Apple has announced a 13-inch version of the MacBook Pro with Retina display, which joins the 15-inch version introduced in June. The new 13-inch MacBook is thinner, measuring 19mm, lighter than previous models at 1.62kg and with a much higher screen resolution.
The 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro immediately became the high-end flagship of Apple's laptop line. This left the current 13-inch Pro a bit of an odd man out, with mainstream consumers flocking to the MacBook Air, and power users better served by the Retina and non-Retina 15-inch Pro. It was getting hard to figure out exactly who the 13-inch MacBook Pro was aimed at, besides users who still needed an optical drive in a 13-inch OS X laptop.
Unlike the late, great 17-inch MacBook Pro, the 13-inch model held on. Still, it was too thick, compared with a year's worth of 13-inch ultrabooks, and its low screen resolution didn't help justify the AU$1349 price.
For AU$1899, the new 13-inch Retina Pro won't make a believer out of anyone who already thinks MacBooks are too expensive. For the extra AU$550, you do get a plethora of additional features, however.
The 13-inch display now has a native resolution of 2560x1600 pixels, which is only slightly less than the 15-inch Pro's 2880x1800-pixel resolution — and both are miles beyond the 1280x800-pixel screen found in the previous, non-Retina 13-inch Pro.
Previously leaked photos have already hinted at this, so it's little surprise that the 13-inch Retina Pro has a similar expanded port layout to the 15-inch version's, with dual Thunderbolt/DisplayPort jacks and an HDMI out.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display will be available in two base models, starting at AU$1899 and AU$2199. Again, both have a 2560x1600-pixel native resolution. The specs for each are as follows:
AU$1899, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display:
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2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
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8GB 1600MHz RAM
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128GB solid-state drive (SSD)
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Intel HD Graphics 4000.
AU$2199, 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display:
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2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
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8GB 1600MHz RAM
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256GB SSD
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Intel HD Graphics 4000.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)
Going up from the base model, you can add a dual-core 2.9GHZ Core i7 CPU for AU$235, and a 256GB, 512GB or 768GB SSD for AU$300, AU$895 or AU$1500, respectively.
Via CNET.com
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