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The 13-inch MacBook Pro gets Apple’s new M1 chip, starting at $1,299

Brian Heater

And just like that, we’ve got three new devices sporting Apple’s new proprietary chips. Following its announcement of a new MacBook Air and Mac Mini, the company just upgraded another popular model. The 13-inch MacBook Pro will be one of the first three models to launch with the newly announced M1 chip.

During this morning’s event, the company called the system, “the ultimate expression of what the M1 chip can do.” And at very least, the system does appear to be pushing the limits of what its new chip can do. The system supports a massive 17 hours of battery life for web browsing and 20 hours for video playback — that’s the highest rating the company has offered on a MacBook product. 

It features two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports (like the Air) and starts with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, upgradable to 16GB and 2TB, respectively.
Per Apple,

When compared to the previous generation, the M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro can:

  • Build code in Xcode up to 2.8x faster.

  • Render a complex 3D title in Final Cut Pro up to 5.9x faster. 

  • Fluidly design intricate game scenes in Unity Editor up to 3.5x faster. 

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  • Perform ML tasks in Create ML up to 11x faster.

  • Separate out beats, instrumentals, and vocal tracks from a recording in real time in djay Pro AI, thanks to the amazing performance of the Neural Engine. 

  • Play back full-quality, 8K ProRes video in DaVinci Resolve without dropping a single frame. 

  • Compile four times as much code on a single charge, thanks to the game-changing performance per watt of the M1 chip.

Like the Air, the price is staying put. The system starts at $1,299 (or $1,199 for education) and will be available for pre-order starting today. It should start shipping next week.

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Brian Heater

Brian Heater was the Hardware Editor at TechCrunch until early 2025. He has worked for a number of leading tech publications, including Engadget, PCMag, Laptop, and Tech Times, where he served as the Managing Editor. His writing has appeared in Spin, Wired, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, The Onion, Boing Boing, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Beast and various other publications. He hosts the weekly Boing Boing interview podcast RiYL, has appeared as a regular NPR contributor and shares his Queens apartment with a rabbit named Juniper.

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