MacBook Pro 2021: News, Price, Release Date, and Specs

Everything to know about the 2021 MacBook Pro

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Updated on October 26, 2021

New MacBook Pros arrived in October 2021. They lost the Touch Bar but gained MagSafe charging, the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, an upgraded Liquid Retina XDR display, and new ports.

MacBook Pro 2021 Release Date

Apple officially announced the new MacBook Pro on October 18, 2021. Pre-orders went live that day, and general availability started October 26. You can order the latest MacBook Pro from Apple.com.

MacBook Pro 2021 Price

The 14-inch model comes in two versions:

$1,999: 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 16 GB memory, 512 GB SSD storage
$2,499: 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16 GB memory, 1 TB SSD storage

There are three 16-inch models. Each includes a 10-core CPU, but the other specs differ:

$2,499: 16-core GPU, 16 GB memory, 512 GB SSD storage
$2,699: 16-core GPU, 16 GB memory, 1 TB SSD storage
$3,499: 32-core GPU, 32 GB memory, 1 TB SSD storage

MacBook Pro 2021 Features

Love for the Touch Bar in the previous MacBook Pro isn't something everyone agreed on—some adored it, and some hated it. It's clear where Apple stands now that they've removed it in the 2021 models. Physical function keys are the new norm.

2021 MacBook Pro keyboard — MacBook Pro 16-inch keyboard.
Apple

MacBook Pro 2021 Specs and Hardware

Massive design changes didn't take place with these MacBooks. Compared to the previous iteration, there's a similar overall design, but with smaller side bezels and no MacBook Pro logo. And, of course, no Touch Bar.

There are, however, several internal changes. Apple is moving away from Intel chips, so the MacBook Pro 2021 uses Apple Silicon. The 14-inch model runs the M1 Pro chip, and the 16-inch model lets you choose between the M1 Pro and M1 Max, depending on the version you choose.

The M1 Pro, according to Apple, "delivers up to 70 percent faster CPU performance than M1, and up to 2x faster GPU performance." With M1 Pro, you can hook up two Pro Display XDRs, or three Pro Display XDRs and a 4K TV with M1 Max.

MagSafe has arrived as well. This wireless, magnetic charging method was introduced with the 2006 MacBook Pro but was phased out due to USB-C. Recently, Apple upgraded the tech and included it in the iPhone. This newer version (for the iPhone) doubles the power output to 15 W, so you can expect faster charging on the MacBook Pro, too. Fast charge lets you charge up your MacBook to 50 percent in just 30 minutes.

The MacBook Pro has a Liquid Retina XDR display. Featuring the mini-LED technology used in iPad Pro, this display brings up to 1,000 nits of brightness, 1,600 nits of peak brightness, and a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. ProMotion technology provides an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz.

ProMotion on the MacBook Pro: Is It Really a Big Deal?

The 2021 MacBook Pro also has Thunderbolt 4 ports, an SDXC card slot, an HDMI port, a headphone jack that supports high-impedance headphones, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.0.