Well, I didn’t see this coming. Apple just announced an update of the MacBook Pro with faster 8th- and 9th-generation Intel Core processors, bringing eight cores to MacBook Pro for the first time. There are reports that is also includes an updated keyboard made of a new material.
However, there’s no 16-inch model, as analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted. With the LG UltraFine 4K and 5K no longer available at the Apple online store, I’d expect the announcement of a new Apple display any day now — at least at the Worldwide Developer Conference, which starts on June 3.
The pro laptop now delivers two times faster performance than a quad-core MacBook Pro and 40% more performance than a 6-core MacBook Pro, making it the fastest Mac notebook ever, according to Tom Boger, Apple’s senior director of Mac Product Marketing.
The 15-inch MacBook Pro delivers Turbo Boost speeds up to 5.0 GHz, while the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar features faster quad-core processors with Turbo Boost speeds up to 4.7 GHz.
Along with these new processors, the revamped laptop packs a Retina display with 500 nits of brightness, support for the P3 wide color gamut and True Tone technology. It also comes with immersive stereo speakers with wide-stereo sound, touch ID, the Touch Bar and a large Force Touch trackpad. It also boasts the Apple T2 Security Chip for enhanced security, and Thunderbolt 3 ports for data transfer, charging and connecting up to two 5K displays or four external GPUs.
Starting at $1,799 and $2,399 respectively, the updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and 15-inch MacBook Pro are available today through apple.com, the Apple Store app and in select Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers later this week. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at apple.com/mac.
