Apple injects more Pro in the new MacBook Pro
08/20/18 Filed in: Hardware
With faster performance and enhanced professional features, Apple® has dubbed its new MacBook Pro® the most advanced Mac® notebook ever.
The new 13 and 15-inch MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar® feature eighth-generation Intel Core processors, with six-core on the 15-inch model for up to 70 percent faster performance and quad-core on the 13-inch model for up to two times faster performance. Intel asserts these new processors will “redefine mainstream desktop performance” and immerse users in incredible computing experiences.
These performance boosts set new benchmarks for the MacBook Pro, already the world’s most popular notebook for developers. By moving to Intel’s Core i7 and Core i9 processors, respectively, more tasks can be divided among the cores and prevent one processor-intensive task from bogging down the others. That in itself gets a developer’s attention, as the new MacBook Pro can compile code faster and run virtual multiple machines and test environments easier than ever before.
Processing power is just one aspect of overall performance. If your Mac doesn’t have enough RAM for the apps you’re using, for example, it has to fall back on much slower virtual memory. For those who use memory-intensive apps, the new 15-inch Pro can now take up to 32 GB of RAM, up from a maximum of 16 GB. RAM in the 15-inch models is also DDR4, which is faster and uses less power than the DDR3 RAM used before.
Also, if you didn’t have enough fast SSD storage in your current MacBook Pro, you might have been forced to store large items like your Photos library and Parallels Desktop virtual machines on a slow external hard disk. The new MacBook Pro offers a lot more built-in SSD storage, but optionally increasing memory and storage on these models can get a bit pricey.
Enhanced display, Apple T2 Chip and Bluetooth 5.0
With 500 nits (units of visible light intensity) of brightness and support for the P3 wide color gamut, the Retina® display on the MacBook Pro is the best Mac display ever. With True Tone® technology — first introduced with the iPad Pro® — the display and Touch Bar™ deliver a more natural viewing experience. True Tone does this by adjusting the white balance of the screen based on ambient light. This is beneficial not only for design and editing workflows, but for everyday tasks like browsing the web and writing email, particularly at night.
And speaking of keystroking, the new models also feature an improved third-generation keyboard. It’s thinner, lighter, delivers a quieter typing experience and offers all-day battery life.
Also new to the MacBook Pro is the Apple T2 chip, first introduced in the iMac Pro®. T2 now enables you to issue “Hey Siri®” commands on the Pro, similar to the capability enjoyed on the current iPhone® and iPad® models, without having to hold down a key or click a button. The chip also manages the Touch Bar, delivers enhanced system security with support for secure boot and encrypts files on the fly for increased security.
These MacBook Pro models are the first to support Bluetooth 5.0, which is backward compatible with Bluetooth 4.2. As Bluetooth 5.0 peripherals become more widespread, they’ll be able to communicate with the MacBook Pro at higher data rates and with longer range. Think of Bluetooth working across your entire house, rather than being limited to a single room.
On the pricing front, there’s good news. Despite all of these improvements, pricing remains the same as for last year’s comparable models. The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $1,799, and the 15-inch model at $2,399. With both models, you can choose between silver and space gray, and they’re available now.
For more information on the new MacBook Pro — or on any Pro product in Apple’s portfolio — contact CranstonIT at 888-813-5558 or support@cranstonit.com
Processing power is just one aspect of overall performance. If your Mac doesn’t have enough RAM for the apps you’re using, for example, it has to fall back on much slower virtual memory. For those who use memory-intensive apps, the new 15-inch Pro can now take up to 32 GB of RAM, up from a maximum of 16 GB. RAM in the 15-inch models is also DDR4, which is faster and uses less power than the DDR3 RAM used before.
Also, if you didn’t have enough fast SSD storage in your current MacBook Pro, you might have been forced to store large items like your Photos library and Parallels Desktop virtual machines on a slow external hard disk. The new MacBook Pro offers a lot more built-in SSD storage, but optionally increasing memory and storage on these models can get a bit pricey.
Enhanced display, Apple T2 Chip and Bluetooth 5.0
With 500 nits (units of visible light intensity) of brightness and support for the P3 wide color gamut, the Retina® display on the MacBook Pro is the best Mac display ever. With True Tone® technology — first introduced with the iPad Pro® — the display and Touch Bar™ deliver a more natural viewing experience. True Tone does this by adjusting the white balance of the screen based on ambient light. This is beneficial not only for design and editing workflows, but for everyday tasks like browsing the web and writing email, particularly at night.
And speaking of keystroking, the new models also feature an improved third-generation keyboard. It’s thinner, lighter, delivers a quieter typing experience and offers all-day battery life.
Also new to the MacBook Pro is the Apple T2 chip, first introduced in the iMac Pro®. T2 now enables you to issue “Hey Siri®” commands on the Pro, similar to the capability enjoyed on the current iPhone® and iPad® models, without having to hold down a key or click a button. The chip also manages the Touch Bar, delivers enhanced system security with support for secure boot and encrypts files on the fly for increased security.
These MacBook Pro models are the first to support Bluetooth 5.0, which is backward compatible with Bluetooth 4.2. As Bluetooth 5.0 peripherals become more widespread, they’ll be able to communicate with the MacBook Pro at higher data rates and with longer range. Think of Bluetooth working across your entire house, rather than being limited to a single room.
On the pricing front, there’s good news. Despite all of these improvements, pricing remains the same as for last year’s comparable models. The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $1,799, and the 15-inch model at $2,399. With both models, you can choose between silver and space gray, and they’re available now.
For more information on the new MacBook Pro — or on any Pro product in Apple’s portfolio — contact CranstonIT at 888-813-5558 or support@cranstonit.com