Aimed at professionals, the 2017 Apple Macbook Pro is a more affordable pick from the Apple line-up that you can only get as a refurbishment right now. If you opt for the touch bar model, you might have to pay a bit more than $1200, but if you can do without it, then that price drops down to about $1000. The entry level model comes with an intel core i5 processor, an average battery life of about 10 hours, and a significantly large trackpad that’s pretty nice to use. Get to the end of this review to see why the 13-inch macbook pro is still one of the best Apple laptops despite being 3 years old in the market. When you’re ready to browse other computer recommendations, check out our best laptops reviews.
Why We Like It – Macbook Pro 2017
The 2017 Macbook pro might be a bit outdated right now, but it’s still got the specs that a light to mid user will be perfectly fine with. The entry level model doesn’t have a touch bar, but it comes with a capable Intel Iris Plus 640 GPU, and a battery life that’s long enough to get you through a day’s work.
- Sharp retina display
- Affordable
- Big trackpad
- Just 2 USB C ports
Performance
With the intel core i5 processor, the entry model Apple macbook pro might not have the kind of processing power that some power users might need to get their work done. If this is the case for you, then you might want to consider dishing out a bit more money for the model that includes a dual core 3.5 GHz Core i7 Kaby Lake processor, or go for the 2020 release of the Apple Macbook Pro 13. There’s still no touch id on this unit, but RAM is at a healthy 8GB, with storage options being either 128GB or 256GB. By default, the laptop comes installed with OS X El Captain as its operating system, but this can be updated to mac OS High Sierra without any issues.
Design
Available in either silver or space grey, the 2017 update of the Apple Macbook pro features the same sharp retina display that we’ve all come to love. It’s actually similar to what you’ll get with the 15-inch model, or even the Apple Macbook Air 13″ (2011) 1.8GHz. The one thing that might be a bit of a dissapointment is that you only get two USB C ports on this Macbook pro, but if you opt for the more expensive touch bar model, you’ll get two of them on each side of the keyboard for a total of four. The speakers on the not so new macbook are also quite impressive, and the 720p webcam is just about good enough for FaceTime.
Value
If you don’t want to spend $1800 plus on a new macbook pro, or even more for the Macbook Pro 16, then a refurbished version from Amazon might be the next best option if you’re not interested in any other brand. These refurbished laptops normally undergo a lot of intensive checks before they’re put back into the market, so you shouldn’t worry about whether they’ll be good enough for you. The laptop comes with a 90-day warranty, but only the reseller has the rights reserved and the discretion for the kind of repairs that are covered.
Related: Check out our Apple Macbook Retina 2.2GHz 6 Core review
Macbook Pro 2017 Wrap Up
If you can do without a touch bar, 4 USB C ports and a core i7 processor that the 13-inch touch bar model comes with, then the 2017 13-inch Macbook pro should be good enough to cater to your needs. The Macbook Pro’s $1000 price tag is more than fair for the kind of value that you’re going to get, so head over to Amazon and make your order.
