MacBook Pro
In November 2020, Apple rather surprised the tech world with an earlierthan-expected release of the first MacBook Pro with its own custom designed 5nm Apple M1 chip.
The eight-core CPU is said to offer 2.8 times faster performance over its predecessor, while the eight-core GPU has five times faster graphics. The 16-core Neural Engine completes the powerhouse spec sheet for advanced machine learning. All this, coupled with a 61W battery, translates to the longest battery life for a MacBook Pro so far, with an impressive 17 hours of web browsing and 20 hours of video play. The Pro comes with 8GB of unified memory but you can upgrade to 16GB. Storage starts at 256GB SSD, and can be configured up to 2TB.
The physical build remains the same as the May 2020 model (1.56x30.41x21.24cm), and still features the Magic Keyboard, Touch Bar, Touch ID and Force Touch trackpad. There are now two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports. As well as Bluetooth 5.0, the 13in Pro now supports 802.11ax Wi-Fi.
13-inch model pricing starts at £1,299; while upping the unified memory to 16GB
From £1,299
and opting for the top SSD storage of 2TB takes the price to £2,299.
So far, only the 13-inch model has been updated to the M1 chip, but the 16-inch is obviously due to follow. The 13-inch 2.0GHz Intel Core i5 Quad Core model with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, starting at £1,799, is still available. As are the 16-inch ninth-gen Intel Core models, which start at £2,399.