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Cover image for Apples announces new 16-inch Macbook Pro
Peter Kim Frank
Peter Kim Frank Subscriber

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Apples announces new 16-inch Macbook Pro

Apple announced the new 16-inch Macbook Pro.

Per usual, their main landing page goes over the key features. The major highlights:

  • 16-inch Retina display
  • Up to 8-core processor
  • Up to 8TB SSD storage
  • Up to 64GB of memory
  • AMD Radeon Pro 5000M series graphics
  • Six-speaker sound system and studio-quality mics
  • Up to 11 hours of battery life
  • Dedicated escape key
  • Dedicated arrow buttons

What does everyone think?

Top comments (106)

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

This looks like a damn fine machine, and one has to think they've solved the problems with the keyboard. It's kind of funny that they can't really reference the problems with the last keyboard because that would be admitting their mistakes.

Apple obviously charges a premium, but you just can't beat the quality of their hardware (unless they make a big mistake trying to push the envelope, like the keyboard). All that native storage should make this the device of choice for video/photo people.

The lowest storage tier is 1TB and up to 64GB of RAM 🀀

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deciduously profile image
Ben Lovy • Edited

you just can't beat the quality of their hardware

Curious if anyone has a recommendation for an alternative brand that comes close. I'm in the market for a new laptop right now. After a decade+ of Linux on Thinkpads I don't think a MacBook is the top of my list, but I want something that will get me through years to come and it does seem like these machines are built to last. This 16" is surprisingly tempting, but that premium is hard to swallow when I don't even intend to use their OS primarily.

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__shadz_ profile image
Chardenal Matthieu

Dell XPS

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chachan profile image
Cherny

Up to 16GB :(

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deciduously profile image
Ben Lovy

Oof, that might be a deal breaker

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hhiturre profile image
Hector Iturre

I have a 9570 with 32GB of RAM

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eaich profile image
Eddie

I have the 9570 as well. Overall it's a good machine. Cons - webcam on the bottom and low quality, thicker profile.

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hhiturre profile image
Hector Iturre

yeah, the "nose cam" is awful

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eaich profile image
Eddie

Haha nice. I call it my chin cam.

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chachan profile image
Cherny

is 9570 a XPS?. I don't see that listed in the site. All XPS I see (linux versions) are up to 16GB

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deepu105 profile image
Deepu K Sasidharan

Go for Precision 5540(They look exactly like XPS), Doesn't have the nosecam, they have Linux versions(you can always choose that in the customize option) and up to 64GB RAM. See dell.com/en-uk/work/shop/workstati...

I have 5530, a damn fine machine and the best laptop I have ever used, the previous Gen macbooks could never compete with this, the 16 inch could I think.

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jmfayard profile image
Jean-Michel πŸ•΅πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ Fayard • Edited

The way Apple devices sync talk to one another is really slick

Only if you have an iPhone/iPad right?
(Which pushes the total price of ownership even higher)

Maybe it's just me, but as an Android user, I never felt the need for all those iCloud things, and I'm not sure what they offer that is not covered by others.

  • There is Dropbox & cie for syncing files
  • Mozilla sync all my bookmarks
  • Google photos and lots of alternatives for photos
  • Password managers like LastPass are a thing
  • Chromebooks and Android sync pretty well everything from apps to contacts
  • dotfiles.github.io/ is amazing for setting up a new computer
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jurajmlich profile image

Dell Precision 5530. Had 15" MacBook 2016 with Touchbar but wanted to work on Linux (which doesn't work that well on MacBooks), so I was looking for something with 4K monitor, upgradable RAM (I currently have 32GBs), CPU with at least 4 cores (this has 6 of them), something light (under 2kg) and NVME M.2 SSD disk. And to be honest, I've never been happier.

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eljayadobe profile image
Eljay-Adobe

Linux box, I'd pick the Dell XPS 13 developer edition (9380). Linus Torvalds uses one of the Dell XPS 13 laptops. (Note: I'm not a big fan of Dell. But I think they nailed this machine. And it really is superior to the other Linux laptops on the market, imo.)

Macintosh box, I'd pick the Macbook Pro 13". (Why not the new 16"? Because I've discovered that having a 16"+ laptop turns it into a desktop machine. It's just too darn big to lug around. Lighter is better.) However, I'm more apt to opt for a much lighter laptop if the development demands aren't too overwhelming. Alas, my development demands are overwhelming. A 5 gb source code base will do that.

Windows box, I loved my ancient Thinkpad A31p (800 MHz ... yeah, it was that old β€” 1600x1200 screen). But these days I'd pick an Asus ROG Strix Hero III 15.6". If they had a 13" instead of a 15"-ish, I'd pick that instead.

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

I think the premium is part hardware and part OS/ecosystem. The way Apple devices sync talk to one another is really slick, so if you're not even using the OS I think the premium is even that much more.

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deciduously profile image
Ben Lovy

That makes sense, thanks for the insight. KDE Connect is covering my needs with my Android phone, and I've already solved my interconnectivity issues on my home LAN. I should probably keep looking elsewhere.

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markoshiva profile image
Marko Shiva • Edited

Well thinkpads are for you or any other top of the line product from companies that support linux. Librem is good if you like privacy too also the Dell Precision and XPS series machines are really good in support of linux and really good machines like Thinkpads T and X series.

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deciduously profile image
Ben Lovy

Agreed - the Thinkpad T series has pulled me through this long, and it's my most likely choice next but I'd never really looked at other options lately.

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Eric Wooley

System 76 Oryx Pro goes up to 64 GB.

I have a Galago, and I've been pretty happy with it.

A few small issues, and the build quality isn't on par with apple. But I have had 0 hardware issues, and the keyboard feels great (which was a huge factor for me).

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jshamg profile image
jshamg

You can forget that thing if you want something like linux on this device. The touchbar is not supported and you are missing all the necessary keys for linux. You can use vm but that's not really nice. Either buy this thing and use macos or buy something else to use linux...

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dasdaniel profile image
Daniel P πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦

You can look into the Razer Blade 15. It's a gaming laptop (without the ROG look) so likely better graphics specs than the MBP.

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deciduously profile image
Ben Lovy

I tend to be more CPU than GPU bound on my laptop, but I'll definitely take a look. Thanks!

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jwp profile image
John Peters

Anyone using the latest tricked out Surface?

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deepu105 profile image
Deepu K Sasidharan
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pavelloz profile image
PaweΕ‚ Kowalski

Microsoft Surface laptop. Top notch.

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terabytetiger profile image
Tyler V. (he/him)

The only hardware I've ever used that I'd put on par with a MBP is the Google Pixelbook (haven't tried the new Go yet).

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deciduously profile image
Ben Lovy

Huh, hadn't even considered that. Thanks!

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hhiturre profile image
Hector Iturre

Dell XPS

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sanidz profile image
sanidz • Edited

X1 Extreme (up to 64gb ram and i9 as well, weaker gpu gtx1650)

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databasesponge profile image
MetaDave πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί

Always interested to see what the repairability scores are like though.

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i_maka profile image
Diego Perez

If they really fixed the keyboard then it's time to ditch my old macbook from 2015

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heindauven profile image
Hein Dauven • Edited

Been running a Clevo laptop with Linux/Windows dual boot for +-6 years now. Still works great. Cost was 1k.

You really don't need a +2k device for most development work.

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baso53 profile image
Sebastijan Grabar

I love Apple's innovations, such as adding a dedicated escape key. They're truly ahead of their time.

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jmfayard profile image
Jean-Michel πŸ•΅πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ Fayard • Edited

There is a oldie but goodie clichΓ© in journalism, that when you announce that someone is dead, then two days later than in fact he is still alive, then you have two scoops!

It really feels the same with the Apple/Android people. They innovate twice, the first time when they break something, the second time when they fix it. Only that the second time we should be super grateful because God listened to us average people.

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katafrakt profile image
PaweΕ‚ ŚwiΔ…tkowski

Wow, dedicated escape key! If only other manufacturers had that...

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

Apple just invented the escape key, didn't you hear?

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sduduzog profile image
Sdu

My days of rebooting a laptop to exit a program are over!

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katafrakt profile image
PaweΕ‚ ŚwiΔ…tkowski

Probably they have a patent pending already.

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peter profile image
Peter Kim Frank

Six-speaker sound system and studio-quality mics

Of everything listed here, I have to admit that I'm not moved by the upgraded speaker/mic whatsoever. I feel like if I'm ever in a setting where I need to have an optimized audio input/output experience, I'll opt for dedicated hardware.

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dmfay profile image
Dian Fay

What good does having six speakers even do if they're all within eighteen inches of each other?

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ben profile image
Ben Halpern

Most likely six speakers is a fairly unimportant implementation detail, but the marketing department got ahold of it in order to claim another attribute.

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moopet profile image
Ben Sinclair

It's nice that they have nicer microphones. But I can't see anyone propping one of these up on a stand and singing at it.

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rootfsext2gz profile image
rootfs.ext2.gz

I've got a MacBook Pro 2019 earlier this year. I'm not too sure about anyone else, but I actually cannot stand my MacBook as the keyboard feels so horrendous to use that I eventually give up and go use something else.

Speaking of something else, this year I got a Surface Go and I was immediately blown away at how much I love the little thing. It eats battery life, sure, but it is for all intents and purposes this Windows PC in a form factor for casual consumption.

I want to like this new MacBook Pro, but after actually using it and reading about other people experiencing keyboard failure, I just cannot trust Apple.

Before macOS and Linux were the only two OSes that were suitable for development - and I've used Linux in the past, but I find it too cumbersome to keep using - it feels like an ongoing project than a tool that helps me make my life better. So that left macOS - but now Microsoft are doing some serious WSL improvements which looks promising.

I don't really see the need for MacBooks any more, which is actually a relief as it means I can purchase another product instead of solely relying on Apple to get it together.

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glennmen profile image
Glenn Carremans

Apple ditched the butterfly switches and went back to scissor switches in this new Macbook Pro (same as on their Magic Keyboard).

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eljayadobe profile image
Eljay-Adobe

Doesn't matter. Apple only made one good keyboard, and that was the Apple Extended Keyboard (M0115).

On my Macbook Pro, I use a Razer BlackWidow X Tournament Edition Chroma keyboard. Do I carry around with me when I use the laptop? Yes, yes I do. I hate the Apple keyboards that much.

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rootfsext2gz profile image
rootfs.ext2.gz

I mean, I get your point, but I'm still waiting out because they sold the Macbook Pros with the butterfly mechanism for so long while saying "we've fixed it now! honest!" that I no longer trust their fancy marketing nor do I trust the average reviewer as this thing took a bit of time to happen.

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cadams profile image
Chad Adams

Keyboard wasn't an issue for me because I just use an external keyboard.

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rootfsext2gz profile image
rootfs.ext2.gz

If I have to use an external keyboard on a portable product to avoid using that product's keyboard and to get a good typing experience, I'd say that's pretty damning evidence against the product.

I tried the external keyboard route, and in the end I gave up - the whole reason why I chose the Macbook Pro over e.g. Mac Mini or iMac was the portability.

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cadams profile image
Chad Adams • Edited

Yeah it depends what your workflow is. I bought a MacBook because it’s fast and the portability is there if I need it. Though I usually use it like a desktop because I have another external monitor hooked up to it, mouse and keyboard. I have a 2018 MacBook Pro at work and I will admit the keyboard on that model is terrible. The 2019 butterfly keyboard honestly isn’t that bad imo I kind of like it.

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rootfsext2gz profile image
rootfs.ext2.gz

Just checked in About this Mac. No wonder why I despise it so much, it's a 2018 Macbook Pro. I tried playing around with the 15" 2019 Macbook Pro and oh gosh it's so much more better.

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moopet profile image
Ben Sinclair

Dedicated escape key

Welcome to 1974 we hope you have a nice day.

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mshirlaw profile image
Matt Shirlaw

After switching full time to Linux I just can't see myself ever going back to Mac. Good to see they updated the specs but I haven't even looked at the price and I just know already it's way too expensive

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nickytonline profile image
Nick Taylor

This looks like a solid machine and welcome back ESC key πŸ˜‰

I’ve never had any issues with hardware with a Mac. And the machines last forever. I currently have a MacBook Air for home, but the 2010 MBP I have still runs amazing, albeit a little slower.

I’ve also found they have better resale value.

But they definitely cost a chunk of change.

Dollar Bills Y’All

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nickytonline profile image
Nick Taylor

Having said that, a 16" might be too big. My MBA is 13" and my work laptop is a 15" MBP. I like the 15" but some days I think it's too big. Generally, I'm on an external monitor so the larger screen isn't that much of a sell.

At my previous work, I had a 13" MBP and I was fine with that. I kind of flip flop between which is better, 13" or 15". Who knows, maybe I'll become a 16" convert.

I'll leave you with this funny Tweet from Laurie

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samroberts707 profile image
Sam Roberts

As far as I know the device is actually still the same size as the 15". They've just managed to squeeze in that extra inch to the same body by reducing bezel sizes.

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ikirker profile image
Ian Kirker

Pros:

  • Escape key
  • Good specs
  • Whatever is left of POSIX-compatibility

Cons:

  • Exorbitant prices
  • Extremely large
  • Apple's continued steps towards locked-up-appliance-type computing
  • Shallowest real keyboard on a laptop (genuinely hurts my hands)
  • Build in a trackball you cowards
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mikaoelitiana profile image
Mika Andrianarijaona

Escape key

😲I haven't noticed that!! That's quite interesting

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databasesponge profile image
MetaDave πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Ί

I feel like some years ago laptop performance got good enough to replace a desktop for developers, and that not many improvements after that were very relevant to me.

I use an external screen for work, which a 16" built-in is never going to beat.

They get thinner, but my mid2014 15" model is fine.

I don't need much in the way of graphics.

If I need good quality speakers and a microphone then I plug them in – built-ins are never going to be as good as that. For conference calls I use a PLT M70, for music a pair of head phones.

So I find it pretty hard to get excited about new hardware I'm afraid. Not like in the good old days when the 486 replaced the 386 – that's an upgrade I remember. 😬

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rootfsext2gz profile image
rootfs.ext2.gz

So I find it pretty hard to get excited about new hardware I'm afraid. Not like in the good old days when the 486 replaced the 386 – that's an upgrade I remember. 😬

I wasn't around to see those events unfold, but watching the 8 Bit Guy talk about old computers really makes me appreciate how much of a game changer processor and RAM upgrades were.

The closest thing we've got is the Raspberry Pi, while not quite the same type of revolution, brings its own.

Damn, came here thinking I'd buy a Mac but now I want to buy a Raspberry Pi.