Apple launches new 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air in India with M1 chip and "best-in-class" features: Check price, specs

Apple has unveiled the all-new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops at the 'One More Thing' event held on Tuesday. The devices draw power from the company’s newly-launched silicon for Mac called M1. The Cupertino-based OEM maker claims that the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, both armed with the M1 chipset, will showcase a monumental jump in performance and efficiency. Apple has also launched a new Mac mini that also gets powered by the M1 chip.

The company has also announced the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro price in India. The M1-powered MacBook Air starts at Rs 92,900, whereas the 13-inch MacBook Pro price in India starts at RS 1,22,900.

One More Thing Apple Event 

Apple M1

Apple claims that the M1 chip is the most powerful chip it has ever created and the first chip designed specifically for the Mac. The new Apple Silicon prioritises performance and efficiency and is optimised for the Mac.

The new Mac chip features a unified memory architecture for improved performance and efficiency. M1 is based on 5nm architecture and packs 16 billion transistors. It features the world’s fastest CPU core in low-power silicon, the world’s best CPU performance per watt, the world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer, and machine learning performance with the Apple Neural Engine. 

The 8-core CPU features four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores. There’s also an 8-core integrated GPU that offers industry-leading performance and efficiency.

M1 delivers up to 3.5x faster CPU performance, up to 6x faster GPU performance, and up to 15x faster machine learning, all while enabling battery life up to 2x longer than previous-generation Macs.

The M1 chip features Apple’s latest image signal processor (ISP) for higher quality video with better noise reduction, greater dynamic range, and improved auto white balance.

It also comes with Secure Enclave that is claimed to offer best-in-class security.

M1 is optimised for macOS Big Sur, which will roll out on November 12. Moreover, with universal apps, iOS and iPadOS apps can be run on macOS.

MacBook Air

The MacBook Air is the first Mac to get powered by the M1 chip. Apple claims that the M1 chip enables the MacBook Air, which is the world’s best-selling 13-inch NoteBook, to do stuff that wasn’t possible before.

The MacBook Air’s 13-inch display comes with support for P3 colours.

With the M1 chip, MacBook Air speeds through intensive tasks from editing family photos to exporting videos for the web. The 8-core CPU performs up to 3.5x faster than the previous generation, whereas the 8-core GPU, graphics are up to 5x faster.

The M1 chip’s storage controller and latest flash technology deliver up to two times faster SSD performance. This helps in faster previewing of massive images or importing large files faster.

The new MacBook Air comes without a fan and is claimed to offer up to 15 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 18 hours of video playback — the longest battery life ever on a MacBook Air

Apple further claims that the M1-powered MacBook Air is faster than the chips in 98 percent of PC laptops sold in the past year.

The new ISP of the M1 also improves the camera image quality with better noise reduction, greater dynamic range, and improved auto white balance, and ML-enhanced face detection so users look their best during video calls. There is also Secure Enclave to deliver best-in-class security with features like Touch ID.

MacBook Air comes with up to 16GB RAM and 2TB SSD.

The new M1-powered MacBook Air price in India is Rs 92,900 for the 256GB variant with 7-core GPU, whereas in the US, it starts at $999 (roughly Rs 74,200). The 8-core GPU MacBook Air with M1 chip price in India is set at Rs 1,17,900 and comes with 512GB SSD.

MacBook Air will be available starting November 17 in India. 

MacBook Pro with M1 chip

The 13.3-inch MacBook Pro gets powered by the new Apple M1 silicon, replacing the older models with Intel x86 chip. The 8-core CPU, when paired with the MacBook Pro’s active cooling system, is up to 2.8x faster than the previous generation.

Apple also claims that the 8-core GPU is up to five times faster. With up to 17 hours of wireless web browsing and up to 20 hours of video playback, MacBook Pro delivers up to twice the battery life of the previous generation and the longest battery life ever on a Mac. 

Like the MacBook Air, the MacBook Pro also features the Neural Engine for high-speed machine learning. There is also Secure Enclave for best-in-class security with features like Touch ID.

MacBook Pro features a Touch Bar and comes with a Magic Keyboard. It also comes with studio-quality mics for clear recordings and calls. The new ISP also enables sharper images and more detail in shadows and highlights on video calls. 

Lastly, MacBook Pro features two Thunderbolt ports with USB 4 support to connect to more peripherals, including Apple’s Pro Display XDR in full 6K resolution.

MacBook Pro price in India starts at Rs 1,22,900 for the 8-core GPU variant with 256GB SSD. The  512GB SSD model is priced at Rs 1,42,900.

MacBook Pro sale begins on November 17 in India.