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It’s not as different from the previous model as you might have expected.

The Apple logo on the lid of a closed 16-inch MacBook Pro—it's not lit up while the laptop is closed.

Credit:

Samuel Axon

LOS ANGELES—For about five minutes on an extremely crowded showroom floor, I got to take pictures of the new MacBook Pro and test out some of its new features. First impressions: It’s not as much of a departure from the previous design as I expected, but the outstanding OLED display steals the show regardless.

The first thing I noticed was that it’s lighter. My daily driver is a 14-inch MacBook Pro (M1 Max), and it’s a bit weighty for a 14-incher. Picking up the new model, I could immediately tell it was lighter. It’s not like it’s in a different general weight class, but it’s a noticeable difference.

The next thing I noticed was the Dynamic Island. Given the larger screen real estate of a laptop, it’s much less dominant on the screen than it is on an iPhone.…