Though the laptop’s release has been rumoured for months, it’s now finally official. Apple has announced a refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) that features its new Magic Keyboard.
Along with Apple’s new keyboard, the highest-end version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro also features Intel’s 10th-generation 10nm i5 processor, an upgrade from the 8th-gen chip featured in the 2019 version of the laptop.
However, only the $2,399 CAD configuration of the 13-inch Pro includes the new 10th-generation i5 Intel processor, with the $1,699 iteration featuring Intel’s 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel processor and the $1,949 version including the same chip. There’s also an option to upgrade to a 10th-generation Intel Core i7 processor for an additional $250 on top of the base-level Intel i5 10-generation configuration.
Apple claims that users upgrading from a MacBook Pro with a dual-core processor will experience 2.8 times faster performance, with the Intel Iris Plus Graphics integrated graphics cards delivering over 8 percent faster performance over the previous generation MacBook Pro.
Apple has also upgraded the base-level storage to 256GB with the highest option now being a 4TB SSD. Ram can also now be configured all the way up to 32GB.
Apart from these upgrades, everything else is the same about the new MacBook Pro, including most notably its 13-inch display and speaker quality. Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro refresh from last year featured a different design that included a slightly larger screen thanks to minimized bezels, and improved audio quality. Rumours circulated earlier this year regarding Apple upgrading the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s keyboard to 14-inches, but that doesn’t seem to have happened — at least not with this refresh.
What’s most notable about the laptop is that now all of Apple’s MacBook lineup now features the tech giant’s new Magic Keyboard following years of issues with the Smart Keyboard. The Magic Keyboard features a re-designed scissor switch mechanism with 1mm in key travel, as well as an inverted-T arrow key arrangement. Further, there’s a physical Escape Key, and the Touch Bar and Touch ID also make a return.
It’s also worth noting that only the two highest-end versions of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro feature four USB-C ports, with the lower-end iterations including only two.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro was the last MacBook to still feature the unreliable low key-travel butterfly mechanism following the release of the 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019) and most recently, the MacBook Air (2020).
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,699 for the 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645, with 8GB of RAM and 256GB os SSD storage. The latter configuration is also available with 512GB of internal storage for $1,949.
On the other hand, the 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor configuration with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage is priced at $2,399.
The new MacBook Pro is currently available to order from Apple’s website. Shipping estimates indicate that the laptop will arrive at customers’ homes in two to three business days.
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