Abstract The MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes underwent a major upgrade in 2011 and 2012. A new 1039-pixel camera and a larger area digital trigger system were installed in MAGIC-I, making it essentially identical to the newer MAGIC-II telescope. The readout systems of both telescopes were also upgraded, with fully programmable receiver boards and DRS4-chip-based digitization systems. The upgrade eased the operation and maintenance of the telescopes and also improved significantly their performance. The system has now an integral sensitivity as good as 0.6% of the Crab Nebula flux (for E > 400 GeV ), with an effective analysis threshold at 70 GeV. This allows MAGIC to secure one of the leading roles among the current major ground-based Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes for the next 5–10 years.