Apple intros MacBook Pro for business use
Apple has upgraded and revealed some fancy new specifications for its laptop lines, targeting both consumers and business customers.
The next-gen MacBook Pro
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
Here's a rundown on the MacBook Air stats for both the 11-inch and 13-inch models:
4GB of RAM
Intel i5 dual-core processors
Intel HD Graphics 4000
No Retina displays
Starting prices at $1099 and $1349 for 11-inch and 13-inch models, respectively
Five and seven hours of battery life for 11-inch and 13-inch models, respectively
Starts shipping today.
The MacBook Air still boasts some solid stats, but the big unveil was definitely the next-generation 15.4-inch MacBook Pro, which is a quarter thinner than its predecessor, making it about as thick as a MacBook Air.
Although it weighs around 2.1kg — still a bit of a lug to travel with — this is more portable and friendly to designers and other creative professionals who need to tote around a notebook.
The battery life could be more enticing on other models, as the 15.4-inch Pro only boasts seven hours (but up to 30 days on standby), but it is very I/O friendly with HDMI, USB 2/3 ports, Thunderbolt and an SD card slot.
However, it looks like Apple is really trying to push Thunderbolt on customers to the point where it now requires the use of FireWire 800 and Gigabit Ethernet adapter dongles for one of the two Thunderbolt ports.
Apple is also getting closer to merging the MacBook Pro and Air lines. Besides the slimmer frame, Apple has swapped out the optical drive for up to 768GB of flash storage.
Furthermore, it looks like Apple is testing the waters on the Pro series by implementing a Retina display, as seen on the iPad and iPhone. According to ZDNet Australia's sister site CNET, Apple's Phil Schiller said that it's the world's highest-resolution notebook display.
Other features of the Retina display include a 16:10 aspect ratio (compared to 11:9 on the 11-inch MacBook Air), a higher angle of view with IPS technology and 75 per cent less glare.
The addition of the Retina display on the highest-end Apple laptop makes sense for at least two reasons. First, the 2880x1800 resolution is more critical and important to the creative set than it would be for everyday consumers. Sure, it's nice on the iPhone and iPad, but we can wait. That leads to the second reason: those parts aren't going to come cheap.
Thus, only professionals might be able to afford the 15.4-inch model with the Retina display. The starting price is $2500.
For everyone else who wants a MacBook, but with something with more power than an Air, there are modest updates for the regular 13- and 15-inch models.
Here's a snapshot of the major upgrades to those MacBook Pros:
Intel i5 and i7 quad-core processor options
500GB and 750GB hard-drive options
4GB to 8GB of RAM
Starting prices at AU$1349 and AU$1999 models for the 13- and 15-inch models, respectively.
Via ZDNet US