Pro video editor with hands-on time praises new MacBook Pro for Touch Bar & speed
A video editor who obtained early access to Apple's new Touch Bar-equipped MacBook Pro has posted a blog entry claiming the laptop is well-suited to video editing, while dismissing complaints about its ports forcing people to use adapters.
The new 15-inch model is "buttery smooth" when cutting 5K ProRes footage in Apple's Final Cut Pro X, Trim Editing's Thomas Grove Carter said in a Huffington Post article retweeted by Apple marketing head Phil Schiller. Carter commented that he's been using his system at work for the past week, though it's not clear how he obtained the machine, since the first online orders are only now preparing to ship.
The Pro is said to run faster than Windows laptops with superior components, and in fact be powerful enough to support twin 5K displays, possibly making it good enough to use as a full-time editing tool — not just away from a desk.
On the Touch Bar, Carter suggested that "your cold heart will soften," since it provides direct access to contextual commands that can make keyboard shortcuts redundant. "It works, it's faster and it's more productive," he said.
He adopted a more defensive tone with the computer's ports, suggesting that for him the need for USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 adapters "might be an annoyance for six months" before he's "in the future again." The editor mentioned that he's already been using USB-C-based Samsung T3 SSDs as external drives, and that the Pro actually let him stop using USB-A adapters.
Many professionals are still using USB-A and Thunderbolt 2 peripherals, leaving them no choice but to buy adapters if they also want the new Pro. The computer is also missing an SD card slot, and even a native HDMI port, potentially demanding even more adapters.
40 Comments
...and of course one must use Sierra...
So someone who received a product from a company (possibly for free) before the product is even shipping is spouting high praise. Isn't that par for the course...business as usual...you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours? I'm sure the new MBP is a great machine, but I'll take this particular review with a grain of salt.
I use the SD card slot as a second drive on my MBP, and the HDMI port to display my work during a conference. Carrying adapters is a pain in the arse, I already carry around an HDMI for the iPad Pro and have one lost already, they're $50 each. The fact that I also have to carry two sets of headphones, a Lightening for my iPhone and a standard for my laptop is yet another
head scratcher.
I wish Apple had aligned their ports ahead of time. I'm not sure wether to buy or hold out. Will the new iPhone 8 sport a USB C or will the next MacBook Pro sport a Lightening?