Apple MacBook (2016) Laptop

The 12-inch IPS screen is a bright point. Its 2,304-by-1,440 resolution isn't quite as expansive as the 4K (3,180 by 2,160) screens on systems like the Razer Blade Stealth and Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 P25W-C2300-4K, but text and graphics are displayed smoothly with sharp outlines and vivid detail. 1080p and scaled-down 4K videos looked excellent and played back without a hint of stutter in my testing. The speakers, located just above the keyboard, are loud and clear, which is rare in such a thin system.

Inside, there's 8GB of memory and a 512GB Flash Storage module (Apple's way of saying solid-state drive or SSD). The $1,299 model comes with 256GB Flash Storage and a slightly slower Intel Core m3 processor. The MacBook's flash storage, memory, and CPU aren't upgradable after purchase, so you'll want to think in terms of future proofing. If you can afford the $1,599 model, it's the one we'd recommend. The Dell XPS 13 Touch and Microsoft Surface Book$1,228.83 at Amazon come with half the storage (256GB), but the same amount of system memory as the MacBook. Apple covers the system with a one-year standard warranty.

Performance
An upgraded Intel Core m5-6Y54 processor with integrated Intel HD Graphics 515 powers the laptop and helps maintain the thin profile. The Core m5 processor is cooled without a fan, allowing the remaining space inside the chassis to be filled with more battery packs. As we continue to test more Core-M-equipped laptops and tablets, we're seeing that they perform almost, but not quite as fast as, Intel Core i5-powered systems.

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Mac laptops can't run our PCMark and 3DMark benchmarks, so we couldn't compare those scores with PC counterparts. The system took 2 minutes 55 seconds to complete the Handbrake video encoder test and 5:17 for the Adobe Photoshop CS6 test. That's an improvement over last year's MacBook (3:39 on Handbrake; 5:24 on CS6), but systems with Core i5 processors like the Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch, Retina Display (2015), Dell XPS 13 Touch, and Microsoft Surface Book were significantly faster on the multimedia tests. The MacBook is fast enough to run these apps, though I'd rather have a thicker, beefier system with a Core i5 or i7 processor if I was working on photo edits or cutting a video on a tight deadline.

Likewise, the new MacBook's 3D scores on the Valley test were better (15 frames per second (fps) on Medium quality; 6fps on Ultra quality) than last year's model (9fps on Medium; 4fps on Ultra), which shows the improvement of Intel HD Graphics 515 over the older HD Graphics 5300. To compare, the Microsoft Surface Book and Toshiba Satellite Radius 12 P25W-C2300-4K returned almost playable frame rates (25fps at Medium quality). In all of the systems we've tested, integrated graphics haven't returned playable frame rates at Ultra quality settings for any system with a 1,920-by-1,080 resolution or higher screen. You might be able to run games with simpler graphics like DOTA 2 or Minecraft on the MacBook, but more taxing games like Call of Duty: Black Ops and Sleeping Dogs are likely to be a frustrating affair at any quality setting.

Recent Macs have been battery champs, and the new MacBook is no exception, returning an excellent 11 hours 37 minutes on our rundown test. That's 27 minutes longer than the MacBook Pro, and more than 2.5 hours than the Dell XPS 13 Touch could manage on the same test. The larger body and dual battery packs in the Microsoft Surface Book helped it keep playing for more than 15 hours, and the slower processor in the previous MacBook lasted an exceptional 14:10. Still, you can run the new MacBook on a cross-country flight and still have enough juice for the return trip.

Aside from the new Rose Gold option, the new MacBook is visibly unchanged from last year's model, though its new Skylake-based processor improves benchmark performance a bit. But battery life takes a hit due to that faster CPU. You can't deny the sleek design, but connectivity compromises you'll have to make may be deal breakers, particularly the single USB-C port and shallow keyboard. If these drawbacks are show stoppers, and you still want an Apple laptop, the MacBook Pro 13-inch, though not as slim, offers more versatile connectivity and will likely be a better choice. In the end, the Dell XPS 13 Touch has a higher resolution 3,200-by-1,800-pixel display, a more comfortable keyboard, USB-C with Thunderbolt 3, additional ports, and it's $150 less, so it remains our Editors' Choice for high-end ultraportable laptops.