Apple launches new 13-inch MacBook Pro with 'Magic Keyboard'
What's the story
Finally, that annoying 'butterfly keyboard' is gone for good. Apple has unveiled an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro with the newer, more reliable Magic Keyboard that had debuted with its 16-inch sibling late last year. The notebook also brings some notable hardware improvements over the existing line-up of 13-inch MacBook Pros in the market. Here are all the details.
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Ruling out butterfly keyboard completely
Apple's butterfly keyboard was a long-standing problem for MacBook users, but then, in November 2019, the company introduced the more reliable scissor-switch style 'Magic Keyboard with the 16-inch MacBook Pro. In March, the keyboard trickled down to MacBook Air, and now, with the launch of this notebook, it has reached all new MacBooks, taking the glitchy butterfly keyboard completely out of the picture.
Information
So, no more typing issues
The new MacBook Pro keyboard brings 1mm button travel and inverted-T arrow key arrangement to ensure the same seamless typing experience of the 16-inch model. You will not run into old MacBook-specific problems like erratic key behavior, repeated inputs, or no input at all.
Other changes
What else is on offer?
While you still get the same Retina display of the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro, the internal hardware has been upgraded. For one, the minimum storage space has been doubled from 128GB to 256GB, with options to configure all the way up to 4TB. The notebook also brings up to 2.8 times faster performance than earlier models, thanks to Intel's 10th generation quad-core processors.
Details
80% faster graphics performance
Along with the quad-core processor, with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 4.1GHz, the new MacBook Pro also comes with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, which are said to be 80% faster than previous MacBook Pros at 4K video editing, rendering, and gaming. The RAM on the base model of the notebook is 8GB but configurations are available with up to 32GB if needed.
Pricing
Prices start at $1,299
The base model of the new notebook with 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, and 8th generation Intel Chip starts at $1,299, but you can upgrade to 16GB of faster, 3733MHz RAM for $100 more. If you want the 10th generation quad-core chip with 512GB, you'd have to shell out at least $1,799. The notebook will start hitting select Apple Stores later this week.