A New Apple vs. An Older Apple
I will be comparing the latest (2019) top-of-the-range (TOTR) 16-inch MacBook Pro to the TOTR 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro.
2019 16-inch MacBook Pro
//£5769.00 for an eight core i9 clocked at 2.4 GHz with a Turbo Boost up to 5.0 GHz, 64
2018 15-inch MacBook Pro
Comparison
| Component | TOTR 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro | TOTR 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Processor Model | 9th Generation Intel Core i9 | 8th Generation Intel Core i9 |
| Processor Cores | 8 | 6 |
| Processor Threads | 16 | 12 |
| Processor Frequency | 2.4 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| Processor Turbo Boost | 5.0 GHz | 4.8 GHz |
| RAM Capacity | 64 GB | 32 GB |
| RAM Type | DDR4 | DDR4 |
| RAM Bandwidth | 2666 MHz | 2400 MHz |
| Graphics Model | AMD Radeon Pro 5500M | AMD Radeon Pro 560X |
| Graphics RAM Capacity | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Graphics RAM Type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |
| Storage Capacity | 8 TB | 4 TB |
| Storage Type | NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x4) | NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x4) |
| Display Size | 16-inch | 15-inch |
| Display Type | True Tone | True Tone |
| Thunderbolt 3 Ports | Four | Four |
| Touch Bar | Present | Present |
| Touch ID | Present | Present |
As expected, the prices for the 2019 MacBook Pro are lower than the 2018 MacBook Pro whilst improving most components.
Intel suffered a range of manufacturing issues during 2018 and 2019; however, Apple appears to have been able to source many other components through lower cost channels. SK Hynix has been providing various RAM and NVMe modules at lower costs than other suppliers.
The processor bump is interesting; Apple has selected an Intel i9 with a lower frequency of 2.4 GHz down from 2.8 GHz; however, the Turbo Boost increase to 5.0 GHz from 4.8 GHz and varying boost frequency should allow for further boost gains whilst managing a lower life-cycle TDP for most users.
The jump from six cores to eight cores has been welcomed by the highest-end professional users using their MacBook Pros for video editing and rendering.
The RAM capacity and bandwidth increase to 64 GB of 2666 MHz DDR4 from 32 GB of 2400 MHz DDR4 will make little difference to the majority of MacBook Pro users; however, many of the TOTR models will be heading to the highest-end professional users. Rendering in particular will be dependant on the best software optimisations for the best hardware. Faster RAM to VRAM transfers will result in a slightly faster render; however, introducing a faster and more parallel software optimisation for a new GPU will make greater use of faster GDDR6 VRAM.
The NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x4) storage capacity increase to 8 TB from 4 TB will be superb for video editors supporting larger projects on the built-in NVMe storage opposed to working on external SSDs over USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Thunderbolt 3.
The 16-inch display opposed to the 15-inch display may not seem much in display real estate; however, the reduction in bezels and the extra pixels adds to the extra inch or horizontal space to produce the best MacBook Pro experience to date.
The four Thunderbolt 3 ports from the 2018 MacBook Pro have been retained in the 2019 MacBook Pro along with the Touch Bar and Touch ID.