New Macbook Pro 16!

It’s been over half a decade since I got my first laptop, an HP 2000-2016TU. A 15.6’ device, with 4GB RAM and an Intel 3rd Gen i5 Processor - it was a budget laptop costing close to INR 30k back then, if I remember correctly. It has seen a lot of me over the years and has managed to pull through all that I threw at it, be it using Eclipse and Android Studio, back when they were a pain to work with, or side-loading Ubuntu that just kept the system fan whirring all day long as it kept the CPU at 100% all times. It has broken down multiple times - I had to replace the screen once, recently got the HDD replaced with an SSD and some other minor issues. But it was only fair that the machine remind me that I was probably abusing the good nature it has shown me over the years and it probably is time to get a new partner.

After close to 7 years later I purchased a 2019 Apple Macbook Pro 16, with 32GB RAM, a 6-core 9th Gen i7 Processor and an AMD 5500M GPU. I was waiting for this device since whenever it was first rumored in mid 2019. This machine is the reason I decided to pull through the first semester in MS here at Stony Brook University with my old HP buddy. I received delivery of this amazing piece of work this afternoon, and although I am still in the honeymoon period - this is the best machine I have laid my hands on so far!

I am no YouTuber or tech blogger so I’ll get straight to it. Some of the key observations are below from my impressions from 1 day of use:

1. The unboxing experience was simply perfect - thanks Apple! No brains required - just do as it says and you are logged in and cracking in under 10 minutes.
2. The speakers are delightful - I am no audiophile but they sound pretty amazing to me. The webcam is slightly disappointing - grainy video in low light conditions - somehting I wish were better.
3. I haven’t used the older MBPs with the butterfly key switches so I am not sure what all the rage on the internet is for the new (or old?) keys. They seem tactile enough for me and the key 3 seems to work so I am happy (it stopped working on my HP - I had to use a virtual keyboard if I had to type 3 anywhere :()
4. The true tone display is great - keep in mind I have a very low bar given what I am coming from is close to 7 years old. I really like the range that the brigthness values have and can’t wait to use it outdoors and crank the brightness to the max.

I am still setting things up - from installing packages to cloning the projects I am curently working on from GitHub. But I like most things I have seen so far and am really happy with the purchase. Special thanks to Vivek Patani and Kaizad Avari for helping me get my hands on this machine!

Some unboxing images from my OnePlus 3T :)

Peace!