Apple just updated its 13-inch MacBook Pro laptops, with the new models boasting upgrades to the keyboard, as well as some improvements in terms of the processor, memory and storage options available to buyers.
10th-generation quad-core Intel CPUs are now available on the 13-inch MacBook Pro for the first time, while the maximum available RAM these laptops can be configured with jumps from 16 GB to 32 GB. The top storage configuration doubles up as well, going from 2 TB to 4 TB, if you're willing to pay for it.
Like the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air before it, the 13-inch MacBook Pro now has the scissor switch Magic Keyboard that Apple is touting as its best-ever keyboard experience. Considering the problems that plagued the old keyboard with its butterfly mechanism keys – and which eventually led to a free replacement scheme – Apple will be hoping that holds true.
The keyboard switch also means the physical Escape key makes a return in the top-left corner of the keyboard, rather than a Touch Bar version. The removal of the key had been another criticism of the previous butterfly keyboard.
"With these updates, our entire notebook lineup features the Magic Keyboard for the best typing experience ever on a Mac notebook, offers twice the standard storage than before, and delivers even more performance," Apple senior director of Mac and iPad Product Marketing Tom Boger said in a press statement.
Design-wise, not much has changed. While the 16-inch MacBook Pro refresh slimmed down the bezels to boost the screen size from 15.6 inches without changing the size of the chassis, the smaller model doesn't pull off the same trick – some rumors had suggested the display would be upped to 14 inches, but that hasn't happened.
Apple says the new 13-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2.8 times the performance and up to 80 percent more graphics power than the previous iteration of the laptop, though that is going to depend on which configuration you pick and what tasks you're getting it to do.
The new laptops can be bought now directly from Apple: pricing on the base model comes in at US$1,299, though that's still with the older 8th-gen Intel chips. You'll need to go for the more expensive configurations to get the 10th-gen Intel chips and all the other improvements – the top of the line model, with the 10th-gen Intel Core i7 processor, 32 GB of RAM and 4 TB of storage, is going to set you back a cool $3,599.
Product page: Apple MacBook Pro
