MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1 Chip)

2020, November 10

The 13-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Chip, announced on November 10, 2020, marked a historic transition for Apple, replacing Intel processors with their own custom-designed ARM-based Apple Silicon. This chip allowed for massive performance gains, exceptional power efficiency, and the ability to run iOS apps natively on the Mac.

Key Features and Connectivity

Apple M1 Chip: The core innovation was the M1 chip, which delivered up to 2.8x faster CPU performance and up to 5x faster graphics performance than the previous generation, all while dramatically improving battery life.

Exceptional Battery Life: With the M1 chip's efficiency, Apple claimed up to 17 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 20 hours of video playback, the longest battery life ever in a Mac at the time.

Design: The physical design remained identical to the previous Intel 13-inch Pro, utilizing the familiar aluminum unibody, Retina display, and Touch Bar.

Ports: Connectivity was limited to two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports (USB-C connector), which supported Thunderbolt 3, USB 4, charging, DisplayPort, and USB 3.1 Gen 2. A 3.5 mm headphone jack was also included.

Keyboard: Retained the reliable scissor-mechanism "Magic Keyboard" with a Touch Bar and integrated Touch ID.

Universal Apps: The new architecture used Rosetta 2 translation technology to run Intel apps seamlessly, while also enabling native execution of apps designed for Apple Silicon and the ability to run iPhone and iPad apps on the Mac for the first time.