According to a report over at the hit-and-miss DigiTimes, a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display – along with updated spec iMacs – are shipping to Apple’s upstream supply chain. DigiTimes has, as is often the case, latched onto the story via sources from within said supply chain, and reports the 13.3" MacBook Pro with Retina display should be upon us within the next six weeks.
The news of a 13-inch Retina display MacBook Pro will certainly appease many prospective MacBook Pro buyers whom might have been off-put by the size of the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. Although there’s still most certainly a market for the larger notebook, there’s little doubt the vast majority are looking for something a little more portable, and while the 11-inch notebook isn’t for everybody, the 13-inch mark seems to be the happy median for the majority.
Whilst I don’t believe the Retina display on a Mac is as important as on, say, an iPhone or iPad, it’s still a nice implementation, and plenty of consumers have parted with their money so far in exchange for the 15-inch model.
Meanwhile, although there has been talk of Retina iMacs surfacing at some point in the future, it doesn’t look as though that’ll be happening just yet. Still, if you’re not too fussed about Retina (the display of the iMac range is, after all, more than agreeable), then you might see the solid hardware upgrades as a reason to make a purchase this Fall.
Similarly to the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air notebook upgrades announced at WWDC’12, the iMac will see Intel’s new Ivy Bridge Processors, SSD options, and USB 3.0 ports, despite much of the world still dealing with USB 2.0-constrained devices. The report also suggests Apple initially planned to introduce three models of the new iMac, but issues arose with respect to the "the high-end model," suggesting the Cupertino perhaps planned to introduce a high-end, top-spec model akin to the MBP with Retina display.
The new iMacs are set to include an all-new glass front design, an implementation cited as a reason behind the manufacturing issues, and apparently, the new displays will feature a form of anti-reflective technology. Not only should the new iMacs not be seen as last-resort mirrors, but the displays are also said to be quite a bit thinner.
(via DigiTimes)
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