On Monday, Apple showcased a first look at the latest version of its MacBook Pro laptops, which includes a completely re-imagined design. The updated systems include support for the latest rendition of Apple’s silicone chipsets, M1 Pro and M1 Max, which Apple says will offer the best performance found in a professional notebook. The new MacBook Pro is available in two different sizes, a 14- and 16-inch model. The 14-inch model will run the new M1 Pro chip, while the 16-inch model will allow consumers to choose between the M1 Pro and M1 Max chipset depending on version they purchase. The updated design includes a headphone jack, and six “industry-leading” microphones and high-fidelity speakers and a 1080P webcam for smooth video calls. Apple has also added new ports to the latest version, including an HDMI port, three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SD card slot, and the return of MagSafe to MacBook Pros. Another big change with the new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max is the display. With the new versions, Apple is bringing its Liquid Retina XDR display technology to the MacBook series for the first time. This brings up to 1,000 nits of sustained brightness, as well as support for HDR content and an adaptive refresh rate of up to 120Hz. Both the 14- and 16-inch variants will support up for 64GB of RAM. Apple claims the new chipsets offer up to 70% faster CPU performance compared to the original M1 chip, which professional users will find useful when using applications like Photoshop, Final Cut, and DaVinci Resolve Studio. The new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max may look similar to MacBook Pros of the past, but Apple says it has completely redesigned the system to deliver what users want. This includes the removal of the touch bar, which has been replaced by full size functions keys at the top of the keyboard. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro will start at $1,999, for an eight-core variant. The 10-core 14-inch model will begin at $2,499. The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro will start at $2,499, though a variant that includes the M1 Max chip will begin at $3,499. This price can change based on storage size and other options that users choose at checkout. The new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max is available for preorder today and will start arriving to customers starting on Tuesday, October 26.
