Sometimes the most consequential change in a familiar object is the one you cannot see from the outside. In November 2020, Apple placed its own M1 chip at the heart of its smallest professional laptop, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, replacing the Intel processors that had powered the line for years while leaving its body nearly untouched. Early reviewers at TechRadar, holding the machine for the first time, found a laptop that promised great speed and remarkable endurance, yet still wore the design of an earlier era. Their verdict was an open one: the real measure of this quiet revolution would only
Apple's M1 MacBook Pro 13-inch Packs a Revolution Inside, but the Old Design Stays Put
The revolution is all about what's inside.
Mark
So what actually changed in this MacBook Pro?
Mimi
Nearly everything inside and almost nothing outside. Intel's processor and graphics are gone, replaced by Apple's own 5nm M1 chip. The body is the same size and weight as before.
Mark
Apple's numbers are big. Do they hold up?
Luke
Not yet confirmed. Apple says 2.8 times faster than the last generation, but TechRadar says some tests are vague. The GPU comparison is against a base model with an older 8th-generation Intel chip.
Mimi
What the reviewers did find is that native and older Intel apps ran well, which matters for anyone switching.
Mark
And the battery?
Luke
Apple claims 17 hours of web browsing and 20 of video. TechRadar hasn't measured that. All it can say is that it hasn't charged the laptop yet in early use, which is an anecdote, not a test.
Mimi
They add that Apple's battery claims have usually been close in the past.
Mark
Why bring up the MacBook Air?
Mimi
Because it has the same chip, 512GB of storage, and now a P3 screen for $1,249 against the Pro's $1,299 with 256GB.
Luke
The difference is the fan. The Air throttles under long loads. How much that matters in practice is something the full review has to show.
Mark
So who is the Pro for?
Mimi
People doing hours of rendering, and people who like the Touch Bar and keyboard as they are.
O Pulso
- Apple has swapped out Intel's chips for its own M1 in the 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the internal shift is rattling expectations about what a laptop can do.
- Apple's claims of up to 2.8 times faster performance and 20 hours of video playback are bold, and reviewers are holding them at arm's length until real testing arrives.
- Intel-built apps run through Rosetta while native M1 software runs fast, a navigation that lets older programs survive the transition while developers adapt.
- A $1,249 MacBook Air now carries the same chip and the sharper P3 screen once reserved for the Pro, forcing buyers to weigh fan-cooled sustained power against cheaper portability.
- The chassis, screen resolution and bezels remain unchanged, so the machine is landing as a powerful but visually dated upgrade whose full verdict is still pending.
Sometimes the most consequential change in a familiar object is the one you cannot see from the outside. In November 2020, Apple placed its own M1 chip at the heart of its smallest professional laptop, the 13-inch MacBook Pro, replacing the Intel processors that had powered the line for years while leaving its body nearly untouched. Early reviewers at TechRadar, holding the machine for the first time, found a laptop that promised great speed and remarkable endurance, yet still wore the design of an earlier era. Their verdict was an open one: the real measure of this quiet revolution would only be known once the promises were tested over the long, demanding hours that real work requires.
Open the box on Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro and it looks exactly like the one you already knew. The weight, the dimensions, and the feel of the machine are unchanged. What has changed is hidden inside, and that hidden change is the whole story of this early hands-on review.
This refresh arrived on November 10, 2020, alongside the MacBook Air and Mac mini. It drops Intel hardware for both processor and graphics, replacing them with the M1, an in-house 5nm chip with an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU. Apple's claims are sweeping: faster machine learning, large gains in Xcode builds, Final Cut Pro rendering and gaming. Reviewers note that some comparisons are vague and that the graphics benchmark is measured against an older Intel model, so they treat the numbers with care.
Still, the testers were impressed. Both native M1 software and older Intel apps ran well thanks to Rosetta, a contrast with Windows on ARM machines that cannot run most desktop programs. Battery life was the other headline, with Apple promising up to 20 hours of video playback. The reviewers have not needed to charge the laptop once so far, though they acknowledge that heavier real-world work will be more demanding.
Pricing starts at $1,299, the same as the previous model, and the reviewers appreciated that Apple did not raise it. But the new MacBook Air complicates the choice, sharing the chip and the P3 display at a lower price. For sustained rendering, the fan-cooled Pro remains the better tool.
The design is where disappointment sets in. The Touch Bar and Magic Keyboard return, and rival laptops from HP and Dell offer sharper, slimmer, more flexible designs. The early verdict is that the revolution lies in the engine rather than the frame, and that a full review with in-depth testing will follow to see whether the promises hold.
Open the box on Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro and you will think you have the old one. The dimensions are 0.61 by 11.97 by 8.36 inches, the weight is 3.0 pounds, and it looks and feels identical to earlier 13-inch models. The change is inside, and that is the whole story of TechRadar's early hands-on with the M1 version, released in 2020.
This is the second refresh of Apple's smallest MacBook Pro that year. The first was a modest spec bump. This one, announced November 10 at Apple's One More Thing event alongside the MacBook Air and Mac mini, drops Intel hardware for both processor and integrated graphics. In its place is the M1, a 5nm chip Apple designed itself, with an 8-core CPU and 8-core GPU in both configurations.
Apple's claims are large. It calls the machine the world's fastest compact pro notebook for machine learning, up to three times faster than Windows laptops in its class and 2.8 times faster than the previous generation. It cites a CPU that builds Xcode projects 2.8 times faster, vector work in Affinity Photo twice as fast, Final Cut Pro 3D title rendering 5.9 times faster, and 2.9 times the performance in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. TechRadar urges caution: Apple is vague about some tests, and the GPU comparison is against a base previous-generation 13-inch Pro with an older 8th-generation Intel processor.
Even so, the reviewers were impressed. They ran both native M1 apps and legacy apps built for Intel Macs, and both ran well, thanks to Apple's Rosetta tool. They contrast this with Windows 10 on ARM, such as on Microsoft's Surface Pro X, which is limited to Microsoft Store apps built for ARM, leaving many popular programs unusable. Apple's machine also brings thousands of iOS apps along.
Battery life is the other headline. Apple promises 17 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 20 hours of video playback, ten hours more than the previous model. TechRadar notes that real work is more demanding than those tests, but says Apple's battery claims have usually been close to accurate. In its time with the laptop so far, it has not needed to charge it once.
Pricing starts at $1,299 / £1,299 / AU$1,999 for 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. The 2TB, 16GB model costs $2,299 / £2,299 / AU$3,499. That matches the earlier 2020 model's launch price, so there is no price cut for the move to Apple silicon, though the reviewers commend Apple for not raising it. The complication is the new MacBook Air with the same chip and 8GB of RAM: at $1,249 / £1,249 / AU$1,949 it comes with 512GB of storage, double the base Pro, and now has a P3 wide color gamut screen, once exclusive to the Pro. The Air has no fan, so it throttles under sustained loads, while the Pro keeps its fans. For hours of rendering, TechRadar says the Pro is worth the extra money.
The carried-over design draws the reviewers' disappointment. The Touch Bar returns, with a separate physical escape key, which developers in particular had requested. The keyboard is the Magic Keyboard introduced earlier in 2020, replacing the problem-prone Butterfly design, and it still feels great. The Retina screen remains 2,560 x 1,600, bright and vibrant, but rivals such as HP and Dell offer higher-resolution 13-inch panels, slimmer bezels, and 2-in-1 designs. TechRadar likens it to Apple keeping the same iPhone design since 2016.
The early verdict is that this is the most exciting MacBook Pro reinvention since the 16-inch model of 2019, with the revolution in internals rather than form. If the M1 lives up to Apple's promises, TechRadar says, it could be a game changer for a productivity 13-inch laptop. A full review with in-depth performance and battery testing is to follow.
Citações Notáveis
TechRadar says it wishes Apple had been more adventurous with the design, though the M1's performance and battery life look potentially game-changing.— TechRadar early verdict
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