Refreshed Apple MacBook Pros

Credit : Cnet

Apple's MacBook Pro line has now gotten an entirely expected upgrade to current-generation Intel CPUs, just in time for the holiday shopping season. These new 13-inch and 15-inch models look and feel just like the previous generation, but the promise of longer battery life, somewhat improved performance, faster Wi-Fi, and lower starting prices is enough to make this a significant overall update.

The high-end, high-price Retina Display versions of the MacBook Pro had previously been stuck in an unusual position. While other systems, from budget laptops to premium hybrids, had all moved onto Intel's latest CPU platform, known as either the fourth-generation Core i-series or by the code name Haswell, the MacBook Pro still used last year's processors.

Credit : The Verge

The flagship MacBook Pro with Retina Display retains its very high screen resolution, which results in crisper text and clearer photos (2,560x1,600 pixels for the 13-inch model, 2,880x1,800 for the 15-inch model). Unlike some Windows PCs with higher-res screens, OS X is more interested in scaling your onscreen content to look its best (or what Apple thinks will look best), rather than giving you full unfettered access to that very, very high resolution. The tile interface in Windows 8 does something similar with the handful of higher-res PCs now available.

The 13-inch MacBook Pro starts with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, while the 15-inch version defaults to 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD (which Apple described as a "quarter terabyte"). Our review configuration of the 15-inch MacBook Pro is the step-up model (and it's a big step) for $2,599, with a faster 2.3GHZ Core i7, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and the Nvidia GeForce 750M GPU.

Credit : Cnet

The keyboard and trackpad remain essentially the same as seen on the last several generations of MacBook. Other laptops have matched, but not surpassed, the backlit Apple keyboard. And the trackpad, with its multifinger gestures, remains the industry leader, even as Windows laptops move to more touch-screen controls, at least partially to compensate for the hassle of using a touch pad with Windows 8.

The Retina Display remains a main selling point, and crosses over between the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro. Some new and upcoming Windows laptops go for even higher resolutions, and it's not unreasonable to ask when we'll see this trickle down to the MacBook Air line. The Retina screen is at its best when displaying text or professional photography. Videos rarely go past 1080p and most Mac games can't display higher resolutions to begin with.

Credit : The Verge

If you like the idea of investing in a higher-resolution laptop, and can live without an optical drive (a concession that seems more reasonable every day), the updated 2013 version of the Retina MacBook Pro, especially in its 15-inch incarnation, remains an irresistibly powerful yet comfortably portable laptop.

Apple's new Mac Pro will cost $2,999, gets December release date

Apple surprised the world when it previewed the new cylindrical Mac Pro at WWDC 2013, and yesterday Apple announce that it will be released in December. The entry-level model will cost $2,999 and will come with a 3.7GHz quad-core Intel Xeon processor, 12GB of DRAM, dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics chips with 2GB VRAM each, and 256GB of SSD. The machine is being assembled in the US, Apple said today.

Credit : Apple

We’ve also known it would come loaded with an Intel Xeon E5 CPU with up to a dozen cores, a pair of AMD FirePro graphics cards standard, super-fast solid-state storage drives, and a half-dozen Thunderbolt 2 ports. Plenty of firepower for video-editing, heavy image work, and music production.

Credit : Apple

The central column of the new Mac Pro is a triangular vent that wicks heat from the memory and CPUs, which are attached to its outer skin. That heat is then sucked up through the top of the machine and thrown out the top.

Credit : Apple

The back of the device is a dense cluster of ports, and softly shifting the computer around on the desk was enough to trigger the lit-up port guides that will help you guide cords into their proper receptacles.

Other than the demo situations, it’s hard to say a whole lot about the performance of the devices, so we’ll have to wait until we get a review unit in hand to make any statements about the innards. But the industrial design is certainly striking and exhibits at least some initial evidence that Apple’s thermal design is working as intended.