Apple’s Newest MacBook Pro Have Arrived: Pro to Max

Apple’s October “Unleashed” event 2021 unveiled new MacBook Pro laptops powered by brand-new M1 Pro and M1 Max Apple chips and the long-awaited AirPods 3 with spatial audio supported, alongside new colors for the  HomePod Mini and a $5 Apple Music Voice Plan.

In Apple's second virtual event in months, MacBook Pro became the star of the show.

The new MacBook Pro comes in 14-inch or 16-inch models, so you can choose whether to prioritize portability or a larger screen. Most models of both sizes use the M1 Pro chip, although high-end configurations for both sizes use the more powerful M1 Max chip (it is a build-to-order option for the 14-inch).

Compared with the regular M1, these brand-new chips will provide pro users with breakthrough performance and amazing energy efficiency improvements. This update continues Apple’s transition from Intel processors to Apple’s proprietary processors. The new power structure, along with the new macOS Monterey system, allows laptops to perform more demanding tasks, such as rendering video and processing AI data, including powerful new ways to connect with others and accomplish more.

Besides the change under the hood, this MacBook Pro has more connectors for most needs. Both the MacBook Pro 14-in and MacBook Pro 16-in feature 7 expansion ports, including the return of HDMI, MagSafe 3 and SDXC ports, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack and 3 Thunderbolt 4 ports. So you can conveniently connect a 4K@60Hz display or TV through HDMI and get fast access to media through SDXC port. In addition to charging via the MagSafe 3 port, you can still charge via the Thunderbolt 4 ports. Although the new MacBook Pro has added ports, the 14-in Mac is 0.01cm thinner than the previous 13-in M1 Mac.

With more interfaces and the built-in display engine featuring the M1 Pro chip, the laptop can connect up to 2 Pro Display XDR monitors at the same time. And with the M1 Max chip, it can connect up to 3 Pro Display XDR monitors and a 4K TV. There are still ports available to connect high-impedance headphones and camera media. All without a single adapter.

Apple's repeated change in interfaces selection finally settled on the convenient side. And the change also happened on the keyboard. For the first time, the Magic Keyboard brings a full-height function key row to the MacBook Pro. And TouchBar has been history. The new front camera makes the new MacBook Pros look like a supersized iPhone. And it will support 1080P HD FaceTime call, but not Face ID.

All in all, with so many exciting updates on MacBook Pro and various alternate configurations of cores of M1 Pro and M1 Max to choose from, which one would you select?