Yesterday at Apple’s WWDC, Tim Cook announced the annual refresh to the MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air with the latest generation hardware. But that’s not all. Apple also introduced a slimmer 15-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display and no optical drive.
With the annual update, all the devices now have Intel’s latest Ivy Bridge Core-i5 and Core-i7 processors. The 13-inch MacBook Air now supports a resolution of 1400×900 pixels, which was earlier only found on the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The look and dimensions of the Air remains the same. What has changed is the power under the hood.
Speaking of the 15-inch devices, they too have been upgraded with the latest processors. The refreshed 15-inch MacBook Pro sports 8GB RAM straight out of the box.
After what feels like a lifetime of waiting, all the updated devices also support USB 3.0 straight out of the box. Apple has updated the camera on the devices to support 720p HD Facetime.
But the device that really steals the cake is the new 15-inch MacBook Pro that supports a Retina Display. The 15.4-inch device has a resolution of 2880×1800 i.e. 5.1 million pixels i.e. 220ppi. Unlike its counterparts, the Retina Display MacBook Pro supports flash storage instead of the traditional HDD, gets rid of the optical drive and has a slimmer form factor.
One of the best features of the Retina Display MacBook Pro is that it has HDMI out. You no longer need a proprietary adaptor from apple. This is a feature we wish Apple had integrated into all the MacBook Pro laptops.
For the Retina Display, Apple has updated the OS to support the resolution. Some apps such as iPhoto, Mail, FCP and Aperture have been updated to support the display.
Currently, all the launched devices run on Max OS X Lion but will receive a free update to Mountain Lion when the OS launches next month for $20.
Here is a quick look at the pricing and specifications of the devices.
| Particulars | MacBook Pro | MacBook Pro With Retina Display | ||||
| Screen Size | 13.3-inch | 13.3-inch | 15.4-inch | 15.4-inch | 15.4-inch | |
| Screen Resolution | 1280×800 | 1280×800 | 1440×900 | 1440×900 | 2880×1800 | |
| Storage | 500GB 5400-rpm hard drive | 750GB 5400-rpm hard drive | 500GB 5400-rpm hard drive | 750GB 5400-rpm hard drive | 256GB Flash | 512MB Flash |
| Processor | 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB L3 cache | 2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 4MB L3 cache | 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 6MB L3 cache | 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB L3 cache | 2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache | 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB shared L3 cache |
| RAM | 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 | 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 | 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 | 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 | 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory | |
| Dimensions | Height: 0.95 inch (2.41 cm) Width: 12.78 inches (32.5 cm) Depth: 8.94 inches (22.7 cm) | Height: 0.95 inch (2.41 cm) Width: 14.35 inches (36.4 cm) Depth: 9.82 inches (24.9 cm) | Height: 0.71 inch (1.8 cm) Width: 14.13 inches (35.89 cm) Depth: 9.73 inches (24.71 cm) | |||
| Weight | 2.06kgs | 2.56kgs | 2.02kgs | |||
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | |||||
| Graphics | NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory | NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory | NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory | |||
| Ports | MagSafe power port Gigabit Ethernet port FireWire 800 port Two USB 3 ports Thunderbolt port Audio line in/out SDXC card slot Kensington lock slot | MagSafe power port Gigabit Ethernet port FireWire 800 port Two USB 3 ports Thunderbolt port Audio line in Audio line out SDXC card slot Kensington lock slot | MagSafe 2 power port Two Thunderbolt ports Two USB 3 ports HDMI port Headphone port SDXC card slot | |||
| Camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera | |||||
| Price | Rs. 81,900 | Rs. 99,000 | Rs. 1,22,900 | Rs. 152,900 | Rs. 1,52,900 | Rs. 1,92,900 |
| Particulars | MacBook Air | |||
| Screen Size | 11.6-inch | 11.6-inch | 13.3-inch | 13.3-inch |
| Screen Resolution | 1366×768 | 1366×768 | 1400×900 | 1400×900 |
| Storage | 64GB Flash | 128GB Flash | 128GB Flash | 256GB Flash |
| Processor | 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache | 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache | ||
| RAM | 4GB of 1600MHz DDR3 upgradable to 8GB | |||
| Dimensions | Height: 0.11-0.68 inch (0.3-1.7 cm) Width: 11.8 inches (30 cm) Depth: 7.56 inches (19.2 cm) | Height: 0.11-0.68 inch (0.3-1.7 cm) Width: 12.8 inches (32.5 cm) Depth: 8.94 inches (22.7 cm) | ||
| Weight | 1.08kgs | 1.35kgs | ||
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | |||
| Ports | Two USB 3 ports Thunderbolt port MagSafe 2 power port | Two USB 3 ports Thunderbolt port MagSafe 2 power port SD card slot | ||
| Camera | 720p FaceTime HD camera | |||
| Price | Rs. 67,900 | Rs. 74,900 | Rs. 81,900 | Rs. 99,900 |