Apple MacBook Pro 2019 review: everything you need to know

We will test the three serial configurations:

MacBook Pro 13" Core i5 quad core at 2.4 GHz (€1,999);

MacBook Pro 15" Core i7 hexacore at 2.6 GHz (€2799);

MacBook Pro 15" Core i9 octaheart at 2.3 GHz (€3,299).

"But Apple offers four standard configurations! "Yes, but no. The two configurations of MacBook Pro 13" differ only in storage, and have access to the same options. In this respect, the small MacBook Pro is less similar to its predecessor than the MacBook Air or even the iPad Pro.

The MacBook Pro 15" stands out with its six- and (for the first time) eight-core processors, dedicated graphics card, and options. While the MacBook Pro 13" can only hold 16 GB of RAM and 2 TB of SSD, the MacBook Pro 15" can hold up to 32 GB of RAM and 4 TB of SSD. We will also have the opportunity to test a MacBook Pro 15" "all options", the first one capable of reaching 5 GHz, in a second step.

As soon as the box is removed, you will need to update your machine. We received one machine under macOS 10.14.4, on which we had to install macOS 10.14.5, and two machines under macOS 10.14.5, on which we had to install the "MacBook Pro additional update" fixing a bug affecting the T2 chip. We will perform all our tests under macOS 10.14.5.

This revision is the very definition of speed bump: Apple took the latest Intel chips, adjusted the keyboard's butterfly mechanisms, and left everything else in place. For example, the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 graphics chip is replicated in 13" MacBooks Pro, and 15" MacBooks Pro still use AMD Radeon Pro 555X/560X graphics cards (and optional Vega 16/20 cards).

The Core i5-8279U processor of the MacBook Pro 13" is not included in Intel's catalog, but seems to derive from the Core i5-8269U, and takes directly from the Core i5-8259U used in 2018. MacBook Pro 15" adopt ninth generation chips. The Core i7-8750H of the first model gives way to the Core i7-9750H, a little faster as a base but a little slower as a tip. Most importantly, the high-end model swaps its Core i7-8850H for a Core i9-9880H, the first octa-core chip in a MacBook Pro.

Despite significant year-over-year gains, this update may seem very minor. But a small revision every twelve months is probably better than a big omission for several years, Mac mini and iMac enthusiasts can attest to that. If there is one choice to criticize, it is rather the one that consists in letting the MacBook Pro 13" rot without Touch Bar, the only "professional" machine still available under the €2,000 bar.

Finally, it seems impossible to us to assess the effect of the modifications made to the keyboard's butterfly mechanisms, if there is one. At the first touch, the keys are firm and stable, the stroke is extraordinarily short... as on the MacBook Pro 2018. We will come back to this point very soon, and we will publish our complete test in the course of next week.