PRESS RELEASE
October 18, 2021
Game-changing MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max delivers extraordinary performance and battery life, and features the world’s best notebook display
The new MacBook Pro features a 1080p camera, the best audio system in a notebook, and the most advanced connectivity ever in a MacBook Pro
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA — Apple today unveiled the completely reimagined MacBook Pro powered by the all-new M1 Pro and M1 Max — the first pro chips designed for the Mac. Available in 14- and 16-inch models, MacBook Pro delivers groundbreaking processing, graphics, and machine learning (ML) performance whether running on battery or plugged in, as well as amazing battery life — enabling workflows previously unimaginable on a notebook. The new MacBook Pro also features a stunning Liquid Retina XDR display, a wide range of ports for advanced connectivity, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, and the best audio system in a notebook. Combined with macOS Monterey, which is engineered down to its core to take full advantage of M1 Pro and M1 Max, the user experience is simply unrivaled. Shattering the limits of what a notebook can do, MacBook Pro is designed for developers, photographers, filmmakers, 3D artists, scientists, music producers, and anyone who wants the world’s best notebook. The new MacBook Pro joins the 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 to form the strongest lineup of pro notebooks ever. Customers can order the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models today, and they will be available beginning Tuesday, October 26.
“We set out to create the world’s best pro notebook, and today we’re excited to introduce the all-new MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max — a game-changing combination of phenomenal performance, unrivaled battery life, and groundbreaking features,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The all-new MacBook Pro adds a breathtaking XDR display, more ports like MagSafe 3, an advanced 1080p camera, and a sensational six-speaker sound system, all in a stunning new design. The new MacBook Pro simply has no equal and is by far the best pro notebook we’ve ever built.”
Two New Pro Chips, Game-Changing Performance
M1 Pro and M1 Max revolutionize the MacBook Pro experience and mark a huge step forward in the transition to Apple silicon on Mac. MacBook Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max applies a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture to pro systems for the first time, featuring fast unified memory and increased memory bandwidth for unparalleled performance with best-in-class performance per watt and industry-leading power efficiency.
M1 Pro takes the groundbreaking architecture of M1 to a whole new level. Featuring a powerful up-to-10-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores, along with an up-to-16-core GPU, M1 Pro delivers up to 70 percent faster CPU performance than M1, and up to 2x faster GPU performance. M1 Pro also delivers up to 200GB/s of memory bandwidth — nearly 3x the bandwidth of M1 — and supports up to 32GB of fast unified memory. Designed to dramatically speed up pro video workflows, M1 Pro adds a ProRes accelerator in the media engine, delivering unbelievably fast and power-efficient video processing.
M1 Max — the world’s most powerful chip for a pro notebook — builds on M1 Pro, taking its amazing capabilities even further. M1 Max features the same powerful 10-core CPU as M1 Pro, and doubles the GPU with up to a massive 32 cores for up to 4x faster GPU performance than M1. It also has up to 400GB/s of memory bandwidth — 2x that of M1 Pro and nearly 6x that of M1 — and up to 64GB of fast unified memory. With even the latest PC laptops topping out at 16GB of video memory, having this huge amount of memory available is game-changing for pro workloads, allowing pros to do things that were previously unimaginable on a notebook. 3D artists on the new MacBook Pro can now easily work with extreme geometry and textures in scenes that pro PC laptops can’t even run.1 M1 Max also offers an enhanced media engine that features two ProRes accelerators for even higher multi-stream performance. As a result, pros can edit up to 30 streams of 4K ProRes video or up to seven streams of 8K ProRes video in Final Cut Pro — more streams than on a 28-core Mac Pro with Afterburner. And for the first time on any Mac, video editors can grade color in HDR on 8K ProRes 4444 video on battery when they’re miles away from the edit bay.2
Most Powerful Mac Notebooks Ever
The new MacBook Pro pushes the limits of what a notebook can do, delivering incredible performance and all-new capabilities.
When compared to the previous-generation high-end 13-inch model, the all-new 14-inch MacBook Pro is immensely more powerful.3
With the 10-core CPU in M1 Pro and M1 Max, the 14-inch MacBook Pro enables:
Up to 3.7x faster project builds using Xcode.
Up to 3x more Amp Designer plug-ins in Logic Pro.
Up to 2.8x faster computational fluid dynamics performance in NASA TetrUSS.
Featuring the 16-core GPU in M1 Pro and the 32-core GPU in M1 Max, the 14-inch MacBook Pro transforms graphics-intensive workflows with:
Up to 9.2x faster 4K render in Final Cut Pro with M1 Pro, and up to 13.4x faster with M1 Max.
Up to 5.6x faster combined vector and raster GPU performance in Affinity Photo with M1 Pro, and up to 8.5x faster with M1 Max.
Up to 3.6x faster effect render in Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio with M1 Pro, and up to 5x faster with M1 Max.
Both M1 Pro and M1 Max are supercharged with a 16-core Neural Engine, allowing users to enjoy faster ML tasks, including:
Up to 8.7x faster object tracking performance in Final Cut Pro with M1 Pro, and up to 11.5x faster with M1 Max.
Up to 7.2x faster scene edit detection in 1080p ProRes 422 video in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Up to 2.6x faster performance when selecting subjects in images in Adobe Photoshop.
When compared to the previous generation, the new 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers massive gains in performance for the most complex workflows in areas that matter most for pros.4
Featuring the same powerful 10-core CPU in M1 Pro and M1 Max, the 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers:
Up to 3x faster computational fluid dynamics performance in NASA TetrUSS.
Up to 2.1x faster project builds in Xcode.
Up to 2.1x faster publish performance in Vectorworks.
With the 16-core GPU in M1 Pro and 32-core GPU in M1 Max, the 16-inch MacBook Pro offers faster graphics performance with:
Up to 2.9x faster combined vector and raster GPU performance in Affinity Photo with M1 Pro, and up to 4.5x faster with M1 Max.
Up to 2.5x faster render in Maxon Cinema 4D with Redshift with M1 Pro, and up to 4x faster with M1 Max.
Up to 1.7x faster 8K render in Final Cut Pro with M1 Pro, and up to 2.9x faster with M1 Max.
With the 16-core Neural Engine on both M1 Pro and M1 Max, ML tasks are faster than ever on the 16-inch MacBook Pro, including:
Up to 4.4x faster scene edit detection in 1080p ProRes 422 video in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Up to 3.6x faster object tracking performance in Final Cut Pro with M1 Pro, and up to 4.9x faster with M1 Max.
Up to 1.5x faster performance with M1 Pro and up to 2x faster with M1 Max when selecting subjects in images in Adobe Photoshop.
Industry-Leading Power Efficiency and Extraordinary Battery Life
From pro workflows on the go to everyday tasks, MacBook Pro delivers remarkable power efficiency for breakthrough performance — whether users are plugged in or using the battery — and extraordinary battery life, so they can get even more done on a single charge.
When compared to the previous-generation MacBook Pro on a single charge:5
The 14-inch model delivers up to 17 hours of video playback, which is seven additional hours, while the 16-inch model gets up to a remarkable 21 hours of video playback, which is 10 additional hours — the longest battery life ever on a Mac notebook.
Developers working in Xcode will be able to compile up to 4x as much code.
Photographers on the go will get up to 2x longer battery life in Adobe Lightroom Classic when editing images.
Unlike other pro notebooks that lose performance when they are not plugged in, MacBook Pro delivers the same level of performance whether it is plugged in or using the battery. This unprecedented combination of system performance, on-battery performance, and battery life sets MacBook Pro apart from every other notebook.
Designed for Performance
Featuring a beautiful, brand new design, the 14- and 16-inch models of MacBook Pro were designed with a focus on performance and utility. Its all-new aluminum enclosure optimizes internal space for more performance and features. The enclosure is precisely machined around an advanced thermal system that can move 50 percent more air than the previous generation, even at lower fan speeds. The thermal design enables MacBook Pro to deliver phenomenal sustained performance while staying cool and quiet. And because of the efficiency of Apple silicon, the fans never even have to turn on for most tasks users perform every day.
The new MacBook Pro also comes with a Magic Keyboard that is set in a double-anodized black well, which elegantly highlights the backlit glyphs on the keys, and features a full-height function row. Physical function keys — including a wider escape key — replace the Touch Bar, bringing back the familiar, tactile feel of mechanical keys that pro users love. The new keyboard is complemented by the industry-best Force Touch trackpad that is perfect for pro applications.
Featuring the World’s Best Notebook Display
For the first time, MacBook Pro offers a stunning Liquid Retina XDR display. Featuring the mini-LED technology used in iPad Pro, the Liquid Retina XDR display delivers up to 1,000 nits of sustained, full-screen brightness, an incredible 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. The extreme dynamic range brings HDR content to life with unbelievable detail in shadows, brilliant specular highlights, deeper blacks, and more vivid colors than ever before. It has a gorgeous P3 wide color gamut and supports one billion colors for smoother gradients. ProMotion technology also comes to the Mac on this new display, featuring an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz. ProMotion automatically varies the refresh rate to match the motion of a user’s onscreen content to help preserve battery life, and makes tasks more fluid and even more responsive. Video editors can also lock in a refresh rate that is optimal for their footage. The combination of the outstanding XDR performance and super-fluid ProMotion technology make this the world’s best notebook display.
Both models come with a larger display than the previous generation — the 16-inch model offers an expansive 16.2-inch display6 with 7.7 million pixels, the most ever on a Mac notebook. And the 14-inch model gives users more screen real estate than before, with a 14.2-inch active area7 and a total of 5.9 million pixels — more pixels than the prior 16-inch MacBook Pro. The display features even thinner borders and extends up around the camera to provide users with even more room for their content. Whether users are watching a movie or grading 8K video, the new display offers a beautiful cinematic viewing experience.
Most Advanced Connectivity Ever in a MacBook Pro
The new MacBook Pro features the most advanced and versatile connectivity ever on a Mac notebook. Both models feature three Thunderbolt 4 ports to connect high-speed peripherals, an SDXC card slot for fast access to media, an HDMI port for conveniently connecting to displays and TVs, and an improved headphone jack that supports high-impedance headphones. MagSafe returns to MacBook Pro with MagSafe 3, featuring an updated design and supporting more power into the system than ever before. MagSafe 3 makes connecting a charge cable quick and easy while protecting MacBook Pro. Additionally, fast charge comes to the Mac for the first time, charging up to 50 percent in just 30 minutes. With M1 Pro, users can now connect up to two Pro Display XDRs, and with M1 Max, users can connect up to three Pro Display XDRs and a 4K TV, all at the same time. For wireless connectivity, MacBook Pro also features Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0.
Best Camera and Audio Ever in a Mac Notebook
The new MacBook Pro comes with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera — the best ever in a Mac notebook — doubling resolution and low-light performance. The camera system taps into the powerful image signal processor (ISP) and Neural Engine of M1 Pro and M1 Max for computational video that enhances video quality — so users appear sharper with more natural-looking skin tones.
Delivering a next-level audio experience, the new MacBook Pro has industry-leading, studio-quality mics that have an even lower noise floor, resulting in clearer calls and voice recordings. A high-fidelity six-speaker sound system features two tweeters for a clearer soundstage and four force-cancelling woofers, resulting in 80 percent more bass. The sound system also supports spatial audio, which creates a sophisticated, three-dimensional listening experience. So whether users are listening to music or watching a movie in Dolby Atmos, they will get a theater-like experience. Altogether, this is the best audio system ever in a notebook.
macOS Monterey Optimized for M1 Pro and M1 Max
The new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro come with macOS Monterey, the latest version of the world’s most advanced desktop operating system. The combination of macOS Monterey and the powerful new M1 Pro and M1 Max delivers breakthrough performance and productivity for users. FaceTime includes new audio and video features that make calls feel more natural and lifelike, and new Continuity tools like AirPlay to Mac enable Apple devices to work even better together. Live Text and Visual Lookup bring new intelligence features to surface useful information, Safari includes powerful tab organization with Tab Groups, and the ease of automation comes to the Mac with Shortcuts. Coming later this fall, SharePlay will enable Mac users to have shared experiences together through FaceTime, and Universal Control will make it easy for users to work effortlessly across their Mac and iPad.
With macOS Monterey and Apple silicon, Mac users can run a greater range of apps than ever before. All of Apple’s Mac apps are optimized for and run natively on M1 Pro and M1 Max, and there are over 10,000 Universal apps and plug-ins available, including Lightroom Classic, Cinema 4D, Capture One, and many more. Existing Mac apps that have not yet been updated to Universal will run seamlessly with Apple’s Rosetta 2 technology, and users can also run iPhone and iPad apps directly on the Mac, opening a huge new universe of possibilities. Powerful new features also come to Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro, allowing creatives to take full advantage of the power and performance of M1 Pro and M1 Max.
Better for the Environment
When it comes to the environment, the new MacBook Pro raises the bar yet again, including an enclosure made with 100 percent recycled aluminum, 100 percent recycled tin in the solder of its main logic board, and, for the first time in a Mac notebook, the use of 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets. Both models are also built with 35 percent or more recycled plastic in seven components, and all of the packaging wood fibers are from responsibly managed forests or recycled sources. MacBook Pro remains free of harmful substances, is manufactured using even more renewable energy, and meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency.
Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to have net-zero climate impact across the entire business, which includes manufacturing supply chains and all product life cycles. This means that every Apple device sold, from component manufacturing, assembly, transport, customer use, charging, all the way through recycling and material recovery, will be 100 percent carbon neutral.
Pricing and Availability
- The new MacBook Pro models with M1 Pro and M1 Max are available to order today on apple.com/store and in the Apple Store app. They will begin arriving to customers and will be in select Apple Store locations and Apple Authorized Resellers starting Tuesday, October 26. The new 14-inch MacBook Pro model starts at $1,999 (US), and $1,849 (US) for education; the 16-inch MacBook Pro model starts at $2,499 (US), and $2,299 (US) for education. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options, and accessories are available at apple.com/mac.
- macOS Monterey will be available as a free software update on Monday, October 25.
- With Apple Trade In, customers can trade in their current computer and get credit toward a new MacBook Pro. Customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in to see what their device is worth.
- Customers in the US get 3 percent Daily Cash back when they buy directly from Apple with Apple Card. And when they choose Apple Card Monthly Installments, they can pay over time, interest-free.
- Every customer who buys a MacBook Pro from Apple can enjoy a free Online Personal Session with an Apple Specialist, get their product set up in select stores including help with data transfer, and receive guidance on how to make their new MacBook Pro work the way they want.
- AppleCare+ for Mac provides expert technical support and additional hardware coverage from Apple, including up to two incidents of accidental damage protection every 12 months, each subject to a fee.
About Apple
Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms — iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay, and iCloud. Apple’s more than 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.
- Testing conducted by Apple in September 2021 using preproduction 16-inch MacBook Pro systems with Apple M1 Max, 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 64GB of RAM, and 8TB SSD, as well as production Intel Core i9-based PC systems with NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000 graphics with 24GB GDDR6, production Intel Core i9-based PC systems with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics with 16GB GDDR6, and the latest version of Windows 10 available at the time of testing. Prerelease OTOY Octane X Demo PR11 on preproduction 16-inch MacBook Pro systems, and prerelease OTOY OctaneRender Enterprise 2021.1 on Windows systems tested using a 6.45GB scene. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Pro.
- Testing conducted by Apple in September 2021 using preproduction 16-inch MacBook Pro systems with Apple M1 Max, 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 64GB of RAM, and 8TB SSD, as well as production Intel Core i9-based PC systems with NVIDIA RTX A5000 graphics, production Intel Core i9-based PC systems with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics, and the latest version of Windows 10 available at the time of testing. Tested with prerelease DaVinci Resolve Studio 17.4 on macOS and shipping DaVinci Resolve Studio 17.3.1 on Windows, using a 30-second project with 8K Apple ProRes 4444 media, at 8192×4320 resolution and 23.98 frames per second. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of MacBook Pro.
- Compared to previous-generation 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7-based 13-inch MacBook Pro systems with Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 32GB of RAM, and 4TB SSD.
- Compared to previous-generation 2.4GHz 8-core Intel Core i9-based 16-inch MacBook Pro systems with Radeon Pro 5600M graphics with 8GB HBM2, 64GB of RAM, and 8TB SSD.
- Battery life depends on device settings, usage, and other factors. Actual results may vary.
- The display on the 16-inch MacBook Pro has rounded corners at the top. When measured as a standard rectangular shape, the screen is 16.2 inches diagonally (actual viewable area is less).
- The display on the 14-inch MacBook Pro has rounded corners at the top. When measured as a standard rectangular shape, the screen is 14.2 inches diagonally (actual viewable area is less).
