Apple releases new 15" MacBook Pro
Apple revealed details of its redesigned 15-inch MacBook Pro on Tuesday, including a new unibody construction, far more powerful NVIDIA graphics, Display Port output, a new glass touchpad with multitouch gestures, and a revised appearance with similarities to the iMac.
Construction and Ports
Apple detailed a new "unibody" construction method for the MacBook Pro that improves upon the current model's thin aluminum shell, reinforced with an internal frame. The new design is patterned after the MacBook Air released in January, although it appears similar to the MacBooks.
The new construction employs half the structural parts of the former "discrete" MacBook Pro design but provides a case that is stronger, torsionally rigid, 5.5 pounds light, and 0.95 inches thin. It features a MacBook Air-style keyboard recessed into the frame. All I/O ports are located on left side, including: MagSafe, Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800, Dual USB 2.0, Mini Display Port (HDMI could not drive a 30" display), Analog/digital audio in and out, ExpressCard 34 slot, and a side-mounted battery indicator light.
Graphics and Display
The MacBook Pro includes a new NVIDIA graphics architecture which combines a NVIDIA CPU-supporting chipset and graphics processor on one die. Originally designed for desktops, Apple worked with NVIDIA to develop a mobile version for the MacBook Pro, the company said.
This new technology allow users to switch between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor for better battery life and the more powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics processor for higher performance.
The GeForce 9400M integrated chipset has 16 parallel graphics cores, delivers 54 gigiflops of graphics performance, while the 9600M GT has 32 cores and 125 gigiflops of processing power. The 9400M is rated for 5 hours of battery, while the 9600M GT provides 4 hours.
The graphics chips also power a new "instant on" 15.4-inch LED display that is 30 percent more efficient with brighter, high intensity colors.
Multi-touch Glass Trackpad
The new MacBook Pro also features a new 39 percent larger multi-touch trackpad that supports additional gestures and acts as a single button. The glass surface of the trackpad promises less friction for "silky-smooth travel." The new trackpad supports virtual software buttons, as well as one- to four-fingered multitouch gestures:
two finger pinch and rotatethree finger slidesfour fingers bring up Exposé and app switching
New Battery Cover and Easy Access
The new battery cover provides easy access to the hard drive bay, which supports both a standard mechanical hard drive and a new solid state drive option. Locking the system with a security cable also locks the cover on the battery and drive.
Side-mounted Battery Indicator Light
The MacBook Pro's new side-mounted battery indicator light means users won't have to turn the machine upside down to see the status of their notebook's battery if the machine is not powered on.
Optical Disc Drive, Backlit Keyboard, iSight, Latch and More
The optical drive is located on right edge. It provides a DVD burner but does not support Blu-ray. Jobs said "Blu-ray is a bag of hurt. I don?t mean from the consumer point of view. It?s great to watch movies, but the licensing is so complex. We?re waiting until things settle down, and waiting until Blu-ray takes off before we burden our customers with the cost of licensing."
Meanwhile, the new MacBook Pro will continue to supply a backlit keyboard, sudden motion sensor, stereo speakers, iSight camera, mic, and now supply a magnetic latch like the MacBook Air rather than a physical latching mechanism.
The new design features rounded, tapered edges without the series of screws that hold the top bezel to the frame as in earlier designs. There are several screws on the bottom of the machine, however.
MacBook Pro Configurations
The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch aluminum MacBook Pro will sell for $1,999 and include:
15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;1066 MHz front-side bus;2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 video memory;250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;Gigabit Ethernet port;built-in iSight video camera;two USB 2.0 ports;one FireWire 800 port;ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.53 GHz aluminum MacBook Pro is priced at $2,499 and includes:
15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;1066 MHz front-side bus;4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3 video memory;320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;Gigabit Ethernet port;built-in iSight video camera;two USB 2.0 ports;one FireWire 800 port;ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 250GB 7200 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm or a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
Both new MacBook Pro configurations are shipping today.
Construction and Ports
Apple detailed a new "unibody" construction method for the MacBook Pro that improves upon the current model's thin aluminum shell, reinforced with an internal frame. The new design is patterned after the MacBook Air released in January, although it appears similar to the MacBooks.
The new construction employs half the structural parts of the former "discrete" MacBook Pro design but provides a case that is stronger, torsionally rigid, 5.5 pounds light, and 0.95 inches thin. It features a MacBook Air-style keyboard recessed into the frame. All I/O ports are located on left side, including: MagSafe, Gigabit Ethernet, Firewire 800, Dual USB 2.0, Mini Display Port (HDMI could not drive a 30" display), Analog/digital audio in and out, ExpressCard 34 slot, and a side-mounted battery indicator light.
Graphics and Display
The MacBook Pro includes a new NVIDIA graphics architecture which combines a NVIDIA CPU-supporting chipset and graphics processor on one die. Originally designed for desktops, Apple worked with NVIDIA to develop a mobile version for the MacBook Pro, the company said.
This new technology allow users to switch between the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics processor for better battery life and the more powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics processor for higher performance.
The GeForce 9400M integrated chipset has 16 parallel graphics cores, delivers 54 gigiflops of graphics performance, while the 9600M GT has 32 cores and 125 gigiflops of processing power. The 9400M is rated for 5 hours of battery, while the 9600M GT provides 4 hours.
The graphics chips also power a new "instant on" 15.4-inch LED display that is 30 percent more efficient with brighter, high intensity colors.
Multi-touch Glass Trackpad
The new MacBook Pro also features a new 39 percent larger multi-touch trackpad that supports additional gestures and acts as a single button. The glass surface of the trackpad promises less friction for "silky-smooth travel." The new trackpad supports virtual software buttons, as well as one- to four-fingered multitouch gestures:
two finger pinch and rotatethree finger slidesfour fingers bring up Exposé and app switching
New Battery Cover and Easy Access
The new battery cover provides easy access to the hard drive bay, which supports both a standard mechanical hard drive and a new solid state drive option. Locking the system with a security cable also locks the cover on the battery and drive.
Side-mounted Battery Indicator Light
The MacBook Pro's new side-mounted battery indicator light means users won't have to turn the machine upside down to see the status of their notebook's battery if the machine is not powered on.
Optical Disc Drive, Backlit Keyboard, iSight, Latch and More
The optical drive is located on right edge. It provides a DVD burner but does not support Blu-ray. Jobs said "Blu-ray is a bag of hurt. I don?t mean from the consumer point of view. It?s great to watch movies, but the licensing is so complex. We?re waiting until things settle down, and waiting until Blu-ray takes off before we burden our customers with the cost of licensing."
Meanwhile, the new MacBook Pro will continue to supply a backlit keyboard, sudden motion sensor, stereo speakers, iSight camera, mic, and now supply a magnetic latch like the MacBook Air rather than a physical latching mechanism.
The new design features rounded, tapered edges without the series of screws that hold the top bezel to the frame as in earlier designs. There are several screws on the bottom of the machine, however.
MacBook Pro Configurations
The 2.4 GHz, 15-inch aluminum MacBook Pro will sell for $1,999 and include:
15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3MB shared L2 cache;1066 MHz front-side bus;2GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable to 4GB;NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 256MB GDDR3 video memory;250GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;Gigabit Ethernet port;built-in iSight video camera;two USB 2.0 ports;one FireWire 800 port;ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
The 2.53 GHz aluminum MacBook Pro is priced at $2,499 and includes:
15.4-inch widescreen LED-backlit 1440 x 900 glossy display;2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 6MB shared L2 cache;1066 MHz front-side bus;4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM;NVIDIA GeForce 9400M integrated graphics;NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT discrete graphics with 512MB GDDR3 video memory;320GB serial ATA hard drive running at 5400 rpm, with Sudden Motion Sensor;a slot-load 8X SuperDrive with double-layer support (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW) optical drive;Mini DisplayPort for video output (adapters sold separately);built-in AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;Gigabit Ethernet port;built-in iSight video camera;two USB 2.0 ports;one FireWire 800 port;ExpressCard/34 expansion card slot;one audio line in and one audio line out port, each supporting both optical digital and analog;glass Multi-Touch trackpad and illuminated keyboard; and85 Watt MagSafe Power Adapter.
Build-to-order options for the MacBook Pro include a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the ability to upgrade to 4GB 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, 250GB 7200 rpm, 320GB 5400 rpm or a 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive, a 128GB solid state drive, Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter, Mini DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI Adapter (for 30-inch DVI display), Mini DisplayPort to VGA Adapter, Apple USB Modem, Apple Remote, Apple MagSafe Airline Adapter and the AppleCare Protection Plan.
Both new MacBook Pro configurations are shipping today.
Comments
But the prices are the same, rather than lower. These cases cost more to produce than the older ones, despite having fewer parts.
This may not be the best economic climate for that, but you can't change what you've been working on the last minute.
I even wonder if they originally intended to keep to old Macbook in the line there.
A: Just glass, and we’re going to compensate for the reflection from pushing more light through the back. And, since these are notebooks, you can position it any way you want."
How arrogant and belitling...Apple you've really pissed me off this time (fortunately I have a couple of years until I need a replacement)!
The thing that really stuck out for me though is the fact that this is not so much a new MacBook and MacBook Pro as a whole new line. The MacBook is in every way, actually a MacBook Pro (Jobs said so explicitly himself), it's just smaller. It would be more accurate to say they introduced two new "MacBook Pros."
On the other hand, the "old" MacBook and the "old" MacBook Pro are still going to be sold, so this is in fact a whole new line based on the new manufacturing, that's kind of being slyly presented as two new products, when it's actually one.
So the takeaway from that is that the new process probably doesn't scale up in size (to the 17" Pro). Nor does it scale down in price to the range of the old plastic MacBook.
It will be interesting to see where this goes from here and which of the old products is eventually merged into the new line first (or if they are at all for that matter).
How arrogant and belitling...Apple you've really pissed me off this time (fortunately I have a couple of years until I need a replacement)!
Wah... have you ever really used one?
Positioning it to avoid glare is so easy that you do it subconsciously.
"Q: Are you going to have matte screens or just go with glossy glass ones? How about with reflection problems?
A: Just glass, and we’re going to compensate for the reflection from pushing more light through the back. And, since these are notebooks, you can position it any way you want."
How arrogant and belitling...Apple you've really pissed me off this time (fortunately I have a couple of years until I need a replacement)!
Actually this is one case where I believe Steve-bullshit-Jobs. I think the brightness things will battle the glare just fine. And you'll appreciate the glass screen on planes and trains where it's dark and the thing excels. I was worried when I got my iMac, as I sit by the window, but it's never been an issue at all. You forget about it, seriously.
Wah... have you ever really used one?
Positioning it to avoid glare is so easy that you do it subconsciously.
I don't want a notebook I have to "reposition" to avoid something that shouldn't have been there from the start. "Ah if your notebook stops accepting key strokes, just move it a little ...". And you can never get rid of reflections entirely on the whole screen.
"Q: Are you going to have matte screens or just go with glossy glass ones? How about with reflection problems?
A: Just glass, and we?re going to compensate for the reflection from pushing more light through the back. And, since these are notebooks, you can position it any way you want."
How arrogant and belitling...Apple you've really pissed me off this time (fortunately I have a couple of years until I need a replacement)!
I don't agree. It's likely very true.
Apple isn't pretending to be everything to everybody.
But it is arrogant to think that they should cater to a small bunch of people, which will drive their costs up.
This is like the FM tuner squabble in the iPod line. A very few people want them. almost none care though.
I prefer glossy for photo work any day.
The only rumor I was really hoping was wrong was the one about the glass display with the black rim on the Macbook Pro, oh well. Everything else was more or less spot on.
Sebastian
Here's the image I posted here 13 months ago about what the 2008 MacBook might look like:
Pretty close.
What did I tell you about the manufacturing process, I've done some of this work personally in the past, it's fierce expensive per unit!
That's what I've been saying too. At this point in time, it might have been better if the Macbook line, at least, continued in the old, proven, less expensive way. But it was too late for Apple to even think of doing that.
Anyway, the new MacBooks seem great.
But what was Apple smoking when they designed the new display. I had a feeling that an iSight would be built-in if a new display was ever released. But speakers!?
Apple you're overloading the monitor with useless shit and making it artificially more expensive. Who at Apple had the bright idea of putting speakers instead of Front Row + remote support? Holy shit. I hate it when Apple puts out overloaded products that don't answer to any particular needs.
If this display is truly marketed towards MacBook users, why is there an iSight built-in? And if it isn't marketed towards MacBook users why the hell isn't Front Row support built-in?
Apple, if you actually care, you're going to make a display WITHOUT the iSight and speakers and put IR + remote in your stinkin' displays.
edit: alright, now I realize that Apple is marketing this display towards MacBook users since only these computers currently have DisplayPorts. This pretty much means that you're going from the MacBook's built-in iSight to the display's built-in iSight, and from the MacBook's tiny speakers to the display's tiny speakers. IS APPLE FUCKING DUMB!? Only numbskulls would buy a monitor with a price tag that is unnecessarily propped up by a second iSight and a second set of speakers. Fuck you, Apple. After all this wait, you slap everyone in the face with such a useless product.
Apple has completely lost touch with reality. With the economy going down the crapper, they're putting out products like the 24" display which looks like a very product until you see all the shit they tacked on to it like iSight, speakers, Magsafe power. Way to go, Apple...way to go.
Wah... have you ever really used one?
Positioning it to avoid glare is so easy that you do it subconsciously.
Yes, I got the glossy screen on my current MBP thinking the exact same way...fortunately some pixels went dead on the display 5 months later, and I was able to get it replaced with a matte. It's easy enough to suggest moving it, but when working in rooms filled with (fluorescent?) lights what are you to do? You can't just move it, you're at a desk . Sorry I'm no CEO with a room to myself that I can have my desk moved or lights removed. Sorry, some people just can't.
Also wouldnt glass screen break easier?
Yes, I got the glossy screen on my current MBP thinking the exact same way...fortunately some pixels went dead on the display 5 months later, and I was able to get it replaced with a matte. It's easy enough to suggest moving it, but when working in rooms filled with (fluorescent?) lights what are you to do? You can't just move it, you're at a desk . Sorry I'm no CEO with a room to myself that I can have my desk moved or lights removed. Sorry, some people just can't.
Agreed- how exactly do you move it when you don't have the option to turn off the lights at a public place???
Now, wheres that mini update? I wanna build a DVR.
Wah... have you ever really used one?
Positioning it to avoid glare is so easy that you do it subconsciously.
The glossy displays are so much better. I'm a graphic designer and a pro photographer and I love the increased sharpness and colour quality the glossy displays give and I can't understand what so many people don't see that. The picture quality is better on a glossy display, and that should be the most important aspect of any display. I can't hardly look at matt displays anymore because all my photos look mushy and out of focus. having said that, if the glossy glass on the new laptops is as easy to remove as on the imac, what not create an industry for replacing the glossy glass for a matt glass instead of whining about it so much?
http://www.apple.com/macbook/the-new-macbook/
LOL, in every shot of the new Macbook there is glare on the screen.
"Glossy" is just marketing spin for "we are so cheap we left out the anti-glare coating." A self-evidently silly thing to do when designing a portable computer.