Apple reveals 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina – starts at €1,799

23 Oct 2012

In San Jose, California, today, Apple revealed its new 13-inch MacBook Pro with prices starting at €1,799. Apple’s senior vice-president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller revealed a device that is 20pc thinner than the previous 13-inch MacBook Pro and a pound lighter.

Schiller revealed the 13-inch MacBook Pro has been Apple’s biggest-selling Mac yet.

The new 13-inch with Retina is just 0.75 inches thick and the lightest MacBook Pro ever.

The new computer comes with MagSafe 2 power slot, two ThunderBolt ports and a USB 3 port.

The new MacBook Pro also comes with room for an SD card reader and an HDMI port.

The display is 13.3 inches diagonal with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution.

The Retina display is capable of 4m pixels – twice as many pixels as an HD TV. The display also boasts a 75pc reduction in reflection.

MacBook Pro

Schiller said a vast array of software is now available and optimised for Retina, including Evernote, Sketchbook Pro and Civilisation 5.

The new 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with a FaceTime HD camera and dual microphones, and is capable of better stereo than the previous generation.

The computer comes with a new asymmetric lithium ion battery technology, Intel dual-core i5 or i7 processors, 8GB of memory and seven hours of battery life. It also comes with 128GB of flash memory.

MacBook Pro

The 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with Airplay and built-in voice dictation – putting those dual microphones to good use.

At the press event, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed the Mac has been consistently outpacing the PC market, growing 15pc compared to 2pc growth of the PC market.

“The Mac has been outgrowing the PC market for the last six years straight and has been consistently named No 1 in terms of customer satisfaction and reliability,” Cook said.

Pricing and availability

According to Apple, the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display is available with a 2.5 GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.1 GHz, 8GB of memory and 128GB of flash storage starting at €1,799 including VAT (€1,462.60 excluding VAT); and with 256GB of flash storage starting at €2,129 including VAT (€1,730.89 excluding VAT).

Configure-to-order options include faster dual-core Intel Core i7 processors and flash storage up to 768GB.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com