Johannesburg, 25 Oct 2011
Apple quietly updated the MacBook Pro line-up yesterday, tweaking the specs without adjusting the appearance or pricing. The updates simply appeared on the Apple Web site, with no fan-fair or hype.
The new MacBook Pros have new processors, better storage, and superior graphical capabilities.
The low-end 13-inch model's hard drive storage has been increased to 500GB - an improvement on the 320GB of the previous models. The higher-end 13-inch model has also increased from 500GB to 750GB.
The 13-inch notebooks come with either 2.4GHz Core i5 (entry-level model), or a 2.8GHz Core i7 dual-core processor. Both 13-inch versions have 4GB of RAM to start and come with Intel HD Graphics 3000 onboard video.
The 15-inch models have been upgraded to quad-core 2.2GHz i7, or 2.4 GHzi7 CPUs. The hard drive size of the entry level model remains at 500GB, while the graphics adapter has been upgraded to AMD's Radeon HD 6750M card with 512MB of RAM.
Both the 15-inch and 17-inch notebooks can be configured with an AMD Radeon HD 6770M graphics card and a quad-core 2.5 GHz processor. The large-screen 17-inch notebook has an Intel Core i7-2760QM (2.4 GHz) processor.
Update cycle
Apple previously updated its MacBook Pro line-up in February this year, with a move from Intel's Core 2 Duo processor to the Core i-Series Sandy Bridge processors. High-speed Thunderbolt ports were also added.
Yesterday's update has been long expected, and reports say the launch date was put on the back burner as Apple focused on the release of iOS5 and the iPhone 4S - which has been the biggest and fastest roll-out in the company's history.
The availability of the existing MacBook Pro models became increasingly constrained, leading up to yesterday's release. Apple reportedly ramped down production of the 17-inch and 15-inch models a month ago.
According to Apple Insider, the refresh of the MacBook Pro will bridge the gap between now and the time of Intel's launch of its Ivy Bridge mobile platform in early 2012. The new platform is expected to enable manufacturers to update their product designs.
Growing sales
Apple announced its quarterly earnings last week, and reported selling 4.89 million Macs during the quarter, setting a new record for the company and a 26% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
Mac sales grew more than six times the rate forecasted by market research firm IDC for the overall PC market, according to Apple.
The growth in Mac sales was widely attributed to the launch of the Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Air in July, although the MacBook Pro also continues to sell well.
According to Apple, portables account for 74% of the company's Mac sales. Apple did, however, also set another company record for desktop sales in the last quarter, with 1.278 million sold.
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