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| Apple launches 16-inch MacBook Pro |
Apple has released a new 16-inch MacBook Pro that promises to refresh both design and performance. The new model will launch next week in silver and space gray with a starting price of $2,499.
The new 16-inch MacBook Pro can be configured with the M1 Pro and M1 Max, the company's new 10-core processor with 8 high-performance cores and 2 high-performance cores.
The M1 Max has twice the GPU cores of the M1 Pro (32 for the M1 Max and 16 for the M1 Pro), twice the memory bandwidth, and 64 GB of unified video memory (the M1 Pro has 32 GB).
The chassis has also recently been redesigned. The device weighs 2.1 kg, has a thickness of 16.8 mm and a screen of 16.2 inches.
The Touch Bar has been replaced by a physical switch, with an HDMI port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, an SD slot on the right, and a headphone jack and two Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left.
The first 16-inch MacBook Pro debuted in November 2019. Its design is very similar to the previous 15-inch MacBook Pro and uses 9th generation (now two) Intel processors.
Reviewers praised the keyboard and its excellent sound, as well as its strength. However, they complained about limited connections with only two Thunderbolt ports on each side.
There's also a new 1080p camera that has twice the low-light performance of the previous MacBook for photography.
Apple introduces new M1 Pro and M1 Max processors
The Liquid Retina XDR display supports the new sound system with six spatial speakers that deliver a maximum brightness of 1,600 nits.
M1 Pro and M1 Max have a market segment to fill. Announced last November, the company's M1 chip (which now powers the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iPad Pro, and iMac 2021) has the competition in terms of performance, build quality, efficiency, and integrated graphics.
But customers are waiting for the company to release flagship devices with these processors, including potential successors to the 16-inch MacBook Pro and 27-inch iMac. The point is to see if the M1 Max takes the laptop to a different level than its predecessor.