Originally Posted: May 4th, 2020

Finally. Apple Updates 13-Inch MacBook Pro

This morning, Apple updated the 13-Inch MacBook Pro via press release. From the Apple Newsroom:

Cupertino, California — Apple today updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro with the new Magic Keyboard for the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook and doubled the storage across all standard configurations, delivering even more value to the most popular MacBook Pro. The new lineup also offers 10th-generation processors for up to 80 percent faster graphics performance and makes 16GB of faster 3733MHz memory standard on select configurations. With powerful quad-core processors, the brilliant 13-inch Retina display, Touch Bar and Touch ID, immersive stereo speakers, all-day battery life, and the power of macOS, all in an incredibly portable design, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is available to order today, starting at $1,299, and $1,199 for education.

What’s New:

• Keyboard: Magic Keyboard replaces the Butterfly keyboard on all models

• SSD: Double the storage on all models. Starting at 256 GB for $1299, 512 GB for $1799.

• CPU: Intel 10th Gen CPUs and upgraded Intel Iris Plus graphics on $1799 and up models

• RAM: 16GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X standard on $1799 and up models. Also upgradable to 32 GB for the first time.

What’s Not:

• Display: 13.3-inch, 2560-by-1600, 500 nits brightness, Wide color (P3), True Tone

• Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac). Apple uses Broadcom for their wireless chips. There are no Intel wireless drivers for macOS, which means these are missing out on the integrated Wi-Fi 6 support in 10th-gen Intel CPUs. It’s a shame.

• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0

• Camera: 720p FaceTime “HD”

• CPUs: 2-port models ($1299 and $1499) are still quad core, 8th-gen Intel CPUs, with a lower TDP than the 4-port model

• RAM: 2-port models still start at 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3

I’m happy that this article is now out of date: Don't Buy A 13 Inch MacBook Pro Right Now.

I am a little disappointed in the lack of Wi-Fi 6. That didn’t stop me from ordering one this morning. Review coming soon.

It’s officially safe to order any Apple laptop now. The MacBook Air is great for basic needs, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is for serious performance. This new 13-Inch is the Goldilocks model, for me at least.

What a great run they’ve been on since the 16-Inch last November. It’s good to see the Mac getting some love.

As always, Anandtech has the best details on the exact CPUs in use here:

The new design otherwise doesn’t significantly diverge from its summer-2019 refresh, although this year it’s every so slightly thicker at 1.56cm instead of 1.49cm – certainly unnoticeable in everyday usage. It’s also 30g heavier at up to 1.4kg now (3.1lbs).

The most significant internal change is the option for a new 10th generation Intel Ice Lake based CPU, running at 2.0GHz base clocks and Turbo Boost to up to 3.8GHz. As always with Apple products, this likely is a custom SKU just for Apple’s line-up as there’s no matching public part with these frequencies – the closest part is an i7-1060G7 which features the same peak clock, but only a meagre 1.0GHz base clock. Apple here likely is running a higher base TDP of 20-25W. For a $200 upsell, you can choose a higher-end 2.3/4.1GHz CPU configuration.

Whilst the Ice Lake based parts are new, Apple will continue to sell 8th generation Coffee Lake based parts at the lower end price spectrum in the $1299 and $1499 price points. Aside from the CPUs themselves, the two generational offerings of CPUs will also differ in their DRAM configuration as the new ICL parts come with 16GB of LPDDR4X-3733, whilst the CFL parts continue to just offer 8GB of LPDDR3-2133. The ICL parts are upgradeable to 32GB for an extra $400, and the CFL parts upgrade to 16GB for $100.