Apple released new versions of the MacBook Pro at its ‘Special Event’ in October. The 14” MacBook Pro and 16” MacBook Pro are powered by the company’s new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips which offer massive performance gains over the previous generation machines. Also, the 14” MacBook version is a new addition to the lineup, offering slightly more screen real-estate over the 13” MacBook Pro model.
The most interesting design aspect of the new MacBook Pro machines is the almost edge-to-edge screen. As a result, the 14” MacBook Pro fits in an enclosure which is almost the same size as the 13” MacBook Pro model. Same is the case with the 16” MacBook Pro – slightly larger screen at 16.2” while maintaining almost the same enclosure size.
Performance and power differences
The 14” MacBook Pro only comes in the M1 Pro variant which is still plenty powerful but just not as much as the 16” MacBook Pro which also comes in a M1 Max variant. The M1 Pro comes in two variants – an 8-core variant and a 10-core variant whereas the M1 Max only comes in a 10-core variant. The difference between the M1 Pro and the M1 Max lies in the GPU compertant – the M1 Pro has a maximum of 16-core GPU whereas the M1 Max has a maximum of 32-core GPU.
Both the 14” MacBook Pro and the 16” MacBook Pro have Liquid Retina XDR displays. The new displays are based on mini-LED technology which offers deeper blacks and higher brightness. The same display technology used on the M1 iPad Pro which was released earlier this year.
The new MacBook Pros have three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, an SDXC slot, and a MagSafe 3 port. The base 14” MacBook Pro comes included with a 67W (USB-C) power adapter whereas the higher-end 14” MacBook Pro comes with a 96W power adapter. The 16” MacBook Pro comes with a whopping 140W power adapter.