Apple unveils MacBook with retina display

Apple has shown off its new MacBooks at WWDC 2012, the firm’s annual developer conference.

First off, the company has performed its usual refresh of the MacBook Pro range, and the MacBook Air.

The new 11 inch and 13 inch MacBook Air portables run with Core i5 and Core i7 dual-core processors, with integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 giving the lightweight machines a 60 per cent faster performance, Apple claims.

The memory has also been juiced up, speed-wise, and a FaceTime HD camera is now on board.

When it comes to the MacBook Pro, the 13 inch version has a Core i5 or i7 dual-core processor, running at up to 2.9GHz (with turbo to 3.6GHz). The 15 inch model comes with a Core i7 quad-core CPU, running at 2.7GHz with a turbo up to 3.7GHz, backed up by a GeForce GT 650M graphics card.

Both of these can be equipped with up to a 1TB hard disk, or an SSD with up to a 512GB capacity.

The jewel in the MacBook crown, however, is the new 15 inch MacBook Pro with retina display.

That screen is the world’s highest resolution notebook display, at 2880 x 1800, with a 220 ppi pixel density. In short, it’s very sharp, and promises extremely clean and crisp graphics and text. A claimed 178 degree viewing angle won’t hurt, either, with Apple also stating the display has 75 per cent less reflection, and 29 per cent higher contrast, than the previous generation MacBook Pro.

The laptop is also very sleek and light, with an aluminium unibody design which is 0.71 inches thick, weighing 4.5 pounds.

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, commented: “The MacBook Pro with Retina display pushes the limits of performance and portability like no other notebook. With a gorgeous Retina display, all flash architecture and a radically thin and light design, the new MacBook Pro is the most advanced Mac we have ever built.”

Again, it has that Ivy Bridge Core i7 quad-core CPU, GT 650M graphics, and up to 16GB of 1600MHz RAM, and flash storage of up to 768GB. Twin Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 ports are on board, plus an HDMI port.

Doubtless you won’t be surprised when we tell you this isn’t going to be a cheap machine. The range starts at £1800 and quickly moves skywards from there as you spec up.