Apple refreshes its MacBook Pro 13-inch for a second time in 2020, and this latest release promises to be revolutionary.
The MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020) is the second big refresh for Apple’s smallest MacBook Pro this year, and while the earlier one represented a rather minor specs bump, this new release promises to be revolutionary. That’s because the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020), along with the MacBook Air (M1,2020) and Mac mini (M1,2020), which were also announced at Apple’s One More Thing event on November 10, no longer uses Intel hardware for its processor and integrated graphics, and instead uses the new 5nm M1 chip that’s been custom designed by Apple itself. The company promises that this new chip allows the new MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020) to perform better, and run longer on battery, than its Intel-based predecessors. Apple claims the new MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020) is the world’s fastest compact pro notebook (for machine learning, at any rate); up to three times faster than Windows laptops in its class; and 2.8 times faster than the previous generation of MacBook Pro. So Apple is certainly talking a good game with the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020), but does it deliver? In this hands-on review, we put Apple’s claims to the test. These are our early thoughts on the laptop after spending some time with it – our full review, which will include more in-depth performance analysis, will follow soon. Prices for the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020) start at $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$1,999 for the 256GB SSD/8GB RAM model, with the 2TB SSD/16GB RAM model selling for $2,299 / £2,299 / AU$3,499. Both models come with the same M1 chip with an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU, and storage can be configured up to 2TB. For comparison, the MacBook Pro (2020) launched earlier this year for $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$1,999, so we’re not seeing the price cut on the MacBook Pro some were hoping to see now that Apple has moved to its own silicon, but we commend Apple for releasing the new version at the same price as the previous model. What’s interesting is that the new MacBook Air (M1,2020) is available with the same M1 chip, and with the same amount of RAM and 512GB storage, for $1,249 / £1,249 / AU$1,949. Usually, we wouldn’t compare the MacBook Pro with the MacBook Air, but considering how close the specs are, and the fact that new MacBook Air also features a screen that supports the P3 color gamut, previously exclusive to MacBook Pros, there may be some people who think going for the Air is a better choice, especially as it comes with double the capacity for less money. However, the MacBook Air (M1,2020) has a fanless design, whereas the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020) still has fans. This means the new MacBook Air is limited in how long it can run intensive tasks for before its performance is throttled in order to prevent overheating, due to there being no fans to cool it down. If you’re going to have your machine working for hours on end on rendering tasks, for example, then the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020) will be worth the extra outlay. The MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1,2020) is one of the most exciting releases from Apple for a while, thanks to its new M1 silicon brains, but you probably wouldn’t think that when you first get it out of the box. That’s because, with its dimensions of 0.61 x 11.97 x 8.
