MacBook Pro 2021 |
Apple had big plans for its next MacBook Pro in 2021, including a major design overhaul, including a new 14-inch size. It also seemed that the company decided to remove the Touch Bar and sign the return of MagSafe, long-awaited since it reappeared on the latest iPhones.
Under the hood, there was even talk of the integration of a redesigned Apple M1 chip and new screen technology.
Have all these changes that have been rumored for months on end turned out to be true? Find out the answer here.
14-inch MacBook Pro pricing and availability
During its Unleashed event on October 18, Apple has indeed lifted the veil on its new 14-inch MacBook Pro.
It starts at € 2,249.00 and will be officially delivered on October 26 on the brand’s website.
14-inch MacBook Pro design
As we expected, the MacBook Pro benefited from significant design changes, such as a flat-edged design similar to that of the iPhone 12, the lack of a Touch Bar, the return of the MagSafe, and the ‘addition of ports including an SD slot.
It uses a heat pipe system similar to that of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which increases thermal headroom and provides better performance.
Apple has removed the “MacBook Pro” logo usually placed under the screen to present a look similar to that of the iPad Pro. As for its case, it is now in titanium, not to mention that it is available in two colors: silver and space gray.
Screen
In addition to the current 13-inch, Apple decided to produce a 14-inch MacBook Pro by reducing the bezels by 24%. The screen now has a notch in the center of the menu bar.
It has new display resolutions for the 14 and 16-inch models, which are 3456 x 2234 and 3024 x 1964 respectively. This includes a ProMotion display that boasts a refresh rate of 120 Hz.
Apple even dared to bet on Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED screens, a first on the brand’s computers.
New technical characteristics
In addition to the significant design change, the new range of MacBook Pro also benefits from improved processors and batteries.
Processor
As a reminder, in November 2020, Apple updated the two entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro models, making them among the first Macs to adopt Apple’s M1 chips.
As for the other two MacBook Pro models, they had remained unchanged since May 2020, and after being given 10th generation Intel processors and more RAM.
Today, for its 14-inch and 16-inch versions, Apple has designed two chips called the M1 Pro and M1 Max, respectively. These chips integrate both CPU, GPU, and RAM.
In detail, the M1 Pro and Max have a 10-core CPU. On the GPU side, the 16-core Pro against 32 for the Max.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro, more precisely, embeds the M1 Pro chip, configurable M1 Max with 10-core CPU and 24-core GPU, or M1 Max with 10-core CPU and 32-core GPU.
With a base of 16 GB of memory, but thanks to a Unified Memory Architecture (UMA), you can, if you wish, configure up to 64 GB of RAM.
Speakers and microphones
The 14-inch MacBook Pro sports a six-speaker high-fidelity audio system with force-canceling woofers.
It also supports spatial audio technology with Dolby Atmos backing, adding another dimension to your listening experience.
Drums
Apple’s Silicon allows the MacBook Pro to achieve better battery life on its smaller models, which is the promise Apple is trying to keep. She claims that her battery life lasts until 5 p.m.
No Touch Bar and added ports
As aforementioned, the OLED touch bar has been removed from the new MacBook Pro and the physical buttons will be restored.
This loss results in the gain of an HDMI port, along with a USB-C / Thunderbolt and an SD card reader. On the left, the Mac has two additional USB-C / Thunderbolt ports with a MagSafe slot.