Apple Brings Retina Display to MacBook Pro for $2,199 [Update]

SAN FRANCISCO - Apple announced on Monday new MacBook Pro models, including MacBook Pro with Retina Display. This device is thin, at just 0.71 inches, and it supports up to 16GB of RAM. The big change, however, is in the display, which will offer a resolution of 2880 x 1800, or 220 pixels per inch, making it Retina Display quality.

MacBook Pro with Retina Display

Apple’s MacBook Pro with Retina Display

For some context, Apple’s gorgeous 27-inch Cinema Display features a resolution of 2560 x 1440. At the same time, the new iPad, which also features a Retina Display, has a resolution of 2048 x 1536, at 264 pixels per inch.

That puts the new MacBook Pro at a higher resolution than Apple’s largest external display, with a pixels that are still smaller than can be made out by the human eye at laptop distance.

The new laptops will feature Intel Quad Core i7 processors and Nvidia GeForce GT 650M graphics to push all those pixels. The devices will also have up to 7 hours of battery life and 30 days of standby time, and users can get up to 768GB of internal SSD storage.

Ports include an SD card reader, HDMI, USB2/3 (in the same port, two Thunderbolt ports, and MagSafe 2 antitheft connectors. They will have two internal mics and 802.11n WiFi.

MacBoo Pro with Retina Display Ports

Ports on Apple’s MacBook Pro with Retina Display

What they will not have is an optical drive, as has been long expected.

MacBook Pro Innards

The Insides of Apple’s New MacBook Pro from Apple’s WWDC Keynote Address

Apple said that Final Cut Pro X and Aperture are both being updated for Retina Display, and that Blizzard is already working on a Retina Display update for Diablo 3. AutoDesk will be updating AutoCAD, as well.

The new MacBook Pro with Retina Display will start at US$2,199 and it is available today.

Apple also announced slightly updated 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pro models built in the form factor of yesterday’s MacBook Pro. We should note that this includes the retention of an 8x Superdrive.

Let’s look at the processor options, as they might at first seem counterintuitive. As noted below, the 13-inch models have the higher clock speeds on the high-end (2.9GHz vs. 2.7GHz), but note the much larger caches on the processors featured in the 15-inch models.

13-inch MacBook pro

15-inch MacBook Pro

2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz) with 3MB L3 cache

2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 6MB L3 cache

2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 4MB L3 cache 2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB L3 cache
 

Configurable to 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz) with 8MB L3 cache.

The L3 caches on the 15-inch model are 6MB, or 50 percent larger than the cache on the processors in the 13-inch models. The faster, optional 2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 features an 8MB cache.

Both sizes can have internal drives up to 1TB in capacity, or 512MB if you want SSD storage. They also feature USB 3.0 ports that include USB 2.0 compatibility.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,199, and the 15-inch model starts at $1,799. All are available on the Apple Store now.

[Update: The story was updated with more details and information on other MacBook Pro models]