5 cheaper and better alternatives to Apple's expensive new MacBook Pros

The new MacBook Pros that Apple introduced last week are pretty expensive.

The cheapest MacBook Pro is the base 13-inch model priced at $1,500, which is a high price to pay for its relatively middling specs. And it doesn't have the fancy new Touch Bar, either.

Of course, you get the comprehensive Apple ecosystem with a MacBook Pro, and the Mac operating system is good enough to warrant some kind of markup. Yet, when you see that you can buy a Windows 10 laptop that's thinner, lighter, and boasts far superior specs for $500 less, the shining allure of Apple's ecosystem is suddenly dimmer.

So, I've compiled the five best alternatives that can wipe the floor with new base MacBook Pro based on specs, all while keeping a slim, sleek, lightweight design. Some on the list can even out-perform the more powerful 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with the Touch Bar, too.

You'll notice most of the laptops on this list have the powerful Core i7 processors from Intel: I recommend you buy computers with the i7 for the best performance today, as well as five years down the line. There are cheaper models with specs that are comparable to the new base MacBook Pro, but you're better off getting one of these options.

Check them out: