Apple unveils new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard
Following a year of speculation and rumors, Apple has released a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard, and up to tenth-generation Intel processors.
Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro for 2020
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro uses Apple's refreshed Magic Keyboard that debuted on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The Touch Bar is also used across the lineup, as it was on the previous MacBook Pro model that it replaced. As with that 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 13-inch MacBook Pro has a physical escape key.
Keyboard on the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro, including physical escape key
The 13-inch MacBook Pro lineup now offers up to 10th-generation quad-core Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 4.1GHz. Apple claims that customers upgrading from a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a dual-core processor will see up to 2.8 times faster performance.
Like with the relatively minor Mac mini refresh in March, the 13-inch MacBook Pro now comes with double the storage of the previous generation, with standard storage starting at 256GB ranging to 4TB.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro screen is the same as the previous model, at a resolution of 2560 x 1600, at 227 pixels per inch, 500 nits brightness, with wide color support and True Tone technology. The video chipset on the eighth-generation Intel chip models are the Iris Plus Graphics 645, with the tenth-generation models utilizing the more powerful Intel Iris Plus Graphics integrated set.
The eighth-generation models support one external display at 5K running at 60Hz. or two external 4K displays at 60Hz. The new Intel Iris Plus graphics on the tenth-generation models enables users to connect to the Pro Display XDR at full 6K resolution.
As with the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro, the new 13-inch MacBook pro has two Thunderbolt 3 ports on lower-end eighth generation models, with four on the highest-end, supplemented by a single headphone jack. Wireless communications are provided by 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0 across the board.
Configurations start at $1299 with an eighth-generation i5 1.4GHz quad-core processor with Turbo Boost speed up to 3.9GHz, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, and an eighth-generation i7 model is available as well. A 2.0Ghz quad-core tenth-generation i7 model with turbo speeds up to 3.8GHz, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage retails for $1799.
A fully maxed-out configuration with a tenth-generation 2.3GHz quad-core i7 processor with turbo boost to 4.1GHz, 32GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage sells for $3599.
Orders have already started for the new model, and the earliest orders will start arriving "later this week" according to Apple. Deals are also in effect at third-party resellers, with discounts of up to $123 off, plus $70 off AppleCare. Check out the lowest 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro prices in our Price Guide.
Apple's 13-inch MacBook Pro for 2020
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro uses Apple's refreshed Magic Keyboard that debuted on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The Touch Bar is also used across the lineup, as it was on the previous MacBook Pro model that it replaced. As with that 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 13-inch MacBook Pro has a physical escape key.
Keyboard on the 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro, including physical escape key
The 13-inch MacBook Pro lineup now offers up to 10th-generation quad-core Intel Core processors with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 4.1GHz. Apple claims that customers upgrading from a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a dual-core processor will see up to 2.8 times faster performance.
Like with the relatively minor Mac mini refresh in March, the 13-inch MacBook Pro now comes with double the storage of the previous generation, with standard storage starting at 256GB ranging to 4TB.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro screen is the same as the previous model, at a resolution of 2560 x 1600, at 227 pixels per inch, 500 nits brightness, with wide color support and True Tone technology. The video chipset on the eighth-generation Intel chip models are the Iris Plus Graphics 645, with the tenth-generation models utilizing the more powerful Intel Iris Plus Graphics integrated set.
The eighth-generation models support one external display at 5K running at 60Hz. or two external 4K displays at 60Hz. The new Intel Iris Plus graphics on the tenth-generation models enables users to connect to the Pro Display XDR at full 6K resolution.
As with the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro, the new 13-inch MacBook pro has two Thunderbolt 3 ports on lower-end eighth generation models, with four on the highest-end, supplemented by a single headphone jack. Wireless communications are provided by 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 5.0 across the board.
Configurations start at $1299 with an eighth-generation i5 1.4GHz quad-core processor with Turbo Boost speed up to 3.9GHz, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage, and an eighth-generation i7 model is available as well. A 2.0Ghz quad-core tenth-generation i7 model with turbo speeds up to 3.8GHz, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage retails for $1799.
A fully maxed-out configuration with a tenth-generation 2.3GHz quad-core i7 processor with turbo boost to 4.1GHz, 32GB of RAM, and 4TB of storage sells for $3599.
Orders have already started for the new model, and the earliest orders will start arriving "later this week" according to Apple. Deals are also in effect at third-party resellers, with discounts of up to $123 off, plus $70 off AppleCare. Check out the lowest 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro prices in our Price Guide.
Comments
It should really have been released alongside the 16" MacBook Pro, but I suspect Apple wanted to sell as many of the more expensive machines as they could and leaving the duff keyboard on the 13" model for another few months almost certainly helped them do just that.
They fixed a couple of the biggest deficiencies/problems: a crappy keyboard and insufficient storage which have both been brought up to Apple standards.
Whoever that engineer was, he deserves a nice raise!
I don't recall exactly how much my maxed out 2016 MBP with its 3.1GHz dual-core/16GB/1TB/TouchBar cost at the time, but I think it was around $2700-2800. Today's updated MBP with 2.3-4.1GHz quad-core/32GB/1TB/TouchBar and a presumably fixed keyboard runs $2600. So, faster and with double the RAM for similar or less money. OK!
I have a 2018 MBP 13" with the fastest CPU (i7), 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD and it was at least 500 USD more, as was the refreshed 2019 13" MBP.
In this case the updated MBP does not use the same keyboard and screen as the 16". They had to be designed from scratch for the smaller chassis. Then they were tested and then redesigned and retested to make sure they worked properly. As far as the CPU, that likely at least required fresh firmware, if not board level changes, either of which would have had to be designed, tested, adjusted to fix any unexpected problems, adjusted again, and so on. Even minor changes are a hell of a lot of work by a team that put in a lot of hours to make it work right. In some ways it's harder to update an existing product than it is to blue sky design a new product without any legacy constraints.
While a good idea, there isn’t anything “Magic” on mounting a decent keyboard on a laptop.
A 10th-gen i5-based MBP13 with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM for $1299 would have been a natural upgrade.
No, other than maybe old stock in the retail chain, or possibly a refurb — either of which would mean settling for the old keyboard. Not a good idea.
Other than price, there's no obvious reason to prefer the non-TB version of the MBP. If you don't like the TB, just ignore it. It's not in the way. And with the TB you get the fingerprint reader, which is well worthwhile, and with this new MBP the physical ESC key has now been restored, which matters to some people.
Razer fit a GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q 4 GB into their 3 lbs laptop with a 25W Ice Lake i7 CPU. They also have the option for a 120 Hz or 4K display.
As well, AMD's 4000U series (up to 8 cores and 16 threads at 15 W) is hitting the market with far better performance than this in both CPU and iGPU performance.
Apple fixing their keyboard is nice, but this is a very weak update.