Apple has unveiled a new MacBook Pro with a 16-inch screen that also has scrapped the unpopular “butterfly” keyboard that was used in recent models.
The souped-up laptop, which became available for preorder Wednesday afternoon, has a price tag starting at $2,400 — identical to the starting price of the old 15-inch version. It’s slated to hit stores by the end of the week.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro— Apple’s biggest laptop since it retired the 17-inch version in 2012 — has a display with narrower bezels that allow it to be nearly identical in size to its 15-inch predecessor.
It will feature improved graphics performance, a battery that can pack more juice and beefed-up microphones and speakers.
The new model also fixes a problem that has plagued the Pro line since 2015 — a “butterfly” keyboard that was introduced to enable ever-thinner laptop designs.
In addition to keys that are prone to sticking and breaking when crumbs or dust gets under them, users griped that the butterfly keys were prone to typos and felt weird to type on.
The new MacBook Pro features an updated version of the old scissor-style mechanism that its MacBooks had relied on in years past. The new scissor keys are modeled after its popular wireless Magic Keyboard.
Apple’s newest MacBook also features the return of the physical ESC key, after it was nudged off the keyboard by the TouchBar display. The TouchBar, which has gotten mixed reviews since its 2016 introduction, remains, but it’s slightly shorter now.
Also on Tuesday, Apple revealed that its $6,000, USA-built Mac Pro will be available in December.
It’s designed to be paired with Apple’s new $5,000 Pro Display XDR monitor, which in turn is mounted on a $999 Pro Stand.
That means Apple’s new supercomputer will cost at least $12,000 before boosting any of its specs.
Shares of Apple were up 0.5 % Tuesday afternoon, at $263.23.
Ref;nypost.com