Roundup of first Mac Pro early impressions and hands-on reviews

Apple started selling its new Mac Pro today in Apple stores and third-party retailers across the globe. The company also handed out review units to select journalists, who have started the lengthy process of reviewing the machine. Before they poke, prod and push the machine to its limits, these reviewers have taken the time to share their first impressions of the device — how it looks, how it feels and how it performs right out of the box. These early reviews are so fresh, you can almost smell the new plastic in the air. Read on if you want to learn more about the first Mac Pros to hit the wild. Overall, the early impressions of the machine are favorable with most reviewers commenting on the machine’s radical cylindrical design. Though sold as black, the machine is more like a black-tinged aluminum, which appears to be closer to the space grey side of the color spectrum. Performance is solid, but nobody has had the time to really put the machine through its paces, yet. The full reviews should be coming at the end of the month, right before the early adopters receive their machines in the mail. Dana Wollman for Engadget “Well, we’d hardly be doing the machine justice if we did a deep dive now, but rest assured we’ll be putting the Pro through its paces over the coming days, with a full review to follow soon. Suffice to say, we’ve already seen it play back 16 simultaneous 4K streams in the new version of Final Cut Pro, with zero waiting time as effects were applied to the original footage.” David Pierce for The Verge “It cuts a striking figure, despite its relatively small stature. It’s also incredibly dense, far heavier than I expected … But we’ve been using it for a few minutes and it’s quiet and cool, with little indication that it’s even on in the first place. It’s so unassuming and unadorned that you almost overlook it — that’s a huge improvement from the big, boxy previous models. “There’s a lot to explore, but one thing’s for sure: there’s never been a computer quite like this before.” Dan Ackerman for CNET “The new Mac Pro is a professional workhorse dressed up in a very appealing high-design package … In our preliminary benchmark testing, the system turned in excellent scores, ripping through video encoding and other tasks.” Jason Snell for Macworld “The Mac Pro is closer in color to the “Space Gray” of the current iPad and iPhone models than to black. Though the gray finish looks even lighter with bright light reflecting off of it, as you can see here … It’s shiny, attractive, and a magnet for fingerprints. We suspect scratches will be easily noticeable, as well.” Continue reading →

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