The MacBook Pro 2016 model with the Touch Bar has now been spotted at a few Apple stores, shortly after orders began arriving to customers. The new Touch Bar models are now being offered in limited quantities by some Apple stores, according to reports by several users.
The new models have so far been commercially successful in initial sales, outselling a number of rival notebooks in its initial window of availability. Apple had just been preparing to ship the first batch of orders on Friday, with a promised arrival of Nov. 11 for those who preordered the new laptop.
MacBook Pro With Touch Bar Now Available On Some Apple Stores
As of this time, it appears that the MacBook Pro, specifically the Touch Bar model, has made an appearance on several Apple stores in California such as Rancho Cucamonga, Fairview, Emeryville and Walnut Creek.
A Reddit thread contains numerous reports of people who recently purchased or spotted the MacBook Touch Bar models, alongside the store location where they saw it.
The MacBook was also seen by Reddit user what_the_kobe in an Apple store in Soho, New York, and a MacRumors reader also found one in an Apple Store in New Jersey, the site reported.
Several people who visited these stores were told that more MacBook Pro units with Touch Bar would be stocked shortly. However, not all users were equivocal with this, seeing as some stores have told them not to expect the new models before Thanksgiving. Thankfully, despite its dubious availability as of this time, you can at least try out MacBook demo models perched inside some of Apple's stores.
MacBook Pro With Touch Bar Specs
Apple unveiled the new MacBook Pro lineup late October with the Touch Bar, a horizontal OLED touchscreen that replaces F keys. The Touch Bar can be found in the pricier 13-inch and 15-inch variants, but a 13-inch non-Touch Bar model is also available.
Apple received criticism on different fronts regarding the new models including its expensive price points, the omission of important ports such as the SD card slot and a few others. Philip Schiller has posited a few points defending the seeming lack of insight that went with the design of the machines, but the reception of the new laptops, despite being commercially positive, remains somewhat lukewarm.
The non-Touch Bar base model comes with a 2.0 GHz sixth-generation Intel Core i5 processor and an Intel Iris Graphics 540 GPU. You'll get 8 GB of memory and 256 GB SSD as standard, but those can be upgraded.
The 13-inch Touch Bar model comes with a 2.9 GHz sixth-generation dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 8 GB of memory and an Intel Iris Graphics 550 GPU. There's a 256 GB model and a 512 GB model that you can upgrade up to 1 TB. Apple has uploaded a detailed chart of the differences between the models on its own site.
The base model starts at $1,499 which could go up as much as $2,799 for the 15-inch model. All models are available in two colors: Space Gray or Silver.
