Apple has officially released the long awaited, refreshed version of the MacBook Pro, and just like the leaks suggested, Apple has taken the couragous step of removing the ESC and traditional function keys, replacing it with a touch-sensitive OLED strip, dubbed the Touch Bar.

The Touch Bar will offer contextual options to users depending on what the user is doing. Using it with Safari, for example, will give you quick access to your bookmarks. The Touch Bar really comes in its own when using messaging apps, showing you the most commonly used emojis at any given time. If you don’t like the presets, you can customize what the Touch Bar shows you at any time, and you can even put an ESC key in there for old times’ sake.

Moving onto the actual chassis, Apple has reduced the size of the new Macbook Pro – the 13-inch version is 14.9mm thin, which is a size reduction of around 17 percent compared to the last model. The 15-inch model is a bit thicker, at 15.5mm, but it’s still 14-percent thinner than the previous model.

Apple tries to improve every facet of their new notebook models, and that holds true with the new MacBook Pro. The firm from Cupertino has tweaked the display, and they’re promising better brightness (67 percent better), better contrast (67 percent increase) and more colors (25 percent) over the previous generation. Intel’s still providing the silicon for the new models, with the 13-inch model sporting either dual-core Core i5 or i7 processors and Intel Iris graphics. The bigger 15-inch version gets Intel’s Quad-core, Core i7 processor, along with Radeon Pro (Polaris) graphics. Both models also come with Apple’s Force Touch feature for their trackpads.

Apple’s jumping feet first into USB Type-C, as the new MacBook Pro has four Thunderbolt 3-equipped USB Type-C ports on the side. Say goodbye to compatibility with your existing stuff. Surprisingly enough, Apple lacked the courage this time around to kill the 3.5mm jack on the new MacBooks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BkskUE8_hA

The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,799 (Php 87.3K), while the 15-inch version starts at $2,399 (Php 116K). Apple will also be selling a 13-inch MacBook Pro model without the Touch Bar, which retails for $1,499 (Php 72.7K).