Apple launches 16-inch MacBook Pro to replace 15-inch model

Apple introduced the all-new 16-inch MacBook Pro on its website today. The new laptop is available for pre-order and will be available in Apple Stores around the world starting this week. This new version of Apple’s insanely popular professional level laptop is intended to replace the similarly sized 15-inch model, and will have the same starting price of $2,399 as the 15-inch MacBook Pro. In fact, the 15-inch model can no longer be purchased from Apple’s website as of today.

However, this isn’t just a slightly bigger version of its predecessor. Instead, Apple says it has been optimized to offer better performance than the outgoing 15-inch MacBook Pro. The laptop obviously has 1 more inch of screen real estate than the 15-inch but offers basically the same form factor, with the slightest increase in thickness of just 0.7mm. This is made possible by the significant downsizing of the bezels surrounding screen. Speaking of which, the 16-inch panel is the same Retina display as the previous model, but it now has a larger 3,072 x 1,920 resolution, and higher pixel density at 226 ppi. The brightness remains at 500 nits, and the screen supports the P3 color gamut, and utilizes Apple’s True Tone technology for a highly professional experience.

The laptop also answers numerous complaints about the butterfly keyboard used in Apple’s Macbooks and comes with a completely redesigned keyboard. The initial reviews of it seem promising and respected technology blogs such as The Verge and Engadget have posted positive comments on the new keyboard. The escape key is back, and the keystrokes aren’t as shallow and flat as before. It also incorporates the touchbar at the top, along with a fingerprint sensor on the top right.

The laptop features a new range of 9^th generation Intel processors and better speakers. The thermal performance has been improved thanks to a 35% bigger heat sink and a better thermal design. The laptop is currently offered in two specs, with a $2,399 base model with a 2.6GHz 6-core i7, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, AMD Radeon Pro 5300M and 512GB PCIe SSD, and a $2,799 8-core i9, 16GB DDR4 RAM and AMD Radeon Pro 5500M and 1TB PCIe SSD.