I’ve just got my hands on the brand new 2020 13” MacBook Pro, the one that I’ve been waiting for, for a while now. But, I’m not going to open it and give you guys my first impressions just yet, that would be in a different video. In this one, I want to tell you 25 interesting things that you need to know about the new 2020 MacBook Pro!
1) Two Models
First things first, if you plan on buying a new 2020 MacBook Pro, Apple actually sells two very different models of it. If you go onto Apple’s website, you won’t be able to tell which is which, as they both look identical. But, as a matter of fact, these two models couldn’t be any more different.
The base-model starts at $1300/£1300 and then the high-end model starts at $1800/£1800. Think of these two as the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro. While the ’11’ has most of the features that the ‘Pro’ has, the ‘Pro’ still has quite a few advantages over the ’11’ that give it its ‘Pro’ name.
2) Four vs Two Thunderbolts
Now, since you can indeed select a low-end model and spec it out so that it ends up being more expensive than the high-end model, the easiest way to tell them apart is by looking at the number of Thunderbolt 3 Ports that they have. The low-end model will always come with two, while the high-end model will always come with four.
I would say for most people, two is enough. But if you’re more of a power user and you need to connect a 5K Monitor, eGPU and a few HDD’s, then getting the four Port model is something that I would definitely recommend. Also, if you have the four Port model, you would be able to charge it from either side of the Laptop. The two Port model has both Ports on the left-hand side.
3) Baseline 8th Gen
Something else that you should know is that Apple advertises the new Intel 10th Generation Processors on these MacBooks, but the baseline model still has the 8th Generation, from last year.
4) Almost the Same
In fact, the baseline model is pretty much identical to the 2019 model, with the exception of the Keyboard, which has now been replaced by the new scissor-style mechanism, just like we got in the 16” MacBook Pro and the 2020 MacBook Air. Finally, goodbye Butterfly!
5) Thickness
The 2020 MacBook Air is actually thicker, at its thickest point, that the latest 13” MacBook Pro.
Interestingly enough, both models of the MacBook Pro are now thicker at 1.56cm, compared to the 1.5cm of the previous models. Fun fact, while the MacBook Air is much thinner at its thinnest point, measuring just 0.41cm, at its thickest point the Air is actually thicker than the Pro, measuring 1.61cm, compared to 1.56cm. Still, while the 13” Pro did get thicker this year, it is still noticeably thinner than the 16”, which measures 1.62cm.
Fun fact number two, the new 2020 13” Pro is now thicker than the old 15” from 2019, which was 1.5cm thick. This thickness increase was made in order to accommodate the new Keyboard, which does have quite a bit more key travel.
6) Weight
On top of this, the new Pro is also heavier at 1.4kg, compared to the 1.29kg of the MacBook Air or the 2kg of the 16” MacBook Pro. However, the footprint is identical to what we had on the 2019 model.
7) Keyboard
Speaking of the Keyboard, even though this now uses the old style Scissor-Switch mechanism, just like on the 2015 13” MacBook Pro, the Keyboard is quite a bit different.
We don’t get as much key travel, but the keys are way more stable than before. In a way, it’s sort of like the child of the Butterfly Keyboard and the old 2015 style Keyboards. I personally like it a lot and I can type so much faster from it, with way less typing errors than before. Speaking of that, if you do a lot of typing, the MacBook Air might be a much better choice.
Because of its wedge shape design, it is much more comfortable to type on as the Keyboard itself is at an angle, compared to the straight Keyboard of the MacBook Pro.
8) Escape & TouchID
We also get a dedicated Escape Key, which is really nice to have and the TouchID Sensor is now a bit raised, just like on the MacBook Air, to bring it in line with the taller Keyboard.
9) Smaller Trackpad
Another change that we get is in terms of the Trackpad, which is a tiny bit narrower than on the 2019 models. This is probably to prevent any accidental touches when typing.
10) Double the Storage
You can now get double the Storage, at a price of course.
Aside from this, we did get double the Storage on the baseline model, from 128GB, to 256GB, which is nice. Aside from that and the Keyboard, the baseline is identical to last year’s model.
The high-end model also got double the Storage, by giving you 512GB, compared to 256GB and it also now gives you the option to bump that to 4TB of Storage, up from 2TB. The model with two Thunderbolt 3 Ports can only be configured up to 2TB.
11) RAM Amount
Another difference that you should be aware of is that, while the two Port model can be configured to up to 16GB of RAM, the four Port model can now be configured to up to 32GB of RAM. This is thanks to the new Intel 10th Generation Processors, which support LPDDR4X Memory.
12) RAM Speed
On top of that, while the two Thunderbolt Port model supports 2133MHz LPDDR3 Memory, the four Thunderbolt Port model supports much faster 3733MHz LPDDR4X Memory. So, if you’re into photo-editing, that faster RAM would come in handy.
13) CPU Differences
Ok, but what about the actual CPU? Is it really worth getting the Intel 10th Generation models or is the 8th Generation enough?
On Single-Core Performance, the 2020 13” out-does the 16”.
Well, we actually do get around a 35% faster Single Core performance on the 10th Generation model, which is not gigantic but it is a fair gain indeed. In fact, the 13” Pro with four thunderbolt 3 Ports, even the i5 model, now scores the highest in ‘Geekbench 5’. It’s higher than even the 16” MacBook Pro and the Mac Pro, so that’s very impressive.
If you’re mostly into simple tasks that only require one Single CPU Core, you’ll definitely notice an improvement. Multi-Core performance is up by close to 20%, so overall, we are indeed getting some pretty good gains by upgrading to the four Thunderbolt 3 Port model.
14) i5 vs i7
So, the real question here is, should you get the i5 version of the four Thunderbolt 3 Port model, or the i7?
Well, the difference between the two is pretty much negligible. While the i7 can boost up to 4.1GHz, compared to the 3.8GHz of the i5, it also has 8MB of L3 Cache, compared to 6MB. They’re both Quad-Core Processors and they’re both thermally restricted so they will never be able to sustain that turbo boost clock. This means that they are actually way more similar than you would think.
If you plan on getting the four Thunderbolt 3 Port model, just stick with the i5. If you plan on getting the two Thunderbolt 3 Port model, it’s same story here, just stick with the base CPU.
15) Graphics
Something that is a pretty big difference, are the Graphics. First of all, none of these have Dedicated Graphics. If you need a high-end GPU for intensive video editing, 3D modelling or even gaming, just go with the 16” Pro instead.
Now, while the baseline model still gets the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645, the four Thunderbolt 3 Port model gets the new Intel Iris Plus G7 Graphics, which is the highest-end Integrated Graphics that Intel make. This new Integrated GPU features improved Video Encoding and 64 Execution Units, compared to 48. This means a pretty big boost in graphical performance in gaming and video editing. So, if you care about any of those, the four Thunderbolt 3 Port model is much better.
16) 6K Support
Also, thanks to these new Graphics, the new 10th Generation Intel Processor and a tweaked Thunderbolt 3 interface, the four Port model can now drive a 6K Display, such as the Apple Pro Display XDR. The two Thunderbolt 3 Port model can only drive up to 5K Resolution.
Not only that, but even the new 2020 MacBook Air, which also comes with 10th Generation Intel Processors, can drive a 6K Display, whereas the baseline 2020 MacBook Pro cannot.
17) VS MacBook Air
The TouchBar isn’t for everyone, but I actually quite like it.
In that case, you might be wondering, isn’t a 2020 MacBook Air just better than the 2020 MacBook Pro? Well, not really. You see, while you do technically get a faster Processor and even G7 Graphics, the Fan on the MacBook Air isn’t connected to the CPU’s Heatsink. In English, the MacBook Air is like a high-speed car that slows down considerably after 2-3 seconds, just to cool itself down. However, the MacBook Pro, even the baseline, doesn’t have this issue at all.
So, for very simple tasks such as web-browsing or emailing, the MacBook Air would indeed be better than the baseline MacBook Pro, once you do anything more intensive than that, the Pro will be able to sustain those higher clock-speeds for much longer. Also, the Pro does have a DCI-P3 Display, which makes it much better for photo or video editing. We also have the TouchBar, which some people like and some don’t. I do like it, so I’d rather have it included than not have it at all.
18) Cooling
Speaking of that Cooling, there is actually a pretty big difference between the baseline MacBook Pro and the high-end model. The two Thunderbolt 3 Port model only comes with a single Cooling Fan, while the four Port model comes with two Fans. This not only means that the four Port model will run cooler, but it will also be quicker as those two Fans don’t have to spin as fast as that single Fan. So again, if you plan on doing anything more intensive, go for the four Port model.
19) Old WiFi
Something that I was very surprised to see, is that none of the models come with WiFi 6. In fact, not even the MacBook Air comes with it, meaning that no Macs to this day come with WiFi 6. Instead, they all come with the previous Generation WiFi 5 (or WiFi 802.11ac), which was introduced back in 2013.
This means that you will get slower WiFi speeds than on other 2020 or even 2019 Windows Laptops. What is very strange here is that the new iPhone 11’s, as well as the new iPad Pro 2020, both feature WiFi 6. It’s just Macs that Apple decided to leave it out of. Here’s a fun fact, Intel actually embedded WiFi 6 support onto their 10th Generation Processors. Now, the Chips that Intel made for Apple are exclusive to Apple, meaning that Apple had to intentionally tell Intel to remove the WiFi 6 functionality from their Chips.
My guess is that they’ve done this in order to keep the cost low as we do know that Intel does charge significantly more for their 10th Generation Processors, when compared to the 8th Generation. That could be the reason why Apple managed to double the Storage that they offered, which at the end of the day, for the end-user, is way more important than faster WiFi.
20) Webcam
Something else that Apple hasn’t changed, is the Camera. We still get a 720p Webcam, which is pretty much a joke when compared to the 4K 60FPS Front Camera that we get with the new iPhones.
I know that the Display of a MacBook is much thinner than a Smartphone, but Apple could’ve at least added a 1080p Camera, like many other Windows Laptop manufactures have done.
21) Microphones & Speakers
On paper, you shouldn’t notice any difference between either model…
The Microphones and the Speakers of these two models of the MacBook Pro are identical, at least from what Apple states on their website.
However, some Reviewers, such as Max-Tech, did tests and found out that the four Thunderbolt 3 Port model actually does indeed have noticeably better Speakers. In fact, the MacBook Air 2020 now has more Bass than the baseline 13” MacBook Pro.
22) Base 13 vs Base Air
If you’re debating between the base Air and the base 13” Pro, for most people I would say that the base Air is more than enough. But for $300 more, the base Pro does give you a better Display that’s brighter and more colourful, you also get a TouchBar and better performance under load. But, the Air is a tiny bit lighter and thinner and also has a one hour longer Battery. So it’s really up to what you need the most.
23) High-End 13” vs 16”
Now, if you plan on going for the four Thunderbolt 3 Port model, this is where it gets tricky. It does cost $1800, but the moment you upgrade anything on that, you’re already better off with the baseline $2400 16” MacBook Pro. This offers you a much more powerful Six-Core Processor, a larger Display, better Battery Life and a Dedicated GPU for a massive boost in GPU performance.
So, if you plan on doing any serious work, in terms of video editing, 3D modelling or programming, just get the 16” MacBook Pro. It is significantly larger and heavier, but you do get an even bigger difference in performance.
24) 14 Inch is Coming
For me, this MacBook Pro is almost perfect. If only it had a larger 14” Display and thinner Bezels just like Apple did with the 16” MacBook Pro. Even though we’ve seen loads of leaks & rumors on this upcoming MacBook Pro 14” this is still pretty much the exact same design.
However, recent rumors are saying that the new 14” has been pushed into 2021, so if you were on the fence about buying a new 13” Pro, it is unlikely that we’ll see another update this year.
25) I might switch
Finally, I might actually be switching to it. You see, I don’t edit videos anymore and the most intensive task that I do is Photoshop and Lightroom, which I don’t even do on a daily basis. The 13” Pro is perfect for me, especially on the go. The only question is, can it run my 5K Monitor and my 4K setup?
Find that out and much more, in the Full Review, which is coming out very soon!