You’ll notice a few features are absent from the rumors we’d heard previously. Those 8GB-16GB dedicated SSDs for a start, which were said to run OS X alone, which is disappointing news. Nonetheless, the jump up to Sandy Bridge processors is a very welcome addition – although it hasn’t had a positive effect on battery life, which is now just seven hours for each model (down from last year’s generation’s 10 hours).
All three models (13, 15 and 17-inch) are running on dual-core and quad-core Intel processors, with the 15 and 17-inchers also coupling AMD Radeon graphics HD 6490M/6750M graphics and Intel HD Graphics 3000.
The 13-inch model will cost $1399 with a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 320GB hard drive, or $1698 for a 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive.
The 15-inch model comes with a 2.0GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive for $2099, otherwise pick up a model with 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive for $2499.
The largest of all, the 17-incher has a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive, and costs $2899.
Unfortunately they’re still the same size, shape and weight as the previous generation, which includes the trackpad. The possibility of a larger trackpad had been thrown around, but it seems Apple chose not to remake the wheel when it comes to aesthetics, this time ’round. Perhaps they’ll save it for the MacBook Air. [Apple]
CUPERTINO, California-February 24, 2011-Apple® today updated the industry-leading MacBook® Pro family with next generation processors and graphics, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology and a new FaceTime® HD camera. Featuring the very latest dual-core and quad-core Intel Core processors, the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation.*
“The new MacBook Pro brings next generation dual and quad Core processors, high performance graphics, Thunderbolt technology and FaceTime HD to the great design loved by our pro customers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Thunderbolt is a revolutionary new I/O technology that delivers an amazing 10 gigabits per second and can support every important I/O standard which is ideal for the new MacBook Pro.”
Starting at $US1,199 the new 13-inch MacBook Pro offers amazing value and performance in a compact design. The highly portable 13-inch MacBook Pro features Intel Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors up to 2.7 GHz and Intel HD Graphics 3000. The powerful 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models feature quad-core Core i7 processors up to 2.3 GHz and AMD Radeon HD graphics processors with up to 1GB of video memory for high performance gaming, pro video editing and graphics intensive applications.
MacBook Pro is the first computer on the market to include the groundbreaking Thunderbolt I/O technology. Developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple, Thunderbolt enables expandability never before possible on a notebook computer. Featuring two bi-directional channels with transfer speeds up to an amazing 10Gbps each, Thunderbolt delivers PCI Express directly to external high performance peripherals such as RAID arrays, and can support FireWire and USB consumer devices and Gigabit Ethernet networks via adapters. Thunderbolt also supports DisplayPort for high resolution displays and works with existing adapters for HDMI, DVI and VGA displays. Freely available for implementation on systems, cables and devices, Thunderbolt technology is expected to be widely adopted as a new standard for high performance I/O.
The MacBook Pro now includes a built-in FaceTime HD camera with triple the resolution of the previous generation for crisp, widescreen video calls. With Apple’s innovative FaceTime video calling software, the new camera allows high definition video calls between all new MacBook Pro models and supports standard resolution calls with other Intel-based Macs, iPhone® 4 and the current generation iPod touch®. FaceTime is included with all new MacBook Pro models and is available for other Intel-based Macs from the Mac® App Store℠ for 99 cents. The MacBook Pro lineup continues to feature its gorgeous aluminium unibody enclosure, glass Multi-Touch™ trackpad, LED-backlit widescreen display, illuminated full-size keyboard and 7-hour battery.**
As the industry’s greenest notebook lineup, every Mac notebook achieves EPEAT Gold status and meets Energy Star 5.0 requirements, setting the standard for environmentally friendly notebook design.*** Each unibody enclosure is made of highly recyclable aluminium and comes standard with energy efficient LED-backlit displays that are mercury-free and made with arsenic-free glass. Mac notebooks contain no brominated flame retardants, are PVC-free and are constructed with recyclable materials.
Every Mac comes with Mac OS® X Snow Leopard®, the world’s most advanced operating system, and iLife®, Apple’s innovative suite of applications for creating and sharing great photos, movies and music. Snow Leopard builds on more than a decade of innovation and includes multiple features for portable computing such as Multi-Touch navigation, advanced wireless networking, easy file sharing, automated data backup and intelligent power management. The new iLife ’11 features iPhoto® with stunning full screen views for browsing, editing and sharing photos; iMovie® with powerful easy-to-use tools to transform home videos into fun theatrical trailers; and GarageBand® with new ways to improve your playing and create great sounding songs.
Pricing & Availability
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro, 15-inch MacBook Pro and 17-inch MacBook Pro are available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple authorised Resellers. The 13-inch MacBook Pro is available in two configurations: one with a 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 320GB hard drive starting at $US1,199; and one with a 2.7 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 and 500GB hard drive starting at $US1,499. The new 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in two models: one with a 2.0 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6490M and 500GB hard drive starting at $US1,799 and one with a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive starting at $US2,199. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro features a 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, AMD Radeon HD 6750M and 750GB hard drive and is priced at $US2,499.
Configure-to-order options include faster quad-core processors up to 2.3 GHz, additional hard drive capacity up to 750GB, solid state storage up to 512GB, more memory up to 8GB DDR3, antiglare and high-resolution display options and AppleCare® Protection Plan. Additional technical specifications and configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/macbookpro.
Atiila
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 8:01 AMSo the opening para says they are lighter and slimmer, but later says they are the same size and weight?
LJ
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 9:01 AMYeah, that article just confuses. Are they lighter and slimmer or not?
Peter Sibilant
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 9:03 AMWhy would I even consider a Dell XPS, Alienware or even ASUS G series now?! I’d miss the keypad but I could very well be a convert now with specs and prices like these.
No, I haven’t been drinking Green Fairy Absinthe…
stefan
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 10:47 AMThe graphics in the Dell XPS’s are better than those in the macbooks and i suspect they are far cheaper as well, you just lose out on battery life and thunderbolt
Biderjum
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 11:43 AMBut what if u wanted to use a high speed external device and an external display together…
YOU CAN’T???
Mattt
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 12:19 PMBuy a what will most likely be a $100 Apple thunderbolt hub and a $50 thunderbolt to hdmi adapter.
Pete Lindley
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 12:21 PMLightpeak supports “Daisy Chaining” so you can link multiple devices to the one port.
Edward Jackson
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 12:37 PMLook more closely… the port is dual channel, bidirectional and allows devices to be daisy chained. Engadget has a video demonstrating simultaneous playback of 4 uncompressed 1080p video streams to a Cinema Display, across a single cable.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/24/intel-thunderbolt-a-closer-look/
Biderjum
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 3:01 PMAhh nice one, I was thinking there had to be way…
Up to six devices can be daisy chained.
Would be good if the Cinema displays support this, then you could have 6 displays!
ATM the cinema display needs to be the terminating device of your chain
Greg
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 1:37 PMSo it’s basically firewire but faster. Yawn.
Because that concept worked so well for the universe last time…
Axman6
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 8:54 PMIt’s exactly like firewire except that it isn’t anything like firewire at all. LightPeak/Thunderbolt supports basically any protocol you want, which initially means the Displayport protocol and the PCI-express protocol. this means there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing things like external GPU’s that are actually usable and popular, rather than hacky ways to get that working currently.
FireWire was basically just for data transfer. and not much else. Lightpeak/Thunderbolt is for everything, in a much bigger way that USB ever was.
Anthony Tam
Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 12:14 AMFirewire is still invaluable for pro/creative users. Unfortunately it didnt take off as fast as USB did even though it was miles ahead of USB back in the day.
But I’m pretty sure Thunderbolt will be the next standard, alongside HDMI, eSata and USB 3.0, the latter three Apple doesnt officially support
Daniel
Friday, February 25, 2011 at 2:02 PMThe decreased battery life is a result of using actual realistic testing. Typically it’s done by disabling everything such as Wi-fi and Bluetooth. If you have a current model with 10 hour battery life, actual real life testing won’t get you near the same number.
Andrew Wotherspoon
Saturday, February 26, 2011 at 11:46 AMDaniel is right, there is no impact to battery life, apple have just changed the way they test this so that it is more like a users actual experience.
Todd
Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 2:45 PMFace it – if Apple ain’t adopting USB 3, it won’t be around that long. Thunderbolt is the way of the future! It’s also hilariously unpronounceable in languages without the ‘th’ sound, but if you’ve ever seen an ad for ‘blue-toot’ you’d be used to that too. :)
smee, T
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 10:09 AMWorth looking into these, or should I wait until other laptops start coming out with Sandy Bridge to see how they fair?