Apple launches the 16-inch MacBook Pro with a new keyboard starting at Rs 1,99,900

tech2 News StaffNov 13, 2019 21:34:18 IST

We can finally say goodbye to Apple’s infamous butterfly keyboard on the MacBooks that have been plagued with problems for several years. The newly announced 16-inch MacBook Pro introduces a new keyboard with a larger screen, improved thermal design and certain useful changes here and there.

16-inch Apple MacBook Pro with new keyboard improved thermals. Image: Apple

Starting off with the main upgrade, dubbed as the ‘Magic Keyboard’, Apple claims that it sports a refined scissor mechanism with a 1 mm key travel. A physical 'Esc' key has been added to the keyboard whereas earlier it was present on the Touch Bar. The arrow keys have been given more spacing in an inverted ‘T’ design that is usually seen on standalone keyboards so that it's easier to distinguish between individual keys.

With an improved thermal design, the cooling fans have extended blades with bigger vents that provide a 28 percent increase in airflow according to Apple. The heatsink is now 35 percent larger to enable better heat dissipation compared to the 15-inch model.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro comes in two primary models that can be configured further in the CPU, GPU, storage and memory department. However, only the base configuration of these two models will be available in India.

Here are the specs of the base variant that starts at Rs 1,99,900.

• CPU: 6-core 9th Gen Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2.6 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz)
• GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory
• Memory: 16 GB of DDR4 RAM
• Storage: 512 GB SSD
• Display: 16-inch IPS LED-backlit Retina display (3072 x 1920)
• Battery: 100 WHr

The other model comes with the following hardware upgrades compared to the base model:

• CPU: 8-core 9th Gen Intel Core i9 processor clocked at 2.3 GHz (Turbo Boost up to 4.8 GHz)
• GPU: AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with 4 GB of GDDR6 memory
• Storage: 1 TB SSD

We don’t have the Indian pricing of the higher end model yet.

16-inch Apple MacBook Pro has a new Magic Keyboard. Image: Apple

Compare this to the previous 15-inch model and the processor doesn’t change but the GPUs have been given an upgrade. The battery is also larger, hence, it’s slightly heavier as well.

In terms of port connectivity, there are four Thunderbolt 3 ports and a headphone and mic combo jack. The display is capable of going up to 500 nits of brightness and supports a P3 wide colour gamut.

Apple hasn’t revealed the availability of the 16-inch MacBook Pro in India nor can you pre-order it here. The press release does mention that the Mac Pro ($5,999) and Pro Display XDR ($4,999) will be available in December with no mention of the Indian pricing.