Today marks the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the MacBook Pro, unveiled by Steve Jobs as a "One More Thing" segment at the end of his Macworld San Francisco keynote on January 10, 2006.
The MacBook Pro was an evolution of the previous PowerBook as the professional-level laptop in Apple's lineup, but with the shift from PowerPC chips to Intel Core chips, Apple decided to launch a rebrand. The MacBook Pro was initially available only in a 15-inch size, with a 17-inch model following a few months later. A 13-inch aluminum MacBook debuted in October 2008, and after just one generation it was folded into the MacBook Pro lineup in 2009.
The original MacBook Pro came in two configurations, both with 15.4-inch widescreen displays at a resolution of 1,440 × 900 pixels. As announced, the entry-level model priced at $1,999 featured a 1.67GHz Core Duo processor, 512MB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM, and an 80GB hard drive, while the higher-end model priced at $2,499 offered a faster 1.83GHz Core Duo processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 100GB hard drive.
By the time the MacBook Pro started shipping a month later, however, Apple had already upgraded the available Core Duo chips to 1.83GHz in the base model and 2.0GHz in the high-end configuration, while also introducing an even higher-end 2.16GHz build-to-order option.
With its lengthy 20-year history, the MacBook Pro has gone through a lot of changes over its lifetime, adopting key features like a built-in webcam, MagSafe power connector, aluminum unibody construction, high-resolution Retina displays, and more.
Other features were not so well received, including the revolutionary Touch Bar in place of traditional function keys and the butterfly-mechanism keyboard that proved prone to failures and resulted in an extended repair program and multiple class action lawsuits.
In 2020, the 13-inch MacBook Pro was one of three Apple products, alongside the MacBook Air and the Mac mini, to receive the M1 chip, marking a generational shift for Apple away from Intel processors and into its own custom Apple silicon. The move freed Apple up from having to follow the cadence of Intel chip releases, and it allowed Apple to further tighten the integration between hardware and software, leading to significant leaps in performance and efficiency.
Looking toward the future, the next big revolution for the MacBook Pro appears to be coming fairly soon, with rumors indicating we should see a major redesign for the higher-end models with OLED displays, touchscreen support, and perhaps an iPhone-like Dynamic Island cutout in the display in either late 2026 or early 2027. Apple is said to also be planning for thinner and lighter designs, making Apple's most powerful laptops even more portable.