Apple 16-Inch MacBook Pro Released – See Features, Specs, Price and Availability

Apple has just announced the new 16-inch MacBook Pro; dubbed as “the world’s best pro notebook” by Apple. It features a 16-inch Retina display, faster CPU, new GPU and a new Magic keyboard. Apple also discontinues the 15-inch MacBook Pro; this leaves us with the 13-inch MacBook Air (entry level), 13-inch MacBook Pro (with Touch Bar) and the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. The new 16” MacBook Pro starts at $2,399 USD, but you could end up to $6,099 USD for the maxed-out specs. Check out more details below.


UPDATE: Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro now available here.

Apple 16-Inch MacBook Pro Comes with New Features

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro is said to be “the world’s best pro notebook, designed for developers, photographers, filmmakers, scientists, music producers and anyone who relies on a Mac to create their life’s best work”.

New CPU and GPU
It is powered with a 9th gen. Intel Core i9 processor with 8 cores. You can choose from a 2.3GHz 8-core CPU with a Turbo Boost of up to 4.8Ghz or a 2.4GHz 8-core CPU with a Turbo Boost of up to 5.0Ghz. The CPU is paired with a DDR4-2666MHz memory up to 64GB and an AMD Radeon Pro 5500M GPU with either 4GB GDDR6 or 8GB GDDR6. Note that this is not the base configuration though.

Larger and Perhaps Better Display
The 16-inch Retina display is almost a 4K resolution, with its 3072×1920 resolution and a 226 pixel-per-inch density. It offers a 500-nit brightness with P3 wide color gamut and True Tone technology. Each display is factory calibrated for accurate gamma, white point and primary colors.

New Magic Keyboard
Gone are the butterfly switch keyboard and in comes the new Magic Keyboard. It features a refined scissor mechanism that delivers 1mm of key travel and a stable key feel. Underneath each key is as an Apple-designed rubber dome that stores more potential energy for a responsive key press.

There is also a physical Escape key right beside the touch bar on the left-hand side. It also features an inverted-“T” arrangement for the arrow keys. Touch ID is present as well, located on the right-hand side of the Touch Bar.

Advanced Thermal Design
Apple is also using anew “advanced thermal design” on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The new fan design features a larger impeller with extended blades along with bigger vents. According to Apple, this results in a 28% increase in airflow, while the heat sink is 35 percent larger, enabling significantly more heat dissipation than before.

With a better thermal management and cooler CPU temperature, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is able to sustain up to 12 more watts during intensive workloads than the previous design. This basically means, with a cooler CPU, a higher boost clock speeds can be maintained resulting in a higher performance.

8TB SSD Storage Option Available
With the new 16-inch MacBook Pro, users will have the option to choose from a 1TB SSD storage, or up to 8TB SSD storage. However, be prepared to pay a hefty price for that larger storage capacity.

More Features in 16-inch MacBook Pro
Apple’s T2 chip is also present on the new MacBook Pro. It has several functions like storing the user’s fingerprint data, storage encryption, secure boot, “Hey Siri” functionality and many more.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro features 4x Thunderbolt 3 connectors with support for USB 3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10Gbps), Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps), DisplayPort and charging. In terms of wireless connection, it has WiFi 802.11 ac and Bluetooth 5.0.

Apple has also redesigned the speakers; featuring a 6-speaker “high-fidelity sound system designed to bring musicians, podcasters and video editors the most advanced audio experience ever in a notebook.” While, I am a bit skeptical about that portion; I don’t doubt the improvements, just the level of quality.

Unfortunately, Apple continues to use a 720p FaceTime HD camera. So, don’t expect for an upgrade in this area. On the flip side, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is built with a 100 watt-hour Lithium-Polymer battery. It’s larger than in the 15-inch model, offering an “all-day” battery life. Of course, this heavily depends on the user’s activity.

What You Get with the Base Model

The base model 16-inch MacBook Pro is $2,399 USD. With the base model you get a 2.6GHz 6 core Intel Core i7 CPU with Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, 16GB DDR4-2666 memory, AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4GB GDDR6 discrete graphics, and 512GB SSD storage. You also get a USB-C charge cable and a 96W USB-C power adapter.

However, I don’t see this option (yet) on Apple’s store. The configuration currently presented on Apple’s store already amounts to $2,799 USD. Perhaps that is the (base) recommended model of Apple. We may see the (cheaper) base configuration option from retailers in the following days to come.

UPDATE: New Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro now available on Amazon.com here.

Apple 16-Inch MacBook Pro Specifications

Are you getting the new 16-inch MacBook Pro? Or are you eyeing on the now discontinued 15-inch MacBook Pro hoping for some deals and discounts?