Hands On With the 16-Inch MacBook Pro: Apple Finally Fixes the Keyboard

A new 16-inch MacBook Pro is replacing the previous 15-inch laptop as Apple’s flagship mobile computer. Although it retains the same overall physical design as its predecessor, the new laptop offers a redesigned keyboard, an improved thermal design, and other subtle tweaks.

Together, they seem to be Apple’s way of acknowledging previous design missteps with its laptops aimed at multimedia professionals. Previous MacBook Pro keyboards in particular have been the subject of ire—and even lawsuits—for their shallow design and propensity to fail when debris get stuck in the keys.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro, which starts at $2,399 and goes on sale Nov. 14, has a keyboard with keys that feature a refined scissor mechanism and a rubber dome, which Apple claims will deliver a more comfortable and quiet typing experience. It also offers Intel’s latest Core i7 and Core i9 processor options, as well as AMD’s new 5000M-series mobile GPUs. And if you opt for the top-end storage configuration, a whopping 8TB SSD, you'll probably never run out of places to put your 50-megapixel photos and 4K footage.

Together with thermal improvements, which include redesigned fans with additional blades, the new MacBook Pro can offer up to 12 more watts of power to the CPU and GPU during sustained intensive workflows. Theoretically, this should mean better performance, though we’ll have to see how the new laptop does on PCMag’s benchmark tests to be sure. (It's in our labs right now and we're busily testing it as you read.)

Although I appreciate the added performance and redesigned keyboard, by far my favorite new feature is the astoundingly powerful and rich audio that emanates from the new six-speaker array. Read on for my first impressions.

1 Cool Thing: Apple MacBook Pro 16-Inch (2019)

More Pixels

The most physically obvious difference between the 15-inch MacBook Pro and its 16-inch successor is its additional inch of screen real estate, along with a slightly higher pixel density of 226 pixels per inch. To add that extra inch with as little impact as possible to the laptop's size and weight, Apple's engineers employed the common technique of reducing the size of the borders around the screen, known as bezels.

Thinner Bezels

Thinner bezels can mean more screen without a larger chassis, but in this case the new MacBook Pro is ever so slightly larger and heavier than the model it replaces. The 16-inch laptop measures 0.64 by 14.09 by 9.68 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.3 pounds, up from 0.61 by 13.75 by 9.5 inches and 4 pounds.

Brilliant Colors

Other than the additional diagonal inch and higher pixel density, the new MacBook Pro offers the same features that Pro-level Retina Displays have offered for a few years now. These include a 500-nit brightness, more than enough for viewing in brightly lit rooms, as well as support for the entire P3 color gamut.

Dome, Meet Butterfly

The new MacBook Pro is the first laptop to depart from Apple's controversial butterfly-style keyboard, which drew ire from consumers and the media alike because of its incredibly shallow key travel. The overall experience of the butterfly-style keyboard is akin to tapping on your smartphone, which can be frustrating if you're a novelist or software developer.

Apple refers to its new board as the Magic Keyboard, whose name and physics are derived from the standalone keyboard that comes with the iMac and iMac Pro. Travel distance is improved, to 1mm, and there's a new rubber dome that complements the butterfly switch. Apple says the overhaul maintains the extraordinary stability of the previous board while preserving more potential energy, resulting in a more satisfying key press.

Based on typing a few lines, the new keys feel rather ordinary. They're not as comfortable as the keys on most Lenovo ThinkPad laptops, nor are they as jarringly shallow as the previous MacBook Pro design.

Tweaked Touch ID

The Touch Bar is the MacBook Pro's only means of touch control, since it lacks a touch-screen option that is common on Windows competitors. The 16-inch MacBook Pro includes a slightly revised Touch Bar, with a larger space between it and the Touch ID fingerprint sensor that doubles as a power button. The Touch Bar is also shortened on the right side to allow room for a physical Escape key.

Arrows to a 'T'

Perhaps my favorite part of the new keyboard is the inverted-T layout for the arrow keys. This is instead of full-height left- and right-arrow keys, and it makes using the directional arrows by feel instead of by sight much easier. I wish Apple had also made the arrow keys larger.

Sensational Audio Quality

The speaker grilles that flank the keyboard are slightly larger than before, thanks to the larger chassis. Each of them hides two tweeters, which are joined by two subwoofers located at the bottom left and right corners of the laptop. Together, they produce astonishingly rich audio. This is easily the most robust bass I've ever heard from any laptop speakers.

The array of three microphones, located beneath the left speaker grille, has also been improved. Using technology from studio mics, their improved signal-to-noise ratio results in 40 percent less hiss. I don't know anyone who would consider recording even a podcast—let alone a music track—using a laptop's built-in mic, but now you might be able to.

Gargantuan Trackpad

The huge trackpad of the previous 15-inch MacBook Pro remains. It's an excellent pad, offering synthetic haptic feedback instead of a physical clicking mechanism.

Redesigned Thermals

Beneath the MacBook Pro's surface lurk Intel Core i7 or Core i9 CPUs and AMD Radeon Pro 5300M or 5500M graphics processors. This isn't the first time Apple has offered a Core i9 in a laptop, but it is the first time the Radeon Pro 5000-series has shown up. Based on a 7-nanometer microarchitecture, these GPUs are designed for graphics-accelerated computing, not hardcore gaming. Memory options range from 16GB to 64GB of 2,666MHz DDR4 RAM.

To cool everything down, there's a redesigned heat sink and heat pipe, in addition to the improved fans. Some current MacBook Pro owners have complained of throttling, and the thermal management software that shipped with the first Core i9-equipped MacBook Pro was flawed. I hope the more powerful components and better cooling in the 16-inch MacBook Pro help eliminate these issues.

Headphone Jack Included

The 16-inch MacBook Pro still includes a headphone jack, long since excised from Apple's phones and iPad Pro tablets. The right edge also features two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 support, which can be used to charge the laptop's massive 100Whr battery.

Thunderbolt 3-Only

There are two more USB Type-C ports on the left edge, but alas that's the end of the port array. The homogeneity of the MacBook Pro's ports rivals the butterfly keyboard in terms of user complaints, but in this case, people with USB Type-A peripherals or microSD card slots have no relief.

Still, it's clear that the new MacBook Pro is a better laptop than the one it replaces, if only for its astounding audio quality and improved keyboard. Assuming it performs at least as well as its predecessor, it could be a macOS-based creative professional's best friend. Check back soon for our full review.