A familiar machine has returned at the same price it carried last year, and the question it poses is less about the laptop itself than about what a buyer is willing to give up for an old processor wrapped in a better keyboard. TechRadar's reviewers have weighed the 2020 MacBook Pro 13-inch and found that its real value lives a little above the advertised starting point, where newer silicon and more memory begin to justify the price. The lesson, as old as shopping itself, is that the cheapest door is not always the one that opens onto the best room. Whether Apple's coming November event will re
Apple's 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro: Skip the Base Model, Buy the $1,799 Configuration
The leap from 8th to 10th generation is going to make a big difference
Mark
Why single out the base model when the price didn't change?
Mimi
Because the price staying at $1,299 hides what you get. The chip is an 8th-generation Core i5 with 2,133MHz memory, while the headline upgrades are in the 10th-generation parts.
Luke
Worth noting that the performance verdict comes from the mid-range unit TechRadar tested. They say the base model won't match it, but they don't publish base-model benchmarks in this text.
Mark
So what do you get for the extra $500?
Mimi
A 2.0GHz 10th-gen i5, 512GB of storage, and 16GB of 3,733MHz RAM. TechRadar calls it the minimum worth buying.
Luke
That's the reviewers' judgment, not a measured threshold. It's also aimed at professionals and creatives. A casual buyer might weigh it differently.
Mark
Is the keyboard the real news?
Mimi
For many people, yes. The Magic Keyboard replaces the butterfly design that had stuck-key complaints.
Luke
And the 80% faster 4K editing figure is Apple's claim, not something TechRadar measured.
Mark
Anything to watch?
Mimi
Apple's November 10 event. TechRadar says newer specs might appear.
Luke
Might. That's speculation, not a confirmed product.
El Pulso
- The entry-level $1,299 MacBook Pro carries a two-year-old 8th-gen chip, and reviewers say it should be avoided by anyone serious about performance.
- A Magic Keyboard replaces the troubled butterfly switches, sparking relief among buyers who had shunned the line for years.
- Apple's headline promise of 10th-gen processors reaches only the pricier configurations, leaving a sharp gap that buyers must navigate.
- Reviewers steer shoppers toward the $1,799 model, which they call the minimum worth buying, while warning that creatives may pay more.
- Thick bezels, limited ports and no dedicated GPU persist as drawbacks, and an anticipated November 10 event could shift the calculation again.
A familiar machine has returned at the same price it carried last year, and the question it poses is less about the laptop itself than about what a buyer is willing to give up for an old processor wrapped in a better keyboard. TechRadar's reviewers have weighed the 2020 MacBook Pro 13-inch and found that its real value lives a little above the advertised starting point, where newer silicon and more memory begin to justify the price. The lesson, as old as shopping itself, is that the cheapest door is not always the one that opens onto the best room. Whether Apple's coming November event will rewrite the arithmetic remains an open question that the reviewers have wisely left for time to answer.
The cheapest 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro costs $1,299, the same as the model it replaces, and TechRadar's reviewers say that is the one to skip. The recommended version costs $500 more, and that gap shapes the entire review.
The most welcome change is the Magic Keyboard, which swaps out the butterfly-switch design that had earned a reputation for stuck keys and reliability trouble. Reviewers praise its comfortable, tactile typing and suggest it may finally bring back buyers who stayed away because of the old keyboard.
The entry model, however, keeps an older 8th-generation Intel chip and slower 2,133MHz memory. Apple promoted its newer 10th-generation processors at launch, but the cheapest buyer doesn't get them. For professionals, the reviewers say, the base model is hard to recommend.
The $1,799 configuration, with a 10th-generation Core i5, 512GB of storage and 16GB of faster RAM, is the minimum they would suggest. Their test unit delivered strong benchmark results and about 8.5 hours of battery in a movie test, running macOS smoothly even with many Chrome tabs open. Heavy video work and 3D rendering still depend on integrated graphics, and anyone needing real graphics power is pointed to the 16-inch model.
Outside, the design is nearly unchanged, though slightly thicker and heavier. Bezels remain thick, and the port selection is limited, with no USB-A. Even so, TechRadar still calls this the best choice for most fans of the line, while noting that Apple's November 10 event could bring newer specs at a similar price.
The cheapest 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro costs $1,299, the same as the 2019 model it replaces, and TechRadar's reviewers say it is the one to avoid. The recommended machine costs $500 more, and the gap between the two defines the whole review.
Apple refreshed the laptop with a Magic Keyboard in place of the butterfly-switch design that had a reputation for stuck keys and reliability problems. The same keyboard was already in the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the 2020 MacBook Air. TechRadar calls the change enormously welcome, praising the tactile, comfortable typing and decent key travel. Its reviewers suggest the redesign could win over buyers who stayed away because of the keyboard's reputation.
The entry model keeps the old chip, though. At $1,299 (£1,299, AU$1,999) it has a 1.4GHz quad-core 8th-generation Intel Core i5, a processor TechRadar describes as two years old, along with 2,133MHz memory. Storage doubles from 128GB to 256GB, and TechRadar credits Apple for holding the price. But Apple made a point of promoting 10th-generation Intel processors at launch, and the cheapest buyer doesn't get them. The reviewers say they can't recommend the base model to professionals, and that anyone wanting a cheap MacBook Pro would do better with a slightly older, cheaper one, since the performance difference would be small.
The model they consider the minimum is the $1,799 (£1,799, AU$2,999) configuration. It has a 2.0GHz 10th-generation Core i5, 512GB of storage and 16GB of 3,733MHz RAM. Buyers can also configure a 10th-generation Core i7, up to 4TB of storage and, for the first time in a 13-inch MacBook Pro, up to 32GB of RAM. The wide gap between the entry model and the next one up, TechRadar argues, means creatives may end up paying somewhat more than in past years.
The unit TechRadar tested was a 2.0GHz Core i5-1038NG7 with 16GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. It scored 1,950 in Cinebench R20 and 1,268 single-core and 4,490 multi-core in Geekbench 5. Battery life in the site's movie test was 8 hours and 31 minutes. The reviewers say it ran macOS Catalina smoothly, loaded apps quickly and handled Chrome with many tabs open. They add that the base model won't perform as well as the unit they received.
Graphics are a limit. The 13-inch has no dedicated GPU, only Intel Iris Plus Graphics, so heavy video editing or 3D rendering falls to integrated graphics. Apple claims the chip is 80% faster for 4K editing, but anyone needing real graphics power is pointed to the 16-inch model and its AMD Radeon Pro 5300M.
Outside, little changed. The laptop is available in Silver or Space Gray and measures 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches. It is slightly thicker than the 2019 model's 0.59 inches and slightly heavier at 3.1 pounds against 3.02. The Dell XPS 13 (2020) weighs 2.8 pounds. The Touch Bar remains, with Touch ID now separated from it, a physical Escape key and an inverted-T arrow-key layout. The 2,560 x 1,600 Retina display is unchanged and supports the P3 wide color gamut. The reviewers still fault the thick bezels and the port count: two Thunderbolt 3 ports on the entry model, four on higher ones, plus a headphone jack, with no USB-A.
TechRadar still calls this the best choice for most fans of the line, and better than a 2019 unit unless that one is deeply discounted. It notes, though, that Apple's November 10 virtual event could bring newer specs at a similar price.
Citas Notables
TechRadar says it can't recommend the base model for professionals and considers the $1,799 configuration the absolute minimum to buy.— TechRadar review
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