All New Redesigned MacBook Pro 14″ & 16″ Announced by Apple

Apple has announced an all new redesigned MacBook Pro, available in either 14″ and 16″ mini-LED display sizes, and featuring new Apple Silicon processors, mini-LED display with ProMotion, a 1080p front facing web camera, an HDMI port and SD card slot, and the return of MagSafe for charging.

The new Mac models include powerful architecture aimed at professional users, including new Apple Silicon processors, which Apple calls the M1 Pro and M1 Max, ranging from an 8-core CPU on the lower end 14″ model, to 10-Core CPU’s on the higher end models, and up to a 32-core GPU. The new MacBook Pro can also be configured to have up to 64GB RAM and an 8TB SSD.

New MacBook Pro 14″ / 16″ Tech Specs

If you’re a pro user, you likely care about the hardware specifications of a Mac, so let’s get to those details first:

• 14.2″ or 16.2″ mini-LED display, up to 120hz
• M1 Pro or M1 Max with 8-core or 10-core CPU, up to 32-core GPU
• 16GB RAM standard, up too 64GB RAM
• 512GB SSD standard, up to 8TB SSD storage
• 3 USB-C / ThunderBolt 4 ports
• SDXC card slot
• HDMI port
• Headphone jack / audio output port
• MagSafe 3 charger
• Up to 21 hours of battery life
• 1080p front facing camera
• Full sized keyboard with Touch ID (no Touch Bar)
• 3.5lbs for 14″, 4.8lbs for 16″
• Available in Space Gray or Silver
• Ships with MacOS Monterey preinstalled
• Pricing starts at $1999 for 14″, $2499 for 16″
• Pre-orders start today, shipping begins in a week

The M1 Max CPU supports output to up to three external displays and a 4k TV, while the M1 Pro allows for two external displays.

More Ports

Port options are more robust on the redesigned MacBook Pro, with the port configuration shown below:

The port configuration is the same on the 14″ and 16″ models.

Display Notch

A display notch is visible on both the 14″ and 16″ displays, similar to the notch seen at the top of modern iPhone devices. The notch houses the 1080p camera, and appears to impede into the menu bar of macOS. The notch is not particularly visible in most of the marketing materials on the Apple website, but can be seen clearly in the images below.

With a dark background and hidden menubar, the display notch appears to not be visible:

MacBook Pro LED Display PWM?

One lingering question about the new MacBook Pro models pertains to the mini-LED display, and to what extent PWM screen flicker will play a factor for users who are sensitive to the flickering that is inherent with LED screens. OLED PWM can be quite bothersome to some iPhone and iPad users, causing headaches, nausea, and eyestrain, so hopefully this is not an issue with the new MacBook Pro displays.

Full Sized Keyboard

The Touch Bar has been removed in lieu of a full sized keyboard, function row, escape key, and Touch ID.

The enclosure design is slightly thicker than before, and appears to be inspired by the 2008-2013 series MacBook Pro, or perhaps the titanium PowerBook of yesteryear.

New MacBook Pro Commercial

Apple has posted a commercial for the new MacBook Pro to their YouTube page, embedded below:

Pre-Orders & Availability

Pre-orders for the new M1 Pro MacBook Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pro start today (October 18) and the first laptops will ship next Tuesday (October 26). Delivery dates are already slipping quickly out to even December, so if you want to be an early adopter you might want to order your new MacBook Pro sooner than later.

You can check out more of the new MacBook Pro and place an order on Apple.com.

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Separately, Apple also announced new HomePod Mini colors, new AirPods 3, and a $19 polishing cloth. Apple also mentioned that macOS Monterey will be released October 26, along with iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1.