Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 Series
The Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 is a powerful professional notebook with the brilliant design of its predecessor, aimed for business and professional power users. On the outside, the largest MacBook remains utterly unchanged. However, it is still 17 percent lighter and 14 percent thinner than its 2015 predecessor and feels as premium as ever. The laptop is also thinner than most “pro” Windows laptops with powerful processors. Thinness has become a point of contention, because it makes the laptop more complicated to cool. The unibody aluminum design mates beautifully with the glass display, touchpad, and Touch Bar with Touch-ID sensor. All 15-inch models of the MacBook Pro 2018 also feature the Touch Bar. This is a thin glass touchscreen that runs along the top of the keyboard and displays context-sensitive buttons on its 2,170 x 60 resolution screen. These buttons change depending on the application or task that users are performing, and they are designed to give quick shortcuts to help speed up the workflow. Finishing off with the screen, while it keeps the 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and 220 ppi (pixels per inch) pixel density of previous 15-inch MacBook Pros, it now also features Apple’s True Tone display technology, which debuted on the iPad Pro and also features on the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. This technology senses the ambient light of the environment users are working in and adjusts the display so that you get a bright and vibrant image, no matter where you are working.
Just as on the 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, the speakers have been updated. This is an impressive feat, since the MacBook Pro already has the best sounding speakers. As for connectivity, Thunderbolt 3 is a game-changer. Every port has sufficient bandwidth to drive a dock that supports every possible port users could want as well as a high-resolution monitor in addition to power. USB-C is here to stay on the MacBook Pro. More and more laptops are adopting the Thunderbolt/USB-C setup, because it can be used for all kinds of peripherals, from external GPUs to keyboards and mice. Apple chose to include a six-core processor in every model of the 15-inch MacBook, starting with the i7 in the base model, which already has great potential for performance, up to the latest and most powerful i9 model. Moving onto other components, the RAM has been updated from 16 GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 to 64 GB of 2400MHz DDR4 soldered onto the motherboard. On the graphics side, both the base-model Radeon Pro 555X and top-spec Radeon Pro 560X include 4 GB of video memory. The solid state drive can be configured to a massive 4 TB, thus bringing up the price to around USD10K. The 2018 MacBook Pro reached close to 10 hours before it shut down, which is not a bad figure compared to its rivals. Nevertheless, when working on something more intensive, such as video rendering, one should expect less battery life.
Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam
Processor: Intel Coffee Lake i7-8750H, Intel Coffee Lake i7-8850H, Intel Coffee Lake i9-8950HK
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon Pro 555X, AMD Radeon Pro 560X, AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20, AMD Radeon RX 560X (Laptop)
Display: 15.40 inch, 15.60 inch
Weight: 1.83kg
Price: 2799, 3299, 3500, 8349 euro
Average of 36 scores (from 47 reviews)
Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.6 GHz, 560X)
Specifications
Notebook: Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.6 GHz, 560X)Processor: Intel Coffee Lake i7-8850H
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon Pro 560X
Display: 15.40 inch, 16:10, 2880 x 1800 pixels
Weight: 1.83kg
Price: 3299 euro
Links: Apple homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Reviews
Apple finally ships the MacBook Pro 15 with the new Intel processors. They feature 6 cores and should increase the multi-core performance significantly. At least in theory, because a comparison with the predecessor shows that the advantage is not always that big.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald Archive.org version
The question “what Mac laptop should I buy?” was once easily answered with “if you need the power, get the Pro, if you don't, the Air”. Today it is easy to recommend the latest MacBook Pro if you need the most powerful, portable Apple laptop available and you have a lot of money to spend, but I’d struggle to recommend an entry-level Mac portable right now.
Comparison, online available, Short, Date: 07/30/2018
Source: Sydney Morning Herald Archive.org version
The question “what Mac laptop should I buy?” was once easily answered with “if you need the power, get the Pro, if you don't, the Air”. Today it is easy to recommend the latest MacBook Pro if you need the most powerful, portable Apple laptop available and you have a lot of money to spend, but I’d struggle to recommend an entry-level Mac portable right now.
Comparison, online available, Short, Date: 07/30/2018
Foreign Reviews
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 01/08/2019
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 01/08/2019
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 12/17/2018
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 12/17/2018
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/08/2018
Rating: Total score: 75%
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/08/2018
Rating: Total score: 75%
Source: CNet France FR→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/10/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: CNet France FR→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/10/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: 01Net FR→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/22/2018
Rating: Total score: 88% performance: 70% mobility: 90%
Source: 01Net FR→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/22/2018
Rating: Total score: 88% performance: 70% mobility: 90%
Source: Ixbt RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Powerful hardware; high performance; nice display. Negative: Relatively high price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/31/2018
Source: Ixbt RU→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Powerful hardware; high performance; nice display. Negative: Relatively high price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/31/2018
Source: The Gioididong VN→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Slim size; light weight; powerful hardware; stylish design. Negative: Relatively high price.
Comparison, online available, Short, Date: 07/16/2018
Source: The Gioididong VN→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Slim size; light weight; powerful hardware; stylish design. Negative: Relatively high price.
Comparison, online available, Short, Date: 07/16/2018
Source: Tek.no NO→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/27/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Tek.no NO→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/27/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Lyd og Billede DA→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 10/11/2018
Rating: Total score: 83%
Source: Lyd og Billede DA→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 10/11/2018
Rating: Total score: 83%
Source: Nordic Hardware SV→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 12/06/2018
Rating: Total score: 82% performance: 90% mobility: 75% workmanship: 80%
Source: Nordic Hardware SV→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 12/06/2018
Rating: Total score: 82% performance: 90% mobility: 75% workmanship: 80%
Source: Ljud och Bild SV→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/13/2018
Rating: Total score: 83%
Source: Ljud och Bild SV→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/13/2018
Rating: Total score: 83%
Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.9 GHz, 560X)
Specifications
Notebook: Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.9 GHz, 560X)Processor: Intel Coffee Lake i9-8950HK
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon RX 560X (Laptop)
Display: 15.40 inch, 16:10, 2880 x 1800 pixels
Weight: 1.83kg
Price: 3500 euro
Links: Apple homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Reviews
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is one of the most powerful laptops we've ever seen and is worth the splurge for the most demanding creative pros.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 02/08/2019
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: It Pro Archive.org version
Apple’s latest 15in MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops we’ve ever tested, and our favourite to boot. Combining raw power with stylish portability, it’s everything you could ever want in a 15in notebook.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 12/07/2018
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Techradar Archive.org version
The MacBook Pro 2018 15-inch is a powerful pro notebook with a fantastic design. However, in its bid to appeal to the mass market, it might turn off some professionals.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 10/24/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Toptenreviews Archive.org version
If you can spare the cash, the Core i9 benefits processor-intensive tasks, but graphics show slim improvements.
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 10/15/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is one of the most powerful laptops we've ever seen and is worth the splurge for the most demanding creative pros.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 09/24/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: PC Mag Archive.org version
With the addition of an Intel Core i9 processor, the sleek 15-inch MacBook Pro is now one of the most powerful desktop-replacement laptops you can buy, making it an excellent choice for well-heeled, on-the-go creative pros.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/14/2018
Source: CNet Archive.org version
Hochleistung auf Spitzenlevel. Apple hat aktuell dem MacBook Pro mit 13 Zoll und 15 Zoll ein riesiges Update spendiert. Das Mac Book Pro 15 Zoll 2018 ist ein ideales Werkzeug für Kreative und Power-User. Der Rest sollte eher auf ein Update der gesamten Produktlinie warten.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/04/2018
Source: The Indian Express Archive.org version
The MacBook Pro aims to be the pinnacle of creativity, productivity and performance on a laptop. While it packs a punch with the most powerful processors, loads of really fast memory and a display that adds value to your workflow, there are small frustrations like the lack of commonly used ports. Still, for those in the Apple ecosystem this is the most powerful laptop upgrade available at the moment and hence highly recommended as your next Mac, but only if you are power user.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 09/02/2018
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Gadgets Now Archive.org version
The latest generation of MacBook devices combine power and good looks quite well. However, it's the price that might just tick a few people off. Apple has always targeted premium users and perhaps it will once gain attract them with the 2018 MacBook devices. The MacBook's pricing could be a major deterrent for first-time buyers. As for us, we used the best Apple has to offer and it's a beautiful looking laptop that is adept at handling all kinds of tasks. This year’s MacBook range starts at Rs 1,49,900 for the 13-inch devices and Rs 1,99,900 for the 15-inch devices. While the 13-inch devices don’t boast of as powerful specs as the 15-incher, but still promises to deliver good performance.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/30/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Lowyat.net Archive.org version
Personally, the 15-inch MacBook Pro doesn’t quite suit my needs – the rumoured MacBook refresh is more my speed with its better portability and lower price tag. But if you’re a professional user who needs a capable mobile workstation, this MacBook Pro will serve you very well.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/29/2018
Source: Hardware Zone Archive.org version
I haven’t tested the new 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro but I’m sure that it will be plenty quick thanks to new quad-core processors. Sure, bragging rights are fun but I'm not entirely convinced that the tradeoffs in cost and portability are worth it. For professionals who know what they are doing and want the very best hardware, however, this new 15-inch MacBook Pro comes highly recommended. Just make sure you have a fat wallet.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/19/2018
Rating: Total score: 85% price: 75% performance: 90% mobility: 80% workmanship: 85%
Source: It Pro Archive.org version
Apple’s latest 15in MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops we’ve ever tested, and our favourite to boot. Combining raw power with stylish portability, it’s everything you could ever want in a 15in notebook.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/07/2018
Rating: Total score: 100%
Source: Digital Arts Archive.org version
The new MacBook Pro is all about performance. From the outside, it’s near-identical to the previous model – not that that’s a bad thing aesthetically, but functionally the same merits and flaws abide. But as with the best of us, what matters with is what’s inside.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/03/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Macworld.co.uk Archive.org version
These are the things that have stayed the same or almost the same. What has changed is that you can now get six cores and 32GB of RAM. As laptops go this is phenomenally fast, and creative professionals will find that it does not let them down. But then again, given how much it costs, it would be a scandal if it did.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/03/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Hardware Zone Archive.org version
I haven’t tested the new 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro but I’m sure that it will be plenty quick thanks to new quad-core processors. Sure, bragging rights are fun but I'm not entirely convinced that the tradeoffs in cost and portability are worth it. For professionals who know what they are doing and want the very best hardware, however, this new 15-inch MacBook Pro comes highly recommended. Just make sure you have a fat wallet.
Single Review, online available, Very Long, Date: 08/03/2018
Rating: Total score: 85% price: 75% performance: 90% mobility: 80% workmanship: 85%
Source: Laptop Mag Archive.org version
The 15-inch MacBook Pro is one of the most powerful laptops we've ever seen and is worth the splurge for the most demanding creative pros.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/27/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: The Verge Archive.org version
So you have to separate what you wish Apple would do from what it has done. And after the software update, what Apple has done is deliver a very good laptop, one I think you can trust. But increasingly, it’s getting harder to love.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 07/25/2018
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Good Gear Guide Archive.org version
I often say in laptop reviews that if you bought last year’s model, you probably won’t find the speed results compelling enough to upgrade. But this year is different for anyone who uses multi-core apps. Six processing cores is, well, better than four, and the performance boost is deeply satisfying for pro app users. You’ll find that the investment quickly pays for itself.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/18/2018
Foreign Reviews
Source: c't - 19/18
Single Review, , Long, Date: 09/01/2018
Source: Tweakers NL→EN Archive.org version
Single Review, online available, Very Short, Date: 09/23/2019
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Dinside NO→EN Archive.org version
Positive: Great built quality; big and good touchpad; nice display; high performance; long battery life. Negative: Thick frames; slow charging; high price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/01/2018
Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.2 GHz, 555X)
Specifications
Notebook: Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.2 GHz, 555X)Processor: Intel Coffee Lake i7-8750H
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon Pro 555X
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:10, 2880 x 1800 pixels
Weight: 1.83kg
Price: 2799 euro
Links: Apple homepage
Price comparison
Average Score:
Reviews
Source: Zdnet.com Archive.org version
The 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro provides impressive performance -- especially if you add the Core i9 upgrade tested here. The fact that the MacBook Pro can accommodate a powerful CPU and GPU without increasing its size or weight -- or affecting battery life -- is no mean feat either. There are few laptops that combine heavyweight performance and lightweight design so effectively, and owners of older MacBook models will certainly view the 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro as a tempting upgrade. If they can afford it, that is.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/23/2018
Rating: Total score: 85%
Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.9 GHz, Vega 20)
The Apple MacBook Pro 15 (i9, Vega 20) is a high-end laptop that is even thinner than the older generation MacBook Air at 0.61 inches (15.5 mm). This top of the line model is still available in standard Silver and a darker Space Gray finish. This particular model not only makes the Macbook Pro great but it also elevates the notebook to a whole new level of performance and portability. Wherever user’s ideas take them, they’ll get there faster than ever with its consumer category leading processors and memory, advanced graphics, extremely fast and durable storage and much more. Despite doing the usual tasks of a laptop, the Macbook Pro 15 with i9 processor is best suited for photography, coding, high resolution video editing, 3D graphics and even some high capability gaming. With the latest eighth-generation Intel Core processors, the MacBook Pro reaches new heights in computing performance. This top of the line 15‑inch model now features a 6‑core Intel Core i9 processor. With 4.8 GHz enabled via Turbo Boost, this new processor is 70 % faster than the previous generation 15-inch MacBook Pros. The processor can be paired with up to 32 GB of high performance DDR4 RAM. This might sound like a lot but is totally needed for what the processor is capable of handling. It is also configurable with up to a 4 TB Solid State Drive with sequential read speeds up to 3.2 GB/s. For the highest graphics performance in a working class laptop, the Macbook Pro features Radeon Pro Vega GPU with 4 GB of DDR5 memory. This is the first discrete mobile Vega GPU in a notebook. Featuring the same graphics architecture used in the iMac Pro, Vega delivers an enhanced compute engine and utilizes High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2). HBM2 doubles the memory bandwidth to the GPU while doing so at considerably lower power. Hence, more of the graphics power budget can be used by the GPU itself. Paired with the high-end graphics is the latest retina display. The latest one supports P3 with color for even more vibrant greens and reds than with sRGB. Like the previous generations, the touch bar transforms the laptop into a media power house. However, with all the power under the hood, it would have been really awesome if Apple had included a touchscreen to this laptop. There is simply so much more that can be done with a touchscreen in terms of video , graphics and photo editing in a high-performance laptop like this. In fact, that is what it was mainly designed for. The speakers on this laptop are connected directly to the system power, enabling greater peak amplification. The MacBook Pro keyboard features a butterfly mechanism, providing four times more key stability than a traditional scissor mechanism, along with greater comfort. However, though this may sound good on paper, in reality, it is still behind some of the industry leading laptops in this category such as the Thinkpads. The keyboard is simply too shallow for typing with higher speeds. Also, there have been many complaints about the membrane keyboard's durability. Many users have been experiencing premature failure despite Apple having improved it over the previous generation. As a conclusion, the Apple MacBook Pro 15 (i9, Vega 20) is certainly a high-end performance laptop that packs a lot of power in it. Suitable for all kinds of tasks, however, it does not come at a cheap price tag, which is common for an Apple device. It excels in some areas such as graphics or video editing but in other areas, more can be expected from other high end laptops. Hands-on article by Jagadisa RajarathnamSpecifications
Notebook: Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.9 GHz, Vega 20)Processor: Intel Coffee Lake i9-8950HK
Graphics Adapter: AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 4096 MB
Display: 15.60 inch, 16:10, 2880 x 1800 pixels
Weight: 1.83kg
Price: 8349 euro
Links: Apple homepage
Price comparison
Reviews
Besides the regular Radeon Pro chips, Apple also offers its MacBook Pro 15 with the professional AMD Pro Vega graphics adapters. We review the top model with the Intel Core i9 and the Radeon Vega 20 Pro.
Comment
Apple: Apple is a US company founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. Headquartered in Cupertino, California, the company is known for its innovative products such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, and manufactures computers and consumer electronics as well as operating systems and application software. Apple is also a leading provider of software and services such as the App Store, iTunes and iCloud.
Apple has earned a reputation as a company that focuses on design and ease of use. As for their notebooks, they are mostly in the high-priced segment, have their own operating system, but also run Windows on the newer Macbooks.
Apple is one of the most valuable companies in the world and has a loyal following of customers and fans. The company also has a strong presence in the entertainment industry, with services like Apple Music and Apple TV+. In 2023, Apple had an approximate 8% market share of global PC sales, ranking it 4th after Lenovo, HP, and Dell.
Modern games should be playable with these graphics cards at low settings and resolutions. Casual gamers may be happy with these cards.
AMD Radeon Pro 560X: Mobile graphics card based on the Polaris 21 chip and basically a higher clocked Radeon Pro 560 from the previous model year.
AMD Radeon RX 560X (Laptop): Renamed Radeon RX 560 with slightly altered clock speeds. Offers 1024 shader cores and a usual clock speed of 1175 - 1275 MHz.
AMD Radeon Pro 555X: Graphics card for the Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 based on Polaris 21. The specifications are identical to the previous Radeon Pro 455 / 555 with slightly higher clock speeds and 4 instead of 2 GB GDDR5 graphics memory.
AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20: Dedicated graphics card based on the Vega architecture (or a mixture of Polaris and Vega like in the RX Vega M GL). It integrates 20 CUs (1.280 shaders) and 4 GB HBM2 graphics memory.
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Coffee Lake:
i7-8850H: On Coffee Lake architecture based processor for big and heavy laptops. Integrates six processor cores clocked at 2.6 - 4.3 GHz (4.1 GHz with 4 cores, 4 GHz with 6 cores) that support HyperThreading. Manufactured in an improved 14nm process (14nm++).
i9-8950HK: On Coffee Lake architecture based processor for big and heavy laptops. Integrates six processor cores clocked at 2.9- 4.8 GHz (4.3 GHz with 6 cores) that support HyperThreading. Manufactured in an improved 14nm process (14nm++). Offers an unlocked multiplier that allows overclocking of the CPU.
i7-8750H: On Coffee Lake architecture based processor for big and heavy laptops. Integrates six processor cores clocked at 2.2 - 4.1 GHz (4 GHz with 4 cores, 3.9 GHz with 6 cores) that support HyperThreading. Manufactured in an improved 14nm process (14nm++).
» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
No weight comment found (one expected)!
81.83%: This rating is slightly above average, there are somewhat more devices with worse ratings. However, clear purchase recommendations look different.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.