This could very well be the last Apple MacBook Pro 13 that runs the Intel processors. That is, if all the chatter about the Apple Silicon powered MacBook Pro update lined up for early next year, is to be believed. The timing seems about right as well, and early 2021 is when the MacBook Pro 13 as we see today, will be in line for a refresh. Whether the MacBook Pro 13 as we know today exists with the processor refresh as well, we do not know. But does that mean you ignore this one, the Apple MacBook Pro, the 2020 refresh? Absolutely not. Just because Apple is poised to slowly move away from Intel’s processors in the coming years, doesn’t change anything for anyone looking to buy a MacBook Pro today. Or for that matter, any other MacBook. It’ll still continue to work as always, it’ll still last you many years, you will still get all the software updates, you will get the new macOS versions as well and it is not as if your Intel-powered MacBook will stop working one fine morning.
The Apple MacBook Pro 13 is available in four variants in India, at this time. Interesting enough, and you probably need to pay a bit of attention to this—there are two variants on the slightly older 8th generation Intel Core processors and two variants on the new 10th gen Intel Core processors. Apple has over the past few years kept some differentiation between the entry-spec MacBook Pro 13 and the higher spec variants. If you remember, the non-Touch Bar and the Touch Bar versions? Now, the differentiation happens with the processors powering the two lines. Prices start at Rs 1,22,990 and Rs 1,41,990 for the entry spec variants which now has double the storage as before—256GB SSD and 512GB SSD. And then there are these—the 10th gen Intel Core powered machines. The one with 512GB SSD is priced at Rs 1,74,990 while the one with 1TB SSD will cost you Rs 1,94,900.
Apple MacBook Pro 13 (2020)1
Competition for the Apple MacBook Pro 13 remains as always, from the Windows 10 ecosystem. But the new Dell XPS 13 2020 refresh, with its significantly higher price tag compared with the predecessors, means it is no longer going to be looked at with the expectation of value and performance allowing you to save a few pennies in comparison. And then there are the very capable HP machines too, including the ENVY series, the Spectre series and the Elite Dragonfly range—you do have a lot of choice, clearly. That makes it even more important for the 2020 update of the Apple MacBook Pro 13 to really hit the sweet spot.
