Apple Quietly Announces AMD Radeon Pro Vega Graphics Options Coming to MacBook Pro

Tuesday October 30, 2018 10:01 AM PDT by Tim Hardwick
During today's New York event where a new space gray Mac mini, a Retina MacBook Air and redesigned iPad Pros took center stage, Apple also quietly announced new graphics options for the MacBook Pro coming next month.


Tucked away in a press release, Apple revealed it is bringing AMD Radeon Pro Vega graphics to MacBook Pro for the first time. The company says these new graphic options deliver up to 60 percent faster graphics performance for the most demanding video editing, 3D design and rendering workloads.

The new configurations are set to be custom-order only from Apple's online and retail stores, with availability at Apple Authorized Resellers also expected, from Wednesday, November 14. Apple has yet to release pricing details.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tags: AMD, October 2018 event
Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Neutral)
89 comments


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dannys1
3 weeks ago

Seriously... just got the new i9 because it JUST came out... this is so ******.


You update the specs as soon as you can and on a regular basis and people complain.

You don't update very often and people complain.

They literally can't win or please all the people (or really anyone on this forum)
Rating: 25 Votes
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e1me5
3 weeks ago
Gave them 5000€ to give me a middle finger 5 weeks later.
Rating: 9 Votes
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aaronhead14
3 weeks ago
Nice! Now time for Apple to end their feud with NVIDIA.
Rating: 6 Votes
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spshulem
3 weeks ago

You update the specs as soon as you can and on a regular basis and people complain.

You don't update very often and people complain.

They literally can't win or please all the people (or really anyone on this forum)


It depends if this is an upgrade option on-top of the 560x or if this is in replacement for the same price. It isn't that they updated it, but the Vega 56 is years old, and they definitely had this technology a few months ago when they refreshed the MBPs. To update the MBP just a few months ago, and then update it again a few months later and get more bang for your buck is what's upsetting.

Again, if this is a MORE expensive option over what currently exists, that's fine... I wouldn't spend more money than I did on this MBP, but if it's the same price, few months later, with a 60% graphics improvement... that's just wrong man. They should wait at least 6 months... I can't remember them ever releasing 2 hardware updates in a single year, let alone one with a 60% speed bump so close to one another.
Rating: 6 Votes
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CarlJ
3 weeks ago

Also note that the suggestion was to see what they offer and not “complain”. I’ve had a lot of luck saying “this is my situation..., but I wish it was more like this... what do you think?”

Precisely this. A while back I broke my iPad's screen (only screen break I've ever experienced), and went in to Apple and said, "well, I broke my screen, it's entirely my fault, and my AppleCare+ ran out a month ago - what are my options?" I was expecting a regular repair charge, hoping for maybe a slight discount. Instead, the rep went away for a minute and came back and said, "well, since you never had any incidents under AppleCare on this, we're going to treat it as an AppleCare incident", so I got a replacement iPad for [something between $50 and $100, whatever it was at the time]. It pays to present the facts and be nice.
Rating: 6 Votes
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4jasontv
3 weeks ago

Go into an Apple Store if you've only recently bought it and see what they offer. They have a lot of discretionary powers to keep customers happy. As an example, my iMac failed with a dodgy display sensor over a month after my extended AppleCare expired so I took it into my Apple Store and was told it would cost £900 to replace the display and logic board. I wasn't expecting them to offer a free repair but they did as the cover had only recently expired. So do try your luck!

Also note that the suggestion was to see what they offer and not “complain”. I’ve had a lot of luck saying “this is my situation..., but I wish it was more like this... what do you think?”
Rating: 5 Votes
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MasterStormcrow
3 weeks ago

So annoyed i got my i9 now i want this

I just contacted sales customer service supervisor level and....... they approved a 1 time 90 day return exception. :) SOOO HAPPY

Apple has the best customer service. bar none.
Rating: 5 Votes
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rumormiller
3 weeks ago

Seriously... just got the new i9 because it JUST came out... this is so ******.

Go into an Apple Store if you've only recently bought it and see what they offer. They have a lot of discretionary powers to keep customers happy. As an example, my iMac failed with a dodgy display sensor over a month after my extended AppleCare expired so I took it into my Apple Store and was told it would cost £900 to replace the display and logic board. I wasn't expecting them to offer a free repair but they did as the cover had only recently expired. So do try your luck!
Rating: 5 Votes
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happy-raccoon
2 weeks ago

tell that to a friend of mine that works at a fast food joint saving up for months to get this to start her youtube channel. she's absolutely floored by this and she's slightly blaming me for telling her that MacBook Pros won't be updated for a while.


tell her, her macbook pro from 2018 will be just fine for starting a youtube channel :). it is a really nice (and expensive) piece of hardware perfectly fine for this job and most probably won't limit her in any way for years to come (besides hardware failures :D). blaming you seems like an unfair move from her, nobody could have guessed a vega option will be coming in november.
Rating: 4 Votes
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lunarworks
3 weeks ago

Where are the new iMacs? This is the iMac 20th anniversary and no new iMacs?

Apple's generally been ignoring anniversaries ever since the 20th Anniversary Mac fiasco. Steve Jobs didn't want to dwell on the past anymore, and they've continued with that idea.
Rating: 3 Votes
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