Apple announced on Tuesday that the MacBook Pro is getting a speed boost. The company revealed that the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar is now available with eight-generation Intel processors, while the 15-inch MacBook Pro now sports ninth-generation CPUs, including the first 8-core Mac laptop.
Apple also said that the 2019 MacBook Pro features changes to the butterfly keyboard mechanism that should help prevent the problems that users have experienced in previous MacBook models. The new models are also included in Apple’s Keyboard Service Program, which means that the company will repair the keyboard for free up to four years after purchase.
Apple is offering the new MacBook Pro models at the same price points as those released in July 2018.
15-inch MacBook Pro
The $2,799 15-inch MacBook Pro could be the fastest Mac laptop ever, with its ninth-generation 8-core 2.3GHz Core i9 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz. Apple says the new MacBook Pro is two times faster than a quad-core MacBook Pro, and 40 percent faster than the 6-core model that was introduced last July. Other specs include 4GB Radeon Pro 560X graphics, 16GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory, and a 512GB SSD.
The $2,399 15-inch MacBook Pro now has a ninth-generation 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, an upgrade from the eighth-generation 2.2GHz 6-core Core i7 CPU that was introduced last year. Other specs include 4GB Radeon Pro 555X graphics, 16GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory, and a 256GB SSD.
13-inch MacBook Pro
As for the 13-inch MacBook Pro, the $1,799 and $1,999 standard configurations get new eighth-generation quad-core Core i5 processors.
The $1,799 model now has an eighth-generation 2.4GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, which replaces an eighth-generation 2.3GHz quad-core Core i5 processor in the model released last July. The rest of the key specs remain unchanged: integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory, and a 256GB SSD.
The $1,999 13-inch MacBook Pro has the same eighth-generation 2.4GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, and 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory as the $1,799 model. The extra cost is for a 512GB SSD.
The $1,299 and $1,499 models remain unchanged with seventh-generation 2.3GHz dual-core Core i5 CPUs. These models were introduced in 2017.
Author: Roman Loyola, Senior Editor
Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.