The Apple M1 processor dramatically increases the capabilities of the just-announced 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple is promising that the CPU is up 2.8 times faster. And battery life stretches to 20 hours.

The M1 chip includes an 8-core CPU consisting of four high-performance cores and four high-efficiency cores. And a built-in 8-core GPU. Apple claims it makes the newest MacBook Pro up to 3x faster than the best-selling Windows laptop in its class.

Apple Silicon processors are more energy efficient that Intel chips. As Apple puts it, this new notebook has “the longest battery life ever on a Mac.” That means 17 hours of wireless web browsing, or up to 20 hours of video playback.

“Our most popular and affordable MacBook Pro dramatically changes your expectations of what a compact pro notebook can do,” said John Ternus, Apple VP of Hardware Engineering.

But this laptop holds onto a feature from its predecessors. It includes a cooling fan for the M1, something the new MacBook Air doesn’t need.

13-inch MacBook Pro is about more than the M1 processor

Apple built more than a faster processor into the latest 13-inch macOS laptop. It features two Thunderbolt ports with USB 4 support, allowing it to connect to Apple’s Pro Display XDR in full 6K resolution.

There are studio-quality mics for clearer recordings and calls. And the newest MacBook Pro has best-in-class security with the Secure Enclave in M1 and Touch ID.

The 13.3-inch screen has a 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch. It offers 500 nits brightness. There’s a Magic keyboard like other recent macOS devices, not a Butterfly one.

The MacBook Pro is available with up to 16 GB of RAM, and up to 2 TB of SSD storage. The base model has 8GB or RAM and 512 GB of storage. That base model 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1 starts at $1299 on the Apple online store. It can be ordered now for delivery next week.