Apple's latest MacBook Pro is all the rave right now and it arguably packs a punch, albeit it costs a small fortune and tops out at 16 GB of RAM.
Considering the new thermal architecture, more power-efficient Skylake processors, better GPUs and faster SSDs, it seems rather odd that Apple didn't take the step toward supporting 32 GB of RAM.
As impressive as the MacBook Pro with its sleek new Touch Bar may look at first glance, one can't help but wonder whether the new machine is worth the pretty penny it's asking for.
The Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro starts out at a whopping $1,799 for the 13-inch model, which is quite a lot considering that one would also have to invest in some adapters since Apple stripped away most familiar ports.
Sticking to the RAM issue, however, the new MacBook Pro apparently supports only 16 GB of RAM so it would be able to deliver a decent battery performance. According to Apple, any additional RAM packed onto a laptop of that size would have a negative effect on battery life.
"To put more than 16GB of fast RAM into a notebook design at this time would require a memory system that consumes much more power and wouldn't be efficient enough for a notebook," Apple's SVP of worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, explained to MacRumors.
Battery proficiency is arguably an important aspect, but some would've preferred to have a choice between beefier performance and longer battery life. For most average consumers a maximum of 16 GB would not be munch of an issue, but Apple targets its MacBook Pro at professionals who might need some extra oomph in computing power.
Video and imaging professionals who need a beastly laptop may not get enough horsepower from the MacBook Pro's 16 GB of 2,333 MHz RAM, but the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar tries to balance both performance and efficiency and wrap it all up in a sleek, modern form factor.
As for the actual battery performance, the new MacBook Pro can reportedly last for up to 10 hours of iTunes movie playback or wireless web surfing, which qualifies as "all-day battery life" according to Apple. This marks a small improvement over the 15-inch MacBook Pro from 2015, but a slight decline for the 13-inch model.
Is the RAM tradeoff worth it for some extra battery life, or would you rather have the horsepower? Drop by our comment section below and share your thoughts on the matter. For more details on the new MacBook Pro and its available models, check out our in-depth coverage.
