Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Mid 2012)

If you don't look closely?very closely?you might not realize that the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Mid 2012) ($1,499 direct) is any different than the nearly identical models from spring and fall of 2011, like the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Thunderbolt) ($1,499 direct, 3.5 stars). Apple's iconic laptop designs are largely unchanged on the outside, but the new model gets a bump in processing speed and can now take advantage of newer USB peripherals thanks to the addition of USB 3.0 ports. It's a solid laptop, but the end result isn't that different from the previous iteration, and does little to stand out from the crowd of Windows laptops with similar specifications.

Design
Let's start with the obvious?the current incarnation of the MacBook Pro looks just like the last. From its glowing white Apple logo to its lightweight aluminum unibody chassis, most aspects of the MacBook Pro 13-inch are identical to the previous iteration. The dimensions remain the same 0.95 by 12.8 by 8.9 inches (HWD), and the weight is still?4.5 pounds. It's a little heavier than other 13-inch laptops we've seen recently, like the 3.2-pound Editors' Choice ultraportable, the Toshiba Portege R835-P88 ($849.99 list, 4.5 stars), but the similarly dimensioned HP ProBook 6360b ($989 direct, 3 stars) is both thicker and heavier (4.8 pounds). The weight discrepancy can be easily accounted for?where the lightweight Toshiba uses plastic in the construction, Apple uses all aluminum.

The display has the same 1,280-by-800 resolution?roughly equivalent to the 1,366-by-768 resolution used on other laptops, and high enough to enjoy 720p video or to multitask with side-by-side windows. The chiclet-style keyboard has the same backlit black-tile keys, though there is a fair amount of light seepage around the keys. The glass surfaced trackpad is still one of the best available, and Apple's gesture controls are far more intuitive and refined than others we've tried.

Features
New?on the MacBook Pro, at least?is the addition of USB 3.0. This speedy rival to Thunderbolt has the dual-advantage of being compatible with older USB 2.0 devices and being widely available on accessories like external drives?though we expect to see more affordable Thunderbolt-equipped peripherals hitting the market soon. Apple has also changed the power connection to the thinner MagSafe2 connector, which offers the same functionality, but has a slightly different shape so as not to be compatible with older and third party power accessories. Apple switched to the MagSafe2 connector this year, prompted by the introduction of the new MacBook Pro with Retina display.

The MacBook Pro also retains a FireWire 800 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and SD card reader. Apple doesn't include an HDMI port, opting instead for the option of using the Thunderbolt display output or connecting through mini DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapter. A slot-loading optical drive reads and burns CDs and DVDs, but Apple still doesn't offer any love to Blu-ray owners. Apple expects you to buy HD videos from iTunes. Apple also includes an HD FaceTime camera that lets you make video calls in 720p. Internally, the MacBook Pro 13-inch is equipped a 750GB 5,400rpm hard drive offering plenty of storage space. It's larger than the 500GB drives found in the Dell XPS 14 or the Lenovo ThinkPad X230. Plus, with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, all of your wireless connectivity needs should be reasonably well met.

Purchasing the MacBook Pro 13-inch now will get you the laptop preinstalled with OS X 10.7 Lion, but upgrading to the soon-to-be released Mountain Lion (OSX 10.8) later this month will be free. Lion OS X comes with all of the award winning iLife Apps, like GarageBand, iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto. The upcoming Mountain Lion will add new features like iMessage, which will widen iChat's reach from being Mac-to-Mac only to include Mac-to-iOS as well.

Performance
Most of the changes made in the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch center around the internal hardware. Apple has equipped the MacBook pro with a third-generation dual-core Intel Core i7 (2.9GHz, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) processor and 8GB of RAM. Though we weren't able to run all of our benchmark tests?most run in Windows, and at the time of testing Apple hadn't released Boot Camp Windows drivers for this system (we'll run our full roster of tests once the drivers are available)?we were able to get a good idea of the performance available from the new MacBook.

Thanks to the new hardware, the new iteration of the MacBook Pro is faster, but not enough to fend off the competition. The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Mid 2012) zipped through HandBrake in 1 minute 51 seconds, cranked through Photoshop CS5 in 3:54, and scored 2.85 points in CineBench R11.5. These scores are neck in neck with those of the Dell XPS 14 (Summer 2012) ($1,499 direct, 3.5 stars), which was faster in HandBrake (1:48) slower in Photoshop (4:05) and half-step behind in CineBench (2.79). The Toshiba Portege R835-P88 is also similar in performance, edging ahead in HandBrake and Photoshop (1:46 and 3:55, respectively) and scoring 2.75 points in CineBench. The Lenovo ThinkPad X230 ($1,164 direct, 4 stars), on the other hand, was faster with its third-generation Core i5 processor (HandBrake 1:35, Photoshop 3:37, CineBench 3.09).

We measured battery life using a ten-hour video rundown test. Running in Mac OS X, with backlight dimmed to 50 percent and both Wi-Fi and keyboard backlight activated, the MacBook Pro lasted 6 hours 24 minutes, just shy of the 7 hours claimed by Apple. Though we can't compare this score directly with our regular MobileMark results, most 13- and 14-inch laptops in this price range offer 7 hours battery life, or more.

Apple has given the MacBook Pro 13-inch some real improvements, and the end result is a laptop that's worth buying?if you're due for a new one anyway. Owners of the previous MacBook Pro 13-inch (Late 2011) or the previous MacBook Pro 13-inch (Thunderbolt) may want to stick with the current model. Last year's model upgraded to second-generation Core processors from the two-year old Core Duo, which saw much more dramatic improvements in performance. This round, the improvements are incremental, and don't do much to further differentiate the MacBook Pro from the many Windows PCs competing against it. The Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Mid 2012) doesn't unseat the current ultraportable Editors' Choice Toshiba Portege R835-P88, which offers similar performance and better portability without the inflated Apple price tag.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
Compare the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (Mid 2012) with several other laptops side by side.

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