There’s a new MacBook Pro in town with a redesigned keyboard that should fix all the complaints about the butterfly keyboards of old. On this week’s Apple Core roundup, we also get a clearer look at when to expect Apple’s rumored AR/VR headset. And will the mystery of Apple Glasses finally see the light of day?
The 16-inch MacBook Pro says goodbye to the butterfly keyboard
Rumors swirled for months about a new 16-inch MacBook Pro, and this week Apple finally delivered. The new laptop has slimmer bezels for a bigger screen (though it’s about the same size as the outgoing 15-inch MacBook Pro’s), a TouchID sensor separated from the TouchBar, a physical escape key and a redesigned keyboard.
Now, the new 16-inch laptop has a redesigned scissor-switch keyboard, called the Magic Keyboard, which has little rubber domes underneath the keys. They also have more travel, so the keys sit higher. Keys will also be removable, which should make repairs easier.
Unfortunately, if you want the new keyboard, it’s only on the 16-inch model for now. You won’t see it on the 13-inch model yet, and the 15-inch MacBook Pro is going away — so now might be a good time to pick up one at a better price before it disappears.
Apple’s AR/VR headset and glasses are reportedly delayed
Another week, another round of rumors around Apple’s AR glasses. Previously, we heard rumblings that Apple’s long-awaited glasses and headset were due in 2020. Now that timeline looks less likely, and we won’t see them until 2022 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg.
Although the timeline has been pushed out, it looks like Apple is building the foundations for the system with a new 3D sensor that we may see on the 2020 iPad Pro. A new dual-camera module on the tablet will also have a 3D sensor that will be able to reconstruct rooms or objects. It may be a more sophisticated version of the Face ID system on the current iPhone 11.
Lastly, Apple may be ready to take the wraps off its AR/VR headset in 2021 or 2022, according to Bloomberg’s sources. It will let you play games, watch videos and attend virtual meetings, similar to what you can do in headsets like the Oculus Quest. Apple’s AR glasses will follow about a year later. They’ll be lightweight, but we don’t know for sure if they’ll be powered by your phone or be standalone AR glasses.
Google’s device line could end up having a particularly important moment in 2023. The company usually announces new Pixel products throughout the year. Google is expected to release its first foldable phone this year, however, which would directly compete with Samsung’s proven line of Galaxy Z Fold devices. Google also introduced its own ChatGPT rival, …
You can finally get a MacBook with a totally redesigned keyboard — but it’s going to cost you at least $2,399 (£2,399, AU$3,799). The longstanding rumors about Apple’s newest jumbo laptop were nearly all true. The newest 16-inch MacBook Pro, unveiled Wednesday, finally ditches the flat “butterfly” keyboard that has vexed Apple laptops for the better part of half a decade, replacing it with a back-to-the-future design modeled on the more traditional keyboards used by iMacs for the past several years. “As we started to investigate specifically what pro users most wanted, a lot of times they would say, ‘I want something like this Magic Keyboard, I love that keyboard,'” Apple’s Phil Schiller said in a conversation with CNET.
The new model fits a 16-inch screen into a body that’s barely bigger than the previous 15.4-inch models. Apple is also throwing in a bevy of spec bumps — better graphics, bigger battery, more storage, better microphones and speakers — and charging no more for the bigger, better Pro than the 15-inch model that it replaces in the line.
See it at Apple
But even with that long list of upgrades, the thing I’m most interested in is the keyboard — and I bet you are, too. I’ve only gotten to use the 16-inch MacBook Pro for less than a day, but here are my early thoughts.
MacBooks used to be the pinnacle of laptop engineering: cool unibody designs, great battery life, great keyboards and useful extras like the late, great MagSafe power connector. But that smooth sailing hit choppy weather when Apple introduced its butterfly keyboards starting with the 12-inch MacBook in 2015. The butterfly mechanism — so named for the dual-hinged mechanism under each key — replaced the more traditional single-hinged scissor switch design. The butterfly design offered a flatter profile for the keys, which allowed Apple to lean in to its ultrathin design aesthetic.
But many found the redesigned keyboard offered a less pleasurable typing experience because the flat keys barely moved when depressed. Despite the less-than-enthusiastic reception, Apple extended the butterfly keyboard to the full MacBook line — even as it developed a reputation for being unreliable, with ongoing reports of sticky or nonworking keys. The problems were widespread enough that Apple had to initiate an extended replacement program for the entire line, and iterative modifications to the butterfly design never seemed to fully ameliorate the complaints.
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Has the new MacBook Pro finally fixed Apple’s keyboard…
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But that’s all over with the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. The new laptop incorporates what Apple is calling the Magic Keyboard, adapted from the namesake Magic Keyboards that have come with iMacs for years. Like those older models, it’s a more traditional — and, presumably, more reliable — scissor switch design. Compared to the recent butterfly models, the 16-incher’s keys are definitely quieter, feel more natural, and have a more generous 1mm of “travel” — so when you depress the key, you actually feel it move. It’s not a total throwback to the pre-butterfly MacBook Pros, though — my 2015 13-inch MacBook Pro at home has smaller keys with even more travel, but those now feel more pillowy to my fingers. Think of the new MacBook Pro keyboard as a happy medium between the two.
The key caps on the new MacBook Pro’s keyboard can be removed and replaced, and it seems like the keyboard could be more easily serviced. But with only a day using the new keyboard, it’s hard to tell how it will do over time. Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro was just updated earlier this year with a butterfly keyboard that Apple claimed was more durable. This new keyboard is an abrupt change, and a clear response to those earlier problems.
Note: An Escape key!
Sarah Tew/CNET
And while the new 16-incher keeps the Touch Bar, that mini touchscreen across the top of the keyboard that replaces the function key row, there’s an Escape key at the top left now, in addition to the Touch ID sensor on the right. Apple still seems to think the Touch Bar is an essential part of the Pro experience, but I continue to find it confusing. That’s mostly because the touch controls make me want to touch the screen, and the lack of tactile feedback makes it hard to tap brightness or volume controls while working. But the bar is smaller now. Maybe it will keep shrinking.
In addition to that escape key, traditionalists will also appreciate that the arrow keys on the keyboard’s lower right have reverted to the classic “inverted T” design, which is much easier to navigate by feel.
The key layout will be familiar if you’ve used an iMac recently.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Thicker and heavier, but wow, those speakers
The 16-inch Pro feels roughly the same size as the older 15-inch model, but it’s actually a tiny bit beefier, at 4.3 pounds (2 kg) and 0.64 inch thick — that’s 0.28 pounds heavier and 0.03 inches thicker than the 15-inch models. Apple claims its brightness hits 500 nits like the previous 15-incher, with DCI-P3 wide color gamut and a 3,072×1,920-pixel resolution (up from 2,880×1,800 on the 15). The bezels are smaller around the edges. It looks great.
The laptop’s also heavier because there’s more battery (100 watt-hour), with a promise of an 11-hour battery life. That gives you an hour more of battery charge in everyday use than the older 15-inch model provided.
The keyboard is inset to accommodate a six-speaker array on the edges that sounds excellent, well above anything I’ve heard on a recent laptop. It’s enough for hosting a party, practically. A new three-microphone setup promises audio recording to rival a Blue Yeti microphone, should you choose to record directly from the MacBook Pro, though I can’t imagine real podcasters or YouTubers forgoing a discrete microphone.
Goodbye, 15-inch MacBook Pro; hello, new graphics
The new 16-inch MacBook Pro replaces the 15-inch Pro that was just updated earlier this year, and starts at the same $2,399 price. And while the keyboard is a welcome retro feature, Apple didn’t restore old favorites like USB-A ports or an SD card slot. There are still just four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports — one of which doubles as a power jack at any given time — plus a headphone jack. The 16-inch also uses ninth-gen Intel processors like the 15-inch did, and starts with the same six-core Core i7 processor.
The graphics are better, though, moving to AMD Radeon Pro 5300M or 5500M chips (instead of the Radeon Pro 555X in the 15-inch model). This is the first laptop to use AMD’s new graphics card. We’re curious about performance, so stay tuned for tests and benchmarks.
The base-model 16-inch Pro starts with 512GB of storage, up from 256GB, and Apple has configurations ramping up to a crazy 8TB solid-state drive (empty your bank account) and 64GB of RAM (16GB comes standard).
Full specs
Silver or space gray
16-inch, 3,072×1,920-pixel display
2.6GHz six-core Intel Core i7 or 2.3GHz Intel Core i9 (up to an eight-core Core i9)
16GB DDR4 RAM (up to 64GB)
AMD Radeon Pro 5300M or 5500M, 4GB GDDR6 memory (up to 8GB)
512GB SSD (up to 8TB)
Four Thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports
100 watt-hour battery
$2,399 starting price
Will that keyboard show up anywhere else next?
But back to that keyboard. I’m fascinated — and relieved — that Apple has moved away from the butterfly and back to a scissor mechanism. The entry ticket to this keyboard, however, is $2,399. Will Apple introduce this keyboard into other MacBooks, too, and when will it happen? I have no idea, and Apple wouldn’t disclose any concrete plans. But for the time being, Apple’s best laptop keyboard will be held captive inside its fanciest Pro model.
How powerful is it?
Stay tuned for testing, where we’ll learn a lot more. Right now, this looks like an overdue upgrade to Apple’s larger-sized Pro laptop, but maybe not in all the ways everyone was hoping for.
Originally published earlier today.Update, 11:57 a.m. PT: Clarifies that the new MacBook’s keys are wider than pre-butterfly keys, and quieter too.
Update, Nov. 13, 2019: Apple has introduced a new 16-inch MacBook Pro with a larger screen and improved keyboard. It completely replaces the previous 15-inch model.
It was back in February that we first heard rumors about a bigger-than-usual MacBook Pro in Apple’s pipeline. Analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, who has been out in front of many of the company’s announcements over the past decade, reported that we could expect a new high-end laptop with a large display sometime in 2019.
iPad Pro and MacBook Pro could get better than OLED displays
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Certainly, the MacBook Pro is due for a shakeup of some sort. Apart from a series of minor spec bumps over the past few years, including the slightest refresh at WWDC in July, Apple hasn’t really updated its premium tier of laptops since 2016. And that last major overhaul — extending the Touch Bar across Pro line and shifting to the controversial butterfly keyboard — has not been roundly embraced.
But it would be so quintessentially Apple to unveil a 16-inch laptop in 2019. (The company did not respond to our request for comment.) Most vendors cling tightly to the conventional sizes — 13, 15 and 17 inches — though the 14-inch display has recently carved out a niche, and you can sometimes find an 11- or 12-inch model.
Still, the landscape is ripe for change. The MacBook Pro could use a fresh start. And the timing could be perfect. We’ve collected the most interesting and credible rumors about the 16-inch MacBook Pro below. Have a look.
For months, we’ve heard rumors from multiple sources about a redesign for the MacBook Pro. But there’s been no consensus on exactly when this laptop would launch. Kuo’s initial report from February was broad, giving “2019” as the timeframe. In May, we heard that the project had been delayed until 2020 or 2021, or maybe even shelved. But, it turned out that was due to an inaccurate translation of a subsequent Kuo report.
August brought a fresh slate of rumors indicating that not only was the new model coming, it was coming soon — and perhaps even by the end of October. And the latest intel, from DigiTimes and Forbes, suggests that we could see a new MacBook Pro debut sometime next week. If true, Apple will most likely announce the new machine in a press release, as we’ve not heard anything about an imminent event.
Rumor: It will have a 16-inch display and narrow bezels
Sarah Tew/CNET
We’ve heard that Apple has figured out how to embed a larger display in a chassis that’s about the same size as the current 15-inch Pro model — a move that would necessitate a narrower margin around the screen. And earlier this month, MacRumors reported that the MacGeneration blog had discovered a new icon — a laptop with slim bezels and a “16” in the file name — in Apple’s own MacOS Catalina beta code. Though there’s OLED buzz around every upcoming Apple device, we haven’t seen any authoritative sourcing of this rumor for the next MacBook Pro.
Rumor: Apple will give the new MacBook Pro a scissor-style keyboard
Sarah Tew/CNET
Apple is expected to move on from its controversial butterfly keyboard with the next iteration of the MacBook Pro. This welcome tidbit, which came first from Kuo, acknowledges what many of us concluded years ago: that Apple’s butterfly-switch keyboard design, introduced in 2015 to make its laptops lighter and thinner, is a failure. Legions of users have complained about sticky keys, letters typing in duplicate — or not at all.
Note that Kuo had originally predicted that the new scissor keyboard would also come to the MacBook Air by the end of 2019. Given that Apple just updated the MacBook Air in July, that’s extremely unlikely.
Rumor: The new MacBook Pro will have Intel inside, again
From Apple’s event in October 2016.
James Martin/CNET
Apple’s July update to the MacBook Pro lineup, announced at this year’s WWDC, featured a step up to Intel’s faster eighth- and ninth-generation Core processors, including an eight-core version. According to Forbes, the forthcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro will run on Intel’s Coffee Lake H Refresh processor.
If that’s true, the next MacBook Pro could be one of the last Apple computers to feature Intel processors. The company long been rumored to be shifting its computers over to custom Arm-based processors. The move is part of Apple’s strategic decision to help developers more easily create a single version of their apps that’ll work across Apple’s various operating systems — on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. And the processor change could take place as soon as next year, according to Bloomberg and Axios.
