After the critical success of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, Apple has announced a similarly spec’d 13-inch model at their event in Cupertino, CA. It’s one hell of a portable notebook and everything about it is awesome. We’ve got the most important specifications, pricing and availability ready for you to read after the jump!
The most important feature of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is, obviously, the Retina display. At 2560 x 1600, it is much higher than even the most premium of notebooks from other manufacturers. To put things into perspective, the 2011 27-inch iMac’s display has a resolution of 2560 x 1440; the new 13-inch MacBook Pro’s vertical resolution is higher than the display resolution of a premium 27-inch display!
And the display’s resolution isn’t the only thing that’s better on the new notebook: it also boasts better colors (deeper blacks, purer whites etc. etc.) and wider viewing angles. All thanks to the new IPS display.
As with the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display uses a flash-only storage system, lacks an optical disc drive and comes with a high-end dual-core Intel chip, but, lacks a dedicated graphics card, instead opting for integrated graphics.
Storage starts at 128GB and goes up to 768GB. In the graphics department, you get the somewhat outdated and weak Intel HD 4000 Graphics, so that might be a downer for some, while in the CPU department, you can choose between a dual-core 2.5GHz Core i5 and you can go up to a dual-core 2.9GHz Core-i7 chip from Intel. All processors are of the Ivy Bridge variety, so you can rest assured that you are shelling out your hard-earned cash for the latest and greatest in technology.
In line with Apple’s other trends, the FaceTime camera can now take 720p photos and videos, MagSafe is replaced with the slimmer MagSafe 2, and two Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports are included.
But that’s not all, all three models of the new 13-inch MacBook Pro come with 8GB of RAM as standard, so that’s a big plus point for those who want that extra muscle out of their every-day notebook rig.
But all these tremendously powerful specs come at a exorbitant price: the base 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display (dual-core Core-i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage) is priced at $1699 which is a $200 jump over the high-end 13-inch MacBook Pro without Retina Display. The higher end model at $1999 with its dual-core processor and larger storage capacity adds another $300 to the price.
The push for higher-than-Full-HD displays is a welcome one. These notebooks are going to be pretty expensive for a while, but don’t expect their prices to stay that high in another couple of years as others manufacturers catch up to the trend and Apple replaces existing non-Retina MacBooks with Retina-based ones.
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available for order today, so be sure to head over to the online Apple Store website to order yours on time before stocks run dry.
You can follow us on Twitter, add us to your circle on Google+ or like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple and the web.