Apple’s MacBook Pro Lineup Gets Retina Displays And Haswell Chips
Although it’s a essentially a footnote to Apple’s big day announcing the iPad Air and the new Mac Pro, Apple has also given its MacBook Pro a goose in the specs department.
For starters, the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros feature Retina displays, bringing the smaller model up to a resolution of 2560x1600 and the larger one to 2800x1800. The IPS displays also feature 178-degree viewing angles and high contrast ratios.
Under the hood, Apple updated these lappies with fourth-generation Intel Core processors (Haswell). On the lowest end, there’s a dual-core Intel Core i5 chip (2.4GHz, 2.9GHz Turbo) for the 13-inch model--in fact, the 13-incher only offers dual-core Core i5s--while on the highest end, you can opt for a quad-core Core i7 (2.6GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo) processor.
Apple put Intel’s Iris Graphics in the new machines (and the Iris Graphics Pro version in the 15-inch model) with support for mini DisplayPort, DVI out, VGA out, dual-link DVI out, and up to 4K HDMI. The top-end version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro boasts an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (2GB) with automatic graphics switching option, too.
Both models offer up to 16GB of DDR3-1600MHz memory, a beastly 1TB of PCIe-based flash storage (which promises a 1.6x improvement in speed over the last generation), a 720p Facetime HD camera, and the same array of ports which include the MagSafe 2 power port, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, headphone jack, and SDXC card slot. For connectivity, the MacBook Pros have the newer 802.11ac standard, as well as Bluetooth 4.0.
Apple asserts that the MacBook Pros will enjoy longer battery life--up to 9 hours and 8 hours for the 13-inch and 15-inch models, respectively--and both will ship with Apple’s usual spate of built-in apps as well as free Pages, Numbers, and KeyNote iLife apps.
There are multiple price points, ranging from $1,299 for the lowest-spec’d 13-inch MacBook Pro to $2,599 for a fully tricked-out 15-inch version.
For starters, the new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros feature Retina displays, bringing the smaller model up to a resolution of 2560x1600 and the larger one to 2800x1800. The IPS displays also feature 178-degree viewing angles and high contrast ratios.
Under the hood, Apple updated these lappies with fourth-generation Intel Core processors (Haswell). On the lowest end, there’s a dual-core Intel Core i5 chip (2.4GHz, 2.9GHz Turbo) for the 13-inch model--in fact, the 13-incher only offers dual-core Core i5s--while on the highest end, you can opt for a quad-core Core i7 (2.6GHz, 3.8GHz Turbo) processor.
Apple put Intel’s Iris Graphics in the new machines (and the Iris Graphics Pro version in the 15-inch model) with support for mini DisplayPort, DVI out, VGA out, dual-link DVI out, and up to 4K HDMI. The top-end version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro boasts an NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M (2GB) with automatic graphics switching option, too.
Both models offer up to 16GB of DDR3-1600MHz memory, a beastly 1TB of PCIe-based flash storage (which promises a 1.6x improvement in speed over the last generation), a 720p Facetime HD camera, and the same array of ports which include the MagSafe 2 power port, two Thunderbolt 2 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, headphone jack, and SDXC card slot. For connectivity, the MacBook Pros have the newer 802.11ac standard, as well as Bluetooth 4.0.
Apple asserts that the MacBook Pros will enjoy longer battery life--up to 9 hours and 8 hours for the 13-inch and 15-inch models, respectively--and both will ship with Apple’s usual spate of built-in apps as well as free Pages, Numbers, and KeyNote iLife apps.
There are multiple price points, ranging from $1,299 for the lowest-spec’d 13-inch MacBook Pro to $2,599 for a fully tricked-out 15-inch version.
