Apple MacBook Pro 16" (2019) / Core i9 9880H / 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD / Space Gray / US

Historical overview for the 16" 2019 MacBook Pro

Introduced on November 13, 2019, the 16-inch MacBook Pro represented a major turning point for Apple's pro laptop lineup. For years, users had complained about the unreliable "Butterfly" keyboards, restrictive thermals causing CPU throttling, and the loss of physical escape keys on previous 15-inch Touch Bar models. The 2019 16-inch model replaced the 15-inch line entirely. It addressed user feedback by introducing a redesigned scissor-switch keyboard, an upgraded thermal architecture with larger fans and heatsinks, a physical Escape key, and a battery pushed to the absolute legal limit allowed on commercial flights (100 Wh). It served as the pinnacle of Intel-based Mac Laptops before Apple transitioned to its custom Apple Silicon (M-series) chips starting in 2020.

The 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro lineup was offered in base configurations featuring 9th Generation Intel processors fabricated on a 14 nm process: a 2.6 GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 4.5 GHz, 12 MB shared L3 cache) or a 2.3 GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 (Turbo Boost up to 4.8 GHz, 16 MB shared L3 cache). Either model could be custom-configured at purchase to a top-tier 2.4 GHz 8-core Intel Core i9 processor (Turbo Boost up to 5.0 GHz, 16 MB shared L3 cache). System security, secure boot, hardware encryption, and image processing were integrated into Apple's T2 Security Chip, while data flowed across a Direct Media Interface (DMI3) operating at 8 GT/s.

Graphics options operated on an automatic switching architecture paired with an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630 processor for lower-power tasks. Dedicated graphics options included the AMD Radeon Pro 5300M with 4 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, or the AMD Radeon Pro 5500M with either 4 GB or 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM. In mid-2020, Apple added a high-performance option: the AMD Radeon Pro 5600M with 8 GB of HBM2 memory. Main system memory shipped standard at 16 GB of 2666 MHz DDR4 SDRAM, with build-to-order options for 32 GB or 64 GB. Onboard PCIe 3.0 SSD storage ranged from a base of 512 GB (on Core i7 models) or 1 TB (on Core i9 models), with factory upgrade choices of 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB, or 8 TB. Both RAM and SSD components were soldered directly to the logic board and could not be upgraded post-purchase.

The display featured a 16.0-inch LED-backlit IPS Retina screen delivering a native resolution of 3072 x 1920 at 226 pixels per inch, 500 nits of peak brightness, P3 wide color gamut coverage, and True Tone technology. It offered user-configurable display refresh rates including 47.95 Hz, 48.00 Hz, 50.00 Hz, 59.94 Hz, and 60.00 Hz. Audio capabilities featured a high-fidelity six-speaker system equipped with force-cancelling woofers and support for Dolby Atmos playback, a studio-quality three-microphone array with directional beamforming, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

User interaction was centered on the backlit "Magic Keyboard," utilizing a scissor-switch mechanism with 1 mm key travel, an inverted-T arrow key layout, a dedicated physical Escape key, an integrated Touch Bar, and an isolated Touch ID sensor. Navigational input was provided by a large Force Touch trackpad. External input/output consisted of four Thunderbolt 3 ports via USB-C connectors—supporting system charging, DisplayPort output, USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds up to 10 Gbps, and Thunderbolt connections up to 40 Gbps—alongside wireless connectivity powered by 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.

Housed in a Silver or Space Gray aluminum unibody enclosure, the laptop measured 1.62 cm x 35.79 cm x 24.59 cm (0.64 in x 14.09 in x 9.68 in) and weighed 2.0 kg (4.3 lbs / 2000 g). Internal power was provided by an integrated 100-watt-hour (99.8 Wh) lithium-polymer battery rating up to 11 hours of runtime, paired with a 96W USB-C power adapter. The model line launched with pre-installed macOS 10.15.1 Catalina, supported system updates up through macOS Tahoe (macOS 26), and provided native 64-bit Windows 10 support via Boot Camp.

Note: used computers cannot be upgraded upon purchase.