook Pro up against those on any Windows laptop, and Apple would probably win. Not only is there a ton of power here — “Night Running” from Cage the Elephant and Beck filled a large conference room with sound at 50% volume — but there’s also an impressive amount of bass here. I also appreciated the stereo separation on Twenty One Pilots’ “Chlorine.” The drum line was punchy but perfectly balanced with the slacker-melancholy vocals.

Touchpad, Touch Bar and Touch ID – Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver)

At 5.3 x 3.2 inches, the trackpad on the 13-inch MacBook Pro is as massive as ever, and it’s just as responsive and accurate. Scrolling on this laptop is silky smooth, and it’s a cinch to execute gestures like swiping up with three fingers for Mission Control or spreading three fingers to show the desktop.

After debuting nearly three years ago, the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro hasn’t become as useful as I initially hoped — and I was one of those people who said it was not a gimmick. The Touch Bar can come in handy when you’re using some apps. For example, in Photos, this narrow secondary display lets you skim through photos just by sliding your finger. And in Safari, you can click on one of your favorite sites without looking at the main screen.

But the utility of this sliver of real estate pales in comparison to what Asus is doing with its larger ScreenPad and what you could do with a full-touch-screen, 2-in-1 laptop. The upcoming macOS Catalina lets you use an iPad as a secondary display with the Sidecar feature, but that’s not the same as having a touchscreen baked in.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro does have a built-in Touch ID button, which doubles as a power button. This makes it easy to log in to your system with a simple press, though I’d like to see Apple add Touch ID to MacBooks to make things even faster. Still, it’s nice that you can use Touch ID for Apple Pay and passwords on websites.

Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver) performance review

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is easily one of the fastest laptops ever of its size. Our configuration packs a quad-core 8th-gen Intel Core i5 processor running at 2.4-GHz, 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. I didn’t see any lag even as I jumped between 17 tabs in Chrome while also running Skype, Slack and Pixelmator.

On Geekbench 4.1, which measures overall performance, the 13-inch MacBook scored a very high 18,221, which wipes the floor with the Dell XPS 13’s mark of 14,936 (Core i7-8565U, 16GB of RAM) and the HP Spectre x360 13-inch model’s score of 14,935 (Core i7-8565U, 8GB of RAM).

The MacBook Pro’s SSD continues to be off-the-charts fast. On the BlackMagic Disk Speed Test, this system turned in a write speed of 2,573 MBps. The Dell XPS 13 hit just 226.4 MBps on the same test, while the HP Spectre x360 13 hit 616.3 MBps.

In our video-editing test, in which we transcode a 4K video file to 1080p, the MacBook Pro was a full 5 minutes faster than its closest competitor, the XPS 13, which needed 19:20 to complete the same tasks. Both the HP Spectre x360 13 and Yoga C930 took over 20 minutes.

You shouldn’t expect the greatest graphics performance from this MacBook Pro, however. On low settings, it turned in a frame rate of 38 fps on the Dirt 3 racing game, while the XPS 13 hit 88 fps and the Spectre x350 reached 56 fps. The Yoga C930 was comparable to the MacBook Pro, at 37 fps.

Battery Life – Apple 13.3 MacBook Pro with touch bar (mid 2019 silver)

Although Apple rates the 13-inch MacBook Pro for up to 10 hours of web surfing, we saw less endurance in our testing. Apple’s laptop lasted for 8 hours and 41 minutes on the Laptop Mag battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of screen brightness. That’s about the same runtime as last year’s 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and a Core i7 CPU (8:43).

This runtime beats the result from the XPS 13 with a 4K display (7:50), but the HP Spectre x360 13-inch lasted an epic 12:07 and the Lenovo Yoga C930 (10:10) also outlasted the MacBook Pro significantly.

Heat

Though it’s one of the fastest 13-inch laptops ever, the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar kept its cool. After streaming video for 15 minutes, we measured temperatures of 84 degrees Fahrenheit on the touchpad, 90.5 degrees between the G and H keys, and 90.5 degrees on the bottom of the chassis. All of those temps fall below our comfort threshold.

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