By George Rosenthal

Innovation has always been a hallmark at Apple.

The new MacBook Pro is no different.

Available soon, Mac fans will find the device has many new features and improvements that should keep this laptop in high demand for both personal and business use.

Start with the design both inside and out. The Pro has an aluminum body, solid state design, and a Core i7 processor. It is more powerful yet thinner and lighter than its predecessors. Try 17% thinner, a significant difference.

Two sizes are available. A smaller 13 inch version weighs in at just three pounds. The 15 inch version weighs just four pounds.

Some fans have been clamoring for a touch screen application from Apple, and the new Pro delivers but in a different way.

Apple has created The Touch Bar. It replaces the function keys that have long occupied the top of the keyboard. This can provide automatic adjustments for system controls like volume and brightness. It provides interactive ways to adjust or browse through content and type with features like emoji and predictive text. 

Speed has also been improved. The Pro is said to deliver graphics at a rate 130% faster than before.  

The retina display has become an Apple standard and some new enhancements provide colors even more vibrant than before. Brightness is increased by 67 per cent.

Audio is enhanced with totally redesigned speakers. Apple promises 58% more volume and two and a half times more bass. The Pro will enable you to mix a track on the fly, edit video on location, and enjoy a movie as you head to your destination.

For the first time Touch ID is available on a Mac. This enables instant access to logins and fast, secure online purchases with Apple Pay.

The MacBook Pro has a better feel. The keyboard is more comfortable and responsive. The Force Touch Trackpad has been enlarged so your fingers have a little more room to work with.

Those needing extensive business applications will find four USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports included on both sized devices.

You will need a new Thunderbolt 3 adapter if you wish to use a hard drive. Once connected, you can integrate data transfer, charging, and video output in a single connector, delivering up to 40 Gbps of throughput for twice the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 2.

The device offers 3.8 GHz with Turbo Boost Processing. Users can expect up to 10 hours of battery life. 

And, of course, users will get the MacOS operating system. You can connect with all the Apple apps, iCloud, iPhone 7, Apple Watch and other features. 

Prices tend to run to the high end. They start around $1,500 for the 13 inch model with 256 GB of storage and no Touch Bar or Touch ID. The “Touch” features begin at the mid-level model which runs $1,800. Add more storage to 512 GB and the price hits $2,000.

The 15 inch has similar price elevations. The bare bones model without the Touches runs $2,000. The mid and high-end models with both Touches start at $2,400 for the 256 GB model and hit $2,800 for 512 GBs of storage.

Overall the MacBook Pro has formidable computing power, superb build quality and the long battery life you would expect.

It is an attractive replacement for those seeking a Mac quality high-end desk top in a laptop. Though it comes at a handsome price.