MacBook Pro Mid-2017 15" (Touch Bar)

The MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.8 15-Inch (Mid-2017 Retina Display, Touch Bar, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) is powered by a 14 nm, 7th Generation "Kaby Lake" 2.8 GHz Intel "Core i7" processor (7700HQ). It features four independent cores on a single chip, a 6 MB shared L3 cache, 16 GB of non-upgradable onboard 2133 MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM, and 256 GB of onboard flash storage (which could be upgraded at purchase). It also has dual graphics processors: an AMD Radeon Pro 555 with 2 GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory and an integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 sharing system memory.

Externally, this notebook includes a 720p FaceTime HD webcam, a slim, backlit "second generation" butterfly keyboard with an integrated "Touch Bar" that adapts to applications and provides Touch ID, and a large "Force Touch" trackpad. It also has a high-resolution 15.4-inch LED-backlit widescreen 2880x1800 (220 ppi, 500 nits) "Retina" display and an integrated battery with an estimated 10-hour runtime.

Available in silver or "Space Gray" aluminum, it weighs just over 4 pounds (1.83 kg). Connectivity includes 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, four "Thunderbolt 3" ports (USB-C), and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Compared to its predecessor, this model is externally almost identical but has a more advanced processor and architecture.

The Mid-2017 15-inch MacBook Pro was an iterative but solid update, primarily valued for the move to 7th-generation Kaby Lake processors. This brought a modest but welcome increase in performance and efficiency. This base 2.8 GHz model, paired with the AMD Radeon Pro 555 graphics, offered strong performance for a wide range of professional tasks. It retained the controversial design elements of the 2016 model, including the Touch Bar, the all-USB-C port layout, and the second-generation butterfly keyboard. Reliability concerns with the keyboard continued to be a major talking point. While a capable and powerful machine, it was seen as a minor refinement that didn't address the core complaints many users had with the new design philosophy.