Apple has silently updated their 13 and 15” MacBook Pros, so let’s talk about everything
that’s changed, along with what we’re really disappointed about, as well as a couple
of reasons why it actually makes sense to buy one of these new MacBook Pro’s right
now.
First of all, my condolences to those who recently bought a 2018 model just to find
out their MacBook is now inferior.
Make sure to check your return date to see if you can still return it.
On the plus side, only a few things have changed.
Both the 13 and 15” models have Apple’s new 4th gen butterfly keyboard, showing that
the 3rd gen keyboard still had issues after Apple added the silicon barrier to protect
it from debris.
So for those who have been holding off on the MacBook Pro because of the failing keyboard,
it may now actually be fixed, once and for all.
This almost seems like an act of desperation by Apple to release an update with a fixed
keyboard to get people to buy again, but who knows.
For the 13” MacBook Pro, the only change is a speed increase on the $1800 models base
processor, from 2.3GHz base clock to 2.4GHz, and from 3.8GHz turbo boost to 4.1GHz, which
isn’t too big of a change, but you’re getting it for the same price as before.
The configurable $300 i7 upgrade bumps you up from 2.7GHz base to 2.8, and 4.5Ghz turbo
to 4.7, which we don’t think is worth the cash.
If you’re spending that much, just go for the 15” model which includes a dedicated
graphics card and a newly updated Intel 9th gen 6-core processor that gets a much bigger
boost in performance.
The base CPU goes from 2.2GHz base clock to 2.6, and turbo boost goes from 4.1Ghz to 4.5,
now that’s a huge difference considering it’s priced at the same $2400, so for those
who waited, you’re gonna get a lot more value.
You can now upgrade to the first ever 8-core processor in any MacBook for $300 more, and
it can turbo boost up to a massive 5.0GHz, which we think is worth it for anyone who
can actually use those extra cores, like for RAW video editing.
Now instead of doing that, you can pay just $100 more for the $2800 model which comes
with a slightly slower, but still 8-core processor, the faster 560X graphics chip, and twice the
storage space, which we think is worth every penny.
To be completely honest, we don’t think there will be much of a performance difference
between both of those 8-core processors, so just going for the $2800 model is the best
value.
We also highly recommend upgrading to the Vega 20 graphics chip if you’re doing heavy
graphics work or gaming.
You can watch this video above to find out why it’s well worth the price.
Now you might be wondering why the 13” MacBook Pro is still stuck on Intel’s 8th gen processors
instead of the new 9th gen processors.
Well, take a look at Intel’s 9th gen product page, it seems as though none of those processors
come with their premium Intel Iris Plus graphics, which is a must for the 13” models since
they lack dedicated graphics chips.
Other than the processor and keyboard upgrades, literally nothing else has changed, which
is the most disappointing part.
Everyone’s been waiting for a complete redesign with thinner bezels, and we, unfortunately,
have to wait even longer.
And if Apple was planning a redesign for some time this year, they wouldn’t update the
MacBook Pro right now, so it seems like we’ll be waiting until next year.
And there’s still been no word of the rumored 16” MacBook Pro, so there’s a chance that
model will include the new redesign and will come next year.
We think it makes more sense for Apple to redesign the iMac first, starting with a new
iMac Pro potentially this year, and then redesign the MacBook Pros afterward.
One thing that’s really disappointing is that Apple’s base 13” MacBook Pro for
$1299 is still a 2017 model with an ancient dual-core 7th gen processor and 2nd-generation
butterfly keyboard which is known for its keyboard issues.
At that price point, many Windows laptop manufacturers have moved onto 4-core processors, and some
even have dedicated graphics chips as well, so if you’re planning to get a 13” MacBook
Pro, we honestly recommend just paying $1800 for the 2019 model.
Otherwise, just look elsewhere or buy the 2018 MacBook Air.
We’ve already ordered a 2019 15” MacBook Pro with the new 8-core processor, so if you’re
not already subscribed, click that button above and check out some of our MacBook videos
right there.
Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you in the next one!