Reviewers Love the New Mac Pro, Trash-Can Look and All

The newest version of Apple's Mac Pro begins shipping today, so reviewers and early adopters are getting their hands on the device for the first time. While there are plenty of reviews of the desktop computer's technical functions, we're more interested in its hands-on qualities. What does the Mac Pro feel and look like in person?

When Apple first previewed the powerful devices in June, critics couldn't stop talking about how the upgraded desktop computer looked like a very shiny trash can. Now that people have seen and used the device in person, the verdicts are in: Yeah, it still looks like a trash can. But a very shiny, and very powerful one.

And expensive. The 10-inch-tall device starts at $3,000, but with custom add-ons and such, the price can rise to as much as $14,000, Gizmodo found. Here's what else reviewers have to say about Apple's most powerful waste basket desktop computer after hands-on interaction.

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Ohhhhh, shiny

The aluminum covering on the Mac Pro is making reviewers stare. "It's astonishingly reflective — I can see the screen clearly, and anyone who walks by is immediately recognizable," The Verge writes. Tech Radar agreed, too. "It looks a lot shinier than in pictures when viewed in the metallic flesh, particularly with light bouncing off it from a number of angles."

That shininess isn't necessarily a good thing, though. The Verge noted that the cylindrical desktop "picks up fingerprints really easily," which can quickly dirty and smudge the sleek outer covering. Tech Radar was outright disappointed, writing that "it looked less impressive than the slick images." 

Small and quiet

At just 11 pounds, the condensed Mac Pro is a far cry from the former boxy desktops, with their general heftiness. But because the cylinder is so small, it's weight surprised The Verge: "It's also incredibly dense, far heavier than I expected," they wrote. The muscle-bound Techcrunch wasn't as intimidated, and compared it to "the weight of an overloaded lunchbox."

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The lack of noise, too, surprised several reviewers. "We were impressed at just how quiet the new Mac Pro is," Tech Radar wrote. "[I]t's quiet and cool, with little indication that it's even on in the first place," The Verge added. "It's so unassuming and unadorned that you almost overlook it." Stick the cylinder on your work station and forget about it.

What does it really look like?

Shiny trash can, or something else? "We thought it looked like a Mac that Darth Vader might have used — if he was a multimedia professional rather than a murderous Sith," Tech Radar wrote. But what's the point of the shape, and what does it represent? "I finally understand the Mac Pro shape: the thermal core," tweeted The Magazine editor Glenn Fleishman. The Verge, meanwhile, avoided coming up with new comparisons and just admitted the obvious: "And it really does look a little like a trash can," they wrote.

Decide for yourself: What do you think?

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Just kidding. That's a mug.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/technology/2013/12/reviewers-love-new-mac-pro-trash-can-look-and-all/356339/

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