All-new MacBook Pro
With the option to unleash pro power
Apple has updated the MacBook Pro with its first major redesign since 2016. A 14-inch MacBook Pro has been added to the range, while the 16-inch MacBook Pro has received the same design rethink as its smaller sibling.
In many ways, the overhaul is a repudiation of that 2016 model. Instead of bearing only USB-C ports, there are now MagSafe, HDMI, and SD card slots. The machine now possesses a little extra heft to accommodate more powerful components and cooling systems. And gone is the Touch Bar, the touch-sensitive control strip. It’s been replaced by a fullheight row of function keys.
That’s not all. The bezels around the edge of the screen have been shrunk down to miniscule proportions, except in one place: the new 1080p webcam. That means the camera system now has a notch, much like the iPhone. It’s certainly a striking design, and will no doubt rustle up plenty of controversy and discussion.
There are other display changes. The panel itself is now a Liquid Retina XDR miniLED screen much like that in the iPad Pro. This contains thousands of tiny individual LEDs, which gives it much greater contrast and brightness, as well as more vibrant colours. It also incorporates ProMotion, meaning it can dynamically adjust its refresh rate up to 120Hz.
More power inside
Both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models can be outfitted with brand-new ultra-powerful M1 Pro and M1 Max chips (more on those later). There’s also a new cooling system that Apple says moves 50% more air than the previous generation. There’s Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, and the addition of fast charging, which lets you power the MBP up to 50% in 30 minutes.
And Apple says you’ll get 17 hours of video playback in the 14-inch model and 21 hours in the 16-inch version. While the latter gets an extra 10 hours compared to the original 16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019, the 14-inch’s battery life is actually down three hours compared to 2020’s M1 MacBook Pro. In web browsing, its battery life drops from 17 hours to 11, which is disappointing but perhaps unsurprising given the extrapowerful new chips.