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Apple Announces New 16” MacBook Pro with Redesigned Keyboard, Thinner Display Bezels, and Updated Processors

Apple has announced a new 16-inch model of the MacBook Pro that features a redesigned keyboard with keys that use a scissor mechanism, a larger screen with thinner bezels, and 9th generation Intel Core i7 and i9 processors. The new model replaces the existing 15-inch MacBook Pro.

Rumored since early this year, the new laptop is almost identical in size to the 15-inch MacBook Pro, which is 0.61 inches (1.55 cm) tall, 13.75 inches (34.93 cm) wide, and 9.48 inches (24.07 cm) deep. In contrast, the new 16-inch model is 0.64 inches (1.62 cm) tall, 14.09 inches (35.79 cm) wide, and 9.68 inches (24.59 cm) deep. The new MacBook Pro is also heavier, weighing in at 4.3 pounds (2.0 kg) compared to the 15-inch laptop, which is 4.02 pounds (1.83 kg).

The slight increase in size is thanks primarily to the reduction of the new MacBook Pro’s display bezels, which have been virtually eliminated. The laptop features a new high-resolution display too, which Apple lists as 3072 x 1920 pixels with a 226 ppi pixel density. The display is driven by new AMD Radeon Pro 5000M series graphics. Also, the MacBook Pro boasts significantly-improved 6-speaker setup and high-quality microphones to capture less background noise when recording.

Apple has also returned to a scissor mechanism for the new MacBook Pro’s keyboard. It remains to be seen whether the updated design is an improvement over the butterfly mechanism used for the past few years in Apple’s laptops. Before the company moved to the butterfly mechanism, which allowed for reduced key-travel and, consequently, thinner devices, a scissor keyboard mechanism was used in the MacBook Pro.

The keyboard on Apple’s latest pro-level laptop is also notable because it features the return of a physical escape key. The escape key was eliminated in Touch Bar-enabled MacBook Pros in favor of a software escape key on the Touch Bar, but the latest model shortens the Touch Bar to make room for a physical escape key, which many users missed. The new keyboard also features an inverted-T arrow key layout. Apple says:

The 16-inch MacBook Pro features a new Magic Keyboard with a refined scissor mechanism that delivers 1mm of key travel and a stable key feel, as well as an Apple-designed rubber dome that stores more potential energy for a responsive key press. Incorporating extensive research and user studies focused on human factors and key design, the 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers a keyboard with a comfortable, satisfying and quiet typing experience. The new Magic Keyboard also features a physical Escape key and an inverted-“T” arrangement for the arrow keys, along with Touch Bar and Touch ID, for a keyboard that delivers the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro also features an updated Intel 9th generation i7 and i9 processors with up to 8 cores. The base model runs at 2.6 GHz, which users can upgrade. RAM starts at 16GB and is configurable up to 64GB. Storage starts with a 512GB SSD, which can be increased to as much as 8TB.

To learn more about the new MacBook Pro, listen to episode 271 of Upgrade from Relay FM where Six Colors founder Jason Snell interviews Apple’s MacBook Pro Product Manager Shruti Haldea.

The new laptops are already available to order on apple.com and with the Apple Store app starting at $2,399, the same price as the old 15-inch model, with deliveries beginning later this week. Apple also notes that the Mac Pro will be available to order in December.

iPhone X: A New Frontier

For a radically redesigned iPhone launching on the tenth anniversary of the first model, it seems reasonable to lead a review of the device with a retrospective on the original iPhone and how, over the course of a decade, its vision matured into the iPhone X. But today, I want to begin with the iPhone 4.

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    Thinking About An iPad Pro

    iPad Pro

    iPad Pro

    I’ve been thinking about a rumor that I’ve seen showing up in tech headlines lately – that Apple is working on a larger version of the iPad (dubbed “iPad Pro”) that is allegedly on track to be released in Fall 2014. While I haven’t been paying particular attention to rumors (with the exception of Mark Gurman’s original reporting), the idea of a larger iPad reported by the tech press thus far strikes me as an odd proposition. As someone who uses the iPad as his primary computer, I wanted to recollect past instances of this rumor and reflect upon the consequences that such device (and way of thinking) could have on the iPad line, iOS, and consumers. Read more

    iPhone 5, iPhone 4S - A Rumor Roundup and Retrospective

    According to new shots showing alleged leaked parts for the upcoming iPhone 5, website MacPost.net (via MacRumors) shows a white back cover from an Apple internal prototype iPhone dated June 7, 2011, labeled N94 and EVT (Engineering Verification Test). In Apple’s prototype design cycle, the EVT monicker is one step ahead of DVT, which stands for Design Verification Test. As you can see from the purported leaked part, the design of the back cover is largely similar (if not the same) to the current-gen iPhone 4, adding more speculation to the rumors suggesting the next-generation iPhone, dubbed iPhone 5, will share the same design of the existing iPhone, only adding a new processor, better camera, and other minor speed bumps.

    There’s been a bit of confusion in the past months regarding rumors floating around Apple’s next iPhone. Whereas the N94 and N93 codenames found in the iOS 5.0 SDK (actually, N94 showed up in iOS 4.3) clearly referred to a device running the same A5 processor of the iPad 2 (the iPhone 4 has an A4 processor), multiple sources couldn’t agree on whether Apple was on track to deliver one iPhone this Fall – the iPhone 5 – with a major redesign, a new iPhone with the same design but better specs, or two iPhones aimed at different markets and users.

    For this reason, in the most recent weeks a differentiation in rumors has arisen to separate the iPhone 5 from an alleged “iPhone 4S”. The “4S” name, used as an unofficial monicker for the first time by 9to5mac in April, was initially used in regards to a prototype iPhone 4 with an A5 chip reportedly sent to developers for testing – thus not necessarily representing a final product – but has evolved with time into a widely-accepted rumor indicating a second product from Apple that could also refer to a cheaper iPhone the company is working on for pre-paid markets.

    Again, there is a lot of confusion around the terms “iPhone 5”, “next-generation iPhone”, and “iPhone 4S”. However, sticking to SDK findings and reliable photographs of unreleased models – not just rumors without evidence – might be the best chance to guess what’s coming in October.

    First off, N94 refers to an iPhone carrying the A5 processor, an obvious choice for Apple. With increased performances, low-power consumption and a huge leap forward in terms of graphics rendering, the A5 has been a success on the iPad and there’s no reason why Apple wouldn’t use it in a future iPhone. For reference, the current-gen iPhone 4 was codenamed N90 and N92 for its GSM and CDMA variations, respectively. N93 and N94 might be related to carrier variations of the same iPhone model or two new entirely different products – this can’t confirmed. However, N94 isn’t only present in the iOS 5 SDK: aside from today’s MacPost pictures, BGR showed photos of an unreleased iPhone model running on T-Mobile’s 3G bands back in April. The iPhone was white, like today’s back cover shots, and it was codenamed N94, running a test version of iOS with several Apple-only apps and utilities. Furthermore, MacRumors is now associating those photos from April to a new part leak that seems to depict a redesigned antenna for the iPhone 4-like new iPhone, whatever it may be. The iPhone 4 antenna design was behind the so-called Antennagate media debacle last year, so it would make sense for Apple to redesign it only to avoid further discussion.

    Rounding up the evidence about N94 – again, one of the two unreleased iPhone models mentioned by the iOS SDK – it appears that this model will have an iPhone 4-like design, a slightly redesigned antenna, an A5 processor, and it’s been tested on T-Mobile.

    However, it’s still not clear whether what we call “iPhone 5” is actually a tweaked iPhone 4 (thus N94), or an all-new model that hasn’t surfaced in the SDK and leaked parts just yet. For as much as new cables and connectors suggest Apple is tweaking the internal specs of an iPhone, they don’t offer confirmation of the device’s design and external look.

    To bring some clarity to this whole iPhone 4S/iPhone 5/two iPhones debate we’ve collected the most notable rumors from the past months, in order to see, now that a possible release date is nearing, how speculation evolved and changed over time. Read more

    Does The iPad 2 Have 512 MB of RAM?

    While Apple never provides exact information on the amount of RAM they manage to build into their mobile devices, speculation and teardowns in the past always offered good indication and proof of the specs of iPhones, iPod touches and iPads. We know the iPhone 4 has 512 MB of RAM (likely to jump up to 1 GB this summer with the iPhone 5) and the iPad 1 only featured 256 MB of memory. The iPad 2 was announced yesterday, and now the question is: how much RAM does the A5-powered new tablet have?

    According to a Korean semiconductor analyst quoted by AppleInsider, the iPad 2 has double the RAM of its predecessor – 512 MB. The analyst apparently also revealed through a series of tweets that Apple is using LPDDR2 memory in the iPad, contrary to LPDDR1 from the original iPad.

    Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of Concord Securities also told AppleInsider that the RAM in the iPad 2 would run at a higher clock speed of 1,066MHz for greater memory bandwidth than the 800MHz memory in the iPhone 4.

    Kuo also indicated back in January that the iPad 2 would have LPDDR2 RAM at a speed of 1,066MHz, corroborating Lee’s more recent claims. Kuo said the memory would be supplied by both Samsung and Hynix.

    Previous rumors pointed to the iPad 2 featuring 512 MB or 1 GB of RAM. Someone got it right eventually, but we think the most important achievement for Apple isn’t the amount of RAM or Ghz in the A5 – rather, we’d focus on the improved specs in a thinner design that yet haven’t compromised the battery life. That should be the most important thing in the consumer experience and, together with a faster and snappier device, what will make sure Apple sells millions of this thing this year, again.

    Update: Softpedia also notes that the iMovie for iPad webpage should confirm the new device has 512 MB of RAM. In fact, the app won’t work on the iPad 1 but it already does on the iPhone 4 and iPod touch 4G which, guess what, have 512 MB of RAM.

    iPad 2: The Rumor Timeline

    With the iPad 2 announcement reportedly scheduled for a media event next week in San Francisco, it’s time to take a step back and re-analyze rumors posted in past months about the next-generation device. If rumors are of any indication and sources to be trusted, this little trip down the memory lane should give us a quick recap of the details we think we know about the iPad 2.

    So read along after the break, and let’s see what the Apple rumor mill offered so far about the new tablet. Read more