Apple:
The new MacBook Pro models with Touch Bar feature 8th-generation Intel Core processors, with 6-core on the 15-inch model for up to 70 percent faster performance and quad-core on the 13-inch model for up to two times faster performance — ideal for manipulating large data sets, performing complex simulations, creating multi-track audio projects or doing advanced image processing or film editing.
And:
Additional updates include support for up to 32GB of memory, a True Tone display and an improved third-generation keyboard for quieter typing.
There are new 13-inch and 15-inch models, with up to 2TB SSD on the 13-inch model and up to 4TB SSD on the 15-inch.
Also new to MacBook Pro is the Apple T2 chip, first introduced in iMac Pro. With the Apple T2 chip, MacBook Pro now delivers enhanced system security with support for secure boot and on-the-fly encrypted storage, and also brings “Hey Siri” to the Mac for the first time.
On the 15″ processor:
6-core Intel Core i7 and Core i9 processors up to 2.9 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 4.8 GHz
On the 13″ processor:
Quad-core Intel Core i5 and i7 processors up to 2.7 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz and double the eDRAM
And:
The new MacBook Pro is also part of Apple’s Back to School promotion starting today and available to college students, their parents, faculty and staff through the Apple Education Store. The promotion includes a pair of qualifying Beats headphones with the purchase of any eligible Mac or iPad Pro for college, as well as education pricing on Mac, iPad Pro, AppleCare, select accessories and more.
Here’s a link to the US Higher Education site.
The new models are available today and start at $1,799 and $2,399 respectively.
NIce, thank you Apple.
No update for the 13″ without TouchBar (or the regular 12″ MB)
As far as I can tell, 32GB is only available on the 15″.
Biggest question of course is the keyboard. Did they get it right this time around? (And are they still shipping 12″ and 13″ non-TB without the old one)?
The Verge reports that it’s a new revision of the butterfly mechanism, intended to reduce noise. Apple execs appeared to go out of their way to say this is not related to keyboard failures, and they insist it’s still a tiny population.
I guess we’ll find out in practice once we get the new laptops.
I’m disappointed the non-touch-bar didn’t get any revisions. I was thinking of getting that one with my next laptop refresh. I guess I’ll get the 13″ touch bar.
Hmm. Only talking about the outright failures misses all the people who limp along with this stupid design.
The keyboard on my 2016 MBP TB hasn’t failed, but I’ve experienced stuck keys many times. It is absurd that I need to keep a can of compressed air on my desk to keep the machine usable.
Looking forward to testing the keyboard at an Apple store.
I am in the market for a MacBook to replace my aging 2011 Air, which still runs fine, by the way. I have no desire to run resource-intensive software on a daily basis, but would hate to have insufficient RAM later down the line..
Does 32GB RAM really make a huge difference vs. 16 these days? If not, I think I should be more than happy with the new 13″ MBP given it is a pound lighter. Maybe one day I can buy myself an eGPU in the future to give me extra computing power, but not today, probably.
Sonnet makes a great eGPU “Puck.” Check it out.
That looks neat!
Gruber talked about this on his podcast recently.
The scuttlebutt he had heard was that these stickinesses were due to manufacturing tolerances or warping or somesuch, and that warping causes both the stickiness and increases susceptibility to dust causing issues. Which is why I wonder if the newest version will cause the incidence rates to go down.
I experience stickiness regularly on my 2016 touch bar MBP when the device heats up. I’ve only had to use the compressed air once.
Yikes. That unit is ~$3,900 before discount. Apple’s margins on these new MBPs are amazing.
Let’s hope it performs well!
I’m a moderate power user (using many apps, multiple browsers, but not VMs, and only occasional Xcode) and 16GB has been fine.
Yea that sounds about right. At this point I am leaning towards buying a 13″ MBP with 16GB RAM. Will save myself some money by going for the 256GB SSD, and offload content to external drives.
I just need to figure out a way to store the Photos library to external drives, since my family uploads a lot of pictures and movies, which I am sure can fill up storage very quickly.
“Does 32GB RAM really make a huge difference vs. 16 these days?”
Unless you know that you need 32gb, 16gb will be more than adequate for your needs.
Over $5K in Canada. USB A adapter not included.
Well, I said I would, so I did. But not what I thought I would buy. I got the 15″ MacBook Pro with the i9 processor, 32 gigs of RAM, 1TB SSD, and the higher-end graphics card. Got it through the education store (no hassel at all) and they threw in the $300 wireless Beats headphones for free! (Someone’s getting a nice gift this Christmas.) Well done Apple! You made me spend $2,000 more than I thought I would! And I’ve already sold my Mac Pro (2013). Took a whole 5 minutes.
Same price as last year’s models, except for the stuff you couldn’t get before, like 32 gigs of RAM and 4TB storage (yikes!) so yeah, but not out of character for Apple.
What got me to go for the top end was the 70 percent increase in performance from last year’s model. At least that’s what I’m telling “she who must be obeyed.” But then I bought her a 2015 MacBook Pro. And she knows I was planning on getting a new one.
To be fair, it’s a heck of a workstation in a slimline laptop form factor. And memory has become expensive because of the industrywide shortage.
But, yes, it’s expensive. Apple knows pro macOS users only have one choice. (Or two, if you count the iMac Pro.)
Yeah, I have a 15″ (issued through work) right now, and it’s become too big for my tastes. This surprised me since I had a 17″ in years past, but it appears I’ve grown accustomed to 13″-class devices, and the use of an external monitor when I need more real estate.
When my laptop’s up for refresh I’ll get the 13″ with 16GB. Should be fine for a while for me.