Until Apple does otherwise, this was the latest and greatest 15″ ‘Book ever made in terms of specs. In practice, the i9, VRMs, GPU, and other combined upgrades were a bit much for the chassis to handle, exacerbating the chassis’s inability to vent heat out of the computer. The higher the configuration, the more likely the backplate gets way too hot, as well as areas near to the screen, potentially causing screen damage. It’s not at all recommended to use the 15″ 2019 MacBook Pro in clamshell mode, as it will likely be damaged. Originally, the 2016 MacBook Pro’s design was meant to handle 10nm CPUs, which Intel wasn’t able to crank out until Late 2020 in low volumes, for low end configurations. If you get one of these secondhand, it’s strongly recommended to monitor the temperature, try to replace the thermal paste, keep it clean of dust, and try not to run heavy applications. This subject was also covered by Linus Tech Tips in a YouTube video.

Source: iFixit @danj 

Source: iFixit @danj. Pictured above: 2019 15″ MacBook Pro with heat-damaged T-con board

Integrated (i)GPU + Dedicated (d)GPU

The Intel UHD/HD line of Integrated Graphics continue trend of “vampire video” (that’s where the video bites into system memory). The 2006 Mac mini was the first Mac in a long, long time to do this, and more Macs started doing this in the late 2000’s – early 2010’s. The dedicated AMD GPU (dGPU) does not share its VRAM with the rest of the system, nor does it pull from the RAM.

HBM Memory (Radeon Pro Vega 16/20)

HBM memory is implemented in a 3D stacked configuration, where multiple DRAM (Dynamic RAM) layers are stacked vertically, with each layer connected using Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) directly on the GPU die rather than on the card PCB. This results in less space taken, higher memory bandwidth, and overall better power efficiency. Most apps won’t saturate the bandwidth offered by HBM, but it’s here in the 2018 MacBook Pro as a configurable option.

Closed Lid Mode: Not at all recommended for this model, even though doable.

Details

• Announced May 21st 2019
• Apple model number: A1990 (EMC 3359)
• Model ID: MacBookPro15,1 (Just like the ’18)
  • MacBookPro15,3 for Vega 15/20 configured models
• Order: MV902LL/A* (Space Gray, Base i7)
  • MV922LL/A. (Silver, Base i7)
  • MV912LL/A (2.3 i9 SG)
  • MV932LL/A. (2.3 i9 Silver)
  • BTO/CTO: 2.4 i9 & MBP’s configured with Radeon Pro Vega
• Discontinued November 13th 2019

Mac OS

• Requires macOS 10.14.5 (18F132) Mojave or later.

Core System

All i7 CPU options are Hexa-Core, Hyper Threaded, 14nm Coffee Lake CPUs. All i9’s are Octa-core. Level 1 instruction cache, data cache, and L2 cache per-core remain largely unchanged between 8th and 9th gen CPUs. 9th generation CPUs gain their performance benefits by adding extra cores, slightly more L3 cache, and higher clock speeds.

• 2.6 Ghz Intel Core i7-9750H ($2399), 45w TDP
  • 192k L1D, 192K L1i, 1.53 MB L2, 12 MB L3, Turbo Boost to 4.5 Ghz
• 2.3 Ghz Intel Core i9-9880H ($2799),
  • 256k L1D, 256K L1i, 2 MB MB L2, 16 MB L3, Turbo Boost to 4.8 Ghz
• 2.4 Ghz Intel Core i9-9980HK (+$300) option,
  • 256k L1D, 256K L1i, 2 MB MB L2, 16 MB L3, Turbo Boost to 5 Ghz

Memory

• 16 GB 2400 MHz PC4-19200 LPDDR4 SDRAM, soldiered onboard.
  • Configurable to: 32 GB

Video

• All models shipped standard with Intel UHD 630 1536 MB GPU, 350 MHz – 1.1 Ghz
• AMD Radeon Pro 555X 4 GB GDDR5
  • Configurable to: AMD Radeon Pro 560X 4 GB GDDR5
  • Radeon Pro Vega 16 w/4 GB HBM2, or Radeon Pro Vega 20 w/4 GB HBM2
• 15.4″ 2880 x 1800 LED-backlit TFT LCD IPS Retina display, 220 ppi
  • Support for millions of colors
  • 500 nits brightness max
  • Wide Color (P3)
• Support for native display resolution while also plugging in:
  • Up to 2x 5120 x 2880 @60Hz w/over a Billion colors
  • Up to 4x 4096 x 2304 @60 Hz w/Millions of colors
  • Up to 4x 4K60 w/over a Billion colors

Drives

• 256 GB PCIe SSD (Base model)
  • 512GB (+$200), 1TB (+$600), 2 TB (+$1200), 4 TB (+$3000) This is not a typo. It was $3400 for the previous year’s model.
• 512 GB PCIe SSD 2.6 i7/2.9 i9
  • 1TB (+$400), 2 TB (+$1000), 4 TB (+$2800)
    

Expansion

• Thunderbolt 3: 4x USB-C ports, up to 40 Gb/s
  • Support for USB 3.1 Gen 2, up to 10 Gb/s
• FireWire 400: optional via Thunderbolt adapter
• FireWire 800: optional via Thunderbolt adapter
• Ethernet: optional via Thunderbolt adapter
• WiFi: 802.11ac AirPort Extreme built in
• Modem: No longer offered by Apple
• Bluetooth: BT 4.2 built in
• ExpressCard/34: none
• SD Card Slot: none
• expansions bays: none
• IR receiver: none
• webcam: FaceTime 720p HD camera
• Three Microphones