Apple Upgrades MacBook Pro and Launches 2018 Back To School promotion

Today, July 12, 2018, Apple announced the release of their 2018 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar update, including a 13” and a 15” model. Here’s a look at some of the basic configuration details.

	13” MacBook Pro	15” MacBook Pro
Price	$1,799	$2,399
Display	Retina display 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: ·         1680 by 1050 ·         1440 by 900 ·         1024 by 640 500 nits brightness Wide color (P3) True Tone technology	Retina display 15.4-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2880-by-1800 native resolution at 220 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors Supported scaled resolutions: ·         1920 by 1200 ·         1680 by 1050 ·         1280 by 800 ·         1024 by 640 500 nits brightness Wide color (P3) True Tone technology
Processor	2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i5 Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM	2.2GHz 6-core Intel i7 Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz, with 9MB shared L3 cache
Storage	256GB SSD	256GB SSD
Memory	8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory	16GB of 2400MHz DDR4 onboard memory
Graphics	Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655	Radeon Pro 555X with 4GB of GDDR5 memory and automatic graphics switching
Charging and Expansion	Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps) USB-3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps)	Four Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) ports with support for: Charging DisplayPort Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps) USB-3.1 Gen 2 (up to 10 Gbps)
Keyboard and Trackpad	Full-size backlit keyboard with: 64 (U.S.) or 65 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures	Full-size backlit keyboard with: 64 (U.S.) or 65 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys Touch Bar with integrated Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Some of these items, such as memory and storage are upgradable for an additional cost, and it can get expensive.  A fully loaded 13” MacBook pro with 16GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD sells for $3,699 while the 15” MacBook Pro, with 32GB of RAM and a 4TB SSD will set you back $6,699.

The new models are available today through Apple.com and in select Apple retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers later this week.

Apple Back To School Promotion

Also, today, Apple launched its annual Back to School promotion in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and many European and Asian countries.

Students buying the new MacBook Pro, MacBook, MacBook Air, iMac or iMac Pro, or Mac Pro will get to choose from a free pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless ($300), Powerbeats 3 Wireless ($200), or Beats X ($150) headphones.

As in prior years, the Mac Mini does not qualify for the Back To School promotion.

Have you been waiting for the new MacBook before making a purchase?  What do you think of the new line-up?  Why not join the conversation and add your comments below.

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Apple Tech Talker