New MacBook Pros offer faster processors and interfaces, while preview of Lion shows iPad ideas reinterpreted for computers.
Apple has released a range of new MacBook Pros, offering new dual and quad core Intel processors and graphics capabilities as well as high-speed "Thunderbolt" input and output technology and a new FaceTime HD camera. The company claims that “the entire MacBook Pro line is up to twice as fast as the previous generation”. The 13” MacBook Pro will start at £999 and offer dual-core processor speeds of up to 2.7GHz. The 15” model will start at £1,549 feature quad-core Core i7 processors and up to 1GB of video memory for gaming, video editing and graphics-intensive applications. A 17” model will retail for £2,099
The MacBook Pro is also the first computer on the market to include “Thunderbolt” I/O technology, developed by Intel with collaboration from Apple. Transfer speeds of up to 10Gbps can be supported, and Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said that the technology was “revolutionary”. The new Facetime HD camera is triple the resolution of the previous one, Apple claims, delivering a further push to the company’s aim to popularise video-calling.
Apple has also released a preview for software developers of the forthcoming version of its new operating system, Lion. New features include “Mission Control”, allowing users to view all currently running apps, a new home for Mac Apps called Launchpad and new multitouch gestures. The final version of Lion will ship to customers this summer. Apple is also expected to announce a new iPad on 2 March.
