Apple has finally unveiled the much-anticipated 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook models at its ‘Unleashed’ event on October 18, 2021. Apple’s first in-house chip for Mac, M1, debuted with MacBook Pro and MacBook Air that were launched last year. And, this year, Apple has introduced M1 Pro and M1 Max that promises to take the M1 architecture to a whole new level. These latest Apple’s own processors are an incredible fusion of powerful performance and power efficiency. 

The just-arrived 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 features an amazing, revamped design and brings some nice changes under the hood. This Pro notebook starts at $2,499 and is configurable with the latest M1 Pro as well as M1 Max processors. Besides MacBook Pro, Apple has announced

AirPods 3, a new subscription tier for Apple Music, and new HomePod Mini colors at the same event. 

Let’s have a look at the important details regarding the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021.

16-inch MacBook Pro 2021

M1 Pro and M1 Max

Apple has launched two blazingly fast, M1 Pro and M1 Max processors that promise to deliver game-changing performance and amazing battery life. It’s worth knowing that the 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 is available in M1 Pro as well as M1 Max configurations. Talking about the M1 Pro chip, it features a 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, up to 32GB of unified memory, and up to 200Gb/s memory bandwidth. Apple claims that the M1 Pro chip will offer up to 70% faster CPU and up to 2x faster graphics performance than the M1 chip. 

Coming to M1 Max, it’s claimed to be the most powerful chip ever created for a pro notebook. It features a 10-core CPU with eight performance cores and two efficiency cores. In addition, there’s a 32-core GPU paired with up to 64Gb of unified memory and a whopping 400Gb/s memory bandwidth. As compared to M1 Pro, M1 Max delivers up to two times faster graphics processing. 

You can edit up to 20 streams of 4K ProRes videos with M1 Pro. whereas, the M1 Max chip allows you to edit up to 7 streams of 8K ProRes video. 

Design and Display 

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 features a modern design with thinner bezels that offers you an expanded workspace. The top bezel is around 60% thinner and the side bezels are 24% thinner than the previous models. It sports a 16.2” Liquid Retina XDR Display with ProMotion technology for adaptive refresh rates for up to 120Hz. The MacBook Pro now has 17.7 million pixels, 1 billion colors, 1600 nits of peak brightness, and an impressive 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio for a more immersive and natural viewing experience. This stunning display delivers amazing details & shadows, deeper blacks, and the most realistic colors. The Touch Bar on MacBook Pro has been replaced by a row of physical keys. The macOS menu bar is moved up and out, around the camera. 

Apple has also revamped the camera to deliver better low-light performance. Besides, the 6 speaker sound system, with 2 tweeters and 4 woofers delivers a theatre-like sound experience with the Spatial Audio support. Not to forget, there are studio-quality mics for ultra-clean recordings and calls.

Connectivity

The just-arrived 16-inch MacBook Pro is packed with additional ports of connectivity. That means PRO users can now connect and work with more external devices than ever. First, there’s an HDMI port to connect TVs or displays. Then there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack that detects and automatically adjusts for high-impedance headphones. Joining the list are the three Thunderbolt 4 ports that lets you connect to high-speed peripherals or external displays. Lastly, there’s an SD card reader and a MagSafe 3 port to fast-charge your MacBook Pro. 

It’s worth mentioning that with M1 Pro SoC, you can connect up to two Pro display XDRs. Whereas, M1 Max allows you to connect up to three Pro display XDRs and a 4K TV. 

Performance 

The 16-inch MacBook Pro has up to 2.1 times faster CPU performance with M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. Talking about GPU performance, the 16” model offers up to 2.9 and 1.7 times faster 8K render speed with M1 Max and M1 Pro, respectively. In short, with M1 Pro and M1 Max processors, the 16-inch MacBook Pro is ready for even the most demanding processes and workflows that weren’t possible earlier. Also, the super-fast SSDs provide jaw-dropping read speeds of up to 7.4 Gbps, which is nearly two times that of the previous generation models. This allows you to instantly open 8K videos or work with thousands of RAW photos at once. Impressively, the latest MacBook Pro 2021 is packed with advanced thermal systems that move 50% more air to keep your machine cool even during its peak performance.

In terms of battery life, Apple claims that the 16-inch MacBook Pro delivers up to 21 hours of video playback. Also, for the first time ever, MacBook Pro now supports FastCharge, which means it can refill up to 50% battery in a mere 30 minutes. 

Price and Availability

The latest 16-inch Macbook Pro with M1 Pro and 512GB SSD storage is priced at $2,499. The 1TB SSD storage option is available at $2,699. The M1 Max variant with 32GB unified memory and 1TB SSD will cost you $3,499. The 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021 is already up for pre-orders with shipping starting next week. You can grab this Pro notebook in Silver and Space Grey finishes. 

What do you think of the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro? Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.