Apple unveils 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Pro, M1 Max starting at $2499

As widely expected, Apple used its "Unleashed" event to continue its two-year effort to bring Apple Silicon to all Macs. The 16-inch MacBook Pro, last updated almost two years ago, had remained one of the few Intel Macs left.

Championed as a return to form when that Intel one launched, the 16-inch MacBook Pro had already brought a larger screen and replaced the disliked butterfly keyboard. Now with M1 Pro and M1 Max, it has stepped up its performance, too.

"We set out to create the world's best pro notebook," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, "and today we're excited to introduce the all-new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max — a game-changing combination of phenomenal performance, unrivaled battery life, and groundbreaking features."

"The all-new MacBook Pro adds a breathtaking XDR display, more ports like MagSafe 3, an advanced 1080p camera, and a sensational six-speaker sound system, all in a stunning new design," he continued. "The new MacBook Pro simply has no equal and is by far the best pro notebook we've ever built."

The Touch Bar is gone, replaced by a full-size function key row. There is also a wider Escape key, and the whole keyboard now has a black background instead of the space gray or silver of the chassis.

As expected, Apple has added an HDMI port and an SD card reader. In addition, it features three Thunderbolt 4 ports, plus MagSafe 3, an updated magnetic power cable, which supports fast charge.

Apple claims that the 16-inch MacBook Pro gets up to 21 hours of video playback, or 10 hours more than before. It's the longest battery life ever seen in a Mac notebook.

The display is a Liquid Retina XDR display featuring mini-LED. It provides 1,000 nits of constant brightness across the whole screen, and can reach a peak brightness of 1,600 nits.

Apple has increased the size of the internal display to 16.2 inches, including 7.7 million pixels. For external screens, the MacBook Pro with M1 Pro can drive up to two Pro Display XDR monitors. With M1 Max, it can drive up to three Pro Display XDR monitors — and a 4K TV.

Prices start from $2,499 for an M1 Pro with 16-core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, and 512GB SSD storage. A fully maxed-out 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max, 32-core GPU, 64GB Unified Memory, and 8TB SSD storage, will cost $6,099.

Apple is taking orders for the new MacBook Pro today, October 18. They will be available beginning October 26.

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