MacRumors

With Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro now in stores, we were able to pick one up this morning to take a look at it and provide MacRumors readers with our first impressions on the new machine.

Read on below and watch our video to see our overview and our initial thoughts on the new ‌MacBook Pro‌.

When you glance at the new 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, it's difficult to tell it apart from the 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, because the design is the same general design that Apple has been using for the ‌MacBook Pro‌ for years now.

Apple bumped up the thickness and the weight of the new ‌MacBook Pro‌, though, and there's a lot of heft here. It feels more dense when toting it around, and the extra weight and size is somewhat noticeable.

The most notable change to the ‌MacBook Pro‌ is the larger 16-inch display with its slimmed down bezels. The new model has a resolution of 3072 x 1920 at 226 pixels per inch, which is an improvement over the 15-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌. In use, the updated display appears to be somewhat sharper and more vibrant than before, but it's not a huge difference from the 15-inch display and it's probably not the sole reason someone should upgrade.

Beyond the display, there are quite a few attractive new features that set the 16-inch machine apart from its predecessors. A new "Magic Keyboard" has been added that does away with the butterfly mechanism and returns to a scissor-style mechanism that's meant to be more reliable and not prone to failure due to crumbs and small particulates.

We liked the feel of the butterfly keyboard in general, and the Magic Keyboard isn't too far off from that feel. There's minimal key travel, but a solid amount of feedback that provides a pleasant typing experience.

Apple added a physical Escape key to the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌, an upgrade over the virtual Escape key built into the Touch Bar in previous Macs. Apple's Phil Schiller recently said that not having a physical Escape key was one of the top ‌MacBook Pro‌ complaints, and it's nice that Apple has addressed this issue.

Arrow keys have also been returned to an inverted "T" design, which will also be a welcome change, and the Touch ID button is now a separate button to match the aesthetic of a separate Escape key. Aside from these changes, the Touch Bar is the same. There are also no changes to the Trackpad.

There's a new six-speaker sound system and a three-array microphone setup that we used to record the entirety of our YouTube video. The sound system is impressive for a notebook machine. The speakers are super loud, but sound quality is also noticeably improved. The audio is robust with great clarity and just the right amount of bass.

Battery life in the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ is up an hour compared to the 15-inch model, though we haven't been able to test that out yet. It's using the same Intel processors that were included in the 15-inch models released in May, but the new machine supports up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage, which will appeal to pro users.

What do you think of the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌? Are you upgrading? Let us know in the comments.

We're going to have additional coverage of the 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ coming next week, including a deeper dive into performance, so make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors.

Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro models are in stores as of today, and iFixit, a site known for its product teardowns, has purchased one and is going to take it apart.

The teardown is happening live on YouTube, which means MacRumors readers interested in getting a peek at what's inside the new machine can follow along as it's deconstructed.

iFixit plans to provide a first look at the inside of the new Magic Keyboard and will also give a brief overview of additional internal components, with more information to come later in a full teardown.

Update: iFixit's brief look at the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ confirms that the internal design of scissor switch is nearly identical to that found in the Magic Keyboard and earlier, pre-butterfly ‌MacBook Pro‌ models. Individual key caps are replaceable, with iFixit even demonstrating that a Magic Keyboard key cap can be snapped on the ‌MacBook Pro‌'s keyboard, although it's a little thicker.

A look inside the new ‌MacBook Pro‌ reveals a similar layout to previous models, with the SSD and RAM soldered onto the logic board, making them nonreplaceable. iFixit's full teardown will be available on Monday, offering a more substantial look at the internals of the new ‌MacBook Pro‌.

A parliamentary committee in Germany on Wednesday passed an amendment to an anti-money laundering law that would force Apple to open up the NFC chip in iPhones to competing mobile payment providers, according to Reuters. The report claims the law is set to come into effect early next year.

In a statement to Reuters, Apple said it was "surprised" about the sudden decision and expressed security concerns.

"We are surprised at how suddenly this legislation was introduced," an Apple spokesperson said. "We fear that the draft law could be harmful to user friendliness, data protection and the security of financial information."

As noted by German financial website Finanz-Szene, however, there appears to be a provision in the law that could allow Apple to keep the NFC chip locked down. Specifically, it appears that Apple might be able to argue that opening up the NFC chip would put the security of its customers at risk.

A rough translation of the passage:

Exceptionally, the system undertaking is not required to comply with paragraph 1 if there are reasonable grounds for refusal to make the provision available. These exist, in particular, if the system undertaking can demonstrate that the safety and integrity of the technical infrastructure services is specifically jeopardized by the provision of such facilities. The rejection must be reasonably justified.

Earlier this month, the European Union's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager acknowledged that her department has received "many concerns" over Apple Pay and potential anticompetitive issues. Australia's big banks have also sought open access to the NFC chip on the iPhone in recent years.

Apple today activated its in-store reserve and pickup system for the new 16-inch MacBook Pro in the United States.

This system enables customers to purchase the 16-inch MacBook Pro on Apple.com in advance and select a 30-minute window to pick it up at an Apple Store. The tool can also be used to monitor inventory of the 16-inch MacBook Pro at Apple Stores based on city or ZIP code, with stock available at many locations today.

To check if Apple Stores in your area have stock, head to the 16-inch MacBook Pro page on Apple's website, choose your desired configuration, select "check availability," and enter your city or ZIP code. Note that many custom configurations with upgraded RAM, storage, or graphics are not immediately available for pickup.

If the 16-inch MacBook Pro model that you want is available at your Apple Store today, proceed with ordering and choose the "I'll pick it up" option during the checkout process. You can also choose to have someone else pick up the order.

When you get to the Apple Store, let an employee know you have an order to pick up. Make sure to have a valid government-issued photo ID and your order number on hand. Apple also sometimes provides a QR code that can be added to the Wallet app for convenience and quicker check-in, but this is optional.

Apple may also have 16-inch MacBook Pro stock available for walk-in customers at select stores, but inventory will likely be limited.

For customers who ordered online, 16-inch MacBook Pro deliveries begin today.

In addition to a larger display, the 16-inch MacBook Pro features a new Magic Keyboard with a scissor mechanism and physical Esc key, up to 64GB of RAM, up to 8TB of SSD storage, AMD Radeon Pro 5000M graphics options, upgraded speakers and microphones, and more. Pricing starts at $2,399.

Apple is removing all vaping-related apps from the App Store today, according to Axios, shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 2,172 lung injury cases linked to e-cigarette or vape products.

In a statement issued to Axios, Apple said it agrees with expert opinions that vaping is a "public health crisis" and a "youth epidemic":

We take great care to curate the App Store as a trusted place for customers, particularly youth, to download apps. We're constantly evaluating apps, and consulting the latest evidence, to determine risks to users' health and well-being.

Recently, experts ranging from the CDC to the American Heart Association have attributed a variety of lung injuries and fatalities to e-cigarette and vaping products, going so far as to call the spread of these devices a public health crisis and a youth epidemic.

We agree, and we've updated our App Store Review Guidelines to reflect that apps encouraging or facilitating the use of these products are not permitted. As of today, these apps are no longer available to download.

Apple had already took a step in this direction in June, when it updated its App Store Review Guidelines to indicate that apps encouraging consumption of vape products are not permitted on the App Store.

Vaping-related apps already installed on iOS devices will continue to function.

Note: This discussion thread is located in our Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Though Apple has not yet come out with a 5G iPhone, the company is expected to lead the 5G smartphone market in 2020, according to a new report today from analytics firm Strategy Analytics.

Apple is expected to capture a dominant share of the emerging 5G market in 2020, following the launch of 5G iPhones. Strategy Analytics believes that Apple simply needs to match its current upgrade rates to dominate the 5G market after September 2020.

"It may seem counterintuitive that Apple, which currently has no 5G phones in its portfolio will be able to pass current 5G market leaders Samsung and Huawei," comments Ken Hyers, Director at Strategy Analytics. "But with three new 5G models coming next year, Apple merely needs to match its current upgrade rates for newly introduced iPhone models to take the lead next year."

"Currently Samsung is the undisputed market leader in 5G smartphones," comments Ville-Petteri Ukonaho, Associate Director at Strategy Analytics. "But with the two largest 5G markets in 2020, China and the USA, dominated by Huawei and Apple respectively, these two vendors are set to lead in 5G next year."

All of the iPhones coming in 2020 are expected to include 5G technology, according to well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo originally believed that only the two higher-end iPhones coming in 2020 would support 5G, but later revised his prediction.

Apple will offer 5G speeds for all of its smartphones in order to better compete with lower-cost Android smartphones that support 5G. We're expecting a total of three iPhones in 2020, including a 5.4-inch model, a 6.7-inch model, and a 6.1-inch model.

The 5.4 and 6.7-inch iPhones are expected to be higher-end devices similar to the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, while the 6.1-inch ‌iPhone‌ will feature a lower price tag much like the ‌iPhone‌ 11.

Though Apple is expected to do well in the 5G smartphone market in 2020, Strategy Analytics ultimately believes that Samsung will be the 5G leader longterm due to its "dominance of the overall smartphone market" and broader range of price points.

Huawei's success, meanwhile, is limited by the US trade ban, but it is still expected to be the dominant 5G smartphone provider in China.

For more on Apple's plans for a ‌5G iPhone‌, make sure to check out our guide.

Apple has been struggling to add new subscribers to its Apple News+ service that launched in March, according to a new report from CNBC that cites people familiar with ‌Apple News‌+.

When ‌Apple News‌+ debuted, Apple signed on approximately 200,000 subscribers within 48 hours, but has not had luck attracting many new customers. The subscriber count has not "increased materially from its first couple of days," based on information from CNBC's sources.

‌Apple News‌+, which offers up access to magazines and newspapers for $9.99 per month, was promoted at launch, but Apple has not been heavily marketing it since then. Despite this, Apple is said to be committed to improving ‌Apple News‌ for years to come.

Publishers who thought the service would bring in more revenue are "disappointed" with poor sales. Apple takes 50 percent of the revenue from every ‌Apple News‌+ subscriber, while the rest of the money is doled out to publishers based on the amount of time that subscribers spend reading their content.

One publisher has received between $20,000 and $30,000 per month from ‌Apple News‌+, which is lower than expected. Another publisher told CNBC that while ‌Apple News‌+ revenue growth is lower than anticipated, advertising from the free ‌Apple News‌ product has consistently climbed.

A Bloomberg report from earlier today suggested Apple is considering a bundle that would include Apple Music, Apple TV+, and ‌Apple News‌+ for one monthly price, which could potentially make ‌Apple News‌+ more appealing because other services would be available alongside it. Such a bundle could be released as early as 2020.

Apple today released a new firmware update for the AirPods Pro, which were originally released on October 30.

Today's firmware update is labeled as 2B588, up from 2B584, which was the release version of the firmware that the ‌AirPods Pro‌ shipped with.

There's no word on what's included in the firmware update, but it may improve connectivity or resolve other small issues with the earbuds.

The firmware update will install automatically when connecting the ‌AirPods Pro‌ to your iPhone or iPad, and it could take some time for the update to become available for everyone. To check the firmware of your ‌AirPods Pro‌, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Settings app on your ‌iPhone‌, iPod touch, or ‌iPad‌.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap About.
4. Scroll down to ‌AirPods Pro‌ and tap it.
5. The firmware number is listed under "Firmware Version."

There's no reliable way to force a firmware update on the ‌AirPods Pro‌, so ‌AirPods Pro‌ owners will need to be patient and expect the ‌AirPods Pro‌ to be updated over the course of regular use.

A few months ago, YouTuber and photographer Andrew Levitt teamed up with his friends Jacob Phillips and Taylor Gray on a one-week road trip to try to recreate all of Apple's default wallpapers included in macOS.

Just a few weeks after the video, Apple publicly released macOS Catalina, giving Levitt and his friends one more wallpaper to recreate. The task was more challenging this time, however, as the default macOS Catalina wallpaper showcases the remote, northern tip of Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California.

To get there, Levitt and his friends took a ferry to Catalina Island and hiked over eight hours across the island, complete with camping gear and other supplies.

The trio of friends eventually reached the tip of the island and, despite windy conditions, managed to capture a nearly identical version of the default macOS Catalina wallpaper with a drone.

On the hike back to the ferry terminal, Levitt and his friends were stopped by a police officer and learned that hiking at night on Catalina Island is apparently forbidden. Fortunately, the police officer was kind and merely escorted them back to the other side of the island. All in all, a fascinating video.

Here's the original video:

Follow the creators on Instagram: Andrew Levitt, Jacob Phillips, and Taylor Gray.