Apple launches 16-inch MacBook Pro with a new Magic keyboard

[zanderthunder]

 

It's been a long time coming, but Apple has officially launched the 16-inch MacBook Pro today.The 16-inch Retina display comes in at a resolution of 3072x1920 for a total of 226 pixels per inch, and the brightness can go up to 500 nits.

 

In addition to being the first MacBook with a 16-inch display, it also has a new keyboard design that uses a scissor mechanism, instead of the dreaded butterfly mechanism that's been a pain point for MacBook users for the past few years. The new keys offer 1mm of key travel, and the keyboard now has a physical Escape key next to the Touch Bar. It also still has Touch ID, and the trackpad still supports Force Touch.

 

 

In terms of specs, the new MacBook Pro comes with ninth-generation Intel Core H-series processors - either a six-core Core i7 or the octa-core Core i9 - along with up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of SSD storage. Apple says the new MacBook Pro will offer up to 2.1 times the performance of the previous quad-core 15-inch model.

 

For graphics, there are AMD Radeon Pro 5000M series GPUs, with the top-end option being the Radeon Pro 5500M with 8GB of GDDR6 memory. Compared to last year's 15-inch model with eight cores and highest GPU configurations, the new MacBook Pro should offer up to 1.8 times the graphics performance, according to Apple.

 

 

The cooling system has been redesigned for the 16-inch MacBook Pro, with larger intake fans and vents, as well as a bigger heat sink, and Apple says this allows the new model to sustain up to 12 more watts of power usage compared to previous models. Speaking of which, there's a 100Wh battery, which promises up to an extra hour of battery life of web browsing or video playback in the Apple TV app.

 

The new MacBook Pro is available today in both Silver and Space Gray models. While the specs are configurable, there are two base models you can start from. One has an six-core Intel Core i7, 512GB of storage, and an AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4GB of memory starting at $2,399. The other has an eight-core Core i9, 1TB of storage, and an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4GB of memory, starting at $2,799. Both models start at 16GB of memory.

 

Apple also announced today that the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR will be available in December. The Mac Pro has Intel Xeon processors with up to 28 cores and will start at $5,999. The Pro Display XDR promises wide dynamic range, up to 1,600 nits of brightness, and more, starting at $4,999.

 

Source: Apple launches 16-inch MacBook Pro with a new Magic keyboard (via Neowin)