With the third-gen iPad having released back in March and the next iPhone expected sometime this fall, this year’s WWDC is expected to announce a MacBook refresh. Rumors have been constant, with many reports suggesting Apple would implement the famous Retina display to its notebook range, but a screenshot of a purported specs list of a new MacBook Pro suggests otherwise.
Although there’s not much doubt the Retina display would look fantastic on the MacBook Pro, plenty have rallied against the idea – no less because of the increased battery constraints and subsequent additional bulk. A screen omissive of visible pixels is truly breathtaking, but with the MacBook already boasting a sharp display, it now seems as though the Retina display MacBook Pro talk may have been nothing more than a sensationalized rumor.
Aside from the screen, however, the next 13" MacBook Pro is said to feature Intel’s delayed Ivy Bridge chips, as well as USB 3.0, which will render an already smooth and fast notebook even more of a force to be reckoned with. It’s long since been known that Apple would yield favoritism when it came to the Ivy Bridge processor, and although there’s certainly a bunch of ultrabook vendors looking to get their hands on them, the fruit company will get first dibs on the limited initial batch.
The specs list was posted by Weiphone, and although you wouldn’t need to be a Photoshop wiz to cook up a plausible list, but they have come through in the past with accurate information, so it’s really a toss-up on whether the specs are accurate or not.
As well as finally packing the elusive Ivy Bridge processor, there’s also said to be 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, a 500 gigabyte 5400-rpm HDD, as well as Ivy Bridge’s own Intel HD Graphics 4000. The 13.3-inch notebook could also sport an 8x slot-loading SuperDrive, and, if the specs are to be taken as gospel, two high-speed USB 3.0 ports, which will certainly up the stakes in terms of side-loading.
So, this rather dubious leak suggests the smallest MacBook Pro will not have a Retina display, but that doesn’t mean to say that’s the end of the dream. With so many contradictory reports flying about, I think the best bet is to wait for next week’s WWDC, where Tim Cook and Co. can finally put the rumor mill to bed.
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