Apple has announced the launch of its 16-inch MacBook Pro after a prolonged period of series of rumours and leaks.
The MacBook Pro 16 will be available today through apple.com and the Apple Store app. Going for $2,399, the MacBook Pro comes with a brand-new keyboard, a higher resolution display, and a separate Touch ID button. And with a similar price tag to the MacBook Pro 15 it has now replaced, there are no nasty surprises in terms of cost.
There have been rumours making rounds for months about the device and many had thought that Apple had pushed it back to 2020. Many people had also made speculations about the specs and features of the new MacBook Pro which failed to come to fruition.
For the MacBook Pro 16, there will be no OLED display and no AMD Navi graphics chips, for example, meaning the 16-inch MacBook Pro isn’t quite the showstopper device many had hoped for.
However, soothing for some Mac fans will be the news that the failure-prone butterfly keyboard has been replaced. Apple had been forced to revise the butterfly design multiple times since its inception in 2015, yet had still been unable to shake consumer disappointment with its shallow travel and often-sticky keys. It will be hoping the new scissor-switch design they’re calling it Magic Keyboard of course brings with it much more satisfaction and positive press.
As well as that, the larger, higher-resolution display (3,072 × 1,920) is a definite step up from the 2,560 × 1,600 resolution found in the old 15-inch model. Although it’s not the OLED display some had hoped for, that’s perhaps unsurprising given Apple is rumored to be working on a far superior Mini-LED screen that could debut as early as late 2020. It does have a higher pixel density of 226 ppi, Apple said.
It was originally thought the 16-inch MacBook Pro would exist as a high-end MacBook Pro separate from the 13- and 15-inch models (in the same way the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max are significant steps up from the iPhone 11). This belief was gradually replaced by the idea that the 16-inch MacBook Pro would instead take the place of the MacBook Pro 15, offering more to distinguish it from the 13-inch variant without going so far as to be a distinct, ultra-high-end model in its own right.
Instead, some of the features previously rumored for this year’s 16-inch MacBook Pro — the AMD Navi graphics and Mini-Led display, for example may instead be reserved for the 2020 MacBook Pro, giving Apple more time to ensure these features are ready before release.
