New 13-Inch MacBook Pros

Apple Newsroom:

Apple today updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the new Magic Keyboard for the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook and doubled the storage across all standard configurations, delivering even more value to the most popular MacBook Pro. The new lineup also offers 10th-generation processors for up to 80 percent faster graphics performance and makes 16GB of faster 3733MHz memory standard on select configurations.

Dan Moren, Six Colors:

Aside from the doubling of storage and new keyboard, the $1299 and $1499 models of the 13-inch MacBook Pro remain largely untouched. They feature the same 8th-generation Core i5 processor running at 1.4 GHz as their predecessors. They can be configured with an 8th-generation 1.7GHz Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of SSD storage.

The $1799 and $1999 models, on the other hand, now feature the 10th-generation Core i5 processor at 2.0GHz. Additional options include a bump to a 10th-generation Core i7 processor at 2.3GHz, 32 GB of RAM, and up to 4TB of SSD storage — the latter two options are available on this model for the first time. This model can also drive an external display at up to 6K resolution; the lower-end models are limited to one external 5K display or two external 4K displays.

All models feature the same wide stereo sound and Dolby Atmos support as their 16-inch counterpart, though the 13-inch models lack the six-speaker array. They also feature the beamforming three-mic setup.

So ends the saga of the butterfly-switch keyboards, and so much for the pervasive rumors that the smaller MacBook Pro would shift from 13-inch to 14-inch displays, the way the 15 went to 16.

★ Monday, 4 May 2020