Lisa Eadicicco/Business Insider
- Apple is launching a new MacBook Pro with a 16-inch screen, improved keyboard that no longer uses the butterfly mechanism, and improved audio and performance.
- It's priced the same as the 15-inch MacBook Pro, which it will be replacing in Apple's lineup, and is available to order starting Wednesday.
- The new keyboard is built on a scissor mechanism, and it feels like a major upgrade compared to Apple's butterfly mechanism keyboard, which users have complained about in the past.
- Apple's MacBook Pro laptops were always meant to be for professionals, but the company's emphasis on audio and microphone quality makes that feel truer than ever on the 16-inch model.
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Apple is launching a new MacBook Pro that brings significant upgrades to the two areas you probably interact with the most: the keyboard and the screen.
Apple has finally taken the wraps off its long-rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro, which comes with a larger, higher-resolution screen framed by slimmer bezels, more powerful performance, and much-improved audio. It's available to order online Wednesday starting at $2,400 and will be in stores by the end of the week.
But perhaps most importantly, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro features a refreshed keyboard that ditches the controversial butterfly mechanism Apple had been using since 2015 and instead uses a scissor mechanism.
That's particularly important because Apple's butterfly keyboard has come under heavy criticism in the years since its launch. Users have reported various issues such as keys that register twice when only tapped once, or keys that don't respond at all when pushed. It's been such a point of contention that a Change.org petition was created encouraging Apple to scrap the butterfly keyboard design, and it's garnered more than 37,000 signatures.
Otherwise, the new MacBook Pro's headlining feature is its larger, 16-inch display - the biggest screen on an Apple laptop since the 17-inch model the company launched in 2011. It has a 3072 x 1920 resolution, which is higher than that of the 2880 x 1800 resolution screen found on the 15-inch MacBook Pro it's replacing, and a bigger 100-watt-hour battery. That larger battery should enable it to last for 11 hours on a single charge, making its battery life one hour longer than its slightly smaller predecessor.
Taken together, the MacBook Pro's bigger display, improved audio and microphone systems, and larger memory and storage options prove that Apple is leaning into the professional audience the MacBook Pro has always been intended for. In 2019, the difference between the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air feels more obvious than ever.
Here's a closer look at the new MacBook Pro and what it's been like to use it over the past day.
