by Just this week, Apple has unveiled some fantastic new products, including the new iPad mini, along with an updated version of its 13-inch MacBook Pro featuring a gorgeous Retina display, along with all flash storage. The new compact design comes in at just 0.75 inches and 3.57 pounds, making it 20 percent thinner and almost a pound lighter than its predecessors.
Given that it is their most popular Mac, the reinvention should be something that many folks are looking forward to. According to Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, “the Retina display completely changes what you expect from a notebook.”
And this is true, indeed. The new Pro has over 4 million pixels, nearly twice the number of pixels in an HD television. It’s actually so fancy that the human eye won’t even be able to distinguish individual pixels at a normal viewing distance. Compared to the current 13-inch Pro, it has four times the pixels.
This also offers a new way to edit, which is key for photo and video-driven folks. You can view and edit in pixel-accurate 1080p, and it uses IPS technology for a 178-degree wide viewing angle, along with 75 percent less reflection and 28 percent higher contrast than the models.
The flash storage is a great addition as well, clocking in at four times the speed of traditional notebook hard drives with the latest Intel dual-core processors, and 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 processors with the option to choose faster 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 processors, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 8GB of 1600 MHz memory, and up to 768GB of flash storage. On the sides, it is home to two Thunderbolt and two USB 3.0 ports allow users to connect to multiple displays and high-performance devices, and a new HDMI port which offers users quick connectivity to an HDTV. We also love the added bonus of a FaceTime HD camera, dual microphones, improved speakers, three-stream 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a MagSafe 2 power port.
Considering all this, the battery is still as fantastic as other versions, giving users up to 7 hours of wireless productivity and can remain in standby for up to 30 days. There is also a new Power Nap feature in OS X® Mountain Lion, which means your Pro stays up to date while it sleeps. Power Nap automatically refreshes your apps such as Mail, Contacts, Calendar, Reminders, and Photo Stream, and when the notebook is plugged in, downloads software updates and backs up using Time Machine.
With all of these updates, the new Pro still hits all of the Energy Star 5.2 requirements and achieves an EPEAT Gold rating. Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminum and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are free from both mercury, as well as arsenic, brominated flame retardants, are PVC.
Specs:
Retina display: 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology
2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
Scaled resolutions: 1680 by 1050, 1440 by 900, and 1024 by 640 pixels
Starts at $1699 for 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
Up to $1999 for 2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache
Includes 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory
See all details here
