Paul Morris on October 27, 2016, 11:34 pm

2016 MacBook Pro Specs, Price, Release Date Announced, Here Are The Details

Apple has made its 2016 MacBook Pro official. Here are its specs, price, release date info. In short, here’s everything you need to know about Apple’s latest MacBook Pro.

We’ve been hearing about the latest addition to the MacBook Pro range for a while now, but finally, Apple has announced the new hardware at its dedicated Mac event held in its iconic Cupertino campus. The MacBook Pro has been long due for a refresh not just under-the-hood, but aesthetically as well, especially when you consider the beautiful 12-inch MacBook model that has been around since 2015.

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The 2016 MacBook Pro comes in 15-inch and 13-inch sizes, and takes its cues from the evolutionary design choices that Apple has taken last year with MacBook, and complements that with the addition of some truly revolutionary features giving the ‘Pro’ moniker something to actually stand proud by. Now that Apple has taken the covers off of its new computing machine, all those earlier rumors and speculations have finally been laid to rest, with the real concern being how, and when will fans be able to put their hands on one.

We take a look at all that makes the new MacBook Pro special, when can customers expect to grab one, and at what price. So without further ado, let’s get down to the intricacies of this announcement.

Specs / Features

New Design

As expected, the new MacBook Pro is immediately recognizable as one of Apple’s notebooks, but does come with exterior changes that will appeal to potential owners and differentiates it from previous-gen MacBook Pro design which has been around since 2012. It is also slimmer and lighter than its predecessor.

Apple says that 15-inch MacBook Pro is 14% thinner and is also 20% more compact than before. The 13-inch model is 17% thinner and 23% less in volume compared to the previous gen. MacBook Pro.

Display

The display is Retina of course, but comes with serious bunch of improvements. The new MacBook Pro now boasts a display that is 67% brighter, packs 25% more colors, and has a 67% higher contrast ratio than before, sporting same Retina resolution as before. The new MacBook Pros are also the first Mac notebooks to support wide color gamut (P3).

Touch Bar

This is definitely one of the highlight features of the new MacBook Pro, and definitely one thing that will ensure it moves off shelves in droves. Called the Touch Bar, the new MacBook Pro offers a touch-sensitive toolbar on the top of the keyboard that allows different function keys and shortcuts to be mapped around for that ultimate dynamic approach.

The keys and content here contextually change depending on the first or third party app being used, and can also be customized. More spectacular is the fact that the display on the Touch Bar is Retina, and it also employs the ability to detect multi-touch. You can learn about Touch Bar in detail here: How MacBook Pro Touch Bar Feature Works And What You Can Do With It.

Touch ID

It’s been a staple part of Apple’s iOS-powered devices for a while, but now it makes it debut on the Mac. With this latest MacBook Pro, hardware owners are finally able to authenticate and verify themselves with biometrics via an integrated Touch ID sensor built right into the power button that resides on the right side of the Touch Bar.

The Touch ID sensor is covered by Saphire crystal, and packs built-in Secure Enclave, just like Apple’s modern iOS devices. It can, of course, also be used for Apple Pay on the web.

CPU & GPU

The new MacBook Pro features sixth generation Intel CPUs. With the top-of-the-range 15-inch model, we are looking at 2.9GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz, an AMD Radeon Pro 460 GPU with up to 4GB VRAM, and 16GB of RAM. All of this makes for working with 3D graphics: 130% faster, gaming: 60% faster, and video editing: 57% faster than before. There’s a whopping 2TB SSD option available as well for the top-end model. SSDs in the new MacBook Pros are 50% faster than previous-generation models.

The 13-inch model on the other hand comes in both Core i5 and i7 configurations with top of the line model maxing out with 3.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, and Intel Iris Graphics which are x2 faster than before. Memory on this version is configurable between 8GB and 16GB RAM and SSD options are available from 256GB up to 1TB max. This makes the machine 103% faster at gaming, 76% faster at video and graphics editing.

USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3/HDMI/VGA/DisplayPort

As was expected, Apple has continued its adoption of USB Type-C by integrating the connector into both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro. This time though, while the connectors are of USB-C, the ports are actually Thunderbolt 3 supported. What this means is that they can handle power, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, Thunderbolt, USB and more all from this connection. There are now 4 of these ports available on the new MacBook Pros with Touch Bar and Touch ID.

Apple also has a 13-inch 2016 MacBook Pro model without Touch Bar and Touch ID (more on this model is detailed here), on which only two of these Thunderbolt 3 ports are available instead of four.

Speakers

You will be happy to see speakers getting some focus this time around. Apple says that the speakers in the new MacBook Pro range now offers 2x the dynamic range compared to previous model.

Keyboard

The keyboard on the new MacBook Pro now employs the a 2nd gen. butterfly mechanism. The keyboard is LED backlit of course, but this time with each key independently lit up.

Larger Force Touch Trackpad

This isn’t exactly a new feature, but is one that continues to push forward the appeal of the MacBooks, and even more so this time around with a Force Touch glass trackpad that boasts a surface area that is 2x larger than before, for that precision input and interaction than before.

Battery Life

The battery in this year’s MacBook Pro should be good enough to offer that “full day” experience with up to 10-hours of continuous operation, based on full charge and under optimum operating conditions.

Multiple Colors

This may not be the greatest part of what Apple has introduced with the new MacBook Pro, but yes, it does come in those multiple, and very familiar, color options. Prospective owners can choose between Space Gray and Silver colors.

Price

MacBook Pros configuration and their respective pricing details are as follows:

13-inch model without Touch Bar and Touch ID and two Thunderbolt 3 ports: starts at $1,499 for Intel Core i5 + 256GB SSD + 8GB RAM + Intel Iris Graphics 540 and goes up to Core i7 + 1TB SSD + 16GB RAM + Intel Iris Graphics 540 for $2,599
13-inch model with Touch Bar and Touch ID and four Thunderbolt 3 ports: starts at $1,799 for Intel Core i5 + 256GB SSD + 8GB RAM + Intel Iris Graphics 550 and goes up to Core i7 + 1TB SSD + 16GB RAM + Intel Iris Graphics 550 for $2,599
15-inch model with Touch Bar and Touch ID and four Thunderbolt 3 ports: starts at $2,399 for Intel Core i7 + Radeon Pro 450 + 256GB SSD + 16GB RAM and goes up to Intel Core i7 (faster clock speed) + Radeon Pro 460 + 2TB SSD + 16GB RAM for $4,299

Release Date

And this is where the good news gets even better; Apple is taking immediate orders for the new MacBook Pro starting today, with the 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar and without Touch ID being available for shipping starting today. The 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and Touch ID ship out in 2 to 3 weeks time.

MacBook Pro 2016 Introduction

MacBook Pro 2016 Design, Performance, & Features

MacBook Pro Evolution

MacBook Pro 2016 Touch Bar