Apple’s Overlooked MacBook Pro Gets an Upgrade

Apple has updated the MacBook Pro — and not just with the flashy, logo-glowing, touchscreen-equipped MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display, but also its entry-level 14-inch model, which most people will actually buy. In some ways, the entry-level model is more impressive than its shinier, flashier sibling.Namely, Apple builds its most powerful chips by basically just combining multiple pieces of silicon into a single cohesive unit. The M5 Pro and M5 Max in the top-end touchscreen MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR display are each just two dies slammed together — what Apple calls its Fusion Architecture.Courtesy of AppleBut it takes Apple a bit of time to be able to make those larger, more silicon-consumptive versions, so you actually get the newer-generation M6 chip in this new entry-level one. It’s still expensive, starting at $1,999 for only 16GB of RAM, but that’s no more than the previous M5 version while being far more performant. Namely, along with a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, it has a dual 16-core Neural Engine, used for on-device AI features such as Apple Intelligence, the first on any Apple product. And outside of AI tasks, Apple says it’s up to 30 percent faster in graphics tasks compared to the M5 MacBook Pro. You can also get this 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 Pro or M5 Max, but for another $400 more than this version with the M5 Pro, you could get the touchscreen version, with the better screen, lighter body, and glowing logo, which I would. But Bloomberg reported that this is the only M6 chip we’re going to get, with Apple skipping the Pro and Max versions to bring forward its AI-focused M7 generation, and next year’s upgrade of the touchscreen model going straight to the M7 Pro and M7 Max.Courtesy of AppleAnd though you don’t get the fancy new OLED screen of the touch-equipped version, MacBook Pro screens are still among the best on the market. This one is a 14.2-inch mini-LED panel with a 120-hertz refresh rate and up to 1,600 nits of peak HDR brightness.It’s not a fancy computer, it won’t get a lot of hype, and because of that, it didn’t get a cool launch event. But it’s also a good upgrade to a great computer that is already far more powerful than most of its buyers can make use of. If you’re just going to do light tasks — like web browsing and watching content — you shouldn’t get a Pro; stick with a well-specced Air. But for those who edit, code, or otherwise need the horsepower, if you’re interested in this laptop, I would go for the $2,399 version of this with 32GB of RAM, the M6 chip, and 1TB of storage.Courtesy of Apple

Apple’s Overlooked MacBook Pro Gets an Upgrade

Apple’s Overlooked MacBook Pro Gets an Upgrade

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