Apple is not one to rest on its considerable laurels, and it proved that on day 1 of WWDC 2012. Of its many announcements on Monday, hardware fans will be pleased to hear that Apple has upgraded MacBooks in store for consumers.
Most notable is the fact that the new MacBooks come with the Retina Display seen on current iPhones and iPads. The Retina Display models will offer the highest resolution displays of any notebook in the world, according to Apple Senior Vice President of Marketing Peter Schiller during their unveiling.
The Retina Display will cram 5 million pixels on the MacBook screen, at a rate of 220 pixels per inch (ppi) for an incredibly detailed and clear image. It has comes with an IPS panel and 178 degree viewing angle for greatly limiting glare and improving contrast.
Unlike iPhones and iPads, where the Retina Display is a standard feature, it will be a costly upgrade on the new MacBooks, to the tune of $300-$400 over the same sized model sans the gorgeous display. The 13-inch MacBooks will retail for $1,199 or $1,499, while the 15-inch versions will sell for either $1,799 or $2,199.
The new MacBooks are more than just a pretty face though, and come with more substance under the hood as well. They'll be powered by Intel's new Ivy Bridge series of quad-core processors, and more powerful Nvidia graphics chips, which will make graphics load up to 60% faster than previous MacBooks (dedicated gamers will still want to upgrade the graphics pronto though).
You'll also get 768 GB of flash storage and 16 GB of RAM. Two USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port highlight the connectivity options. A notable omission is the lack of an Ethernet port, which will force non-Wi-Fi users to purchase an adapter for the new MacBook's Thunderbolt port. This whole package is thinner than ever, at just 0.7 inches thick.
Retina Display aside, the new MacBooks offer a host of improvements and new features that should make them coveted notebooks. Add the Retina Display to that package, and you have a product that should shoot straight to the top of many tech fans' wish lists.
