Today, Apple refreshed the 13-inch variant of the MacBook Pro, following up on the launch of the 16-inch MacBook Pro last year. The new model comes with refreshed specs, including 10th-generation Intel Core processors on certain configurations, specifically the 10nm Ice Lake chips, with Intel Iris Plus Graphics. Apple says you can expect up to 80% faster graphics performance compared to the previous-generation MacBook Pro. Apple also says this enables you to connect the MacBook Pro to its Pro Display XDR at full 6K resolution.
Apple has also doubled the base storage for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, now starting at 256GB of SSD storage. It can go all the way up to 4TB, if you need that kind of space. Additionally, 16GB of RAM at 3733MHz has become standard on models with 10th-generation processors, and it"s possible to get 32GB of RAM for the first time in a 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Another noteworthy change is, of course, the new Magic Keyboard which debuted on the 16-inch MacBook Pro last year. After years of complaints about Apple"s butterfly switch mechanism, the company is now using a scissor mechanism and the keys have a full millimeter of travel distance. The 13-inch MacBook Pro also has a physical Escape key next to the Touch Bar and an inverted-T layout for the directional arrows.
The Retina display on the new MacBook Pro is the same size as previous 13-inch models, and it can deliver up to 500 nits of brightness and support for the P3 color gamut. It also has Apple"s TrueTone technology. In terms of security, it comes with Apple"s T2 security chip, which keeps Touch ID information and other files stored securely.
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is available to order today starting at $1,299, or $1,199 for students, but those models still have eighth-generation Intel processors. Models with Ice Lake processors and faster RAM start at $1,799 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of SD storage. It will be arriving to customers and available in retail stores later this week.